Cherish it??

From the minute Ben was born everyone told me to cherish every second because it goes by so fast. Family, friends and strangers told me this daily and still tell me all the time how I'm going to blink and they'll all be going off to college.  Ben is 9, I've seen how fast it goes.  I'm sure it will only speed up as time goes on.  I want to remember every giggle, every silly thing they say and do, all the hugs, good deeds and accomplishments.  I don't want to wake up one day and realize Zach hasn't crawled in our bed for weeks or Ben doesn't ask to cuddle anymore. At the same time, I just really, really want to get out of the toddler stage.  I've been changing diapers for 9 years. I'm tired of paying for them and I'm tired of changing them.  I want to tell my kids to go up to brush teeth and not worry about where I'm going to find toothpaste (which is usually on the curtains in the hall).  I want to feel confident that when they play in the back yard they aren't leaving the water on for days.  I'd like to be able to send them upstairs to play in their rooms with out wondering where I'll find the cat litter, or poop, or puddles of water.  I'd like to be able to get four kids in the car with out hearing them fight over toys or who got in first or got buckled first.  I'd really love it if Ellie stopped hitting her brothers for no reason.  Ben is actually a really good kid, aside from a total lack of common sense!  I can handle 8/9 year olds. Only 4 more years to get all of them there!  I'm sure in four years, I'll be begging to have my 3 and 4 year old babies back.