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erin

erin

I'm Erin Jo. I'm thinking, writing, dreaming, mothering, loving, living, praising, BLESSED to be Fiona to my Shrek and Mommy to my four amazing kiddos.

dave

dave

Shrek is "like an onion with many layers" but has a heart of gold. He's my husband and my friend, and we just get better all the time.

lily

lily

Lily is my first baby and only girl. She's smart, funny, tall and kind. Keeping up with this girl is a challenge and a joy. She's terrific!

max

max

Max is one part ogre, two parts lover and all boy! Our little man has a temper but gives the best hugs of anyone I know!

colby

colby

Colby is as ornery as he looks. He flirts shamelessly, even with strangers. He's all mouth and curls and the loudest by far.

luke

luke

Luke is the baby of the family, but holds his own. He's happy and adorable. And he's a terrible sleeper. =)

Sweet Rewards


A typical pre-bedtime scene at the Roberts house… Big kids sipping on berry banana smoothies and Daddy trying to get a smile out of the baby.

Ah, a Smirnoff after the kids are in bed after a long day. This is my reward…. Oh, and the clean, shiny freshly-bathed kids, of course!

I love this weather, the slow way the family all trails in the back door as the sun sets. The dirty, tired kids and the promise of so many more days like these. Not right away, but soon, they are promised.

I’ve been spending my final days off work getting some big items off my to-do list, practicing being away from my reasons and alternately pep-talking and terrifying myself about returning. Alas, the day will come no matter what I do. And we’ll be all right.

Today I took a little trip. My primary goal was to pick up a part for my van. One of the rear sliding doors has been on the fritz. Thankfully, I have one of those amazing husbands who can fix just about anything. He investigated, found the problem and not only ordered and paid for it over the phone but had it installed within minutes of getting home from work today! Bonus points!! Oh, and when I jumped out of the passenger side of the van when we were almost late for church on Sunday and forgot I wasn’t supposed to use the door and yanked on the handle and tore the door off the van?? Well, he “shrekked” it for awhile and got us to church on time. I’m telling you, I’m one lucky woman!

Back to today, I made a day trip out of the errand. I packed up the boys, took them to sitters for a dry run, and hit both Kohl’s and Wal-Mart. I wandered around in Kohl’s aimlessly for way too long. I don’t think we moms realize how tired we are until we’re without kids and in that dreamlike stage of freedom. I kept thinking I should be more productive, I should be having more fun. I couldn’t figure out what I should be doing, but, in the end, I came out with some pretty sweet deals and the satisfaction of looking at everything I’d wanted to see.

Probably the most successful part of the day was just getting out of the house with the unbelievable amount of things a mother and four children need to survive a day like today. It’s crazy!

About a month ago, during my first shopping trip with Luke, he was screaming to be fed as I waited in the checkout line. Once I finally got to the cashier, she said, “They say it’s good for babies to cry, but it’s hard to listen.” And I was like, “They do? I’ve heard a lot of things, but I’ve never heard that.” (Who are “they” anyway???) She went on to say it exercised their lungs or some mumbo-jumbo.

Well, getting out of the house could possibly be good for a mother’s blood pressure, but I’m not sure. I swear, the final twenty minutes or so of my exit is NOT pretty. It’s random yelling to speed up the older kids, shush the baby, soothe the toddler. It’s grabbing a million floppy handles to bags filled with everything you can imagine. It’s changing that dirty diaper that always seems to throw a wrench in things. And it’s trying to keep my head from blowing up, because my blood pressure has to be soaring and the clock won’t stop!

May you never, ever come capture those horrible moments of my motherhood, and may you know the salve of damp, sweet-smelling children after baths on a balmy night. Oh, and a Smirnoff too!




Namaste, my friends. Namaste.

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