When you wish upon a star...

My mom wish list...

1. Sleep seven nights through without being woken up by the odd sensation that someone is staring at me while I sleep (scary the first couple times it happens) or fussing because they need to go potty RIGHT NOW... or just randomly talking (loudly) in their sleep.

I'm at about three nights a week of (blissful) uninterrupted sleep right now. Big cheers for leaving the infant phase!

2. Plan ahead for birthdays and holidays. Like having outfits ready *before* the day of the event (and gifts I don't pick up from Target on the way to the party).

3. Expose my kids to more culture and learning experiences. You know, once I think I can handle jaunting off with the three of them on a whim. To places where we'll end up visiting a restroom on every floor (twice, because when I asked if anyone else had to go, you know, since we were already there, everyone, EVERYONE said no). And doing this at an age where they will understand that they have to act like refined children instead of like a bunch of loveable, but nutty crazies. Oh, and bonus if I don't end up dripping with sweat because the crazies fed on each others' energy till they were all bouncing off the walls (and it might not be acceptable to use a stroller for a 7, 4, and 2 year old) and I become more interested in finding the nearest exit to get our of dodge before things get REALLY bad... AND finding a bathroom because someone has a tiny bladder and won't be able to walk another inch unless the bathroom is in sight.

(Of course, I'll still hear the dreaded "Mommeeeeyyyy, I have to go potteeeeyyyyyy" as soon as we're in the car on the way home and... I've just exhaled all of my tension in anticipation of a nice, peaceful ride home.)

4. Ummm. Maybe substituting their current shows with more...  educational television?
(I doubt that iCarley and SpongeBob are not considered educational TV. I'll admit I find SpongeBob... entertaining. But educational? Probably not so much. Bummer.)

5. Learn that crazy math Katie will be doing in school before long (or at least a few of the newfangled math terms *she* knows NOW but that sound like craziness to me... math mountains anyone?).

6. Spend more time with Jackson. Poor kid gets lost in all of the noise with the older kids and he's so funny and kinda chatty at 19 months.

7. Keep cheering the kids on, but not in the weird "you can be anything you want to be" way. No, instead, in a more realistic, "if you work hard at something, you might be able to reach your goal... maybe."

(I told Katie about *my* childhood dream of becoming a vet. And how that dream changed after I realized it wasn't all petting cuddly animals and wearing a crisp, white coat. There would be a lot of school and some animal dissections and the possibility of having to perform *gulp* "real" surgery as a vet... Well, those realizations changed my mind really quickly.)

And isn't it better to be honest when your kid's dream (of the week) is to be a princess? Of course, I gave her my blessing to try the princess thing, but asked her to get her education so she would have something to fall back on.

8. Add another set of eyes to the ones already on the back of my head. But these should have xray vision to see through walls. Cause kids are sneaky and my mom superpowers need to step it up a bit.

There are more, but I'll stop here... It's bedtime and I have to pry Katie's nook from her hands. Her iCarley intake is at maximum (which means it's getting late, and I can't listen to any more screaming teens tonight).