day twelve...

I had a pretty good day today. It started with a coffee date with one of my best friends. As we chatted and sipped our warm beverages, I remembered what fun it was to have an adult conversation. One of my main reasons for wanting to write a daily blog was because I need a creative outlet that I don't always get being a stay-at-home mom. I want to stimulate that part of my brain that comes from developing the random thoughts bouncing around in my head into something tangible, something I could see. It's not always easy to commit those thoughts to paper or in this case, screen. Sometimes I feel that in the six years since I started having babies, that my brain has turned to mush. I have come to realize that while the part of my brain that can form complete sentences and have intellectual conversations without losing my train of thought have become a little rusty, I have instead been developing other parts of my brain.

For one, I have vastly improved my problem-solving skills. I can fashion a diaper out of a roll of duct tape and a Shamwow in a pinch. Or if Finlay's hungry at the exact time I have to leave to pick up Ava from school, I can plug my breast-pump into the cigarette lighter, pump while driving, get out at a red light, prop Finlay's bottle up with a rolled up blanket, and she can feed herself while I drive. Also, my navigation skills have improved. I have learned how to get anywhere in town without having to pass a McDonald's or an ice-cream shop. I can also get to all the stores I need to in the mall, without passing the indoor play-ground or the Build-a-Bear. I have also improved the risk analysis part of my brain. For example, if I leave Ava in charge to take the world's fastest shower, the damage they could possibly do to the house or each other in two and a half minutes is minimal, right? I also use cost benefit analysis on a daily basis, as in, if I give Declan my iPhone to play with and he breaks it, was it worth it for the five minutes of peace and quiet I got before he threw it across the room. And answering questions like "what are ghosts made out of?" and "how did Finlay get in your belly?" have kept the creativity/ improvisational part of my brain sharp.

While, I do find myself forgetting what I walked all the way upstairs for or what phone number I just dialed, I have developed what I like to call my McGyver-mom skills, the skills that can keep four kids alive for a good week with just the contents of my diaper bag if we ever got stranded in my car in the middle of winter. And that to me seems more valuable than being able to discuss what might be going on in the world. I mean, if something huge happens, I'll learn about it from Moose and Zee, right?