Learning to Fly

I'm going to be honest (and all you seasoned parents of multiple children are going to find this amusing)...just a few short weeks ago I was completely overwhelmed with the thought of being alone with all three of my children at the same time.  To be real honest, I was scared of being left alone with just two of my three children!  We had gotten so used to having an extra person at the house to help right after the babies were born that even the thought of just Tony and me caring for all three of the kids at the same time was a little much.  I've never in my life taken care of two newborns at the same time for more than a few hours, let alone taken care of two newborns and a two year old...24 hours a day, seven days a week.
I remember the first time that I was left alone with Caleb and Wren.  Tony was at the hospital with Judson, awaiting his release to come home, and all of my helpers were enjoying a much deserved day of rest.  The morning went by mostly without a hitch, but when Tony called to tell me that it would likely be after Caleb's bedtime that he came home with Judson, I panicked.  I called my sweet mother-in-law (who had already spent much of the previous two weeks with us), almost in tears.  As I was starting to ask her to make the hour long drive to my house to help me, I said something along the lines of, "I guess I have to figure out how to handle this sometime, but..."  As my sentenced trailed off, she said, "Well, yeah, I did it with Tony and Brent [Tony's older brother]..."  I know she would have dropped everything she was doing to come over right then and there, but I also knew she was trying to tell me that I had to face reality and learn to manage my own household...alone.  It was then that I knew that it was time to leave the nest.  If not now, then when?  I told my mother-in-law that I would call her if I needed her but that I was going to try to handle the kids myself.  And so I did...mostly.  Granted, there was a temper tantrum that resulted in Caleb peeing in the floor out of spite and there was one point when all three of us were crying, but we all survived mostly unscathed.
It may have been a bumpy start, but since then, we've learned to spread our wings and fly (even if there are some unexpected nose dives every now and then).  Tony and I have each been alone with one, two, and three of our children, and it seems to be getting easier.  I've learned that two babies is really not much different than just one baby (or maybe that's because ours are so good?).

And I've also learned that toddlers can actually be quite helpful (with the right motivation and if they're in the right mood).  Sometimes their idea of "help" may not be the same as ours (e.g., carrying a partially open and leaky container of barbecue chicken sideways all the way from the kitchen to the bathroom so his weary mama could have a snack), but at least they try. 

Shortly after Judson came home, I made my first outing with Caleb and Wren to a local park where we walked on the trails.  While Wren slept in the stroller, Caleb and I had a great time enjoying nature.

 We've even all been out to the park and store together a few times.  Such trips usually start with Tony and me looking at each other thinking, "Are we really about to attempt this?"  Sometimes I just break out laughing because of the absurdity of it all ("Is this really happening?  Are we really driving a minivan with our three kids loaded up in the back?").  Preparing to go on these outings usually takes more time than we actually spend away from the house, but at least we got out for a while.  It doesn't always go smoothly, (Yesterday, we arrived at the park only to realize that we forgot Caleb's shoes and the double stroller for the twins.  Oops!) but we're making it!  We can do this!  Even if some of us have no shoes on...Even if there is a trail of barbecue sauce staining the carpet through our bedroom...
Thanks for nudging me out of the nest, Sheila!