Getting Real

This post is for Cheryl, my best friend and roommate from my college days.  Like me, she also has four boys but she's got a set of twins to make things extra chaotic.  We were talking on the phone the other day and she said my blog makes it looks like everything is great and my kids must be very well-behaved to host so many things at my house.  While I think I do a good job of capturing the chaos of our lives, you'll never really understand how chaotic things are without video so you can appreciate the sound of chaos.  It is loud.  Dinners are loud.  Getting out the door to go anywhere is loud, especially if it's getting out the door to go to church.  I'm working on that one.  Mornings are loud and busy while I make breakfast, pack lunches, monitor jobs, help with piano practicing, and constantly shout out how much time until the bus comes.  My kids are generally pretty good in these moments but someone is always upset about something and depending on the kid that means someone is either quietly pouting {Marcus}, sobbing {Bean}, or throwing a temper tantrum {Landon}.  Parker is a toddler so he can do all of these at the same time. 
Whenever we're out in public and someone says something like, "Wow, you have four boys!  Are all of them yours?"  My sarcastic response is, "Yes, and our house is sooo quiet!"  This always gets a laugh.  Our house is never quiet.
 I like to host things at my house for a few reasons.  First, because Parker can have his nap or go to bed if we stay here which allows me to enjoy socializing without a tired toddler.  Second, I've discovered that if I don't plan something then most often nothing happens, or I wonder if someone else planned something and I wasn't invited, and the third reason is that it gives me an excuse to clean my house.
I've also learned that having boys is like having dogs.  You've got to feed them, walk them, and make sure they get plenty of sleep.  Boys have to get their energy out or things get really bad really fast.  The trampoline saves me when the boys get so wild someone or something is bound to get hurt.  Last Sunday I sent the boys outside just as it was getting dark and it was probably fifteen degrees outside so they could get their crazy out.  I'm sure the neighbors think I'm nuts letting my kids play outside in the freezing darkness but whatever.  No one got frostbite and I got the kitchen clean. 

Our basement is never this clean and now there's a huge basketball hoop thing taking up a ton of space but it's a boys paradise and my saving grace

I also banish the boys to the basement a lot.  It's a beautiful thing to have a place where they can run wild and I pretty much don't have to hear them do it.  Parker can sleep through all this noise due to my most favorite baby invention ever. . . the noise machine.  Get one, it is life changing.  It plays lullabies or different types of white noise, and also shines moving images on the ceiling which is a great night light.  This little machine has accompanied us on every trip or late social event since Parker was born.  I adjust the volume according to the noise level so Parker can sleep blissfully unaware of the chaos outside his bedroom door.  A happy, well rested baby makes for one happy mama.

here's the link on amazon.  buy it now!