After last week's thought provoking blog, I decided to lighten it up today! It may provoke some thoughts but hopefully it will just make you shake you head and think, oh no, I've said that before. Tuesday Night while at my oldest daughter's parent night at the high school a lady said something to me that was just plain old rude. To her she probably thought it was funny, to me it was rude. While walking around the high school with a 5 month old strapped to my front I know people were thinking things but this lady just spouted off exactly what was in her little brain. She looked at me and said, "You have a high schooler and a baby in a carrier! What were you thinking! Obviously, you weren't thinking!" She didn't even laugh, she said it in a nasty way. Say what?! I was dumbfounded. After she scurried on down the stairs I realized a friend was in front of me and said to her, well that was rude. Let's play what if... What if I had been trying for 14 years to have another baby and it finally happened or I had finally adopted this baby? What if I was 15 when I had my first and I was finally old enough to have another? What if this was my high schooler's baby that I was just holding for her? None of those are true, but that lady didn't know me! She didn't know my situation to be passing judgement on me. After I got my wits about me, I thought of many sassy come backs that were probably better left unsaid. Like, wow you wore that out of the house, you really weren't thinking, or wow you paid someone for that haircut, you really weren't thinking.
Here are some other comments people make about my duggaring (my made up word for mass producing children from one's womb):
Wow, are those all yours? I want to reply, yes and we left 4 more at home with the dog.
What do you drive to fit all of those in the car? It's just 8 people, we fit in a Odyssey.
You're gonna need a shotgun one day! Have you seen Rusty, we have no need for a shotgun
That's gonna be a lot of weddings to pay for! We are just hoping they elope!
You need to stock up on tampons! Really people?!
It's usually followed by telling Rusty he will need to leave the house for 1 week out of the month.
You are crazy! OK, that one might be true
Are you catholic? ummm... no
Are you mormon? ummm... no
Baptist have a lot of kids? Some do, but only the really crazy ones
Do you homeschool? I want to say, do you think I want all these kids at home with me all day!? I honestly think I am the only mom of many that doesn't homeschool. Matthew 5:13-16 is our reason, in case you were wondering.
You must have a ton of laundry. I want to reply to this I make them wear stuff 4x before I'll wash it! That's not true of course but I still want to say it.
And of course my favorite.... You know what's causing that right.
I mean come on, I'm 35 years old, do you know how dumb that sounds?! Please don't ever say that again to someone, it is really dumb. Sorry, if you've said it to me before.
How many more are you going to have? 1st none of your business, 2nd Rusty's aunt said for us to tell people, until we have an ugly one. She has 10, so far.
No one actually ever said this to me but a friend who has four kids was asked if they had a TV in their room! There are so many more, but I will stop.
And since I've been pregnant for like 1/2 of my married life, I've heard some dumb comments there too:
You look like you're about to pop
You must be having twins
There is no way you still have (fill in a number) weeks left
You've gotten a lot bigger since I saw you last
You're STILL pregnant
I will admit to guilt in saying these things but I have seen the error of my ways and do not say them anymore! Trust me, a pregnant woman knows exactly how big she is the moment she tries to roll over in the bed, tries to put on maternity clothes that are now too little, tries to get off the couch, tries to fit in a desk at parent night at the school, turns the stove on with her belly, can't cut her toenails, can't reach the top shelf in the kitchen, tries to breathe, you get my point.
Here are 2 more random things that I hear often from people that are just stupid:
How do you stand that beard on your husband? It would be just awful to me. Seriously, I hear this more than you would think. I think, ummm... do you realize that is my husband whom I love and have bore 6 children with that you are dogging? I'm thinking in my head, what if I said how can you stand that giant nose on your husband, or that annoying laugh, or the fact that he likes the Cowboys?
Making fun of one of my kids names. I mean adults do this. Come on people, show some etiquette. I didn't name them Blue or Apple or North or Scout, which are all names I would never make fun of to those lovely parents' faces even if I think they are weird. Try not even to say, what an interesting name, because we all know that is code for, what an awful name!
So the point is, watch what you say. Think before you let some dumb comment pour out of your mouth. Even better, watch what you say in front of your kids so those dumb comments don't pour out of their mouths. I could share some stories there but I'm afraid you might see some kind of resemblance to what I said and realize it was your kid. I don't generally get my feelings hurt. I have a thick skin and can laugh a lot off., but others don't and you may be sending them home to cry themselves to sleep. I am not in anyway saying we need to be politically correct but just be kind and try not to say things that might just hurt someone's feelings. You have been warned with this list, you now have no excuse. Stick with "bless your heart, what a beautiful family" or "bless your heart, I know you must be ready to have that baby." And if anyone knows the lady from CHS who is hopefully still trying to pull her foot from her mouth, send her a link to this blog!
Feel free to share other stupid things you hear folks say a lot...
Friday, August 23, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Your diamond shoes
Have you ever heard the saying "Are your diamond shoes too tight?" One of my high school teachers said this once and I will never forget it. I am pretty sure it was Mr. Hutson, but I could be wrong. It was almost 20 years ago when I heard it and I probably have just lumped all good things said by a teacher under his heading because he was so awesome. Let's see if he actually reads the blog. Anyway, that was a quick chasing rabbits, let me get back to my topic. Are your diamond shoes too tight means you are whining and complaining about things you should not be whining about but be thankful you at least have whatever it is. I mean if I had diamond shoes, I'd be so proud of those suckers it wouldn't matter if they rubbed blisters on my feet. Another saying in that same family, "I can't fit all my 100's in my wallet!" So here we are at the start of the blog that I have been scratching the surface of all week.
WE HAVE GOT TO STOP COMPLAINING PEOPLE!!!!!
