It's not me. It's them.

I have always thought that I was the problem. I have always assumed that the craziness...the chaos that makes up my life was my problem. My inability to handle stress. My disorganization. My poor child-wrangling skills. Tonight, however, I have come to the conclusion that my assumptions up to this point have been flawed. It is not me. It is not simply my issues and problems. No......my children are deranged.

This afternoon, I came home to find Sophie with barrettes in her hair. This is completely out of character for her, as she has since birth refused to let me put barrettes/pony tails/headbands in her hair. She excitedly announced to me that she wanted to let her hair grow long. We typically keep her thin, wispy hair cut in a bob for the sake of convenience. However, if she wants long hair, I am not opposed to it. We chatted happily about what we would do with her long hair. Later, I was talking with Nicky about scheduling him for a haircut. Sophie overheard the conversation and chimed in that she wanted a haircut too. "But Sophie, I said. "I thought you wanted to let your hair grow out. "No," she replied. " I want a haircut. I want to get a lollipop." Sophie was willing to toss aside her dreams of long hair in exchange for a Dum-Dum sucker. See....deranged.

This evening, as I walked into the bathroom to bathe Lucas, he looked a little disturbed. He was shivering and looked a bit pale. I asked him if he was ok. His responded, "Yea...I am ok. I am just cold." I began to bathe him when he chimed in with, "Mom, when I get cold, this little thing on my left side gets really big." Yep...he was pointing to his left nipple. See....deranged.

As I sat down in my chair this evening after FINALLY getting the kids in bed, Nicholas came running out of his bedroom in a complete panic. He had his finger up in the air and terrified look on his face. As he ran past me toward the box of Kleenex on the end table, he yelled, "Oooh! Oooooh! A booger with hair in it!!" See...deranged.

Today was not unusual. These are the things I hear every day. It's not me. It's them. Right?