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!!

4 comments:

Jennie said...

You deserve more than a quickie trip to the mall! I started having a girls trip every other year about the time by second one was 3. I was a better Mom and wife coming home from them. They helped me remember I was Jennie, not just Mommy, wife, dry cleaner, house keeper, (did I mention Mommy?) Tutor, chauffeur, etc. Even if its an over nighter to your Mom's or sister's house, I recommend it. :) Remember. You DO deserve it.

Unknown said...

This is such a nice way for me to learn more about your family since we just became friends. And you do deserve a break ;)

Unknown said...

Don't we all! I was the same way with the first two...I may "only" have four, but I try to work around nap times now, and try to go to the store when I only have the two youngest, or better yet- at night when they are all in bed, or on a Saturday morning-(I might even sneak in a "quick" trip to Jo-Ann or Maurice's "on my way" to the grocery store). And I feel even better when I get in a sewing night at a friend's house by myself every now and then. So cheers to a mother's sanity and ability to SHARE THE LOAD!

Emily said...

Kristy,

My motto is, whatever works! As Mom's we deserve a few minutes to ourselves, we need them! Whatever it takes to recharge our batteries- do it. You are a great Mama, just keep holding on! Your family is adorable and growing up way too fast!!