Are You Kidding Me?

“Are you kidding me?”
This has got to be one of my all-time favorite things to say. Said to express cuteness or the exasperations in motherhood…it’s a word that says it all.

I am a homeschool mother of seven and I will confess that at times when all of them are gathered in a room with something to say, it feels like a circus without a ringleader. But, I love and have grown quite accustomed to my number and noise level that can generate from such busy and noisy people. One thing is for certain; I am absolutely crazy about all that accompanies a child. I think of the time most recently when my my daughter, Belle, was four-years-old, came to me early in the morning dressed in a leotard and tutu. Her tiny, skinny body had the shape of a peanut, and her hair on the back of her head was fuzzy and gnarled from bed head. While using full expression of her face and hands, she told me very confidently that she was indeed ready to start ballet and if I could now go and drop her off at some lessons—she’ll wait in the car.

Are you kidding me?

 Another time when Belle was six months, I was throwing a fall party with seventy guests and she was crabby. I urgently needed to bake some pies, so I threw her in my papoose to keep her close and of course so she could see first hand how to make a delicious, flaky crust. When it came to rolling out my pie dough and flouring my work surface I noticed that with each roll of my rolling pin her lips would get closer to the counter. She decided that while she was there, take the opportunity to wrap her whole mouth around my island I was working on, almost like she was trying to suck on it like a pacifier. After completing my pies, I look down at Belle. What I saw was chubby cheeks, big brown eyes and a ring of flour around her mouth! She seemed happy to have obliged me that day and I was happy I got all my pies done. That year, I called them, “Isabella’s Apple Pies.”

I mean… is she kidding me?

On cold, winter days my children love dumping out tubs of blocks and/or Legos, building masterpieces and then skipping off after completion leaving the mess they left behind without a single thought. I noticed that they have an urgent need to explore as much ground they can in a single day stopping only for stomach pangs, arguments, and meltdowns. Don’t worry guys, I got the mess! 

Are you kidding me?

At our house you can always tell when summer is around the bend. When the flowers start popping up and the last drops of snow have melted that has always been my children’s cue to get out the “summer” box. I watch them as they scramble to reach for the musty smelling snorkels, fins and inflatable tubes because there is nothing like the first day of spring and forty degrees to go swimming. And what’s the deal with little girls in pigtails and swimsuits! Please. Someone give me a brown paper sack to breathe in—I can’t take it. And little boys with round bellies and swim trunks, is this a joke? It is always fun watching them because there is something about children and serendipity when outside on those first warm days after winter.

My oldest, when small, loved playing with figurine horses, drawing, and learning throughout the day in her underwear. It seems like only yesterday.With her pigtails and bucked teeth from her binkie obsession, we lived and learned together and made amazing memories. She’s now seventeen, and is showing her independence and still loves and rides horses…is she kidding me?

Naked chubby bodies in diapers, drool, new teeth, learning to crawl, walk and talk, toddler dramas, and costumes with capes worn at the dinner table. There are flip-flops worn on the wrong feet, mismatched clothes and one time while eating out at a restaurant, one of my sons, I think he was four at the time, wore a Spiderman scuba-gear mask throughout the whole duration of our dinner. His eyes were misshapen and could barely see (or eat for that matter) because of the tight suction around his eyes, but that didn’t bother him—for he was Spiderman. Their actions need no explanation because they are children. If you think about it, why wear scuba gear during dinner in public? Their answer is simple…why not?

These days that they are home with us are fleeting and I always remind myself this when my house gets hectic, loud, and crazy. For one day I will have the reality of my children being all grown-up. Abby, Maddy and Belle, will be grown women, and Taylor, Gabe, John Lucas and Brock, grown men…wait a minute, are you kidding me? I don’t think they are…

This is dedicated to my children: Abby, Taylor, Madeline, Gabe, Isabella, John Lucas and Brock. I love who you are and am enjoying every minute watching you unfold into who you will become.