I love my job.

[Sarah [APPARATUS]]

How many people can honestly say that?
I totally love my job. It really doesn't feel like I go to "work" everyday. Perhaps because my job involves little to no "work".
I'll walk you through a "typical" day...
1. I get there. The 2 older boys are at school. The 2 year old triplets are sleeping. Depending on the situation I may pick up toys, fold laundry, Swiffer vac the kitchen, empty the dishwasher, get 3 juice sippies ready for when they wake up, get 3 milk sippies ready for dinner AND/OR hang out and read, watch tv, or even take a nap myself. (I told you...this isn't really "work"-like)
2. 1, 2, or all 3 of the toddlers wake up, hopefully not too soon. If 1 wakes up especially early and won't go back to sleep upstairs, I bring him/her down to sleep on the couch with me.
3. Time for juice sippies and snacks on the floor. Cheetos are their favorite, but tend to make for orange hands and mouths and whatever they happen to touch.
4. Playtime!! Today mostly consisted of going upstairs (all bedrooms). We were running up and down the hall screaming and opening and closing the doors, jumping on the beds, opening and closing drawers, and playing with the hampers (the pop open kind). Let me just say right now, kids are really funny. They find enjoyment in seemingly trivial things like pushing the "find handset" button on the phone or pulling out kleenex after kleenex. However, I found the enjoyment and had a good laugh today when they were walking around with the hampers over their heads (kinda like ghosts) and knocking each other down...in the hampers, though they tried, they couldn't figure out how to get up again or how to get their body out. Maybe you had to be there, but I was amused, as were the kids for the majority of the time.
5. Mom bring the older boys home from school. Since their birthdays in Sept and Oct, they sit and play Mario Kart on Nintendo DS (they each have their own) unless they have lost their game for being bad. For some reason, Andrew loves to just sit next to them and watch them play.
6. Get cleaned up for dinner (usually just washing hands). Tessa's usually the first one to the bathroom when you announce it's time to wash hands. She could probably do it all by herself except the soap is too hard for her to pump. Occasionally, 1 of the little boys will come when you call, but at least one of them I have to carry to the bathroom and go through the motions with. The older boys take a couple reminders.
7. Put in their booster seats for dinner.
8. Make sure everyone behaves during dinner.
9. Get/receive hugs and kisses goodbye.

There are also at least 3 diaper changes in there someone. Most days I come home with "snot shoulder" (a term I've coined for the unavoidable snot or drool marks you get around the shoulder area of your shirt when carrying/hugging a small child). Needless to say, I am always wearing easily washable clothes and always have a spare set in the car. There are days when they're sick and/or cranky and/or won't listen, so it's not always fun and games. It can be stressful at times. There are 3-5 of them and 1 of me...you do the math.

I am responsible for the LIVES of 3-5 children on a daily basis, and there have been some nasty scares. It's totally worth it, though...there are way too many good times to pass up something like this. For the most part, it really doesn't feel like a "job", and I feel pretty lucky that that's how I get to make my living.