This past Sunday, the lesson my Sunday school teacher taught got his feet all up on our coffee table (meaning he got all in our business). It was about our complaining. Boy did it get me thinking and reflecting! So, this past Monday I posted on Facebook for people to look back and see if they had a habit of always complaining in their Facebook post. I did the same and found that I don't complain much or I just had a really good week. Probably the latter. I mean we all complain, all of us. Under that post was a comment from a sweet young lady from my church that is on an 11 month mission trip to 11 different countries. If you want to know more about her, just ask me, I could talk all day about how wonderful I think the things she is doing are. She is selflessly serving the "least of these" all over the world in some of the most awful but sometimes beautiful places. Anyway, her comment was this "America has real problems. The people out here know how to live in love, and they're happier in their conditions than most Americans are in theirs. It's hard to live on this side of the world and see all the selfish posts from people back home, but I definitely don't think you're bad about it." People, she is in Africa right now. Starving, AIDS infested, war torn Africa. And here I was complaining that my daughter's bus was a little late! Thank you Lord my children have a free (OK somewhat free) education that will come pick them up and deliver them to an air conditioned building to learn and they feed them!
Maybe you don't like the current president or the past one, be thankful we live in America and get to vote on our president and are not governed by a group of militant dictators who would kill us for ever posting some of the stuff people post on Facebook about the government. Do you really need to everyday post some new reason you hate the current administration? Stop complaining! Be thankful we GET to vote!
Maybe your shutters outside your house are falling apart and need painting, be thankful you have windows to hang fake shutters next too! Maybe your plumbing leaked, be thankful you have clean running water! Gas cost $xxx a gallon, be thankful you have a car to put gas in! Maybe you don't like the way something is happening at your church, be thankful you are allowed to worship God freely. Maybe the cashiers at your local nationwide store get on your nerves and don't always smile, be thankful you have a grocery store to shop in that has clean food, that is inexpensive and there lots of choices. How are those diamond shoes feeling now? Still a little tight? Let me keep going. Maybe you had to wait 1 hour and 45 minutes at the doctors office, be thankful you didn't have to travel 75 miles in a borrowed car with a child that's about to die hoping you find a doctor. Maybe, the trash man didn't set your trashcan back upright, be thankful you don't have to live in the trash dump. Maybe your kids are driving you crazy, be thankful you were able to have or adopt kids. Be thankful they are still with you. Be thankful they can talk and get on your nerves. Oh, I'm sorry, did my diamond shoes scuff up your coffee table?
Our girl's youth minister at our church just announced last night she is planning on going to Europe for 3 months or more to work with people that are in the sex trafficking industry. How could we ever complain again if we saw the life that some of these girls are forced to live? Some kidnapped others sold by parents who were starving are being forced into drug addiction and prostituted until they die. Thank you Lord we live in America and this is something none of us have to worry about for our children.
So here's the bottom line, we all complain, I complain, you complain and goodness knows our kids complain. The thing is we live in America, we've got it so good. You may be living paycheck to paycheck but we are insanely rich compared to the world. You may have had to steal from your MLGW bill fund to buy the $100 calculator for your kid but we still have it so good. Be proud of your diamond shoes don't complain about the fit! Try for 1 week to be ridiculously positive. I mean, so positive about things you get on your co-workers and friends nerves. Don't complain, find the positive in everything you say and do. Challenge your kids to stop complaining. Please challenge your kids, I have 6 kids and between their friends I hear some serious complaining! Hold them to it, hold your spouse to it, hold your friends too it. Make a pack to stop complaining. It will be hard, I promise. I will fail, I promise. Today, I wanted to complain about something, I wanted to call a friend and spout off about how terrible something was but I stopped myself. Today I stopped myself but I know I will succumb to complaining before next weekend. You want me to hold you accountable, tell me! I will call you out, if you call me out! Check back in with me next weekend, let me know how you did? Was it an epic fail (I can't believe I just used that word, I had the word epic!) or was it a success?
My quote this morning from Madagascar, "Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave."
Monday, August 12, 2013
Spontaneity
I'm not much of a routine person. I like to be spontaneous, but I have found with 6 kids that has been lost for a while. The days of ,"oh, I need milk" and running to Kroger right then are over. The days of dropping in Sonic for a route 44 cherry limeade at happy hour are over. Picking up the vacuum and going over the den just when I feel like it, over. Even the days of I think I'll run by Kohl's and find some new jeans are O-V-E-R.
I must live by a schedule. I have my days planned out somewhat a month in advance. I can tell you what we will have for dinner on August 20th or 29th, shake and bake chicken and then waffles with bacon, just in case you want to stop by. The 20th will also include a parent night at the high school. I have to plan my trips to the grocery store. Last night I bought 3 gallons of milk, 2 loaves of bread and a pack of Hawaiian buns (Rusty is spoiled) along with $200 in other items. I'm hoping that will last until the weekend but with my kids boycotting school lunches right now I doubt it will. I made 8 sandwiches this morning x 2 slices of bread + 2 pieces of toast = a mostly empty bag of bread. I'm chasing rabbits, I'll get back to the point. I don't have time to just pop in and grab a loaf. After I spend from 5:30am until 9am getting kids to school I have approximately 27-43 minutes to get my out of the house stuff done before Finn turns into a pumpkin. Meaning, a starving baby ready to go back to bed. I have decided grocery store time is Sunday night between 6 and 7, seriously. I hustled and got it done last night!
Monday is clothes washing day, not towels, not sheets just clothes. 6 months ago I was driving myself insane doing laundry every single day. Fussing at my girls to put their clothes away, every single day. I made up my mind to only wash clothes on Monday and Thursday, Rusty work clothes on Friday and towels and sheets on Tuesday (which is when I clean bathrooms). I have pretty much stuck to that. Now, I will have done 3 loads by the end of my day today but I don't have to think about whose socks are whose until Thursday. I'll add I started keeping socks in my laundry room in a 3-drawer thingy. The drawers are labeled "older girls" "younger girls" and "boys". This drawer is right next to the shoe rack. This is a new system, I'll keep you posted on its effectiveness.
