how did this happen?

i can't believe these girlies are going to be 4 in just a couple of months...and i can't believe how much they've changed in year. here's their birthday from last year.

and p.s. for some reason it just hit me, literally like 7 minutes ago, that we will have 5 kiddos in a little less than 3 weeks. that's insane to me. how did that happen? i mean, not in a bad way, how did that happen, but really...how did that happen? i definitely don't feel like i'm 12 anymore, but 5 kids? funny thing that it took us having 5 kiddos to make feel like a real adult.

so i thought i'd commemorate my induction into adulthood by listing the things that almost having 5 kids has pushed me over the edge to finally do/come to terms with...and maybe i'll make a list of the things that i don't think will ever change...regardless of how many children end up in our family.

1. i've accepted the fact that i will wake up by at least 7 am for the majority of the rest of my life and it doesn't make me mad anymore.
2. i have FINALLY tackled the laundry. my master plan has worked for more than 2 weeks now. here's the scoop. i do one load of laundry a day...wash it, dry it, fold it, hang it up, and put it away. i think jon is still a bit confused when he walks into the bedroom and the couch is clothes-free AND he has clean clothes folded and waiting for him in the closet ready to be worn.
3. i have embraced the google calendar. i never had to write down my schedule before, but now that "my" schedule has become more than my own, i do. i think it's the combination of being responsible for more schedules than just my own and my complete inability to remember ANYTHING because my brain has turned to mush.
   
4. i'm a professional carpooler. and not that i mind, but i spend a minimun of 8 hours a week just driving our children somewhere. not good, not bad, just is. the end.
5. just as i've finally come to terms with the minivan (THE most difficult pride swallowing experience of my life...well not really, but almost) i'm realizing we'll probalby have to buy one of those passenger vans...meh. i'm not quite over it.
6. using paper plates. it's just easier. fewer dishes, you can clean all the dinner dishes in one load, and they don't break.
7. cereal for breakfast. i always cooked something for breakfast. not anymore. i now understand the logic behind cereal. genius.

and here's the list of things that i'm betting will NEVER change...

1. i will never go to bed early. i've always been a night owl and so is jon. i'm constantly amazed at how little sleep i am able to function on the next day when i've been up until 2 the night before.
2. i'll never embrace loading/emptying the dishwasher. but i'm pretty confident that having my laundry figured out cancels that out anyway.
3. we'll never stop traveling. before each kiddo came we would always take that "one last" trip because we didn't think we could do it anymore. but we keep traveling...with and without them. it keeps me sane.
4. we'll never stop having kiddos...hahahaha...just kidding. i've given up on trying to know what will happen with this one. i guess we'll see what happens :)