Fall from Grace

I don't like to brag, well sometimes I do. Anyway, since Ella and Drew were born it has been common for Mike and I to hear comments like these while out and about:

"Wow! Your kids are so well behaved."

"I don't know how you do it!"

"You look so calm and together, how do you do it?!"

I don't know exactly when the change happened, but recently I notice people giving us the hairy eyeball. I imagine them saying to themselves, "that poor woman." When they do dare to comment, all I hear is this,

"Are they all yours? You have your hands full!!"

Yes, things (aka my kids and my life) seem to be a little out of control as of late. They run wild in stores. They yell. Tyler screams in restaurants, lays down on the floor in department stores and throws things like a major league pitcher. On good days I tell myself that we have changed for the better. That as parents we have loosened up and let the kids be kids a little more. That Ella and Drew have become more outgoing and comfortable in all types of environments, something they struggled with before. On other days I think Im lazy and all the craziness is a result of my lack of consistency.

As evidence, here is a video from last week. It is 10 PM. They are all wearing mis-matched layers that I found in the car because it was colder than I expected and I hadn't packed accordingly. Tyler is covered in chocolate cupcake and remained so until the next morning because we forgot the wipes and only had one napkin in the car. Also, he is screaming "NO!" at me, because that is his standard response to everything.

See, we are a mess!

Post edit - Did I mention we had a blast and laughed the whole night?! That we love to be together even in the craziness?! That I wouldn't trade them for the most well behaved kids on the planet?!