Dishes, oh the dishes. During the summer it was get them done when we can. I prefer to have the dishwasher loaded and running an hour or two before I go to bed each night, yes every night. That way, I can open it and let them dry while I sleep and they are ready to put away the next morning. Adeline recently decided she loves to unload the dishwasher, this load may still be waiting for her at 4pm. $.50 a pop for her. I'm really ok with that! Her sisters will soon catch on.
I'll just let you in on this weird new routine I've added, nails all are cut on Saturday night. I can't have them going to Sunday School with dangerous big toenails or I'll get fussed at by my sweet friend who at times works in the nursery. This sweet friend actually cut one of my kids fingernails one Wednesday night since they were too long. Most moms would think that strange, not me, I appreciated it! She knows who she is and that I am not making fun! That night I realized, I have got to schedule that in or I will forget to get it done. Don't think I didn't throw the clippers at Rusty Riley and demand his talons be cut Saturday night!
Lunches have to be made by 7am, floors vacuumed by 9:27-9:43am before Finn takes his first nap. Pitt's snack by 10:15 and lunch around 12:15. Naptime for him 1:00ish. Finn wakes up hopefully while Pitt is asleep, eats again. I throw down a sandwich that I made at 6:30am along with the kids while Finn eats. Finn starts his next nap right before Pitt wakes up. Notice no shower scheduled in there. Yeah, that is hard to come by when you have 2 babies at your house, one that climbs and opens doors. That's where my spontaneity comes in (to my sister, just know I had to look up how to spell that). The other day I was in the middle of dishwasher unloading and realized I had 2 boys asleep at the same time. I stopped immediately and jumped in the shower. I even put Finn in his car seat in the bathroom while sleeping so I could shower all the way up to him waking up. I have a tankless water heater so I can have a hot shower as long as the town will pump water. Here's another little touch of spontaneity (I keep looking back at how to spell that too), when baby boy is having a complete meltdown at 10:40am even after he had his snack at 10:15, bust out the sandwich you made him at 6:30am and feed him! Lunch done, face washed and him saying night night by 11:15am! Maybe I can squeeze in a shower before the next little hungry kid wakes up!
Spontaneity is a good thing but when you have a big family it is something very hard to do. I do actually look forward to the days where I can just hop in the van and get a cherry limeade but not now. I love this schedule. In a loud busy house there has to be some order!
Here is a picture of the sweet 10:40am early lunch inducing meltdown. I feel ya little man. Let's eat!
I must live by a schedule. I have my days planned out somewhat a month in advance. I can tell you what we will have for dinner on August 20th or 29th, shake and bake chicken and then waffles with bacon, just in case you want to stop by. The 20th will also include a parent night at the high school. I have to plan my trips to the grocery store. Last night I bought 3 gallons of milk, 2 loaves of bread and a pack of Hawaiian buns (Rusty is spoiled) along with $200 in other items. I'm hoping that will last until the weekend but with my kids boycotting school lunches right now I doubt it will. I made 8 sandwiches this morning x 2 slices of bread + 2 pieces of toast = a mostly empty bag of bread. I'm chasing rabbits, I'll get back to the point. I don't have time to just pop in and grab a loaf. After I spend from 5:30am until 9am getting kids to school I have approximately 27-43 minutes to get my out of the house stuff done before Finn turns into a pumpkin. Meaning, a starving baby ready to go back to bed. I have decided grocery store time is Sunday night between 6 and 7, seriously. I hustled and got it done last night!
Monday is clothes washing day, not towels, not sheets just clothes. 6 months ago I was driving myself insane doing laundry every single day. Fussing at my girls to put their clothes away, every single day. I made up my mind to only wash clothes on Monday and Thursday, Rusty work clothes on Friday and towels and sheets on Tuesday (which is when I clean bathrooms). I have pretty much stuck to that. Now, I will have done 3 loads by the end of my day today but I don't have to think about whose socks are whose until Thursday. I'll add I started keeping socks in my laundry room in a 3-drawer thingy. The drawers are labeled "older girls" "younger girls" and "boys". This drawer is right next to the shoe rack. This is a new system, I'll keep you posted on its effectiveness.
Dishes, oh the dishes. During the summer it was get them done when we can. I prefer to have the dishwasher loaded and running an hour or two before I go to bed each night, yes every night. That way, I can open it and let them dry while I sleep and they are ready to put away the next morning. Adeline recently decided she loves to unload the dishwasher, this load may still be waiting for her at 4pm. $.50 a pop for her. I'm really ok with that! Her sisters will soon catch on.
I'll just let you in on this weird new routine I've added, nails all are cut on Saturday night. I can't have them going to Sunday School with dangerous big toenails or I'll get fussed at by my sweet friend who at times works in the nursery. This sweet friend actually cut one of my kids fingernails one Wednesday night since they were too long. Most moms would think that strange, not me, I appreciated it! She knows who she is and that I am not making fun! That night I realized, I have got to schedule that in or I will forget to get it done. Don't think I didn't throw the clippers at Rusty Riley and demand his talons be cut Saturday night!
Lunches have to be made by 7am, floors vacuumed by 9:27-9:43am before Finn takes his first nap. Pitt's snack by 10:15 and lunch around 12:15. Naptime for him 1:00ish. Finn wakes up hopefully while Pitt is asleep, eats again. I throw down a sandwich that I made at 6:30am along with the kids while Finn eats. Finn starts his next nap right before Pitt wakes up. Notice no shower scheduled in there. Yeah, that is hard to come by when you have 2 babies at your house, one that climbs and opens doors. That's where my spontaneity comes in (to my sister, just know I had to look up how to spell that). The other day I was in the middle of dishwasher unloading and realized I had 2 boys asleep at the same time. I stopped immediately and jumped in the shower. I even put Finn in his car seat in the bathroom while sleeping so I could shower all the way up to him waking up. I have a tankless water heater so I can have a hot shower as long as the town will pump water. Here's another little touch of spontaneity (I keep looking back at how to spell that too), when baby boy is having a complete meltdown at 10:40am even after he had his snack at 10:15, bust out the sandwich you made him at 6:30am and feed him! Lunch done, face washed and him saying night night by 11:15am! Maybe I can squeeze in a shower before the next little hungry kid wakes up!
