Clean and Shiny

Today I taught my 7yo son how to clean his bathroom. Since he shares it with 3 other brothers it gets gross fast.

I took him in there to look and I asked him to show me what he thought needed to be done. I want him to have eyes to see without me having to baby him with a list.

We attacked the medicine cabinet and the vanity doors first. With each job I showed him what to do, got him started, and told him to come get me when he was done. In the meantime, I stayed close helping his brothers to clean up the basement.

I checked that job then we moved to the next one. In this way we cleaned the whole bathroom, including the floor. It looks soooo nice. When he was done I let him spray room freshener as a finishing touch. He was really proud of his job well done and said it was fun.

It took us over an hour to do it this way but I think it was time well invested. A couple of more weeks of this training and he should be able to do it on his own. I'm working my way out of another job!

Who's In Command?

My 7yo son was squabbling with his 10yo sister.
"You can't command me!"

She was helping him pick out his church clothes. Usually his brother helps him with that b/c they are buddies, but today she was doing it. This little boy definitely needs help when it comes to clothes. All weekend he has been wearing his little brother's pants that do not even go down to his socks. Instead of being thankful for her help, he was resenting the fact that she was telling him what to do.

Now sometimes my daughter does "lord it over" him and that could've been the case. I'm really not sure since I was upstairs. They both came into my room irritated with the other and seeking help. I needed some time to think so I sent them to wait on the couch.

Figuring this would be a good lesson for all, I called a meeting and we discussed "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ".

I confess that sometimes I "fear" getting out of bed and starting the day. You never do know what a day may bring, and there are times when I don't even like to think about all the possibilities. There are so many variables with so many people. I need wisdom and patience and to just walk. Walk and pray and do. Trust and don't over- think it all.

Selfishly, I sometimes wish I could do something different. I have friends that have kids in school, they have house keepers, they have the day to do *whatever*! I do not mean to sound jealous or unthankful...I'm not (really!). I'm so happy to have all these sweet kids and a husband who works so hard for me to stay home. And I know that God calls each of us to something different. It is just that there are times when I do wish that were me...just for a day. Not for forever.

But then I know that I would miss my kids terribly. I *am* rather fond of them you know and I'm used to having them around. I'm sure I'd get very bored spending my days doing whatever it is I'd do. And besides, who would give them the mini-sermons they've grown accustomed to?

Accomplishments

A good week for Mally and me...

I rode a bike for the first time in like 15 years...no training wheels thank you. 9 of us all rode to the park for some fun. I didn't crash and I didn't get run over. I forgot how much fun it was.


Tonight Mally pooped on the potty! Finally!! Happy happy joy joy!

Life is good.

Good Bye Pancakes

I had planned a simple supper of pancakes for tonight. And since I figured it would be so quick, I thought of adding cooked apples and whipped cream to top them off. Mmmm....

Ever make pancakes for 11 people? Now I remember why I stopped. I couldn't remember if I needed to double the recipe or if I already had it doubled in the directions. I made a huge mess. My electric skillet will only make 5 at a time. Do I drag out more pans or just wait it out? Standing, pouring, flipping, waiting. Since I need to make like 92 pancakes, it takes pretty much forever.

I wonder if Rachel Ray could do it in 30 minutes?

Daily Reading Gem

Hebrews 11:27
"...he persevered b/c he saw him who is invisible."

This was Moses. Poor guy had tons of hardships to endure, lots of people to govern, much opportunity to be discouraged. I wonder how many times he wanted to throw up his hands and throw in the towel. But he kept his eyes on God...and was able to persevere.

Today started out as a very irritating morning. I had relational problems all over the house, a cranky little baby, I forgot to start breakfast last night, and I found myself doing an unexpected errand when I was just sitting down to start school. I wished I could start the day over. I thought of Moses and his ability to persevere.

God, please give me the resolve, the discipline, and the energy to persevere. I don't want to lose heart when things don't go as I think they should. I want to trust and walk by faith in quiet confidence always looking to the One who is invisible.

Today

A good Saturday.

~Baby woke up at 5am! I nursed him and put him back to bed and Honey and I stayed up. We listened to a pod cast sermon and then our oldest son joined us for hot chocolate.

~Saturday morning eggs and a new RR recipe in the crockpot. Eggs were good, RR not so much.

~First soccer game of the spring season! Tied 2-2. A little too windy so Baby and I watched from the car. We had the best seat of all. Spring soccer is WAY busier than winter soccer. With 3 boys playing at 3 different parks this season, it's really bumped up a notch. I will enjoy every game of it!

