Adding two kids at once: what it’s like

Things are going pretty decently here, all things considered. The kids are fed and clothed and regularly hugged and we’re taking walks and playing Dutch Blitz (was there ever a better game for the impatient sort like me??) and eating chocolate. And on a daily basis we’re getting smiles and hugs and chatter (increasingly in English) from our new girls.

I keep hoping they are feeling like Peter at the beginning of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe where after surveying the Professor’s house, he told his siblings, “We’ve fallen on our feet and no mistake….”

Of course I am sure there must be moments (hours?) when the non-stop English and the cheesy casseroles and mom’s s-l-o-w braids and the staid church music (no drums!) and the little sisters scaling their bunk bed and mom telling the little sisters to get OFF the bunk bed and — and just the sheer different-ness of everything– must get to them.

There have got to be times when they think longingly about Ethiopia. But overall (so far!) I get the impression they think we’re usually OK and that the food is mostly tolerable and that we often bring them interesting places and in some cases (bonus) we ourselves are even moderately entertaining.

I told my sister the other day that so far the thing I am feeling most overwhelmed by is the clutter.

That may not be strictly true. In moments when the girls are unhappy because I’ve made a mom-decision and taken them to the doctor or told them to get off the phone, it can be really stressful, especially with only limited English with which to explain my decisions. Wow, I want them to LIKE me. It feels as painful as eating chalk to refuse their wishes.

And yet, really, the clutter is a more frequent challenge. There are popsicle sticks on the deck and plum pits in the carpet, and toilet paper in the bathroom trash (an Ethiopian habit related to weak-flushing toilets in Ethiopia) and always the ever-present laundry all over the bedroom floors.

I go from heap to heap, calling children to straighten up, and then fluffing and un-mussing awhile myself, and tsk-tsk-ing at the latest surprising thing found in an odd place. Turns out, 10 kids is a lot– who’d have thought it? I am left feeling a tad frazzled some days.

The good news is that the expectations for our house are being gradually explained and I have hope that either the mess will diminish or my tolerance for mess will increase. We’ll see.

In the mean time I am trying hard to major in the majors while not letting them get away with doing something that is truly a big deal. If that isn’t a balancing act, I don’t know what is…

Related link: Big families and household organization

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