Spontaneity is a good thing but when you have a big family it is something very hard to do. I do actually look forward to the days where I can just hop in the van and get a cherry limeade but not now. I love this schedule. In a loud busy house there has to be some order!
Here is a picture of the sweet 10:40am early lunch inducing meltdown. I feel ya little man. Let's eat!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
All 4 girls have left the nest
Today is the day where all four of my girls went to public school. Yesterday, the oldest three started but today my sweet little baby girl went to kindergarten. I will start with yesterdays course of events.
The day began at 5:28 am. Abigail being in high school now needs to leave the house right before 6:30! Thankfully, Rusty can take her and her friend. I made her lunch and then we had to decide, paper sack or Vera Bradley lunch bag. We went with paper sack. She was not nervous at all and was dressed very nice in what we thought was dress code compliant. I went over with her a few times about where to go when she gets there, she had her map highlighted in her binder and she texted her friends at least 47 times each before she left. The time finally came for Rusty to leave with her and I watched her walk to his Explorer and climb in. I thought to myself, hold back the tears at least until she drives off. As they pulled away I felt the tears coming. Then I felt a little one at my side. Annabelle my super late sleeper had awoke before anyone else. I was really glad to see her, so I sucked up the tears and started my next round of getting on to school.
Round 2 began at 6:30 getting Amelia up and going to be on the bus at 7:25. She is not the morning person Abigail is and it takes her a bit to get going. She gets dressed in a super cute first day of school outfit and was actually ready early. Another lunch made, 1 more little one awake to add to Annabelle. At 7:05 she decided to go on out just in case the bus was early. If you were anywhere on facebook yesterday you would have seen that many buses in our new wonderful unified district never showed up. At 7:40 a neighbor took her to school and by 8am the bus still hadn't shown up. I didn't have time to worry because the next phase of my morning was starting.
Round 3 was to get Adeline up at to school by 8:40. She is a fantastic morning person. She is self driven to do each step of getting ready on her own without being reminded. She had a super cute very coordinated outfit on and was ready to go by 8:15! My mom came over to sit with the boys while I took Adeline in to her class. She is so independent and great at making friends I don't really worry about her. Not to mention one of her best friends is in the class. I got her in the building to her class and settled in her seat. She looked happy and excited to be there.
Round 4 of my morning is where it got crazy. Annabelle was meeting some other kids that were going to kindergarten for the first time at the park. While in a search of Pitt's shoes I turned around to find him pulling Finn off the couch. When I said "no!" he of course let go. And you know what happened after that. Finn was fine. I checked him over thoroughly. Pitt was very loving and brought him his paci and his own blankie. We decided to go on to the park. As I pulled into the parking lot what comes on KLOVE but Matt Maher's Lord I Need You (If you haven't heard it, I'm putting a link below). I thought I was fine with everyone going to school. WRONG!!! As soon as the music started I thought, NO NO NO, Lord, I can't handle this song this morning. I parked away from other cars so other mom's wouldn't think I was crazy for singing in the van. Then the first lyrics came,
"Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without you I fall apart
You're the one who guides my heart"
I just decided to let it go, just go on and cry. I was crying more I think than any other first day of school ever. As I'm sobbing I look up and My sweet friend with 6 kids and one also starting kindergarten had parked next to me. She mouthed through the window, are you crying! I rolled the window down and all I could say was, "the song." She turned her radio up and just boo hooed with me. I'll tell you what by the end I was praying the lyrics out loud,
"teach my song to rise to You
when temptation comes my way
and when I can not stand I fall on you
Jesus, you're my hope and stay"
I guess I should say thank you Lord for playing that song right when I needed to hear it. Annabelle had a great time at the park and played with her favorite friend that's a boy. By the time we got home I 2 hours until Abigail got back!
She got home to tell me all about the great day she had. She was seconds late to one class but she swore to run the next time. She gets this insane need to be early from her daddy! And it would seem what we thought to be dress code was not. She had a little chat with my former classmate and now assistant principal. By then it was pouring down rain and we kept looking out for Amelia's bus. 3:15, I wasn't worried, 3:30 still not worried. 3:45, I was getting a little worried, then I got a text from her via someone else's phone that said, "bus is late." I found out that she was still at school. My sister called me to say my nephew was on an bus and Amelia should be on the bus with him, but said Amelia is not on the bus! By 4:15 Adeline was home and we decided to call the school. Many students were still at CMS. Rusty left to go get her. When he got in the office it was full of angry parents wondering where the heck their kids were. She was on an unknown bus and they could not get in touch with the drivers. Well, she finally got home at 4:45 after being dropped in an unknown location. Thankfully, one of the girls that was also dropped off there knew how to get Amelia home, Amelia did not! It seems Amelia was assigned to a bus that doesn't exist. It was a crazy fiasco, it angers me greatly, but I need to let it go and just see how today goes. She took her phone today. Maybe I need Matt Maher again. I'll just say, MCS it took y'all one day to prove why your school system failed. Thank you for the hostile take over of our once wonderful school system.
We had a fantastic Back2School dinner with grandparents. A tradition that goes back to Abigail starting preschool. Dinner was delicious, all my babies were back home, homework was finished, I had filled all the proper paper work and put the ones needing money to the side. Everyone to bed by 9:30,after a little shark week of course.
Annabelle went to her first day of kindergarten this morning. She was really excited and feeling very independent, except she wanted Adeline to pick out her clothes. We had her super heros backpack, lunch box and water bottle ready to go with her princess shirt! She didn't want to hold anyone's hand walking in and went straight to her chair to get to work. It didn't hurt that her favorite friend that's a boy was sitting right across from her. I was trying my best not to get emotional as I walked home. Officer McKinney helped by pulling someone over right in front of me for speeding in the school zone. I'd never heard him use a stern voice before and it made me laugh! I will say, he smiled the whole time he was fussing at the guy!
