K.I.T.

One of my favorite movies ever even though Heather Graham is in it.

Ahhhhhh!  Life is so crazy right now.  I was so looking forward to the start of the school year after a pretty nauseating and exhausting summer, but now that it's here, I can barely keep afloat. 

With a new school year comes tons of school meetings (both at work and at my kid's school), the busiest two weeks of work in a long time, the start of soccer season, and the hunt for what-to-do-with-Maggie-while-we-have-to-be-at-work-and-the-boys-start-school-but-Maggie-doesn't-start-until-next-week. Answer-she's with the baby at the nanny's house.  Oh daycare costs for two is so not fun.

So we had uniforms to size and sort (thank God for hand-me-downs and generous siblings and friends), lunches to pack, backpacks to clean or buy, soccer balls and shin pads and cleats to purchase or locate, orientations to attend, book sales to run, huge payrolls to stress over, budgets to plan and execute, CCD talks to write (Phil), grad classes to study (again, Phil), and the rest of life to contend with.  Oh, I also have this little problem where I am dizzy/light-headed/breathless all the time.  And this morning, I awoke to find Maggie hanging over the toilet saying she felt sick.  I asked her to flush what was mellowing in there so she could at least stare at a clean bowl.  Then I went to try and find just one outfit that still fits before I have to pull out the old maternity clothes at 10 weeks. Yes, this is my life.

But I'm not complaining.  Ok, yes I was complaining, but I'm not now.  Because this is my life.  This is our life.  This is the life we signed up for when we got married and vowed to accept children lovingly (not easily! not for kicks and giggles!) and God blessed us with these five, soon to be six, little lovies to care for.  

And this is the life we signed up for when we both decided it was best for our family to have full-time working parents (because, as it turns out, being able to afford a roof over our heads and put food on the table IS best for the family).  

And this is the life we choose every.single.sports.season when I giddily sign up my babies for the sports they so love to play, then later crack under the pressure of 4 games and 3 practices each week! 

This is also the life we choose when we continue to be open to life even though it makes for a sick Momma and exhausted Dad who has to pick up all my slack.  

But, you know what else?

This is the life we hoped for back when we were engaged and would daydream about our future.  

Six kids in 12 years of marriage?  Yes, please!  

A loving marriage where both spouses are loyal to each other and the Church's teachings?  How did we get so lucky?  

A crazy, loud, messy house full of little people who are half me and half Phil and 100% unique and pretty much the best people we know?  Where can we sign up?

And so, we're keeping it together.  Maybe just barely on most days, but it's working.  Because this is our life, these were our dreams that became our reality and you know what?  This is the good life.