So Adam and I are still figuring out how to take all 3 of our kids out of the house without losing either our minds or one of them.  This is not an easy thing to do.  Without fail, it usually ends up with Nathan being punished, Trace falling asleep in the van, me wishing that I had remembered to bring an extra shirt for Chloe...and Trace...and myself, and Adam and I arguing about something that I am sure is not really worth arguing about.
I love my husband.  I know it sounds all sappy and cliche but he truly is the one that I have waited for my whole life.  There is no one else in this whole world that I would rather be partners with in this looney-bin they call parenthood.  We have made such a great life together...we understand each other...we balance each other.  That last part, even though it's wonderful, can also get a little tricky from time to time. 
I am a go-with-the-flow, take-things-as-they-come kind of person.  It is my professional opinion, as a stay-at-home-mom, that you absolutely have to be when you have 3 small kids.  Adam, on the other hand, not so much.  He tends to get stressed out about little things...especially when we are all out together.  It doesn't help that whenever we go out, our children choose that exact moment to act like we keep them locked in their closets the rest of the time.
I know that he means well and he just wants our kids to be well-behaved.  Unfortunately he hasn't quite figured out yet that the more stressed out HE is the more stressed out everyone else will be too.  It makes everything 10 times more difficult when he is on edge. 
Last night around 7:30 we were all packed in our van.  We had just left the one place on the face of the earth that can make a person, without kids, need to go drinking...Wal-Mart.  We had already run several errands and had a few more to go.  By this time, all of the above mentioned things had taken place.  Nathan was being punished.  Trace was slumped over in his carseat...poor thing.  Chloe had drenched herself in spit-up.  Adam and I were arguing about his inabillity to relax when we are out in public.  During all of this, it hit me like a ton of bricks...EMBRACE THE CRAZINESS!...gasp
That's right...embrace it.  Why not?  Craziness is not just a part of our lives, it IS our lives.  What would be the point of fighting it?  We do our best to keep our kids in check when we are out but they are KIDS...we can't control everything they do and everything that happens.  If someone has a problem with us, they can come talk to me but until that happens, I am just going to be proud of my crazy life.  So, I got bold and just looked at my dear, suffering husband and said, "Honey, if you are going to survive having 3 small kids, you are going to have to learn how to embrace the craziness." 
I already know that I am never going to be one of those moms who has it all together.  Most days I am simply doing what works.  My kids are never going to be the kind who will simply hold my hand and walk next to me in the store.  Why would my 5 year old simply hold my hand and walk next to me when he can pretend to be a race car instead?  There is so much to gain when you relax and fully embrace the truth.  And the truth is that I am now one of those parents that I used to look at and say, "Why can't they just control their children?"
I would much rather encourage my kids' imaginations and have them remember that I was happy and was able to have fun with them then try to make my life fit into someone else's box.
So, let me encourage all of you...embrace the craziness!  Be proud of your crazy life!  Who knows, you might even start to LIKE it?