my full plate.

life is full. i've been alone several times this week, and am surviving. the days are not so bad. basically because our schedule hasn't changed to much- we still have our morning routine (which i am constantly trying to improve on) and are doing our home-schooling, but mostly we are surviving because i have mastered nursing while walking around.
i figure it burns twice the amount of calories.
everyday there are still struggles though. my biggest puddle to wade through right now is to work on not yelling. there's the yelling when i am on the couch nursing trying to get someone's attention (usually to stop fighting or to have someone race outside and get henry to stop doing something unfortunate- aka, heading for the street) or the loud un-loving words that come out of my mouth as my children push me towards utter frustration.
and it makes me sad for many reasons, 1- that i have such little self-control that i cannot keep myself from constantly making the same parenting mistakes, and 2- that little wilder is hearing his mama have a pretty unhappy tone way to much.
its not all bad. its pretty good (however the last 2 nights that i had to manage solo had some un-fun moments and my first everyone crying at once catastrophe) its just when i see the bad spark up in me it seems to undo the good.
at least everyday is a new day. i can apologize to my children for losing my cool, and move on to the next thing. i can look at my new baby and think about his gentle spirit before i open my mouth. i can remember that my children are sinners just like me and they haven't been given a spirit of self-control.
and i can ultimately remember that i will blink my eyes and this will be over. even as mason came and kissed wilder this morning, looking at her little brother with such affection i thought, "she's going to be a mama someday". and that someday will come faster than i realize.
outside of the day to day routine of children, cleaning, laundry, cooking, and the other multitudes of homemaking, i have other things sorting through my brain. like the constant paranoia that every little cough my baby makes could be whooping cough.
or the fact that my application for becoming a lactation consultant has been accepted, and that i now have 2 years to complete 500 clinical hours, take 45 hours of breast-feeding education, and another long list of tasks to complete, and still awaiting to hear when i will start peer counseling at our wic office.
oh, and we are doing a handmade holiday (super excited) so i will be making all our gifts.
and christmas is less than 100 days away.
and a week in washington for thanksgiving.
co-hosting a soup night with my girlfriends, and getting ready to plan out my 2nd annual handmade holiday party.
and wanting to really enjoy the holidays with my kids this year.
and exercising and dieting. because i would really like to slim down.
hmmm. i thought taking a few minutes to blog would make me feel a little bit more relaxed, not a little bit more overwhelmed. that's ok. sam took the older two for an errand and its quiet here (except for the sounds of screaming children at recess at the school across the street) so i think i will finish my christmas list (its almost done) type it out and promise not to change it.
but first, maybe my Bible, and another cup of refresh tea.