a little too much

i am reminded of a comment my friend beth (hey, girl!) made when her little girl was a baby, and she was still doing real estate part (closer to full) time. she said, "when everything is going well with the baby and with work, i can handle it fine. but as soon as something goes wrong with either one - it's too much."
that comment was the beginning of her decision to step back from real estate for a while, and focus on her new little one.
this last week, with my parents gone and jon back into his normal routine (driving 3 half days, youth group, etc), i felt much the same way. when the kids were happy, and everything went according to plan, i could handle all three by myself. but as soon as something went awry - like, oh, i don't know, first sailor and then sunny coming down with a nasty virus, culminating with sailor throwing up in my lap this morning as i tried to nurse the baby - it all seemed like too much to cope with. throwing the baby in the swing (not forgetting to fasten her in securely :), throwing sailor in the tub, cleaning mess off of myself and the chair and the floor... while the younger two cried and sunny, lacking my attention, began to join in... it all seemed like a comedy of errors. only at the time it wasn't very funny!
now, looking back at it from a few (vomit-free) hours' perspective, i feel slightly better.
slightly.
i know from experience when sailor was born that it does definitely get easier. i just have to keep reminding myself that.
and keep buying more clorox, too, i guess. :)