So so so Pretty

Today, Sunshine found the lipstick I keep in my purse...

In her own words, she looked "so so so pretty." This is the same phrase she uses to describe the "rainbows" she likes drawing on the bathroom mirror with her toothpaste spit.

 Her makeup kind of reminded me of a character from one of Cam's favorite movies...

So so so pretty, indeed. Pretty sure they'd look even more alike if I kept mascara in my purse. 

Well, after giving her a second bath and getting her dressed a second time, I went about my chores, fried some bacon to make bacon bits for my kale salads that I have been having for lunch, started some laundry...

Returned to the kitchen to find my plate of freshly fried bacon empty. Not a crumb on the plate. Just sad smudges of grease on my fiesta-ware, mocking me. 

In walks Sunshine, her shirt coated in bacon grease. So so so pretty. 

Outfit number three... and within ten minutes she's decided to open up Apollo's science kit, fill the beaker with water from the bathroom (toilet?) and pour it down her shirt. 

Outfit number four... we left the house to run errands and attend a special event to pick up free movie tickets to a screening of The Lorax... they gave her a smoothie at the event, which she dribbled down her shirt and managed to rub into her hair. I just let her be disgusting for the rest of the day... I was done. 

Sometimes, Cameron and I wonder how easy it would be without three kids... just coming home from work and having time to do simple things... like build planter boxes or paint furniture or even cook a delicious meal. Think of what we could accomplish!!!! We could knock off so many projects from our "to do" list in the space of a week!!! We could read books chapters at a time! We could  have uninterrupted sleep for first time in years- and sleep in on the weekends! Seriously, what did we do before we had kids, with all of that free time?

Now I spend my days bathing children who immediately become sticky and grubby again. I microwave vegetarian corn dogs and cut up pears and scrub lipstick from denim jumpers. I fish choking hazards from curious hands and rock crying babies to sleep. I  vacuum popcorn from the couch cushions and spend about two hours a day sorting toys back into their various plastic bins... only to have them dumped on the floor again. Toys are the bane of my existence. Especially small ones, like legos. I read books written by Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein (which is actually kind of awesome), and I stay up late and wake up early, even if I have the stomach flu... because I have to. I wash mountains and mountains of laundry. I work all day, and sometimes it feels like I have absolutely nothing to show for all of my hard work... 

... but then I remember what I DO have to show for it... and it's totally worth it. 

 I know it isn't glamorous, but I love my messy life. I love what I learn each day as a mother. I love bacon and lipstick, just like Sunshine. And I love my sticky, destructive, adorable little girl... even if she makes me want to lock myself in the bathroom and cry sometimes. In the right light, this life we have made together is so, so, so pretty.

Casualties

My cake platter:

My favorite turquoise lamp:

The base was made from wood I had spray painted, yet they still managed to break it. 

Sunshine's Head:

These are all the latest casualties of my kids and their shenanigans. 

Sometimes I wonder if I am doing something wrong when it comes to parenting. My kids are... well, they're.... hyper? I don't know if that's the right word. Energetic. Incapable of sitting for a sustained period of time. Spirited. Basically, they are Chernobyl... all of that energy can be very dangerous when not properly contained. And much like the Ukrainian government, I don't always know how to properly contain it.

Hence the concussion Sunshine sustained on Tuesday. She was leaping from the ottoman to the couch (a feat she does about 350 times per day- and I'm not speaking in hyperbole when I say that), she missed... and "Smack!" One semi-conscious kid, two freaked out parents plus a trip to the Hospital made for quite the adventure.

When the doctor finally saw her she was acting perfectly happy, trying to scale the hospital furniture and such... oh, Sunshine.

She was back in the saddle the next day, attempting the same leap. 

I wonder about those families I see at church and out in public, with the calm, soft-spoken children. Are they also calm, soft-spoken, relaxed parents? I'm not. I'm loud and neurotic. Cameron says I only have one volume and I'm pretty sure I passed that trait on to the kids. Do those calm-looking kids treat the couch like a trampoline? Do they get into fist-fights with their siblings and  draw in lipstick all over the mirror? Do they rub diaper rash cream all over the couch right after their mom cleans the cushion covers? Do they climb to the tallest point they can reach and then jump off? Do those families spend more in doctor co-pays than they do on food some months? 

I guess what I'm really wondering is, am I doing it all wrong? Does anyone else have a child who seems fearless? Any tips for surviving?

This could totally happen at my house: