It's been a long few weeks...

It's been quite a few long weeks for us. Scott's been uber-busy at work. And when Scott is really busy at work and working longer hours, that means it's long days for me. Long days turn into long weeks. Hopefully that should be ending soon.

These long weeks are pretty rough on me (cue the sad, poor-me violin solo now.) Now don't get me wrong. I love my kids. They are precious gifts from God. But three kids that are aged five and under is pretty exhausting. It's pretty much non-stop, someone always needing something, someone crying... from the time Jack trots into our room bright and early in the morning ("ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-time for breakfast, mommy!") until I threaten the boys at night to stay in bed. By 8:30 PM (when all the kids are in bed, if not asleep), I am ready and happy to collapse anywhere, including my apple juice-encrusted kitchen floor.

What gets me the most is the constant talking. The constant, ever-present, talking.

Mommy, watch this!
Mommy, can I watch a show?
Mommy, Cade took my Dinoco blue Lighting McQueen!
Mommy, can I watch a show?
Mommy, Claire is in my way.
Mommy, can I watch a show?
Mommy, why can't I have more apple juice?
Mommy, can I watch a show?
Mommy, Jack is throwing things. (side note: Jack throws things when he's happy
and when he's angry or frustrated.)

This morning, I could feel my patience wearing dangerously thin as I fielded all kinds of Mommy statements. requests and questions at breakfast. So I decided to design a scientific test: exactly how many times would I hear "Mommy" in the next ten minutes? If I kept track correctly, which I probably didn't since I was also doing 8 other things at the same time, I heard my name 33 times. That's 3.3 times per minute. It might not seem like such a large number when looking at it on a computer screen. But man. When it's all day, every day, it's a lot.

OK. I'm done having my self-pity party. Carry on with your day!