More Lucy Than June

I feel like I’ve spent the majority of my life as a mommy just trying to “figure it out”.

Is she ready for a nap? Is she hungry? Do I wake her up or let her sleep? Could that be an ear infection? Time out or spank? Am I letting them watch too much TV? Am I exposing them to enough culture? Do I help her or do I let her figure it out on her own?

Here’s a secret. I’ve NEVER FIGURED ANYTHING OUT. We just kind of muddle our way through it, and all the while Mommy is praying she doesn’t mess the kids up TOO bad. (Nothing a little therapy and large amounts of chocolate couldn’t fix, at least…)

But now…we’re in this very new stage.

I’m not used to it yet. (Of course, it’s only been three days, but still… Change and I have never been great friends, ya know.)

It’s DIFFERENT not having McKenna here for at least SOME part of the day everyday.

Caia cried (and shattered my heart into a million pieces) the first two days that Kenni was gone.

The day we dropped her off at school as a family and we walked out of the classroom, she kept asking,

Where’s Kenna? Where’s Kenna? I need Kenna.

When I explained to her that Kenna was at school and that we would come get her later, the crying began.

I need sissy! I need sissy!

Which is funny to me because for the past two weeks all she and “sissy” have done is fight and scream and argue.

But absence apparently DOES make the heart grow fonder, because when McKenna finally got home today, they played and talked so…SWEETLY. Aaahhh…

But that still does not soothe the unsettledness that we’re feeling a little bit during the day around here. We’re not quite used to it just being Caia, Jack, and I….so we all kind of sat around like something (or someONE) was missing.

And she was. She was at school having the time of her life!

I’m not sure yet how to order our days with this new schedule. I know one thing’s for sure, I spend 90% of the morning preparing to get everyone dressed and going. And by the time everyone has on everything they need and teeth and hairs are brushed, it’s time for Jack’s morning nap. (Little feller still takes two naps…which, in and of itself, is bizarre for me because neither one of the girls were still taking two naps at this point.)

We’re all going to have to start getting up a little bit earlier around here. And folks, the Parrises are NOT morning people.

Things could get real interesting around here real fast if I start imposing early-morning-mom-induced-wake-up-times.

For now, we’re just sort of fumbling our way through this week. (It’s been less than ideal anyway since we only had one car….but, I have an amazing God-story about how He worked everything out for us, and my (not so)beautiful blue van is sitting in my driveway tonight!)

Maybe by the time school gets out for the summer we’ll have our new schedule figured out.

And we’ll know what to do with our much quieter selves now that “sissy’s” away (not) learning at school.

That’s what she’s told me. That she doesn’t LEARN anything, cause, you see, she already KNOWS it all.

Land sakes alive.