that.day

When you have your first baby, it is absolutely crazy how much your life changes. How your sleep changes. How you orient your days around feedings, diapers, and nap times.  Moments happen like... you are dressed, she’s dressed and then she has a diaper explosion...or vomits all over your dress, her perfect chosen and matched outfit.

 Then add number two- and your mama brain multiplies instantly into two. You are thinking through needs/ schedules and care for two littles.

       all.the.time.

 And then there was three. And the biggest difference is that you no longer have a moment. I know that there are mamas of 5, of 4…of 12 ! but having 3 little girls 4 and under… it feels like there is never a moment to just sit down.

  Our family headed up to Zahle on Friday for us to be able to visit some friends and for me to do a small clinic.  But let me unpack that sentence for one moment.  Waking up early...breast feeding, throwing some laundrey in, giving the girls baths, feeding breakfast, packing up clothes, thinking through meals and snacks…disciplining, mediating, carrying babe around…getting into the car. We had to run small errands before we actually hit the road- and at last we are on the road.

 But the road is closed. Blocked. Family members  of soldiers who have been kidnapped are protesting and have blocked the main road from Beirut to Zahle. So then we re- route. We find a back way. It takes us about double the time and we arrive in zahle, tired, hungry, and that little babe needs her mama to breast feed.

 Mama feeds her and then loads the car full of medicine and heads to do a clinic. The clinic is busier than normal and I don’t have anyone there with me. ( normally I have Melanie helping me pray for women) It is rewarding and sooo draining to see these women and children.

Finish the clinic and get taken on some home visits of people too sick to come to the clinic. And finally end up in my good friends home in which we do a bible study and discuss how Jesus heals the sick man lowered from a roof by his friends.

 I head home after being gone from 1:30- 6…and little babe needs some love and her mama.

    I breastfeed her and then we are out the door to give the other girls some energy release and grab some dinner at our favorite Lebanese place.

 ( best moment:  a lebanese bridal party entered in as we were leaving. Sophia was exclaiming and gasping “ wow, she is so beautiful, princess. I want to det married like her. Wowwww”

 We get home at 8, the girls are toast, and Drew is off to go visit his friend, as he had the girls all afternoon. But I realize that Hope never had her cereal that day. No big deal, she is not suffering from malnourishment. I start to feed her some rice cereal.  She happily eats it, while other girls are melting and needing some mama love.

 I try and give her a little bit of medicine so she is “done “ and can go to sleep.  I am have a clingy two year old and a exhausted 4 year old at my feet. Babe decided to projectile vomit all over me, herself and the clothes I was going to wear in clinic number 2. Sigh.

  No hot water in the house, have to boil some for her…have to redirect the other girlies…please don’t step in the vomit…have to mop and disinfect the floor…have to peel of my soaked clothes and figure out how to wash them.

  After a bath, dressing, finding towels, and mopping floors… I am faced with three very.tired.girls.

   And a tired mama.

  We fall into bed and I shower them with kisses cause my brain is fried and I can’t think of stories, or even read stories. So we just fall asleep all four of us on the mattresses on the floor.

And that.was.my.day.