I can not wait until 4:00 to find out how things went for Annabelle and for all the other to tell me about their day. Amelia better be home by 4:00 or this mama might get all Madea on some people. Who's gonna bail me out?
Sorry, it was so long, 6 kids equals long days.
Get your tissues and click here --- Matt Maher- Lord, I Need You
The day began at 5:28 am. Abigail being in high school now needs to leave the house right before 6:30! Thankfully, Rusty can take her and her friend. I made her lunch and then we had to decide, paper sack or Vera Bradley lunch bag. We went with paper sack. She was not nervous at all and was dressed very nice in what we thought was dress code compliant. I went over with her a few times about where to go when she gets there, she had her map highlighted in her binder and she texted her friends at least 47 times each before she left. The time finally came for Rusty to leave with her and I watched her walk to his Explorer and climb in. I thought to myself, hold back the tears at least until she drives off. As they pulled away I felt the tears coming. Then I felt a little one at my side. Annabelle my super late sleeper had awoke before anyone else. I was really glad to see her, so I sucked up the tears and started my next round of getting on to school.
Round 2 began at 6:30 getting Amelia up and going to be on the bus at 7:25. She is not the morning person Abigail is and it takes her a bit to get going. She gets dressed in a super cute first day of school outfit and was actually ready early. Another lunch made, 1 more little one awake to add to Annabelle. At 7:05 she decided to go on out just in case the bus was early. If you were anywhere on facebook yesterday you would have seen that many buses in our new wonderful unified district never showed up. At 7:40 a neighbor took her to school and by 8am the bus still hadn't shown up. I didn't have time to worry because the next phase of my morning was starting.
Round 3 was to get Adeline up at to school by 8:40. She is a fantastic morning person. She is self driven to do each step of getting ready on her own without being reminded. She had a super cute very coordinated outfit on and was ready to go by 8:15! My mom came over to sit with the boys while I took Adeline in to her class. She is so independent and great at making friends I don't really worry about her. Not to mention one of her best friends is in the class. I got her in the building to her class and settled in her seat. She looked happy and excited to be there.
Round 4 of my morning is where it got crazy. Annabelle was meeting some other kids that were going to kindergarten for the first time at the park. While in a search of Pitt's shoes I turned around to find him pulling Finn off the couch. When I said "no!" he of course let go. And you know what happened after that. Finn was fine. I checked him over thoroughly. Pitt was very loving and brought him his paci and his own blankie. We decided to go on to the park. As I pulled into the parking lot what comes on KLOVE but Matt Maher's Lord I Need You (If you haven't heard it, I'm putting a link below). I thought I was fine with everyone going to school. WRONG!!! As soon as the music started I thought, NO NO NO, Lord, I can't handle this song this morning. I parked away from other cars so other mom's wouldn't think I was crazy for singing in the van. Then the first lyrics came,
"Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without you I fall apart
You're the one who guides my heart"
I just decided to let it go, just go on and cry. I was crying more I think than any other first day of school ever. As I'm sobbing I look up and My sweet friend with 6 kids and one also starting kindergarten had parked next to me. She mouthed through the window, are you crying! I rolled the window down and all I could say was, "the song." She turned her radio up and just boo hooed with me. I'll tell you what by the end I was praying the lyrics out loud,
"teach my song to rise to You
when temptation comes my way
and when I can not stand I fall on you
Jesus, you're my hope and stay"
I guess I should say thank you Lord for playing that song right when I needed to hear it. Annabelle had a great time at the park and played with her favorite friend that's a boy. By the time we got home I 2 hours until Abigail got back!
She got home to tell me all about the great day she had. She was seconds late to one class but she swore to run the next time. She gets this insane need to be early from her daddy! And it would seem what we thought to be dress code was not. She had a little chat with my former classmate and now assistant principal. By then it was pouring down rain and we kept looking out for Amelia's bus. 3:15, I wasn't worried, 3:30 still not worried. 3:45, I was getting a little worried, then I got a text from her via someone else's phone that said, "bus is late." I found out that she was still at school. My sister called me to say my nephew was on an bus and Amelia should be on the bus with him, but said Amelia is not on the bus! By 4:15 Adeline was home and we decided to call the school. Many students were still at CMS. Rusty left to go get her. When he got in the office it was full of angry parents wondering where the heck their kids were. She was on an unknown bus and they could not get in touch with the drivers. Well, she finally got home at 4:45 after being dropped in an unknown location. Thankfully, one of the girls that was also dropped off there knew how to get Amelia home, Amelia did not! It seems Amelia was assigned to a bus that doesn't exist. It was a crazy fiasco, it angers me greatly, but I need to let it go and just see how today goes. She took her phone today. Maybe I need Matt Maher again. I'll just say, MCS it took y'all one day to prove why your school system failed. Thank you for the hostile take over of our once wonderful school system.
We had a fantastic Back2School dinner with grandparents. A tradition that goes back to Abigail starting preschool. Dinner was delicious, all my babies were back home, homework was finished, I had filled all the proper paper work and put the ones needing money to the side. Everyone to bed by 9:30,after a little shark week of course.
Annabelle went to her first day of kindergarten this morning. She was really excited and feeling very independent, except she wanted Adeline to pick out her clothes. We had her super heros backpack, lunch box and water bottle ready to go with her princess shirt! She didn't want to hold anyone's hand walking in and went straight to her chair to get to work. It didn't hurt that her favorite friend that's a boy was sitting right across from her. I was trying my best not to get emotional as I walked home. Officer McKinney helped by pulling someone over right in front of me for speeding in the school zone. I'd never heard him use a stern voice before and it made me laugh! I will say, he smiled the whole time he was fussing at the guy!
