Our New Normal (Right Now At Least).

Right now it's this:

I wake up around 7am, to some sort of yelling-trying-to-be-a-whisper on the other side of our bedroom door "Daddy, are Mommy and Charlie awake yet? Hi, Mommy? MOMMY? Mommy, are you in there?" And then Henry comes bounding in, and jumps into bed with Charlie and me. Hank gets up around 6:15am to shower, and then when Henry wakes up around 6:30 they hang out for awhile before I get my "wakeup call."

I usually feed Charlie right there in bed, then 15 minutes later or so the two of us come out to the living room and hang out with Hank and Henry before Hank leaves for work. Usually Henry is in the middle of breakfast, or if he wasn't in the mood to eat yet I will put Charlie in his little rocker, make breakfast for Henry and myself, and get together snacks/lunch for Hank to take to work. Then he's off, and it's just the boys and me.

It's a juggling act really, the rest of the day. We may go grocery shopping, take a walk, or meet up with friends, but whatever we do I have to send a silent wish into the universe to please, please let it all go somewhat smoothly. And maybe other veteran Moms of two are smiling at this thinking, "oh girl, you're so new," but seriously, it's a gamble whether or not it will go well.

For instance today I decided to go to Target with the two kiddos. It's funny to me, first of all, that whatever we decide to do kind of becomes our entire morning. If we all wake up between 6:30 and 7, it takes until at least 8 to get all three of us ready, then getting all of us into the car, then getting us into wherever we're going, and back again by 11 for lunch and Henry's nap at noon...you get the point. It's not like before where Henry and I would go to a million places to run a million errands- now I have to be choosy and very deliberate with our time. Maybe it won't be like this forever, but right now, in month one, it all takes lots of planning. But anyway. Target.

So we arrive right after they open, and I have a plan in mind, since I have to return a rather large lamp somehow too. I decide I'm going to park by the carts, bring one over to the car, put Charlie in the wrap, then get Henry in the cart, put the rather large lamp in the cart, then get us all inside. But then, because it's so early, all of the carts are still inside the store except for one lone red one, way out at the end of the lot. I have no choice though, so we park all the way in the middle of nowhere and make do. Cart. Kids. Lamp. Walking all the way across the parking lot into the store. But this is what I mean. This is our new normal, the planning, the thinking about everything before I do it. And then so much more too. Henry is the sweetest boy in the world but also very smart and very...spirited. So sometimes I'm in for a trying time if my dear wild man decides to be extra wild.

I laugh a little to myself though as I type this, because it is getting easier by the day. A lot easier. And I know that we're only four weeks into this new world, and in a few months all of this will seem so distant, and it will all become so everyday. But right now this is our new normal- planning and adapting and hoping for the best. And it's funny to me because even when I think it will be a disaster, I'm most often surprised by its smoothness. And of course when I anticipate the best, sometimes I have to steady myself as things get a little crazy. Life.

So. Here's to growing into this new role as a mama of two- lots of learning and falling and getting up again as I figure it all out...and I'm grateful to have you all along for the ride.