What a 3rd Child has Taught Me

          As I have shared before, Emmett James was a COMPLETE SURPRISE BLESSING.   The story is  funny to me now, but at the time I was in serious shock.  I had felt sick and exhausted for many weeks, but attributed it to the craziness of back to school time and the stress of the passing of my grandmother.  When my pants started not fitting I told Mark I thought I needed to go to a GI doctor because there was definitely something up with my stomach.  The thought of being pregnant was not even on my radar.   It wasn't until I walked through the meat department at the grocery store and nearly lost my lunch that something clicked in my mind.   I remember when I found out I called my sister and the first thing I could think of was...." I am never going to leave the house again."  There were days when I felt completely overwhelmed with the two children we already had. I could not wrap my brain around having another in tow.
         

     

       Emmett has been such a gift to our family and he has taught me so much.  So this blog post is for him as I share how he has helped make me a better Mommy and Wife.  So here are just a few of the things I have learned from having a 3rd kiddo.  

1.  It will never be quiet.   

      It just won't.  Not in the car, not in restaurants, not in stores, not outside.  It's just never quiet.  Also, people will stare.  Some will smile. Some will ask questions, but many will just stare at you in disbelief as you are trying to sing your way through Target.   Oh well.  There are worse things. 

2. As long as everyone has clothes on, matching doesn't matter. 

    I have to admit.  I was one of those Mom's who thought their children should always match.  Shoes to clothes.  Bows to clothes. Shirt to shorts. Two of the SAME sock. Owen's shirt to Nora's dress on Easter, Christmas, etc. You get the idea, right?  Bahaha....all of that has gone out the window.  I am over the moon if Owen and Nora get dressed in the morning on their own!  We do try to pull it together for church on Sunday morning, but other than that....most anything goes. There just is no time to worry about what everyone is wearing. 

3.  It will always be messy.  

      I remember the first "play room" I made for Owen.  Color coded bins with matching labels to put the duplos in one, the cars in another, and animals in yet another.  Again....out the window.  Please....just throw the toys in the giant bin so I don't break my ankle! 

4.  Dinner doesn't taste so bad cold.  

       I truly do try to be organized, especially at meal time.  But 90% of the time Mark is not home for dinner. (or lunch, or breakfast)  The moment I sit down to inhale, I mean eat my food, somebody spills their milk, or needs ketchup, or needs to be convinced that broccoli is delicious. Ha.  But you know what, it's okay.  This is how it is right now and it is okay. Cold food still does that job. 

5.  It doesn't matter.  

      At the end of the day.  It doesn't matter what you got done.  If the house is spotless or looks like a tornado came through.  It doesn't matter if you made the most delicious dinner, or ate macaroni and cheese.  It doesn't matter if Owen made the toilet over flow and broke a fan in the same day.  It doesn't matter that Nora went through 5 outfits and there will be more laundry just because she needed a wardrobe change. (or 5) It doesn't matter that I have mushed banana and cheerios down my pants from my littlest love.  At the end of the day, it doesn't matter.    What counts are  the snuggles when they first wake up.  The stories before bed.  The game of tag in the backyard, hearing the kids shriek as they see Mom getting in on the fun.  

Emmett has taught me to let go.  Matching outfits on Easter Sunday or jammies on Christmas morning don't matter, not to me, not anymore.  Emmett has taught me to enjoy.  To not sweat the small stuff, or even the big stuff.  Emmett has been the biggest blessing to our whole family, but especially to me.  He has taught me that it is okay.  It is okay to have good days and bad days.  It's okay to forget things and for things to not turn out.  Maybe some of you learned this a long time ago, but it has taken me 3 kids and lots of chaos for me to finally let go.  

Thank you EJ.