Mommy Juggler - An Exercise in the Rediculous

Sometimes being a mom of four with a husband who is never home is just an exercise in ridiculous.  I often find myself in a balancing act, not a figurative one, like an actual honest to goodness balancing act.  I have to balance time.  I run from activity to activity, school functions, doctors appointments, church responsibilities kids in tow, a bag full of electronics, snacks, toy, and books to try and stave off boredom.  I have to balance children.  Multiple children at a time, tiny tots and the olders.  I'm always in a rush, I'm always under stept, I always probably look crazy, but like any great circus performer the show must go on.  Most recently the need for my skills appeared at the Green and Blue Banquet for the cub scouts of our stake.  A certain Older in my house was receiving his wolf badge.  He had worked really hard to push through and get all his stuff done in time for the banquet.  We'd gotten into scouts last summer and done pretty much nothing.  When at the last awards ceremony he didn't have any awards to receive mom guilt kicked in and I start having him work on projects every day.  In less than two months he had completed all the wolf requirements and was ready to receive his award.  His completion culminated with the Green and Blue Banquet, a stake affair where all the cub scouts in his troupe would be meeting for dinner and awards.  It was on the North Side of the city, a fact that I find exceptionally annoying but will leave for another blog post.  It took probably an hour to get there, while only twenty or so miles away the North Side traffic is horrendous  even on a Saturday afternoon.  The one positive, Dr. J and I had looked at several houses in that area and while I dragged along in stop and go traffic and construction I thanked my lucky stars that we choose the house with the shorter and more convenient commute.  When you have very little time with your family wasting any of it on driving seems like a crying shame.  We finally got to the building.  It was then that I was faced with my first problem in acrobatics.  While driving Peach had fallen asleep.  Now the thing you have to understand about Peach is naps are of the devil.  It turns a normally adorable, slightly stubborn girl into a tiny terror.  Think irrational ogre child.  So she was upset and I was carrying a crying three year old and a fussy 15 month old.  We got into the meeting and found our den.  GG ran off to chase kids around the stage.  Captain E went to the bathroom to change into a scout shirt.  Peach cried, she screamed, she insisted in sitting in a chair that wasn't hers.  TT kept trying to escape.  A friend from our old neighborhood came up.  She gave me a hug and teased me about my boisterous children.  Finally it was our turn to get food.  Peach was still crying.  I was carrying TT.  I was trying to keep an eye on Captain E and GG and make sure that they didn't spill plates of Sloppy Joes as they went down the desert and sides table.  TT was fighting me to get down.  Peach was clinging to my leg actually sitting on my foot crying her eyes out.  I was literally dragging her along.  My friends took a look at me and started laughing.  It was so ridiculous :)  "Kodak moment" my friend Michelle with three kids said.  Luckily my friends came to the rescue.  They took a kid, they helped me carry food.  We made it through the line and back to the table.  Once the kids start eating everyone settled down, even Peach Pit became Peach Jam.  We got to see Captain E get his award.  Captain E we are so proud of you.  I love watching you in scouts, camping, crafting, running around with the boys.  I might look crazy running after you guys, juggling time and babies but when I see you guys doing all this cool stuff it is worth it.

So unfortunately I have no picture of my dragging Peach along but I have this lovely one from Christmas, just me juggling the babies!  Mom, I'm a magician!