Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Give me a break!!

When Mariah and Brinlee were little;


I used to take them
EveryWhere.
I did not let their nap times or feeding schedules
keep me from taking the world (and/or the mall) by storm.

Even when Asia the whirlwind came along;


I would still take them everywhere that I needed to go; even 
though it was slightly overwhelming, at first,
to have more kids than hands to hold onto them.

I had never been able to understand
those moms who wouldn't take their kids anywhere;
especially if it interfered with naptime
(heaven forbid)!
Even when Tatum joined our
circus;

I forged ahead with my double stroller at
Pearlridge Mall and the Waikele Outlets
(our 2 favorite places to wander at!) and they knew
those malls like the backs of their hands!

Once Roxelle stepped onto the scene;


the 3 oldest were in school and
I was back down to having only 2 in tow again.


And they were
SO easy
to take along!  
I even took them with me to the elementary school
several times a week to volunteer and all the teachers
and staff knew us as well as the regular students!!

Then Grant came.


Poor little boy gets the shaft!  
Almost from birth he had debilitating skin rashes. 


This made it so hard to take him places with a raging skin problem.  
He required so much care and treatment.  


Then at 6 mos, we found out he is allergic to peanuts and eggs.
I was terrified of him sitting in a cart where
some other kid could have been eating a
peanut butter sandwich
or peanut butter cookies
or even a Snickers bar.  
So I chose to leave him home.

His birth was simultaneous to Will accepting
his current position in the ICU doing the night shift.  
This has afforded me the opportunity to
be able to leave Grant home.
I knew I could put him down for a nap
with the baby monitor in by Will and have a good 90-120 minutes
at the store before he would wake up.
Will has always been so fantastic
about stepping up and letting me have time to run errands by myself;
even when he may have worked 3-5 nights in a row (sometimes 6!!)

I have spent the last 2+ years
loving
being able run errands
without
a diaper bag, snacks, toys and blankies in tow.
I will not feel guilty
for enjoying even an hour at the grocery store
or a couple of hours at the mall by myself or with a friend.
If this is what it takes to save my sanity
so that I can be present for my
6 children


when I am at home;
then so be it!  

Give me a break.
Literally. 
I need it and I deserve it!!