Being Needed

There are some nights that I crawl into bed and think where in the world did the time go today? Sometimes it feels like all I do is hop from one person who needs me to the next, trying my best to keep everyone satisfied.

I found this little gem on Pinterest, and oh, how true it is! 

Take Saturday night for example. After being at a softball tournament all day, we got home and--

Charlotte needed to nurse. 

We all needed to eat supper which meant I needed to cook it. 

While trying to cook, Charlotte got upset and needed her mama. 

She also needed me the entire time I tried to eat my supper. 

Then the kitchen needed to be cleaned. 

Drew needed me to cut his hair. 

In the middle of cutting his hair, Charlotte needed her paci, Livy needed the bathroom light turned on, and then she needed more toilet paper. 

Zoe needed more dog food. 

Both girls needed a bath. 

Needless to say, I needed to lie down after all that! --See what I did there? 

I'm not saying I do this all on my own. Drew helps me tremendously when he's home. He probably doesn't even realize how much help he truly is. But there are just some things that kids need their mamas for, apparently. I guess you could say that if Dad is the head of the family, that would make Mom the heart. Dad leads the way while Mom keeps everything flowing. 

This Mom is the nurturer, the chef, the boo-boo fixer, the dish washer, the snot wiper, the art teacher, the patty-caker, the maid, the laundry folder, the diaper changer, the chauffeur, the bubble blower, the hair stylist, the milk cow (Ha!), the pharmacist, the teeth brusher, the peek-a-booer, the grocery shopper, the toenail painter, and the list goes on... 

It would be really easy to complain. But they need me. Nobody else, just me. My husband needs me and my daughters need me. All for completely different reasons, mind you, and usually at the exact same time. Whenever it starts to feel overwhelming, I try to think of what the alternative would be.

Charlotte needs me to feed her again. Would I rather those days be passed? When those special bonding moments that only she and I share are gone? No, of course not!

Olivia needs me to break off a piece of tape for the 48th time this morning so she can hang up her latest masterpiece on my bedroom wall. Would I rather her not have the ability to draw all of those marvelous creations? Or just not be interested in art, period? No way!

Drew needs to go on yet another overnight business trip leaving me by myself with the girls without a break. Would I rather he have a different job? Perhaps one that didn't allow me the freedom of staying home with my girls? Absolutely not!

Sure, the examples I just gave can be quite demanding... But being needed is not all tiresome. Sometimes Olivia needs me to muggle with her while we watch Little Einsteins and share a milkshake. Sometimes Charlotte just needs her mama to hold her while she sleeps. And sometimes Drew needs a romantic night out with his wife, reminding me that I was his wife before I became their mom.

It's wonderful to be needed. 

Exhausting. 

But, oh, so wonderful. 

My Friend, Mom

Livy has been saying this a lot and it melts my heart every single time...

My friend, Mom.

One night Livy helped me cook supper. We made country fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, baked beans, and biscuits. She really did help me a lot. It's fun, and extremely helpful, having some extra help in the kitchen! When Drew got home, he said,

"Livy Lou, did you cook me supper?"
"Yea! ...with my friend, Mom."

I don't know if there are any sweeter words to hear from your daughter. I hope she always thinks of me as her friend, Mom.

Lean On Me

"Aww, Mama, you're tired?"

"Yea, a little bit."

"You can lay your head on my shoulder if you want to..."

(Can't say no to that! So I curled up with her...)

"See, I told ya you could! Ohh Mama, you're my favorite Megan!"

She is just so sweet and compassionate!

Best Friends

Yesterday, Livy told me,

"Mama, you're my bessssst friend! Just like Gaspard and Lisa!"

I just love to hear her say that!

Midnight Ramblings

Livy had an exciting day yesterday. Drew and I had to be in Shreveport early that morning so Annie had volunteered to come watch Livy while we were gone. 

Livy had gotten sick the day before, had a bad cough, and was breathing really short shallow breaths so I called first thing yesterday morning and made her a doctors appointment for 1:15. While we were in Shreveport, Pappy and Annie called and said they were taking Livy to the ER because she was having such a hard time breathing. Her little chest was pumping so hard. So of course, a little panic set in for Drew and me. We were an hour and a half away!!! We raced back home as soon as we could, met them at the hospital, and then took her to her doctors appointment to follow up with what medicines she needed to start on. Her doctor looked at the chest X-ray and thought that Livy's right side looked a little questionable... like possible pneumonia. So she prescribed medications to treat it as if it was pneumonia. While we were there, they gave Livy another breathing treatment, and she did so wonderful! She sat up on that exam table all by herself! Livy has never been a "sick child" but lately she's had this same problem of difficult breathing. Her doctor said if this problem continues, we may have to get her tested for allergies/asthma. Hopefully all this will clear up soon and that won't be necessary! 

She had her hands in her "pockets"... the girl loves pretending she has pockets like Daddy!

 

Goofy! Can you tell she was running fever? No? Me either... She's wild!

She said she looked like an elephant.

Poor Drew has been working such long hours this past week. Between going to bed super late, waking up super early, and getting up and down with Livy during the night he hasn't gotten much sleep lately. So when he woke me up last night and asked if I would switch out with him and go lay down with Livy, I felt terrible. I didn't even know he had been up with her! When I walked in, this is what she said:

"No, I want daddy!"

"Baby, daddy is sleepy. I'm gonna lay down with you for a little while."

"But daddy's helping me look for my mother."

"I'm right here, baby."

"No, I can't find my mother!"

"Livy, I'm your mother. You know that."

"No, you're mama."

"Well then who is your mother?"

"Punzel's mama."

"Rapunzel's mama? Mother Gothel??"

"Yea! I can't find her!?"

And then a little later she rubbed my back and said,

"Aww, you're doing a good job, mama!"

I guess she thinks I'm a good sleeper? 

Even when she's sick, she is just the funniest little thing! I can't even put into words how much Drew and I love her. There's lots of times that we just sit around staring at her and laughing. Everything she does is just precious!

Moms & Dads

Tonight at supper we were talking about Mother's Day, and we started quizzing Livy on who our mothers are. She actually understood it a lot better than I thought she would. She said Gran is my mom, Annie is Drew's mom, and then she wanted to discuss Rapunzel's mom... (Not her real mom, just Mother Gothel). Then we moved on to discussing our dads and this was her conclusion:
"Pappy is daddy is daddy is daddy."
*Thought about it for a second...
"Yep, sounds right to me!"

Also, at story time today, Mrs. Susan was talking about Mother's Day with the kids. She went around the room asking each kid why they think their mother is special. When it was Livy's turn, she said,
"Because my mama sings with me!"
Oh, I love her so!

Little Mama

"Mama, I gonna go lay down with my baby. But I will not leave her, ok?"
"Ok, Livy."
...a little while later...
"Mama!! Come here!"
I walked in our bedroom to find her all cuddled (or muggled, as Livy calls it) up with her baby doll.
"Aww, y'all are so sweet! You're such a good little mama."
"Yea... Take a picture of us!"