I can not wait until 4:00 to find out how things went for Annabelle and for all the other to tell me about their day. Amelia better be home by 4:00 or this mama might get all Madea on some people. Who's gonna bail me out?
Sorry, it was so long, 6 kids equals long days.
Get your tissues and click here --- Matt Maher- Lord, I Need You
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Top 10 Back to School edition
Top 10 reasons I'm ready for my kids to go back to school...
10. Less arguing
9. Quieter
8. Lunch time in peace
7. No one bugging Pitt
6. Less people to wake up sleeping babies
5. The food bill will go down without people here eating ALL DAY LONG!
4. Less toilet paper used (4 girls)
3. No "can I" ALL DAY LONG!
2. No one saying 37 times in 37 minutes that there is nothing to do.
1. Less arguing.
Top 10 reasons I'm NOT ready for my kids to go back to school...
10. 5:30 am
9. Kids will be at 3 different schools on 3 different time schedules
8. No one to play with Pitt while I take care of Finn
7. No one to hold Finn while I take of Pitt
6. No one to leave Finn and Pitt with while I run an errand.
5. Homework
4. I will spend 1/2 of my day getting kids ready for school.
3. Too quiet
2. No one else here that can form complete sentences
1. No one to blame why I watched a whole hour of Disney Channel in the middle of the day.
The bottom list outweighs the top list. We (Finn, Pitt and me) are going to miss those girls. I'm psyching myself up for sending one to high school for the first time and one to kindergarten. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I don't know which one I am more emotional over. Yeah, I've got 2 more at home, but sending that girl to high school/kindergarten is HARD! Sending one to kindergarten has not gotten easier over the years and I will assume that sending one to the sharks, I mean high school, doesn't get easier either. For us homeschooling is not an option right now. I want them in public schools. I want them to be a light in the dark world. This is my prayer today...
Dear Lord, I have trained up my girls in the way they should go and I pray that they do not depart from it. I pray that when they enter a situation that is not right they make the right decision. I pray that I haven't forgotten something to tell them, some little piece of advice that would help them. I pray that they have friends to sit by in the cafeteria. I pray if they don't have friends to sit by that the language around them is not too worldly. I pray that if it is foul they don't let it sink into their heart. I pray they have someone to walk home with or ride with on the bus. I pray that when "that kid" says something ugly they don't laugh. I pray that they are not "that kid." I pray they don't cry during the day. You know that is the worst thing in the world when one comes home and you found out they had cried during the day. I pray that the next 1460 days go so unbelievable slow for Abigail. (Just got misty eyed typing that last sentence) I pray they don't learn the hard way about why it is bad to gossip. I pray they find a young man that one day a long long long time from now will be Mr. Right. Lord, I am handing my kids over to you for 180 days, thank you that each one of them will be with a Christian at least part of the day. I pray that each one of those teachers will love my kids and teach them to the best of their ability. I pray that my kids will love each one of those teachers and learn to the best of their ability. Lastly, I pray that the next 1825 days for Finn go even slower than Abigail's 1460.
I'm not even going to say amen because this will be my ongoing prayer until 4:00 May 22, 2014.
10. Less arguing
9. Quieter
8. Lunch time in peace
7. No one bugging Pitt
6. Less people to wake up sleeping babies
5. The food bill will go down without people here eating ALL DAY LONG!
4. Less toilet paper used (4 girls)
3. No "can I" ALL DAY LONG!
2. No one saying 37 times in 37 minutes that there is nothing to do.
1. Less arguing.
Top 10 reasons I'm NOT ready for my kids to go back to school...
10. 5:30 am
9. Kids will be at 3 different schools on 3 different time schedules
8. No one to play with Pitt while I take care of Finn
7. No one to hold Finn while I take of Pitt
6. No one to leave Finn and Pitt with while I run an errand.
5. Homework
4. I will spend 1/2 of my day getting kids ready for school.
3. Too quiet
2. No one else here that can form complete sentences
1. No one to blame why I watched a whole hour of Disney Channel in the middle of the day.
The bottom list outweighs the top list. We (Finn, Pitt and me) are going to miss those girls. I'm psyching myself up for sending one to high school for the first time and one to kindergarten. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I don't know which one I am more emotional over. Yeah, I've got 2 more at home, but sending that girl to high school/kindergarten is HARD! Sending one to kindergarten has not gotten easier over the years and I will assume that sending one to the sharks, I mean high school, doesn't get easier either. For us homeschooling is not an option right now. I want them in public schools. I want them to be a light in the dark world. This is my prayer today...
Dear Lord, I have trained up my girls in the way they should go and I pray that they do not depart from it. I pray that when they enter a situation that is not right they make the right decision. I pray that I haven't forgotten something to tell them, some little piece of advice that would help them. I pray that they have friends to sit by in the cafeteria. I pray if they don't have friends to sit by that the language around them is not too worldly. I pray that if it is foul they don't let it sink into their heart. I pray they have someone to walk home with or ride with on the bus. I pray that when "that kid" says something ugly they don't laugh. I pray that they are not "that kid." I pray they don't cry during the day. You know that is the worst thing in the world when one comes home and you found out they had cried during the day. I pray that the next 1460 days go so unbelievable slow for Abigail. (Just got misty eyed typing that last sentence) I pray they don't learn the hard way about why it is bad to gossip. I pray they find a young man that one day a long long long time from now will be Mr. Right. Lord, I am handing my kids over to you for 180 days, thank you that each one of them will be with a Christian at least part of the day. I pray that each one of those teachers will love my kids and teach them to the best of their ability. I pray that my kids will love each one of those teachers and learn to the best of their ability. Lastly, I pray that the next 1825 days for Finn go even slower than Abigail's 1460.
I'm not even going to say amen because this will be my ongoing prayer until 4:00 May 22, 2014.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
She works hard for her money.....
