Turns out I'm not a superhero, and I still need my mom!

I never really thought that I was a superhero, let me say that first.  I think I did get lulled into a false sense of security when people would make this comment to me a lot, "I don't know how you do it!  3 kids under 5 while your husband is gone."  I don't think being a parent to 3 kids is that big of deal, being a parent is hard work, even if you have both parents under one roof.  Parenting is supposed to be a challenge.  If it was easy then what would we have to laugh about somedays?  It is a privilege for  me to be a mom to Rory, Brendan and Jack, and yes it is a challenge.  So sometimes when I think about all the people who have said to me "I don't know how you do it", I really do want to take it as a compliment, I think, but then I think, you are clearly not in my house at 3:30pm until 8pm...then you would be wondering how have these children not been taken away from their mother yet?

Of course I am kidding, but any parent knows that kids "witching hour", no matter their age, always strikes at dinner time, and my house is no different! This is a daily occurrence, always has been, always will be, but it's in this time that the phrase "I don't know how you do it" keeps popping into my head, and that's when I really hate it.  I feel like I'm not suppose to lose my cool, not suppose to raise my voice when Rory won't acknowledge anything that I say to her, not throw my hands up when Jack has dumped yet another box of Life cereal on the floor and is sitting in it making "cereal angels", not want to feel like a total failure when I can't understand why Brendan is screaming and I can't figure out why, and he can't tell me.

A few weeks ago I would say I hit rock bottom, not Charlie Sheen rock bottom, but my bottom.  Both of the boys had croup, I was going on day 5 of little to no sleep.  That's when I made the call to my Mom.  I asked her to come out, that I needed help and I thought that I was losing my mind...sleep deprivation will do that to you.  My superhero Mom then said "let me book a ticket" and I swear 20 minutes later she sent me her flight confirmation. 

I know that she wished I would have asked her for help earlier, but when you keep having people tell you "I don't know how you do it"  you feel like you should be able to do this, especially when this is deployment #5 since I have known Bryan and deployment #3 since we have had kids.  So yes, it is hard for me to ask for help, and honestly anyone who knows we well, knows this.  I know my Mom could hear it in my voice that I needed help, but she also knew that I have the greatest neighbors in the world, and I would be more likely to ask them for help then to ask my parents to buy last minute tickets and fly half way across the country.  Never doubt that your mother knows you best!

I promise that their visit could not have come at  a better time, they may think differently as we had an unexpected 8 inch snow dumping!  For the first snow storm this winter I didn't have to worry about how I was going to shovel out the driveway without having to run back inside every 10 minutes to settle some disagreement between the kids, or get someone a snack or a drink.  I was also able to get about 10 meals stocked in our new chest freezer with Mom and I taking turns cooking!  I was also able to get several nights of uninterrupted sleep.  By the time I had to drop them off at the airport I was able to think clearly again, and I had my wits back!

My Mom will always be my superhero, and the kids think that Mammy and Kip are pretty special too!