Motherless

This was our first week juggling two kids without the help of one of our mothers. All I can say is that we are all lucky to still be alive!

I used to not understand how mothers would complain that they were not able to get around to cleaning their house. Oh how the tables have turned! With one child I didn’t understand but it is a whole different ball game with two! I cannot imagine having more or better yet being alive before all of our modern conveniences. How in the world did women get anything done?! As long as I didn’t have any tasks planned I could call the day successful for we were all still alive and fed! If I did accomplish anything it was just a bonus, like washing a few loads of clothes. Speaking of washing clothes, I am pretty sure I have broken a personal record for the amount of clothes washed in one week.

Whenever I think about all the tasks I would like to accomplish and get overwhelmed I think of a poem that my mother had up on the wall by Ruth Hamilton called “Song for a Fifth Child”

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
and out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
but I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

I really like that last paragraph. Knowing babies do grow up fast, as I have seen with my first child, I have tried to let things go. This has definitely helped my stress level especially on the lack of sleep stage we are currently in!

One accomplishment of the week was doing a photo shoot with my babe.  My friend that did the previous photography session, didn’t take any of him in the buff and I don’t blame her one bit! I was lucky that my little guy didn’t make a mess until after I had taken several shots. Isn’t he precious! Babies don’t keep! Cherish every moment!

Little baby hands!

I bought this adorable bear hat for the sole purpose of taking photos. I think it was worth it, don’t you?! Here is link to the Etsy shop I ordered it from if you want one.