My new life as a mother of three

Since Mariah was born nearly three weeks ago, I've beeen asked (SEVERAL times) how I'm doing with three now. I had heard from plenty of moms before that three is the absolute hardest because you don't have three arms. I've heard that that's when moms lose their minds . . . when the third child is born. All of this has had me quite nervous about this new adventure I have chosen. But I can report that so far, I'm surviving. I don't know if there's really any other word for it, however. I used to make to-do lists a week at a time. Now it's just one goal each day and don't look any further than that. If I don't set my expectations too high and just focus on being a mom to three kids, I can do okay. However, I know that as soon as I start focusing on all the things that really need to be done, I might have a breakdown. But I'll get to them all, just not ALL today.

A few things that have helped me get through the first 18 days: My mom took Connor and Mylie for 4 days, and then I went there to visit for 2 more. That was great and right at the right time when I needed some rest and recovery time. Secondly, Thanksgiving Break was nice. I just didn't worry about my house because I wasn't in it much. We had a great time with Tony's family! Third, Connor and Mylie have been as helpful as a 5 and almost-3 year old can be. Connor loves holding Mariah and Mylie helps get things for me all the time. They've also been playing really well together the past few days, and just 5 seconds ago, Mariah started crying and it was a sprint by those two to go "help her be happy." They're so cute with her, but a little too "in her face" at times. Finally, I think perspective helps me out a lot. For example, I don't worry too much about every cry anymore. I feel like I have better instincts now about when something is wrong and when she's okay. I know that when Connor was a baby, I was so uptight about every little thing, which made mothering difficult. Also, my perspective about nursing has changed a lot! I remember over the holidays when Connor was a new baby, I really resented the time I spent away from the action when I had to go feed him. This Thanksgiving, however, I welcomed the opportunity every couple or few hours to get away from the madness and enjoy a little peace, quiet, and one-on-one time with my sweet baby. Even at home, it's nice to have a good excuse to close myself in her room and just feed her.

Anyway, enough rambling. Since I am a mother of THREE, I'll give a quick update on each.

Connor: Connor loves basketball, building, and MORE basketball! He's a basketball junkie and doesn't understand why none of the friends he invites over don't want to play basketball for three hours straight, and then watch NBA highlight videos for another hour after that. He's very excited now that he can go with his dad to basketball practice and work on his "skills" on a ten-foot hoop. He also has two hoops and a floor with lines made of duck-tape in the basement, so he has spent hours down there. He tells me, "Mom, I've got to go do my basketball work. I'm going to be a basketball player when I grow up, so I have to practice every day." Then he comes upstairs periodically to tell me about a great move he did, and to have me feel how sweaty his armpits are and say, "I'm working TOO hard." Then he goes right back down, while I try not to let him hear me chuckling about how intense and cute he is. He wears basketball clothes (shorts and jersy sets with numbers) nearly every day.

Last Saturday, we went to Ogden and watched a Weber State basketball game. A former Mountain View player that played with Tony's brother, Frank, in high school is starting for them. Connor had a great time cheering for the Wildcats and especially Kyle Bullinger. He really loved this claw he got at the game as well as the poster of the team, which they all signed after the game. So cool!

Here is an example of the things Connor likes to build. He's AMAZING with lincoln logs. I sure couldn't come up with this design, and then building it is another thing!

Connor's Grandma Micheli had a bucket of dress-ups over Thanksgiving for all the kids to play with. Connor especially liked this wig. Here he is posing with his cousins, Caden and Jaxon.

Mylie loves everything GIRL! Pink, babies, barbies, and just this morning I heard her say something about Hannah Montana. I didn't think she knew about her yet. It's amazing what she knows without ME teaching any of it to her. She loves to dress up and is very dramatic about everything. When Mylie is hurt, you'll know it. If someone is mean to her, you'll hear about it at a high volume! The other day, she said to me, "Mom, when you're angry, you break my heart." I think that about broke MY heart! She's also VERY cute and talks so much. She keeps us all very entertained and we love her a ton.

Mylie dressing up at Grandma's house. She loves anything with frills!

Mylie had fun at the Weber state game, too. She always tells me, "Mom, I don't like basketball. I like volleyball." But there were cheerleaders, dancers, their mascot, and Mariah at the game as well, so she stayed entertained.

Here are a couple pictures of Mylie's latest haircut. I was worried that she would protest, because she'd been telling me that her hair was getting so long, all the way to her shoulders. But she sat still and told me she loved the haircut when she was done. I love it, too! I only do it about once a week, but the other six days, it's at least out of her eyes, and it doesn't look too bad either after just spraying, combing, and air-drying.

Mariah: She is such a sweetie, like newborns are! I suppose she's not strong enough to have a choice, but she just melts right into you and cuddles and cuddles. I love it! She's starting to be alert a lot more and look around and make eye contact. That's fun. She sometimes smiles, but it still seems pretty spontaneous. She reminds me a little of each of my other two kids, but I think she's a little more like Connor in her looks. In her young life, she's already been to two college basketball games. And with Tony's basketball season starting, I think gyms will be her second home for the next few months, and probably most of her growing up years. She may as well get used to it now. She's got a cold right now. But with the other four people in the house all having one, did she even have a chance? So far just a gross nose, which I have to suction out frequently. We had a rough night two nights ago, but last night, we put a humidifier in her room, and she slept 6 hours straight! Thank heavens! We both needed it. I just pray she'll get better and not worse.

Mariah's first basketball game was BYU vs. UCONN women's basketball. It was fun to see UCONN live. I've always loved their coach and they are amazing every year. This year is no exception, as they beat the Cougars by 50 points. Here's Mariah with her aunt Tessa, a basketball junkie and major BYU fan.

Mariah is growing really well. At 11 days old, she had gained 10 oz. already! I can see her growing and changing every day. Babies really are miracles! Here's a sweet sleeping picture.

Tony stays very busy teaching, coaching, and ranching when he can. He's also started another project: framing our basement. He's never done it before, but he's had some good help to get him started, and he hopes to spend most of his free time working on that. He's also a GREAT dad, and should have been mentioned above in my list of things that are helping me survive this new adventure.

As for me, I'm trying to be a good mom without forgetting who Taffy is. Here's what I mean. I've seen a lot of moms who when their kids are grown don't have any identity anymore. They're just Mom, and not Cindy or Suzie, or whatever their name may be. So they either become depressed, have a major mid-life crisis, or drive their adult children crazy by continuing to mother them since that's all they know anymore. So I want to make sure I do things that aren't mom things, they're Taffy things. That's why I'm making this post even though my bathrooms need to be washed. It's why I went to the BYU-UConn game even though I had to take a little baby with me. Now I understand that you have to make sacrifices as a mother, and I do, but you don't have to sacrifice yourself and who YOU are. My mom tells me that hobbies are the only way for mothers to keep their sanity. I believe this completely, both during the mothering years, and once the mothering years are over. So I'm trying to do my best at both . . . and survive in my new life as a mother of three.