Laundry brings it all back to reality

We are quickly approaching the big months of birthdays galore. The months where all of the sudden all three of my children jump up another whole year. We've been talking about birthdays for a few weeks now and Hayden is very excited and is very in on the party planning this year. She has her own ideas and plans, and they are ever changing.

Last night after all were tucked in, a sat on the floor surrounded by my five full laundry hampers of clean clothes that had piled up. I thought I'd pop in a DVD of ER (still stuck in the first season!) and try to finish the disc I was currently on. I started watching and folding and as my piles were getting larger for distribution( mine, bj's, the twins, and hayden) I cam across a nightgown I had bought for Hayden for her first birthday. Out of habit I reached to place it on top of Hayden's pile (even though in my head I know the Preslyn has been wearing this one for months) and it caught me by surprise and I realized, wait no, wrong pile...and moved over to the right one. I started remembering how it was so long on Hayden the first time she wore it and now here Preslyn is wearing it and it isn't even long on her. Meaning she will soon outgrow it.

Suddenly out of nowhere a wave of sentimental emotions hit me and I just felt sad that my little wee little babies (and yes I realize i just used little twice, but people, if you didn't see them when they were born they were itty bitty) were growing up and were about to be 2 which means they really aren't babies anymore. And here is Hayden in her last year of being a little girl before the big FIVE! I just want to wrangle them all in and hold them like babies for forever. I want their little nightgowns to touch their toes because they are still tiny. I just want life to slow down just a little so that mamma can savor these moments that are fleeting even longer than I am already trying to do.

So much for an accomplishing night of ER and chores....made me wish I would have jsut left the piles to sit a little longer instead of realize that my babies will soon all not be babies anymore.