Keeping it Reals...

Going from a week of having neither children nor pets and adjusting back into a life with three busy boys and two new little kitties...well, it's a bit of a shock to the system, to say the least.  And not necessarily in a bad way really....  Just more of a "Whoa!  Oh yeah...  This is reality...last week was NOT real life kind-of-a-way".

You know.  It is what it is.
When Kev left for work this morning, our conversation went a little like this:

Him:  How you doin'?
Me:  Just kind of easing in.
Him:  I'm not sure there's any way to just ease back in around here.
Me:  Duly noted.

Insert picture of a "birthday gift" from Dad.  A skull of something found on one of their adventures. 
I shall treasure it forever...

Here's a little bit of the breakdown from the time we did the "Hoolie Exchange" yesterday until about now.  Let's see..the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all went a little something like this:

The Good:  Ransom pooped on the potty for Grammy three times this week!  Nice...considering I haven't even begun the potty training process yet.
The Bad:  He came back to me with some funky Hand Foot and Mouth crud that's been going around.
The Ugly:  Not sure where he even got it or how many kids he's exposed in the meantime.

The Good:  I got pickles started in the kitchen sink before we went to pick the boys up.  Very proud of myself for getting them started so early in the day.
The Bad:  When they got home, Ransom was playing in the sink....(I forgot about the pickles, or I never would have let him up there)...and at one point I looked over, and my precious cukes and onions were covered in soap bubbles.  Fantastic.
The Ugly:  I made the pickles anyway.  After a long, long rinse off in the sink followed by a re-distributing of the pickling salt, I went for it anyway.  Don't worry.  They're labeled and will not be given out as gifts.  I promise.

True story.  Here they are.

The Good:  Mom and the boys picked me some sweet brown eyed susans for our table's centerpiece.
The Bad:  Jesse was "crafting" at the table this morning and his project flew across the table spilling the entire vase of water.
The Ugly:  My kitchen had a small ocean in the middle of it first thing this morning.

The Good:  We have brand new little baby kitties, and the boys are head over heels excited.
The Bad:  One has a bit of a "tude" and keeps hissing and growling at everyone.
The Ugly:  I actually called the shelter back to see if I can trade out.  The owner said I could, but I'm suffering from Adoption Guilt.  I'm going to give her a few more days to mend the error of her ways...

The Good:  Our girl kitty came with the name "Lucy," which I think is adorable.
The Bad:  Jesse wants to change her name to "Charles."
The Ugly:  The fact that Jesse wants to name his girly cat "Charles."

The Good:  Mom made me raspberry cobbler and dad made me fudge for my birthday.
The Bad:  Well, you know.  I don't have a whole lot of self control when it comes to my Dad's fudge.  And I already told the boys we could have cobbler for lunch. 
The Ugly:  I'm on my fourth piece of fudge and it's only noon...

There's more...but suffice it to say ~ The boys are indeed back in town!!
And it's good.  This  - the right here and right now - is life as I know it.
The crazy with the good.
The pockets of peace with the wildness.
The sanity with the utterly insane.

Motherhood is a crazy thing...

When they are with me day in and day out, I feel like I might indeed go crazy, and then when they are away from me for a couple of days, I miss them like crazy, too!

They have ruined me forever, these boys of mine...