~I took 4 kids out for ice cream.

~Honey and I took a nap.

~Honey cleaned the oven for me. It's self-cleaning BUT.....long story.

~#1 had a friend over for dinner.

~A few household repairs.

~We rented Enchanted. Quite the girly show.

~In order not to be a complete fuddy dud I changed the Easter menu. Chicken fried steak, potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and coconut cream cake. Everyone likes this plan better. I think my in-laws and the cousins might come over.

Today

~I've invited anyone who wants to to meet me in the living room to read their Bibles at 6am and share my pot of whatever. Yesterday was the first day and I didn't make it. Today I did and was joined by 2 daughters. I'm hoping for some sons to join the mix.

~Bright and early 8:15 ortho appt with #2. All is good.

~I mixed up a french toast casserole last night to bake this morning. I was able to use up the left over cinnamon toast from my son's b-day.

~A good school day and we even played a Spiderman card game.

~Honey got a free lunch at Chipotles with everyone else at CCU.

~I painted the bathroom vanity but it doesn't look much better. That was disappointing.

~I dropped off 4 kids with Honey for soccer practice and took everyone else to Sams.

~Super windy today so I decided to make some hot chocolate with my little boys. I knew I was out of one ingredient that I needed for my go-to recipe so I looked up Alton's recipe. Rats! I didn't have all of that either. So we just made up our own and it was good.

~I finished reading Balto with the little boys and cried my eyes out. I hate it when dogs die.

~It's not Friday but since Honey is home tomorrow everyone is sleeping somewhere else. But tonight we made it clear that no one is sleeping in our bed!

Ramblings and Wonderings

I was visiting with a friend from church last night. She is the oldest of 5 in her family and now in her 50's. She said that she *always* had to babysit so much (as in watch her younger siblings) that she decided she wouldn't have kids til she was 30. And she didn't.

Don't we all have some sort of childhood baggage that we bring into our own families? "When I have kids I'm NEVER going to....".fill in the blank

One of my children was commenting on how many dishes we always have. Yes, we do have a lot and most days have to run our dishwasher 4x. It's made me wonder what they will choose to take into their own families. Will they remember the work involved instead of the love and fun?

My son's soccer team is made up mostly of 2 children/2 income families. I doubt they ever have many dishes. I know that most of them eat out a lot b/c they talk about which child refuses to eat at which place. They are even willing to go to more than one place! Eating out is very rarely an option for us.

And while I read about sweet memories of homemade food that so-n-so had, I wonder if my kids will consider it sweet or bothersome. I was planning a traditional type of Easter meal. You know...roast, mashed potatoes, whatever else. And while my kids will not verbally complain, I know that they really wish it was something "better". If I suggested McDonalds there would be a victory song sung throughout the house.

So I wonder......
Will my grandkids eat sliced white bread b/c my kids always *had* to eat homemade bread?
Will they only have 1 kid so nobody will have to babysit or share a room?
Will they eat Sonic on Thanksgiving?

Some Of Us

A Gentle Reminder

Here's a poem I'm teaching my boys. My next door neighbor in AR wrote it. It's most helpful sometimes!


If you grumble and push
Your day will be mush
And you may just end up
With a pop on the tush!

Clever huh?

Happy Birthday!!

My Sweetie is 7!

We've had a good day. We woke up to about 2 1/2 inches of snow. I put on a pot of hot water for hot chocolate. Surely we won't have too many more of these kind of days left.

He wanted cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I got up early and got them going in the bread machine. When it was time to take them out...oh no!! Something went terribly wrong and the dough was just a bunch of crumbs. So I told him we'd make cinnamon toast instead and I'd make him some cinnamon rolls for tea. He was good with that. While making the cinnamon toast, LB asked to help. I should've watched her more closely cuz when I turned around she had covered everything with way too much cinnamon. Well, there was nothing to do but cook it anyway. Birthday Boy ate it graciously but said, "I don't think I ever want cinnamon toast again."

We opened presents at lunch time when Daddy came home. His big present was a ticket to the opening day Rapids game. Honey is taking him at the end of the month. They are going early and staying late and "doing it all". It's gonna be a ton of fun!! It's also CT's present too since his b-day is shortly after.

One of his favorite presents is a big blow up Spiderman punching thing. He's had fun with it all day.

We had cinnamon rolls for tea that turned out much better than the first batch. I forgot his special request for egg nog. I gotta make it in the morning.

Tonight we had pizza and french fries with choc ice cream cake. He helped his big sis make the cake and it was yummy. Frozen icing is the best! We all went around the table and told something we loved about him. Good time.