This time last summer Abigail and I were planning to head to Guatemala for a mission trip in March of 2013. We both had our passports made and were starting to think about how to get the funds to go. Much to my surprise in August we found out about my sweet little Finn and he would be arriving right around the time of the trip. I cried. And I cried. And I cried. I wanted to go so bad on that trip and then I realized that I couldn't hold Abigail back from going. It took a while but I just let it go and allowed her to go without me but only under the close supervision of a good friend. She left without me crying in the parking lot. I actually didn't lose it until she called from the Atlanta airport and said they were about to board. Then I sobbed. My baby was getting on a plane, flying over the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to travel to a foreign country. I sat by the phone and computer awaiting messages from her the whole week while I was "great with child" at home. The 75 second phone call sustained me the whole week. As did the Facebook pictures from some of the folks there. I would look all through them happy even to see her shoe in one picture! She had free wifi one day in a McDonald's and emailed Amelia a picture. I stared at that sucker for a while. When she got home I looked over and over through the pictures wishing I had gotten to go with her. She had an amazing week and no doubt was changed for life.
Fast forward to this July. Rusty has agreed to Abigail, Amelia and me going in 2014!!! He will be taking the week off work to stay home with the other babies. You have probably seen me posting pictures to Facebook of various jewelry and now book party info. Here is what we are doing to raise $3000! Abigail had some money already in her Sponge Bob locker, where she is saving money. She babysat for a week all day long a sweet little boy. Next, she dog-sat for a neighbor. Abigail and Amelia actually split that one. For 2 weeks now they have gotten up early, I mean 6:30am or 7:15am! Abigail is almost fully funded for her part but I told her she could start helping Amelia. Amelia has been selling mostly earrings. She is making them each by hand and selling them pretty cheap too! So far she has made almost $200! I'm hoping they can both fund the trip on their own. Not that there is anything wrong with parents paying for someone to go or just getting donations but I am loving watching them count money and realize that THEY did it! Last Christmas Abigail and I offered to wrap Christmas presents for donations. Strangely only one person took us up on the offer but keep that in mind this November and December again. ;) We will be doing it again. For myself, I have started selling Usborne books. Now this is not strictly to pay for me to go on the mission trip (I've got kids to feed with it) but I hope it will help.
Here are a couple of links...
Jewelry pictures...
https://www.facebook.com/kelly.j.riley/media_set?set=a.10151471175456126.1073741825.503271125&type=3
Usborne books...
https://w3799.myubam.com/shop
Thanks to everyone who has already helped! Don't think we are crazy, just doing what the Lord commanded us.
Fast forward to this July. Rusty has agreed to Abigail, Amelia and me going in 2014!!! He will be taking the week off work to stay home with the other babies. You have probably seen me posting pictures to Facebook of various jewelry and now book party info. Here is what we are doing to raise $3000! Abigail had some money already in her Sponge Bob locker, where she is saving money. She babysat for a week all day long a sweet little boy. Next, she dog-sat for a neighbor. Abigail and Amelia actually split that one. For 2 weeks now they have gotten up early, I mean 6:30am or 7:15am! Abigail is almost fully funded for her part but I told her she could start helping Amelia. Amelia has been selling mostly earrings. She is making them each by hand and selling them pretty cheap too! So far she has made almost $200! I'm hoping they can both fund the trip on their own. Not that there is anything wrong with parents paying for someone to go or just getting donations but I am loving watching them count money and realize that THEY did it! Last Christmas Abigail and I offered to wrap Christmas presents for donations. Strangely only one person took us up on the offer but keep that in mind this November and December again. ;) We will be doing it again. For myself, I have started selling Usborne books. Now this is not strictly to pay for me to go on the mission trip (I've got kids to feed with it) but I hope it will help.
Here are a couple of links...
Jewelry pictures...
https://www.facebook.com/kelly.j.riley/media_set?set=a.10151471175456126.1073741825.503271125&type=3
Usborne books...
https://w3799.myubam.com/shop
Thanks to everyone who has already helped! Don't think we are crazy, just doing what the Lord commanded us.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Week in a coco-nutshell
So according to my last post we were supposed to be having a staycation week. I had planned out various things to do each day and different restaurant inspired dinners. Then life happened. The first day of our staycation was ruined by various mishaps. The next day we had our Mexican restaurant taco night and it was great. That started making up for the BAD day Monday.
Wednesday we spent the WHOLE day at the zoo with almost no one else there. It was hot but not crowded at all! At one point we were the only ones with the sting rays. I would put those on your list for the summer. It does cost extra but it was really fun. My 65 year old mama was sticking her hand right into that pool to pet the rays and sharks! I bet when she was my kids' age she could never have imagined touching a sting ray. We went to Jerry's Sno Cones after the zoo and waited in line 45 minutes for our supreme sno cones. I mean they were good but not sure I would make a special trip out there. Here's what I noticed while people watching, if you weren't wearing Chacos while waiting in line you were a loser! I'd say at least 3/4 of the people were wearing them. The other 1/4 lived in the neighborhood or was one of my crew! Here is what else I noticed, while 2 moms were talking, who later got into a van with a fancy private school bumpersticker, one of their kids was playing the trash/dirt beside the building. The boy was maybe 3! I laughed actually. After we got home everyone cleaned up and we went to church for various activities. Dinner was super late but it was a Polynesian themed pork dinner and delicious! I was wore out when I hit the bed that night.
Thursday was the day I thought I might go to the water park and then decided it was too stinking hot! We ended up cleaning and playing the Wii. Dinner that night was seafood restaurant inspired coconut shrimp from scratch and might I add delicious! A little night swimming to finish the day off so I didn't feel like it was a complete waste.
