2 Kids

Faith took the two older girls to a puppet show and her house this afternoon and Lorelei was still asleep when she left so for a little while, the only one I had to take care of was Liam! Even after Lorelei woke up the noise level in the house was so much lower! The girls were gone from about 1:30 to around 5:30 - all while I was making dinner. It was really nice to have that break, although I must admit, Molly and Maggie aren't really the bulk of my childcare work at all. They do add to the noise level and of course there are disciplinary issues every once in a while, but as far as care goes, that would be Lorelei. Liam requires a bunch, but he isn't nearly as demanding as Lorelei is. I mean, I've known this since Lorelei was born, but this afternoon just drives the point home. Having just two kids (or even one!) isn't that much of a break if Lorelei is the one you're taking care of! I really love that little girl - she can be so sweet and loving and she's so expressive and funny, but, boy, is she high maintenance!
We got another kind of break this evening when we left the kids with Dawn and went to a church meeting. Even though it wasn't "fun" time, there's still such a relief at knowing that you don't have to listen for anyone either (the kids were in bed, or in the process of going to bed). I didn't realize, though, (before I was a parent) that you can never stop thinking about your children. They will be on my mind every day for the rest of my life.
Molly was copying words from a dictionary the other day and I thought they were an interesting set of words: autonomy, bridesmaid, captor, canopy, carol and book. I don't know why she picked those words.
I feel like Maggie really gets lost in the shuffle and has been ever since Lorelei was born. Though we have 4 kids, Maggie is more the middle child than Lorelei is. I feel bad for her. She has her little quirks that we have to deal with as far as discipline goes, but she tends to be a little quieter and less forceful than the other two girls. Lately she's been telling me "I'm trying to hug you!" when I'm in the middle of something and she seems to be underfoot. I'm pretty affectionate with the younger two kids because I'm picking them up a lot and it's natural for me to kiss them when I do it or hug them while I'm holding them, but since I don't pick up Molly and Maggie very often anymore, that sort of affection has fallen by the wayside. I still ruffle their hair when I pass or give them a squeeze if I'm on the floor or reading them (only Maggie these days) a book, but it's less often than the babies. Of the two older girls, Maggie is by far the more affectionate and I used to cuddle with her all the time, so I know she's feeling the shift of physical affection. And she's not as verbally astute as Molly is, so she's not always clear when she talks and that makes it harder for me to do something else while I'm talking to her. I feel like I have to focus on the conversation completely to really understand what she's trying to say and I don't always have the time to do that. Maggie's such a sweet girl, but I feel like the neglect is starting to change that somewhat. I try to make time for just she and I, but that's hard when there are 3 others waiting in the wings. There's definitely jealously in all 4 of our kids. They'd love to be only children, at least when it comes to my attention. I feel like having siblings is good for their character, but I don't want them to be any less sure of my love for them. And I don't want them to feel like the squeaky wheel always gets the grease - in most cases, that's Lorelei. *sigh* I never knew being a parent was so hard.
I've got to get this basement in order. It's a big mess right now and it's not getting any better under the girls' efforts (or lack thereof). I guess I'll do that tomorrow while I'm doing laundry. And the kitchen is a mess again thanks to the very yummy dinner of minestrone and key lime torte. So I've got to do that in the morning as well. It never ends.
Oh, well, I'm off to watch So You Think You Can Dance with Dawn.
ttfn!