~He loves to laugh and can not possibly laugh quietly. He laughs out loud and makes everyone else laugh too.

~He loves soccer.

~He's a good reader and loves to learn something new in his lessons.

~He just learned to tie his shoes. Way to go Bud!

~He likes it when I climb in his bed and read our read-aloud book.

~He loves to raid Daddy's tool box and hammer 17 nails into a single piece of wood. He makes all sorts of good stuff.

~He says snow is boring.

~He is a coin collector just like his big brother. He loves all sorts of money.

~He is quick to apologize when wrong.

I love you Baby Boy! Happy Birthday!!

I'm Not Alone

My 3yo son is so weird about his clothes. During the spring/summer seasons all is well but when the fall hits we are in for a battle.

Socks, pants, and long sleeved shirts are clothes that bring despair. Actually the socks are ok to wear but they have to be just right. Snug around his whole foot, the heel part only on the heel, tight with nothing extra. His pants can not go all the way down to his foot. He has to roll them up. He rolls up the sleeves on shirts and jackets so that they won't go all the way to his hands.

Then he does the test. He puts his arms down by his side and shakes likes crazy. If the sleeves are still rolled up, he's good to go. Same with his bike helmet. He shakes his head all over the place to make sure it's nice and tight. Funny kid.

I had to buy socks for the boys yesterday. I pick out the older boys' socks first. Easy. Then I look for Mayfee's kind. NONE to be found!! I'm not giving up easily and I'm standing there searching and hoping.

Another mom was looking too. She says, "Do you see any small short socks?" Nope. So she grabs a different bag and bends down to her small son. "They don't have your socks. I'm going to have to buy the long ones and you are *not* going to cry about it. Do you hear me?"

Big smile. I can so relate!

What I Love About Sundays

~Church.

~Naps.

~The newspaper scattered all over the floor.

~Leftovers.

~Sports on TV

~Date night.

What I Love About Saturdays

~The freedom to get a lot of work done, or not.

~The fun of enjoying a beautiful day outside. Today was one of those. We had a family baseball game in the cul-de-sac, cleaned up the garage/yard, and played soccer. Baby fell backwards in the dirt and Mal just walked around and got into stuff. She even ate some old goldfish crackers that were spilled under a table on the garage floor. EWWWW.....

~The chance to catch up on whatever I didn't finish during the week.

~Looking ahead to get a jump on the next week. Next week: 1 birthday, church potluck, babysitting, lots of soccer practice, 1 game.

~Longer phone calls.

~Naps.

~Sleeping in.

~Honey's Saturday morning eggs and the noise that goes with it.

~The time to experiment in the kitchen.

~A bigger dinner with dessert. Tonight we had ziti in the crock pot with salad and bread. We had lots of leftover desserts from Bible study and birthday.

~Saturday night baths. Everyone clean at the same time.

~Quiet time after kids are in bed.

Happy Birthday #2

Today my second born is 14! Fourteen! We've had a super fun day today. It started off with dodge ball at gym day then Olive Garden for lunch and Horton Hears A Who.

She picked yummy foods for the day.
Breakfast...cinnamon rolls
Lunch...Olive Garden with Mom
Dinner...chicken spaghetti, asparagus, brownies, and homemade oreo ice cream.

I hadn't used the ice cream maker in a while and forgot I needed to freeze the bowl for 8 hours. It turned out more like oreo shakes.

My oldest son really gets into birthday decorating. I took him to the dollar store yesterday to pick out new stuff. The dining room looked great when she came upstairs this morning. She opened her presents first thing and have enjoyed them all day.

Here's some sweet things about my big girl....

~She loves comfy clothes.
~She has been read to since she was little bitty. Now she is reading aloud to her little sister every night.
~She told me that she feels like she is really growing up b/c she doesn't get so excited over little things. I told her to grow slow.
~She has a solid understanding of right/wrong.
~She loves Jesus and wants to be a missionary.
~Salad is her favorite food.
~She has a huge bright smile with sweet dancing eyes. When she is excited it shows all over her whole body.
~She loves loves loves animals.
~She doesn't like to babysit but would love to walk your dog.
~She says she likes school even though it's hard for her.

When I asked her what her hopes were for this year she said, "To put down anger and to not cry over school."

Happy Birthday Honey Girl. I love you so much!!

How Do You Spell That?

I was getting my grocery list ready and my 5yo wanted to help. He decided to write down everyone's favorite foods so I could get them at the store. It looked like this...

