Attack of the Brain-Eating Babies

I can vividly remember a few {*cough* many *cough} years ago, talking with another one of my unmarried, childless friends about a mutual acquaintance from high school, who had just had her second child.

"I mean, it's like having babies ate her brain," I quipped. "Seriously, is it that difficult to remember to make one measly phone call? I just don't understand how someone so smart and intelligent could suddenly become so flaky. It's like she just can't multi-task any more, poor thing! She seems so overwhelmed! Bless her heart, she wrote me an email the other day and misspelled 'exception' repeatedly...she used to be such a perfectionist about spelling!" And then my unmarried, childless, friend and I both laughed, because it was true. We loved our our mutual acquaintance, but she had become flaky, and we just didn't understand why or how.

Years later, I had Lizzy, and puffed up with self-righteousness because even after a baby, I could still remember things. I could multi-task. I'd see someone at the store, and they'd ask me to send an email out about photography, and I'd remember by the time I got home. People asked how I'd find time to blog, or read, and I'd reply, "I just make the time." Looking back, that sounds terribly self righteous and holier than thou, but it was just my reality then. Having Lizzy changed our reality some, but not a ton.

And then I had Becca, and I realized that the second babies must come equipped with some special brain-eating feature that no one told me about. Because y'all? I cannot remember anything. I can no longer multi-task. I AM that mom that I poked fun at before. Heck, it took me five tries to correctly spell "acquaintance" from earlier in this blog post.

A few days ago, Justin saw my to-do list that I'd left on the table. I hadn't gotten around to physically crossing off anything that I'd accomplished yet, so Justin was calling things out to me and crossing them off for me. Our conversation went a little like this:

Justin: Did you clean up the living room?
Me: Yes, even though you already can't tell.
Justin: Did you take Lizzy to swimming lessons?
Me: Yes.
Justin: Did you prep dinner?
Me: UGH! No! I totally forgot to pull meat out of the freezer.
Justin: That's okay--pizza night! Did you update the church website?
Me: I forgot again. I need some time to do that tonight.
Justin: Did you call Kaitlin's grandma back?
Me: Oh no! I forgot again! Crap!
Justin: Did you order a new remote for the new dvd player (don't ask)?
Me: For the love! No. I forgot.
Justin: Did you put Lizzy's fitted sheet back on her bed?
Me: Um, it's now sitting in her room instead of the living room floor.
Justin: Did you do Bible Study?
Me: I moved the books from the bedroom to the kitchen table...and then got distracted by a crying baby.
Justin: Did you pay the water bill?
Me: I have no idea. I already can't remember.

I STILL haven't remembered to update the website, order a new remote, or call back Kaitlin's grandma. Of course, I only seem to remember these things between the hours of midnight and 3am. Don't let her big old grin fool you folks, Becca is a straight-up brain eating baby. And I have become a straight-up frazzled, can't remember anything mama.

 It's worth it.