There was a little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead......

I think this world takes its stay-at-home mom's for granted. Especially those who have numerous children. I have no idea how they do it. When the little one is screaming out in pain or hunger or something, and suddenly another child is pooping all over the kitchen (she figured out how to take the diaper off....), plus the phone is ringing, supper is burning, and the dog is chasing some poor soul down the street, what do they do???

I can handle an ER situation with patients yelling, vomiting, and choking. I can run a code. I can keep my head together during an emergency c-section. But mothering a two-year-old and an infant is another story. It's like being on call in the psych ward. Only thing is, after a 24-hour shift, I don't get to go home and have a grain belt premium. I have to squeeze a beer in when they're both napping, if they are ever both napping.....

Speaking of the psych ward, our little Julia has been very bipolar lately. A professional would calmly call this a time of "adjustment." I would describe it as somewhere between Pollyanna and Animal (that crazy guy from the Muppets.) She will be very sweet and kiss Mary on the forehead one minute, then thirty seconds later, she'll try to kick her in the head. When we politely tell her to stop, she'll enter a full-blown temper tantrum, complete with throwing of anything within reach, kicking, and screaming. (Yesterday, the screaming lasted 45 minutes because she didn't want her toast buttered before the jelly came on.)

At any rate, we are surviving just fine. Mike has been working full-time, trying to get his six weeks of training in at St. Luke's. I have been home, and it's been cold and rainy, so we've been stuck in the house a lot. The girls and I are spending our days with lots of visitors. Some of my classmates' spouses came by today for two hours and entertained Julia (yay!!!), and then we went over to a friend's house for supper. On days without visitors, we have been going to the mall, where Mommy gets a coffee, and Julia plays on the little kids' rides where you put a few quarters in to make them go. (She doesn't know about the ride part, and mommy will never bring quarters to the mall.....) Or, we'll go to Abercrombie and Fitch and dance to the music in the front entry way. There's always a good beat, and if you can stand the perfumey stench, it's bound to be a fun time. The teenagers who work there either love us or think we're the weirdest people on the planet.

Sunday is baptism day. Allison and Mark Moldenhauer, Mary's godparents, will be bringing their family to stay with us starting tomorrow. We're in for a fun weekend.