I am sure you know what I’m talking about. It’s about these days where you wonder what on earth have you done wrong to be part of Murphy’s “best of” collection. And of course this does not happen just whatever day. No, it happens when you’re home alone with 3 small kids!
But if you’re reading this in the hope to get some good advice or magical tips on how to handle days like these, let’s get something straight right away. When it’s you against the universe, forget the fight. Digg a hole, stay put and wait for the storm to pass.
Alarm bells should have been going off in my head long in advance. My lucky day turned out to be a Friday after a killing week at work for both myself and my wife. The kind of week where you’re agenda gets filled up with stuff by god-knows-who and you’re left to do your own work after hours. And so this morning, I was exhausted from the minute I woke up. On top both our companies had the great idea to put a company party on exactly the same day. Yes of course, today!
My party was a late lunch barbecue thing, while Angela’s party was an afternoon-evening thingy, so the kids were at my charge. 16h30 was my departure deadline (a little more than an hour drive to go). Purée (French way of saying s**t)! It was 16h30 already and I remember I am the photographer on duty and a group picture has to be made. Hurry hurry and it’s 16h55 when I step in my car, hoping traffic will be in my favor. 17h15 I call Angela to tell her I will not make it on time to school. 17h20 I feel bad for forcing Angela to leave her party (she had been sacrificing earlier this week, so she deserved her time off). I hit the gas, 17h25 I call her again to say I’ll probably just make it on time.
17h57 I race into the school. Lukas and Victoria are the last ones left, but I had seen a friend of them leave when I got in so at least they had some company to play with … “but daddy, you always come so late” is the welcome I get. Thanks Victoria for rubbing it in. It’s been a crazy week, haven’t spent much time with the kids and I’ve been missing them, so yeah rub it in some more. But of course she’s right, so I make myself a mental note to check my agenda for next week and schedule in a “get home super early” day.
Off to pick up #3 at the daycare. Half an hour later I’m home with 3 starving and screaming kids. Ok, let’s get efficient. Turn the oven on. Transfer pizza from the freezer to the oven. Make bottle for baby Elena. Catch the bottle on it’s way to the floor … wait a second … Purée! I just bumped a full bottle of hot water over my pants and on the floor. Exactly what you need while you’re having you’re 11-month old girl screaming her lungs out at 3 centimeters from your left ear.
Don’t remember what magic I did but some minutes and a new bottle later, we are feeding quietly on the sofa. While i have both hands busy, that’s of course the time that Victoria needs my help on the toilet and Lukas HAS to have his shoes removed by me right there right now. No, no discussion possible. Shouting alternately to Victoria to wait and to Lukas to calm down, I consider myself lucky #3 is silent with a bottle in her mouth. Some more magic later (nope sorry, no memories left of this either) I hang in the sofa, watch my 3 kids play and hope they won’t notice my batteries are running out.
About two hours after picking them up at school, all 3 are in bed and sleeping. It’s quiet in the house. Gosh these kids are cute when they’re sleeping! Sometimes people ask how I manage 3 kids, a fulltime job and a blog on the side. I guess my wife and me do fairly well, though every once in a while it’s life who manages me, not the other way around.
Well…I now understand why my man says one child is enough. But having one like mine is already like having 3 sometimes, so where would the difference be?
Beautiful kids, by the way, Stefan 😉
Hey Alix,
Thanks!
I understand how you feel, I remember when we still had only one kid, we were overwhelmed. Now that we have three it’s sometimes hard to imagine how and why we were so busy with just one. I guess all is relative 🙂