Wednesday, July 14, 2010

TOMMY AND SHAINE PLUS 3....

I am the proud aunt of five of the best looking and best behaved children on this planet. Clearly I am biased, but most would agree this is not merely an opinion.. ...these kids are ADORABLE! The best part is, as their "aunnie" (name used by first born that stuck) , I have always been able to spend a few hours with them doing something special and then given them right back to their rightful owner and spend the rest of my days free as a bird!
This past weekend was a whole new experience...
My brother is the father to three of these children: Cade 4, Mave 2 and Karys 7 months. His wife Lindsay surprised him with a weekend get away for his 40th birthday and Tommy and I were thrilled to help out by staying with the kids! Our shift was to begin at noon on Saturday and last until Sunday at 2pm. I envisioned this being a mini vacation of our own... two beach days with the kids..maybe a back yard BBQ??
We woke up Saturday to some dark clouds looming over the seacoast. I tried to convince Tommy the sun was "trying to come out" as we drove up to Rye, but Tommy wasn't buying it. And sure enough, just as our shift began- the flash flooding alerts did as well. A complete wash out!
I hate crowds, tourist attractions and most any location just north of the Portsmouth traffic circle...but we had no choice but to do the unthinkable. Chuck E Cheese.
I never realized exactly how much energy and thought could go into just the simple things in life- like leaving the house. I packed an over sized diaper bag with a change of clothes for everyone, snacks, toys, books, blankets, bottles... I wanted to be prepared for anything! Tommy was in charge of getting Karys' car seat snapped into the mini- van.. which he pulled off without a hitch and I got the other two out the door. Maeve was dressed from head to toe in rain gear and was insistent on a few extra minutes to play in the puddles as we headed out. Everyone was basically soaked before we even left the driveway.
On our way to Chuck E Cheese, between nursery rhymes, Tommy sensed I was a little on edge. He told me how much fun he was having and how easy this was. He advised me to "calm down." Those words never go over well..specifically when driving an 8 passenger mini van. I am now completely aware of the fact a marriage really doesn't begin until you have kids. I hissed something under my breath at Tommy and continued on with the last verse of "This Little Light of Mine."
The highlight of our trip was the melt down that took place in the parking lot of Chuck E Cheese..right in front of every other young family from the area, all with the same idea. Tommy was hoping to "easily" snap that car seat right out of the van... but no such luck! As I waited with the other two children, I could hear him rustling around and see him starting to sweat. "How do you get this thing out? Oh my god!" As I reached in to help him (and got the seat out no problem by the way) Cade turned to Tommy and said You said God!
On our way into CEC Tommy informed me he was having one child TOPS!
Once inside, "our kids" weren't the problem. We all stayed together and everyone followed directions. It's the other kids with the other parents from north of the Spaulding Turnpike that make this place so unbearable.
The clock read 7:30 as we headed back home, with bedtime right around the corner. Baths, bottles, stories, diapers and we were literally all done by 9:30. I was feeling pretty proud of myself and our day and wanted to share some quiet time with Tommy, but he opted to head straight to bed. I don't think we exchanged more than 10 words the entire day. How do people do this?
After shuffling around a bit and checking on each child at least 5 times, I went to bed myself... and just found myself staring at Tommy as he snored away. I kept thinking I heard someone or something every time I started to doze off. Next thing you knew is was 5am and Karys was up for the day! Cock-a-doodle dooo!
The last time I was up at that hour was for a flight to the Bahamas. It was all worth it when I saw Karys' smiling face looking at me though. I fed her breakfast, we watched the sunrise and played. At 8:30 she was ready to go back down for a nap... just in time for the other two (and Tommy)to be up and ready to eat and play! Nothing easy or breezy about this routine!
Mother Nature was on our side Sunday and we were able to spend a couple hours at the beach. We ran into a few people we knew who seemed to be a little curious about my appearance. I realized that I hadn't looked in a mirror or done anything for myself all weekend. Quite a sight!
We managed to master the car seat snap just in time for Maeve's nap and Lindsay and Brian's return. It seemed the weekend get away had taken years off of their appearance. They were glowing.
I have a whole new respect for all of you parents... particularly parents of three or more! And if you happen to still be married, give yourself a pat on the back!

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