Sure I can Juggle

I never saw myself without a family. Even when my husband and I first started dating in high school I knew he was meant to be my husband and I knew I wanted a family. He always said he wanted 6 kids but after the first he scaled down to 3 or 4. HA! So I knew our house would be filled and our lives would be busy. I'm good at multi-tasking - I like having a lot to do. In school I always signed up for lots of activities and when I started work I worked jobs from home and started to teach. When Tommy was born I found having a baby is a new kind of busy. Your life becomes all about them and I loved it. After a few months we had a routine and we felt we'd be ready for baby #2 after Tommy turned 1. God had other plans and we waited for 3 1/2 years to welcome Allison. It was an adjustment to have a newborn and one in school. My days revolved around feedings and Tommy's school schedule. Some days were harder then others. Some days I woke up tired but as I discovered my sleepy mornings, afternoons, and evenings had more to do with being pregnant again than having 2 kids. It took a while for the shock to wear off and for me to come to terms with having a 4 year old, 1 year old and a newborn. How was I going to get anything done at home? How was I going to go to the store for food? How was I going to drop off and pick up from school? I stressed during feedings thinking about how was I going to be able to feed 2 children bottles at once? How can I give each of them the time they need? So many how, why, and whens entered my brain everyday. All those questions faded away on April 25th. Sitting in the hospital listening to the doctors after Tommy was diagnosed all the other questions just went away. It all seemed so silly to worry about now. The goal to learn all I needed to know to be able to bring Tommy home was all I was concerned with then. The day we came home from the hospital and I didn't have the nurses or the diabetic educator to turn to and make sure I was doing things correctly I realized my juggling act just got a bit more complicated. Tommy, who took pride in taking his lunch out, eating and cleaning everything up himself needed mom to look at what he was going to eat then mom needed to see what he had left on his plate. Going in the fridge and grabbing a juice box or grabbing a snack on the way to the playroom stopped. Luckily he adapted well and my juggling improved. As the months passed I found it easier to cope with the day to day strains of having so much responsibility.  Going to shop-rite with 3 kids isn't so bad and I find carrying 2 kids up the stairs to pick Tommy up is just a work out squeezed into my day. Meals are my toughest challenge and require the most amount of my juggling skills. Tommy needs his blood checked, he needs his lunch, and his insulin, Ally needs her lunch and Brady needs a bottle. It all sounds so easy but in the moment when you are adding carbs and Ally is asking for her milk and Brady is crying for his bottle it isn't so easy. I feel like I've claimed a victory for all moms when lunch is done. It's all over so quick and am thankful Tom is home to help with dinner. I live meal to meal - if I think about the whole day it's overwhelming. So can I juggle - sure - I've even learned to give insulin while feeding Brady a bottle - now that's talent.