Getting Used to Normal

So much for posting anything in a 'day or two'. At first I was procrastinating because I hadn't chosen a blog name for our youngest - who will be henceforth called the Butler (there's a story to it, but I'll get to that). Then it seemed we were catapulted into normal life.

Anyway, here's a rundown of the last 8 days.

Sunday the other kids spent with Grandpa and Grandma C. and went to meeting like any other Sunday. Except for when Sir went and got them for a quick visit to meet their little brother before returning them in time for naps. They came back later when Grandpa and Grandma C. came to visit that evening before the hospital visiting hours were over.

I didn't get any pictures of the initial reactions, I don't think I could have really, it was hard enough to watch three little peoples' faces at the same time without worrying about getting a 'good picture'. Dolly walked in all bubbly with excitement - she knew what she was going to find and couldn't wait. I think she remembered seeing Emma for the first time. PC came in, all eagerness and almost in a state of amazement at the wonder of actually seeing this 'baby' he'd been asking for for so long.

And Emma - well, I wondered what her reaction would be and it was priceless. She came in, curious - probably more because the other two kids were so excited than any other reason. Sir lifted her up beside my bed where I was holding the Butler, and the look of shock/reality/irreversibility of this new thing in her life that flooded her little face was incredible. It was like it finally sunk in that this 'baby' we'd been talking about for so long was another person that was going to be part of her life - forever. In a few seconds, she recovered her composure, and was all excited like everyone else seemed to be.

We had enough time for each of the kids to hold Butler (I did get pictures of that) and then Sir had to whisk them back to meeting so they'd be able to take their naps.

Dolly's turn


Proud PC



Little Miss Emma

By the time we got checked out of the hospital Monday, it was just after noon. Grandpa and Grandma C. were keeping the older three until after their naps, so it was just three of us for the afternoon. I was still on an adrenaline high and kept tidying up bits and pieces of the house. I think I finally unwound enough to take a nap, but it wasn't very long in the end. Grandma C. brought supper when they dropped the kids off - one of my favorite meals actually, so it made the first evening at home pretty simple.

Tuesday was the really slow/lazy day that first week. Sir was home from work and Grandma C. and Uncle A came over for the morning to help out. They brought supper with them so I got spoiled by no cooking again. I took a nap, and sorted through the baby clothes. Being able to put the baby girl clothes away and narrowing the boy stuff down to the sizes we'd be using for the next while really made a difference in the functionality of the living room. Wednesday I did laundry and bathed kids like usual and we took Butler to meeting for the first time that night. After that, the week whipped into a blur.

Holding Butler at home

Thursday Sir went back to work, and PC had a speech appointment in the morning which I'd totally forgotten about until Sir checked his calendar Wednesday night. Thankfully Grandma C. had planned to come over and was able to stay with the rest of the kids while PC and I went to his appointment. She brought supper again and had lunch all ready to eat when PC and I got home. That afternoon Sunflower dropped by with a casserole supper and some DVDs that her kids had outgrown. The casserole made a great lunch on Sunday and the DVDs have been quite a luxury when it comes to keeping the older kids happy while I'm busy with Butler. Friday, Sir worked from home since I had scheduled flu shots for him and the older kids for that morning. Then we had enough time to come home and have lunch before I dropped Dolly, PC and Emma off at Lily's house and headed back to the hospital with Butler for his well-baby check-up. He had gained an ounce from his going home weight, so the doctor was happy. When I picked up the kids after naps that afternoon, Lily sent supper home with me!

Saturday, I took Emma in for her 2yr pictures (a month and a half late). She was finally facially intact on a Saturday. I've had to cancel picture appointments twice since her birthday due to how she manages to crash into something and end up with a bruised or otherwise marked face. Of course we'd been home from her appointment all of 30 minutes when she ran into the doorway of her room with the whole side of her face, so I was glad we'd finally gotten the pictures done already. Aunt Knittery came by with supper that afternoon, and brought a paint set that the kids completely fell in love with - they've spent hours playing with it and we haven't even had it for a week yet!

The little-ests

Sunday we were still adjusting to getting four kids ready to go somewhere and into the car with enough time to get anywhere on time. That has been the biggest difference I've noticed between 3 and 4 kids so far, but we're slowing getting the feel of it.

By Monday (yesterday), I was a walking wreck due to lack of sleep. Butler does not like to eat and get it over with like the rest of my kids did. Or at least, so far he hasn't seen the necessity of it. He likes to take an hour or more to have a meal taking a few cat naps throughout. It makes for a really long night between 11 and 4 when he mixes that in with 'awake time', tummy aches from gas and sharp-edged bubbles that refuse to be burped out. One of these days we'll work out a functioning system, but until then, my sanity seems to depend on how well the older kids take their afternoon nap thus giving me a chance to sleep as well. HisLady brought supper over for me that evening, and when Sir got home from work, I got to leave the older three kids with him and join the ladies at Lily's house for a 'Ladies' Spa Night'. It was so much fun and SO relaxing to be anywhere without hearing "Mom-my,...". Definitely a treat!

So, that basically concludes our first week with the Butler - I've been spoiled rotten and haven't had to cook a supper for quite a while now. I'm sure it'll be quite the shock to actually have to do something one of these days, but it has been nice. In fact, our kids have taken to asking at each meal, "Mommy, did you make this food? or did you just warm it up?" Once they've discovered where it came from they'll finish with, "Thank you for making/warming up this food!". It's really cute to see them resolve to thank the cook the next time they see her, but I have a feeling they usually forget in favour of playing with their friends!

The story of the Butler:
When I met Sir ten years ago, it was when he was traveling places with Chasm. His friends called him Sir - evidently it'd been his nickname for years already. Anyway, Sir and Chasm each had an imaginary 'servant' - I think the guys claimed Winston and James to be butlers - possibly chauffeurs, although from the way they talked to and about these servants, they seemed more like the personal servant that a nobleman of old often had. Winston was Sir's servant and over the years he'd drifted into the dusty archives of memory where Sir and I all but forgot about him entirely. Then we picked out a boy's name for our baby, had our second son, and named him. Two days later... it dawned on us that we had our very own Butler. And that solved the blog name search for our newest little one. He will be referred to here as the Butler, or probably in most cases just 'Butler'.
The end.