The trifecta

Every once in a great while, I achieve mommy nirvana.  What is that, you ask?

Getting 20 uninterrupted minutes in the shower?

Nope.

Washing, drying, folding and putting away ALL the laundry before another piece of dirty clothing finds its way into a hamper?

Nice, but no.

Having dinner ready, the house cleaned, the children (and you) dressed, the dog walked and fed all by the time your husband comes home from work?

Bahahahahahahaha!

No, my mommy nirvana is something a little more selfish and involves getting all three children down for a nap AT THE SAME TIME.  Quite a feat considering Elise hasn't napped since she was 2.

But every so often all the stars align and age of Aquarius is dawning, and all three minions will head off to the land of nod simultaneously.  And it. Is. Glorious.  Angels we have heard on high and amen!

Usually when this happens, I find myself sitting on the sofa staring at my hands as if they were magic.  Then one of the wee ones wakes up and it's back to reality.

The other day was unfolding to be such a day.  And I was excited.  I hadn't stared at my hands in a good long while.  It had all the signs; Mattias asking for a nap.  Elise wanting to rest so she could stay up late to make an airport run to pick up her avo and avó (grandpa and grandma in Portuguese).

And lovely Lucas; primed and ready for a feeding and a snooze.  I had the older ones sleeping and Lucas was nursing.  Towards he end he fell asleep, and just as I put him down, his eyes popped open and he said, "hey Mama... let's party!"

Okay, HE didn't say that, but his face did.  Resigned to the fact that my hands were not going to get stared at, I brought him downstairs.  Then something funny happened.

I got to spend time with him, and just him.  Something that never happens.  Usually he is relegated to his bouncy chair or pack and play, largely ignored while I deal with the mischief of the other two.  He's pretty happy to do so, Lucas is a very easy baby who just goes with the flow.  But I often feel like he gets the leftovers of my attention, and most of the times it's just crumbs.

So we snuggled.  And chatted.  He smiled and batted his eyelashes at me.  We had ourselves a kitchen dance party.  And there were kisses... lots of kisses (okay, he licked my cheek and tried to suck on my chin, but it counts!).

And it was wonderful.  Better than staring at my hands.  While the nap trifecta is pretty cool, getting to spend a few hours with this little guy is so much better.