#3Under16

I don't flatter myself that this hashtag will catch on. However, I've been meaning to post about this since I had #3Under15, so I better hurry as that second number keeps creeping up, and I'll have #3Under17 tomorrow!

You've all heard mamas talk about their struggles with 2 under 2, or 3 under 3, or one friend from our Sunday School class with 6 under 7!! 😂

I agree, the struggle is real. None of your children can go to the bathroom by the themselves, put their shoes on the proper feet, make it through the day without crying about something, cut their own meat, the list could go on and on. We had 2 under 2 for 10 days, I know it's intense.

But what you may not know is that 3 under 16 is still a handful!

None of these people can drive themselves anywhere! Fortunately, 1 of them can buckle her own seat belt and even help with the other 2, but she's also the reason we're usually driving anywhere. At the end of the school year, Angie won the Triple Threat award for playing a different sport all 3 seasons of the year! That meant a lot of tagging along and cheering for her little brothers, and a lot of driving and coordinating for us parents. I'm gonna start buying 15 year-olds Uber gift cards for their birthdays, or maybe I'll buy them for their parents' birthdays, as their parents are the unpaid taxi drivers toting them to practices, friends' houses, games, school, events, and of course shopping!

The real challenge with 3 under 16 is cohesiveness. Everyone's always going in different directions. I've mentioned it before, finding fun for all the ages is nearly impossible. There are few things that engage Angie that the boys are able to participate in. When Angie needs help with geometry homework, the boys need help bathing and getting into their pajamas. When Paul needs to nap, Isaiah needs to stay awake (lest he keep us up all night), and Angie needs desperately to be taken to the mall or the movies. Reading stories as a family, watching movies, playing games, even going on vacations is tricky with 14+ years between the kids.

Even with #3Under16, perfect family pictures are an unattainable goal. Never will they all be looking at the camera, and if you catch that unicorn moment when they are, someone will have their eyes closed or be making a weird face.

But the fun part is that they adore each other! The boys are just starting to get to the point where they can interact without screaming or biting. Angie would still prefer to bring a friend along on outings, but sometimes enjoys being seen with or helping her brothers, if it doesn't cramp her style too much. Yesterday, 4 teenage girls swooned at Paul on the beach, Angie should have made some new friends.

Next week, we'll have one on a tricycle, one on a balance bike, and one with a driver's permit! Lord, help us all. I'm not one to grasp at time as it flies by too quickly, but these next, possibly last, 2 family years sure do look short and fleeting. May we maximize every moment for training, bonding, and loving well for as long as we have #3UnderOurRoof.