Biscotti in my Nightstand

After I shared my last post, a friend asked me when I find the time to read. Well…in all honesty, my sanity depends upon me finding the time to read.

This kid: so proud of himself.
He owned that PBJ.

Today, for instance, I spent the afternoon reading Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple. I'd read a few pages, break up a fight between the boys. Read with my book in one hand, stack some blocks for the twins with the other. Read with my book propped on the table, shovel some cheerios in the general direction of one or more gaping mouths.

"Rock climbing" keeps us all on our toes.

I'm not excusing or encouraging my behavior. I'm just stating it like it is. Because some days I need a little break from being myself (and potentially the four sweet faces that terrorize me). And you know what? After I finished my book, I cooked a healthy dinner for my family, tag teamed with the Man to get the kids ready for bed, and had meaningful conversation with all four kids that included eye contact and snuggles. I think they will survive.

I love this terrifying tornado.

And I will too. Partially because instead of forcing myself to be my version of a "good mom" (and probably end up doing so grumpily), I let myself be me today. Sure, tomorrow I'm hoping I'll actually get laundry done and knock out some school work with Littles, but for today, everyone survived and at the end of the day, everyone knew they were loved. That'll do.

Dueting. I really hope that this will be more melodious in a few more years.

In the meantime, I've been thinking about those little things that we do to keep ourselves sane. For instance, I hid a slice of biscotti in my nightstand the other day. It's sealed in plastic, so it's safe from the ants, hopefully, but it's my own secret stash. Even if all the chocolate in the house fails me, I know that biscotti has my back. There's something comforting about its presence among the random pens and pill bottles and chapsticks and hair ties.

Bee does not discriminate based on lack of twin-liness.
But she will scream at you until you push her high chair up to the piano.

I also may or may not be hiding half a bag of chocolate kisses somewhere in the house. I'm just telling it like it is. With four kids, five and under, all gunning for me, it's good to have a significant stockpile of caffeine and/or sugar available at a moment's notice.

Picture blurry and my hand still in evidence
but proof that at some point there was a hairband on her head
…for all of the two seconds it took to take this photo.

And in case you think this is an over reaction, I will just say that the other morning, Bruiser was having eggs for breakfast and mid-bite he decided to spray overly masticated yellow slime all over the entire dining room, the dog (who was filching bacon bits), and me. Shudder.

Perhaps a more positive regrouping choice than escapism or over-caffeination.

Also, Bee took her first steps today, and if Bruiser decides to follow suit, I'm really going to need to get creative on the sanity-sustaining front.

He conquered the monkey bars.
Tiny, don't get any ideas.

So let me know if you have any other suggestions for ways to keep from losing my mind other than novel-reading escapism and squirreled away chocolate. I'm always looking for new ideas. Oh! Coffee! I also do that a lot. But it's hard to determine if that makes me more or less crazy. How many cups have I had today…?