Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Gaiva

Okay, I know that in the scheme of things three kids is not so many. I know one lady in town who just had her fourteenth. I know plenty of people whose response to having only three kids at home is, "Now is my time to get things done!" But for me, having three is still pretty new, and if I manage to get ANYTHING accomplished when they're all home and awake, I'm pretty proud of myself.

So, I will say with no modesty whatsoever that today I [sound the trumpets!] went erranding with all of them at once--Barak and Iyyar in the double stroller (which again has a flat tire after a visit to the Car Man just two days ago--I need to go to the Bike Man, I think) and Avtalyon in the Snugli inside my coat. We went to the barbershop, where Barak had a desperately needed haircut; the drugstore, where we finally printed out some pictures; and the produce store, where I put Iyyar in the shopping cart, had Barak (sort of) holding the shopping cart, and did a $60-worth-of-groceries shop so as to be able to have them all delivered tomorrow morning. (No more meals turning up miraculously at dinnertime, alas--time for me to start cooking again.)

Then I came home, nursed the baby, set the big boys to a table of Play-Doh, and started some rice cooking; nursed the baby, put away laundry, nursed the baby, and supervised clean-up (Barak cleaned up his room all by himself! Really! And he did at least as good a job as any adult other than me would have!); nursed the baby, fed the kids dinner (strawberries, bananas, brown rice, and hard-boiled eggs--weird, but not unhealthy); got the boys into pajamas and back at the Play-Doh (reward to Barak for excellent cleaning up). Then I nursed the baby some more. Then Abba came home and supervised teeth-brushing and potty trips; I nursed Avtalyon again, and he's been asleep for the last two hours in his very own carseat in our room. Then I made dinner (rice, vegetable and peanut butter concoction a la uberimma) for MHH, with enough left for his lunch tomorrow. (I can't eat it--too many onions, and they'll make Avtalyon cry. So I got rice parve chicken nuggets and bananas.)

Whew.

And now, some pictures. Who on earth could this be?


It's baby Avtalyon, looking very very interested in... something. What, you ask, could be fascinating him so?

Why, my sock yarn collection, of course!
This bodes well. This bodes very, very well.

7 comments:

Alisha said...

Maybe he's trying to decide which colors he wants for his next sweater. The one he's got on is snazzy, indeed. Did you make it?

Unknown said...

The photos are not showing up for me, I'll check later.I was quite comfortable with two children. A bit cocky even? However, the third added an element of chaos that two could not. The third child, even my very mellow girl, was the biggest adjustment.

miriamp said...

I think three is the hardest. Three is the point where you run out of parents (for one per child) and run out of hands (one per child per person, especially when other parent is not currently available) and run out of space on your lap (well, I only have two knees, even though we have managed to squeeze three children on at once, it's certainly not comfortable!).

Three is when you really have to learn how to juggle. I have 8, and I'll tell you, the two to three transition was the hardest. Any child after that (should you have more) the juggling is much easier. There's still the transition period of having a new baby during which everything is harder anyway, but then the fourth just sort of slides into the household routines and life goes on pretty smoothly.

And could you figure out what's wrong with the pictures? I'm just seeing empty space, and I want to see pictures!

uberimma said...

I don't know what's wrong with the pictures! I see them fine. I'm sorry! If you still can't see them let me know and I guess I could email them to you. They are awfully cute. :)

LC said...

I can see one picture of a very cute baby who appears to be wearing a hand knit sweater, but alas, the sock yarn photo is just an empty box with an x. Seeing as how I do not know how to knit, and how cute the baby is, I'll take what I can get.

And while I agree that the adjustment from 2 - 3 kids is definitely harder than 1 - 2, my opinion beyond that is colored by a 5 year gap, so I'll defer to those who know better.

shanna said...

I can see both pictures! But this post is a few days old already.

MiriamP, knowing your #2 and #3 children (and numbers 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, though the last couple not so well), I would venture a guess that the relative natures of #2 and #3 played a role here too. Which is not to say that I don't love #3 to bits (as she well knows).

Jasmijn said...

Well, I think 3 kids is the equivalent of 30, and I admire you tremendously for not hiding behind the couch and trying to stay very very quiet, which is what I'd be doing. Even if they were all my own dearly beloved offspring. And if I had a couch.

What a day. When the kids are grown up, you could take a break by commanding a division or two in any given armed forces.

Really, you have it all: logistics, hygiene, morale, and mission accomplishment. They send people to lots and lots of schools to teach them this stuff.