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So, 31 years ago, I arrived in this world, a bouncing 8lb 2 oz baby girl, born to a young couple named Pat and Wanda.  6 years later, my sister arrived.  From late teens on, my sister  would get mistaken for the older sister, despite being 6 years my junior.  This continued throughout adulthood.  We would go to Las Vegas and I would get carded, not my sister.

Fast forward to today, August 13, 2008, my 31st birthday ....

My sister and I go to Chuck E Cheese with a group of mommy friends for a playdate.  Little did I know, my friends had planned for Chuck E Cheese, the mouse himself, to come out and sing happy birthday, complete with Care Bear and Ninja Turtle cupcakes for the kids.  Slightly goofy, but very sweet.

The day continues on and my sister and I decide to go use a 30% off coupon at Kohls for some back to school shopping.  Shopping with 5 kids (plus my sister's upcoming arrival, due in December) was chaotic, but we were getting some great deals, so of course it was worth it, until...

As we're checking out, the kids are fighting, the baby is crying, the chaos is rising, and in the midst of all of this, the cashier asks me........

"So are these your grandkids??"

WTH?!?!?!?!?!??!

YES, that's right, at 31 years old, I am apparently the grandma to a 9 yr old, 2- 5yr olds, 3 yr old and 3 month old and in conclusion, the mom to my 25 year old, pregnant sister??? UGH

So, yes, I started off my day as a kid, celebrating with friends at Chuck E Cheese, and in the span of 6 hours, I somehow aged exponentially, to be the grandmother of 5, with 1 more on the way.

Happy Freakin' Birthday to Me!

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This third child has taught me many things.  1) Don't say you have a great baby until after she's at least 6wks old.  2) Your breasts really can feed an army, or at least a baby that thinks it should eat for an entire army.  3) Typing 1 handed while NAK (nursing at keyboard) is actually not that hard after some practice. 4) Not all newborns just fall asleep when they're tired.

Miranda is a GREAT sleeper, as long as she is being held.  She will sleep through kids running through the house while yelling, "Nah-nuh nah-nuh nah-nuh, you'll never catch me!"  She won't bat an eye at the grande finale of the Bakersfield College fireworks show.  She will even sleep through an entire 2 hr free family film at Edwards if she's being held.  The problem is, she doesn't believe in sleeping if she's NOT held.  Now, I've heard it over and over again - she's spoiled....blech!  She has been like this from the 1st night in the hospital.  I've tried everything, trust me.  At 11 weeks old, she doesn't sleep in my arms at night (anymore), thank goodness!  She sleeps in a carseat propped in the bassinet that a normal baby would sleep in!  Okay, fine, I can deal with that - I'll break her of it eventually, at least I'm getting some night time sleep for now.  But daytime is a whole other story.

This lovely child of mine absolutely refuses to sleep horizontally during the day.  Heck she won't even sleep in the car seat during the day.  I was THRILLED the first time I got her to sleep in a swing.  Yes, me, the one who is like a sleep nazi - naps for everyone, in bed on time, angel care monitor for the newborn, all kids in their own bed, no co-sleeping, no movies to sleep, etc.  I did daycare for 5 years and I had daycare parents swear to me that their child refused to take naps and yet for some reason, they NEVER had a problem at my house.  So this lovely child is really pushing my limits in the sleep department.

Everyone has a vacuum.  Some are upright, others are canisters.  Some are self propelled, others are robotic.  Mine happens to be a maroon colored Dirt Devil.  It's several years old, bag-less and nothing fancy...or so I thought.  The other night, Miranda was not happy, at all, but I had to vacuum up crumbs, before the ants get them, from snack that Savannah decided to eat in the family room even though she knows that's against the rules.  I stuck Miranda in the swing and she is not happy screams.  But, it'll only be for a second, and unfortunately, as a 3rd child, she sometimes has to cry a little more than the 1st one did because I have other children to tend to as well.  I get the vacuum out, push the ON button and begin my motherly duties.  As I vacuum, I notice that I don't hear the screaming over the vacuum?  I look over to the swing and Miranda is completely asleep!  I couldn't believe it - she went from screaming to asleep in about 60 seconds.  I make a mental note about how cute she is and how she must have just been exhausted to be able to fall asleep like that.  Several days later, a similar scenario occurs only this time it involves the grass, kids' sandals and the carpet.  What do you know....she's asleep again!

After several more attempts at this phenomenon, I have discovered that the vacuum calms my daughter down almost instantly and if tired, will help her fall asleep very quickly.  In my midst of sleeping trials with her, I've tried noise machines, air filters, even the heartbeat bear, all with no success.  Apparently I didn't vacuum enough in her early days to realize what a magic piece of equipment I had here. 

So, if you call my house and I don't answer, but you know I'm home, it's probably because the vacuum is running and I can't hear the phone!  We're going to have the cleanest carpet in the whole town!  But of course, I can't let that happen, so I'm going to record it to a cd and set it really loud and on 'repeat' and hope that does just the same!

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The simple answer...because my memory sucks!    Seriously, it's been bad my entire life.  I oftentimes feel like I'm just going along for the ride in this thing I call my life and wish that I could remember all the details of my everyday existance.  As I was feeding Miranda (10 wks), at 10pm, for the 3rd time in an hour, trying to get her to sleep, I was wishing she would just grow up, get on a schedule, not cry every time I put her down, and not use my boob as a pacifier.  Then, I looked down at her peaceful little face, her beautiful little eyelids, the sweet pucker of her lips, and her tiny little hands, and I realized that my true wish was that I could remember this moment.  The one where she was relying on me, her mom, to help her get to sleep, to help her tummy feel better, to cuddle her and to love her. 

Because of my crummy memory, I'm afraid these moments are fleeting from my mind.  Miranda is my 3rd daughter.  My oldest is 6 and in those 6 short years, the memories of her infancy are few and far between.  Honestly, oftentimes, I think I have even fewer memories of my 3yr old's infancy for some reason - that makes me feel even worse!  So, I've decided to step into the blogging world.  I always swear I'm going to keep a journal to keep my memories alive.  I last a few months...well, maybe a few weeks....okay, if you must know the honest truth, I'm lucky to do it for a few days!  So, I'm starting this blog to hopefully make me stick with this.  What a wonderful way to remember the everday memories - good and bad!  These are the memories of my life and I don't want to loose them.