Friday my little Adeline went to Camp Big Enough, an all day camp at church. Bible studies, inflatable water slide, crafts and much more fun! I started my afternoon by picking her up at 4. Came home quickly changed and packed again for a slumber party and Annabelle packed for a sleep over too. I did some grocery shopping at Walmart for my mother-in-law who has a broken foot right now. I tell you what, shopping for someone else is hard! I didn't even know what some of the stuff was! I now know the various uses for jet dry. I dropped off her groceries and Annabelle, went straight to the slumber party to drop off Adeline and on my way home stopped by my grandmother's to check on her. My dad was trying to check her blood pressure for her and her toilet was running. I got the blood pressure monitor working and then had to run to Lowe's for a toilet part. Somewhere in there I dropped off my milk that I bought like an hour prior to that (it was good this morning still thank goodness!). Back to my grandmother's to help my dad fix her toilet and then home to squeeze in dinner. Friday's dinner was bar&grill themed bacon infused hamburger sliders. Yummy! Either I was super hungry because it was late again or Rusty cooked them to perfection, I'm going with the latter.
So now to Saturday, we finally needed to face the elephant in the room, the leaky shower pan that has buckled up over half of our bedroom floor and all of the closet floor. Rusty cleared out the closet, started moving furniture around and pulling up floor boards this morning. I tell you what, I have loved the wood floor laminate since the day we put it in, now not so much. The floor is ruined and probably cheap enough to come in right under our deductible but I called today to make a claim anyway. The shower pan has to be replaced, which means tearing the shower to the studs. The crazy part is we did this 5 years ago when we bought the house to this same shower and because I don't want to speak ill of the dead I won't mention what I'm thinking about the plumber that installed it! It's looking like we will have concrete floors in our bedroom for a while not to mention being down to 2 showers for a while too. I don't even want to ask the plumber how much! I'm totally being Scarlett O'Hara, I'll think about it tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day! Thankful it is not the whole house and thankful we have 2 backup showers.
On a much happier note, if you haven't checked out Amelia's earring line that she is selling to raise money to go to Guatemala in 2014 please check this link and pick something cute out! We are changing things constantly and making new stuff everyday so check back often!
https://www.facebook.com/kelly.j.riley/media_set?set=a.10151471175456126.1073741825.503271125&type=1
There's our week in what I thought would be a nutshell but it was so busy I turned it into a coco-nutshell. Check back next week for the insane adventures of the raccoon cat food thief!
Wednesday we spent the WHOLE day at the zoo with almost no one else there. It was hot but not crowded at all! At one point we were the only ones with the sting rays. I would put those on your list for the summer. It does cost extra but it was really fun. My 65 year old mama was sticking her hand right into that pool to pet the rays and sharks! I bet when she was my kids' age she could never have imagined touching a sting ray. We went to Jerry's Sno Cones after the zoo and waited in line 45 minutes for our supreme sno cones. I mean they were good but not sure I would make a special trip out there. Here's what I noticed while people watching, if you weren't wearing Chacos while waiting in line you were a loser! I'd say at least 3/4 of the people were wearing them. The other 1/4 lived in the neighborhood or was one of my crew! Here is what else I noticed, while 2 moms were talking, who later got into a van with a fancy private school bumpersticker, one of their kids was playing the trash/dirt beside the building. The boy was maybe 3! I laughed actually. After we got home everyone cleaned up and we went to church for various activities. Dinner was super late but it was a Polynesian themed pork dinner and delicious! I was wore out when I hit the bed that night.
Thursday was the day I thought I might go to the water park and then decided it was too stinking hot! We ended up cleaning and playing the Wii. Dinner that night was seafood restaurant inspired coconut shrimp from scratch and might I add delicious! A little night swimming to finish the day off so I didn't feel like it was a complete waste.
Friday my little Adeline went to Camp Big Enough, an all day camp at church. Bible studies, inflatable water slide, crafts and much more fun! I started my afternoon by picking her up at 4. Came home quickly changed and packed again for a slumber party and Annabelle packed for a sleep over too. I did some grocery shopping at Walmart for my mother-in-law who has a broken foot right now. I tell you what, shopping for someone else is hard! I didn't even know what some of the stuff was! I now know the various uses for jet dry. I dropped off her groceries and Annabelle, went straight to the slumber party to drop off Adeline and on my way home stopped by my grandmother's to check on her. My dad was trying to check her blood pressure for her and her toilet was running. I got the blood pressure monitor working and then had to run to Lowe's for a toilet part. Somewhere in there I dropped off my milk that I bought like an hour prior to that (it was good this morning still thank goodness!). Back to my grandmother's to help my dad fix her toilet and then home to squeeze in dinner. Friday's dinner was bar&grill themed bacon infused hamburger sliders. Yummy! Either I was super hungry because it was late again or Rusty cooked them to perfection, I'm going with the latter.
So now to Saturday, we finally needed to face the elephant in the room, the leaky shower pan that has buckled up over half of our bedroom floor and all of the closet floor. Rusty cleared out the closet, started moving furniture around and pulling up floor boards this morning. I tell you what, I have loved the wood floor laminate since the day we put it in, now not so much. The floor is ruined and probably cheap enough to come in right under our deductible but I called today to make a claim anyway. The shower pan has to be replaced, which means tearing the shower to the studs. The crazy part is we did this 5 years ago when we bought the house to this same shower and because I don't want to speak ill of the dead I won't mention what I'm thinking about the plumber that installed it! It's looking like we will have concrete floors in our bedroom for a while not to mention being down to 2 showers for a while too. I don't even want to ask the plumber how much! I'm totally being Scarlett O'Hara, I'll think about it tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day! Thankful it is not the whole house and thankful we have 2 backup showers.
On a much happier note, if you haven't checked out Amelia's earring line that she is selling to raise money to go to Guatemala in 2014 please check this link and pick something cute out! We are changing things constantly and making new stuff everyday so check back often!
https://www.facebook.com/kelly.j.riley/media_set?set=a.10151471175456126.1073741825.503271125&type=1
There's our week in what I thought would be a nutshell but it was so busy I turned it into a coco-nutshell. Check back next week for the insane adventures of the raccoon cat food thief!
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