The Dukes Wild

Wow. Here we are over a year later and of course as usual I've not even touched this blog. We seem to be finding a smoother routine with a new baby in the mix. Life isn't quite the chaotic mess it was two months ago.
I was snuggling Maddox today and as I had his squishy cheek pressed to mine I thought "THIS is what I want to remember" So hopefully I can take more time to write on this blog so that in two years when he's screaming I can remember that squishy baby he was. Or as I was taking a bubble bath with the girls this morning I looked at Skylars hair before I washed it and was taken back by how gorgeous the color is. Dark reds to white blondes, it's beautiful. If being a parent has taught me anything, it's how fast we forget things. You think you'll remember every single detail of certain moments, but they fade quickly unless you take the time to write them down and take a quick photograph to remember. Here's hoping I can do that more often here. And a few new pictures of the girls with their much anticipated baby brother.

In an effort to get the dishes done without Sky's *help* I turned on the Disney channel. As I was scrubbing along I realized that it was unusually quiet. I looked over to make sure that no one had been smothered to death and they weren't doing something else equally as dangerous. I found them quietly next to each other in a unusual seating arrangement. I wanted to laugh as who would have thought that sitting in the laundry basket to watch Mickey Mouse clubhouse would be so great? And I also wanted to hug them. Sitting so quietly and obviously happy to just be next to each other. Sometimes mommy-hood is filled with little moments where you remember it's worth it.

Its 2am. I've also seen 9, 10, 11, and midnight pass tonight. Teething sucks.

So one thing I've learned about being a parent is that some things are futile arguments. There are some things like not allowing coloring on the walls I'm firm on. Or at least I am when I catch Nev at it. I realized today that there is an on going battle of the wills here in our house. Everyday we get up, have breakfast, and then get dressed.

Now the battle begins.

Nev wants to wear one thing, I choose something entirely different. She is a lover of all things *pretty* which includes dresses. Now I'm not against little girls in dresses. If it were still say even 70 degrees outside this morning fight wouldn't even occur. However now that it's winter time, little summer dresses are a bit impractical. She must put clothing on that covers the majority of her body. I'm not in the mood to take a toddler to the ER for pneumonia.
So we wrestle, she screams, and eventually as the larger person I prevail and she ends up with a t-shirt and jeans on. She stomps down the hall and waits until I'm pre-occupied with her little sister to promptly strip every ounce of clothing off. Little booger anyways. So it's not unlikely that if you come to our house at any given time this is what your probably apt to see.

After a little pressure from my little brother, I caved and joined blogger. My life consists of laundry and breaking up sibling disputes so it remains to be seen if there's ever anything too interesting to write about.