from the mouths of babes.....

Here is my facebook status yesterday:

"If my ornery, teething toddler will let me put him down I might get something done today! Any grand ideas to do with the letter "K" for preschool?"

It's true, he has been super ornery, clingy, not sleeping well etc (very unusual for him). It has been hard to get anything done or pay attention to any of my other children which creates other issues of them doing very naughty things to get attention. It's been a rough few days. Fortunately I think we figured out the problem. It's not teething, he has been drinking regular milk and it does not do good things for his tummy. He is doing better today as he is off milk again.

I have been thinking a lot about this status since yesterday and wondering if my toddler were to vocalize a "status" update about his day it might have gone something like this:

"If my ornery, impatient Mom would just hold me and read me stories I might feel better. My tummy is hurting and I don't know why....why won't she just love me instead of trying to get things done?"

It has helped me today look at things from his perspective and try and be a better Mommy and meet his needs instead of trying to complete my checklist (in my defense lunches do need to be packed, dishes done and dinner made).

I think so many times we try and make the child fit our schedule instead of following their lead....Sarah from the Clover Lane blog wrote this post and I love love loved it. She is so insightful! I especially loved this part:

"When they place that baby in your arms, let the world rearrange itself. Let YOUR world rearrange itself.

This is scary! What you thought was so important might plummet to the bottom of the list. Let it happen, and don’t fear change. You will become someone new — the birth of your baby is also a rebirth for you. Be open to that. Often I hear the lament about motherhood “I feel like I lost myself.” Yes, you will become someone new and different, a new better version of your old self if you are willing to change. You will become selfless and generous. You will become confident and secure. You will become tender and patient. I will bet that some of things you will lose won’t even compare with the worth of these qualities that you will gain if you let yourself."

So here's to my world rearranging today around my cute boy....oh and those 6 preschoolers coming to my house today to learn about the letter "K"! Life is never dull around here and that's just how I like it! :)

Rattling around....

(a little something to make you chuckle)

A few thoughts in my head right now....

You can be a good Mom/parent and enforce rules/boundaries with much love and without harshness and yelling. In fact it is wayyyy more effective and preserves a healthy relationship with the child.

A nap is a little slice of heaven

It costs some $$ to host Thanksgiving dinner but how grateful I am that we are able to...so blessed!

We made a Thanksgiving chain last night in family home evening and it is WAYYY long. I love it, we all tried to come up with 20 things and most of us exceeded that. We encouraged the kids to come up with things they wouldn't normally write on the list.... Some of the things on the list are; indoor plumbing, clouds, the earth's layers, pajamas, ice cream, Dads homemade milkshakes, eyes, doctors, dessert, bugs, boogers, bums (wow is it obvious we live in a household of males who thrive on potty talk?)....

Really missing friends who moved away. I love blogs, facebook, email, phone calls etc but nothing is the same as having them close by. A friend sent me pictures last week of our two little girls playing together (best little friends) and it made me cry.

The unknown is a bit scary...I need to remember this and just dive in and find out the information I need (I know this is vague but that's how I'm rolling right now)

I am so grateful for so many things in my life. I have a goal from now until Christmas to list 10 things in my journal daily for the blessings in my life...care to join me?

What is on your mind?

Junk work

Last week my son discovered several papers he had done in kindergarten that I had put in the recycling bin. I guess I hadn't shoved them down far enough to hide them from him (please tell me I am not the only one and you don't keep every paper your child does in school...with 5 kids we would be drowning in paper!). He was ANGRY, he brought them to me, threw them down at my feet and yelled, "WHY DID YOU THROW THESE AWAY??? I DON'T DO JUNK WORK YOU KNOW!"

I had to stifle my laughter and tell him I was sorry and I appreciated his work. We set them aside and after he had forgotten about them they went in the BIG recycling trash can outside. Shhh...don't tell him. To defend myself, I do keep papers they have worked hard on, first time they write their name, special artwork they complete and especially if they write something about themselves that tells about an experience they've had etc....I'm not totally heartless.

The more I think about his exclamation of, "I DON"T DO JUNK WORK!" I realize how closely I can relate as a Mother. I too want to scream and stomp my feet when the laundry I have washed, dried and folded gets thrown on the bedroom floor to be walked on. I too have felt that same way when I JUST finished mopping the kitchen floor and somebody spilled an entire bottle of apple juice on it. How about the time I sorted through ALL the Legos (which at our house is THOUSANDS) only to have them all dumped on the floor by a boy who needed to find the teeny tiny lego light saber at the bottom of the bucket?

Yes many days I want to stomp my feet and scream at the top of my lungs too. It would be easy to do because it seems that no matter how hard I try my work often gets "trashed". It is only by having a deep conviction that what I am doing matters...and it matters in a long term perspective. I am not just doing laundry or mopping floors, I am molding human beings. I am showing them I love them and would do ANYTHING for them. I truly believe a Mother's love can overcome most obstacles in this life....or at least help our kids climb up and over them. So most of the time I control my urge to throw a tantrum and complain about my hard work meaning nothing...because it does mean something even if it only lasts for 5 minutes!

I AM A MOTHER AND I DON'T DO JUNK WORK!

Second chance....

Today I am so grateful that kids are forgiving. It was a ROUGH morning that consisted of much bickering between siblings and excessive amounts of whining. Those two things are nails on a chalkboard for me and almost always elicit an angry Mom. It wasn't pretty. (I should note that my kids are out of school today and tomorrow)

Fortunately we have moved on and are having a much better rest of our day. I am still upset with myself, I chose to RE-act instead of controlling my temper. I have apologized and just hope when my kids look back on their childhood they won't remember an angry Mom who loses her temper, but a loving Mom who keeps her head and has fun with them. Sigh....

I promise to try harder and do better. What do you do when your kids push you to the limit?

20 and counting...

Today the Duggar's announced on the Today Show that they are having baby #20! They have a reality show on the network TLC. Last time their baby Josie (pictured) was born at 29 weeks due to severe preeclampsia (which I had with my last baby). Michelle Duggar (the mom) is in her early to mid 40's and so her risk of having this complication again are high.

What do you think? Honestly I think the Duggars are good parents, I think they are raising good kids to this point. But now it feels to me that this is about publicity and air time. Maybe I'm being too cynical.

I'm all about big families (obviously I have 5 children!), I think it is fabulous if people can handle it and choose to have a big family. I grew up in a big family, married into a big family etc etc... But 20 kids seems like wayyyyyy too many to handle. In fact the older girls do all of the laundry and cooking and while I think it is great to teach those skills and have them help, it is the parent's responsibility to do those things not the kids.

What do you think?

I was published!

I am super excited! I submitted one of my blog posts to the "Power of Moms" website and it was published yesterday! (my name wasn't listed, but this is my work!) If you want to read it, you can go HERE