MAGURONEY AND CHES (macaroni and cheese)
SOOP (soup)
PEZU (pizza)
IS CEM (ice cream)

One of the great things about our church is the number of older people. Unfortunately we don't know them very well yet. They sit on the left and we sit on the right. Being Baptists we wouldn't dream of switching pews!

The girls and I are going to start going to their SS class and try to do some of the things they do. Tomorrow we're going to lunch at Red Lobster with them. I would like to try to bridge the gap a bit and enjoy the older generation. They have so much to offer and we have much to learn.

"...now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trial. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. " 1Pet 1:6-7

The more experienced generation has seen more, done more and been through more grief, therefore more refining. Maybe that's why they are usually described with such adjectives as sweet, kind, and cute.

After doing a go-through-the-Bible-in-a-year class at our old church my teen-aged daughter said, "I learned that I can have friends of all ages." Amen!

SCORE!

The victory picture after scoring his first CO goal!!

Vacation

Here's a few vacation happenings...

~I cleaned up the book room and did some scrapbooking. I played with my Cricut and made some cards. It's been so long since I've worked on my scrapbooks. It's something I want to do, but just never seem to have the time/energy. So I prayed about it and asked the Lord to show me the time and give me the desire/energy to at least finish what I've started.

~We had hot dogs! That never happens b/c Honey and CT doesn't like them.

~We took lunchboxes to the park. Beautiful day but a little chilly for Baby and me. We headed back early.

~I made lemon bread and carrot cake. Other than that, it's been laid back cooking.

~I went to church without Honey. Baby was good. The toddler was good. My 3yo? Not so good. Whispering, talking, dropping books, flopping around on the pew, rattling papers...you name it. I took him out for a visit in the bathroom then had him sit in the foyer with his hand clapped over his mouth until the service was over. At home he had to practice his church behavior on the couch. We discussed how his behavior is a distraction to others that want to hear about God. I expected it from Mally, not from him.

~I finished The Last Sin Eater. Good book! Looking forward to the movie.

~I chatted with some friends from home.

~I tweaked our school schedule.

~I bought some b-day presents for next week!!

~I got scared at night. It's so quiet. I wanted my MP3 but it was in the car. It was dark and I was too scared to go get it. Honey's on his way home and I'm sooo glad!

Vacation Musings

Our first vacation day with only six kids at home was SO quiet. The house was clean almost all day. It truly seemed like a real vacation.

So I thought... since the house has been quiet and clean it must be THEM that are noisy and messy! LOL.

I slept in, got some things done, and had a nice chat with a friend from home. The day was just so easy, so nice, so quiet, so clean, so deep sigh-ish.

My thoughts went toward, "Why can't everyday be like this?"

I learned something new about myself. If not checked, the peace of vacation can easily become an idol to me.

A Change of Plans

I just couldn't get it all together in time so we're not going to AZ with the boys. The hotel reservations were not working out, the CO Rush traveling rules were too hard to follow with all of us, and really I just don't have enough time to pull it off. It's funny to think that we'd actually have to take our trailer for only a weekend stay in a hotel! There's just so much.........

I hate not being able to go but the whole mess was definitely stealing my joy. It will be easier for them without all of us there anyway.

They leave Friday morning and will be home late Monday. I'm looking forward to some time off, some early bed times, and some organizational projects.

~I might paint the bedroom. Maybe.
~Plan school and menus for the following week.
~Clean up and move stuff around downstairs.
~Work in the book room.
~Watch The Last Sin Eater movie without my daughter...JUST KIDDING!!
~Finish my book.
~Cook some stuff for the freezer...or maybe not cook at all.

I will still have 6 kids at home, but even when one is missing it seems like the house is so empty. This will be the first time since we've moved here that someone has been away overnight...in this case 4 someones. It'll be weird.

The Dad Is Blogging!

Ever wonder what a guy with 9 kids thinks about? Honey has a new blog. Check it out...
www.taggdaddy.blogspot.com

Today

~I made cinnamon raisin bread last night to bake for breakfast this morning. Yum!



~Honey called this morning with a good idea...we're all going to AZ this weekend!! 2 sons have tournaments and instead of him just taking them, we're calling it a vacation and taking everyone!! A fun get away to warmer weather.



~I switched out the baby books in Z's room. I was getting tired of the same ol' ones.

~I had #1 make most of dinner. It was a new recipe that turned out ok. Sometimes it gets tricky when you double or triple certain things.

~I did some research to find out about testing my kids this year. CO is different than AR. School is hard for me this year. So many new things I've never had to do before. SAT/ACT, GPAs, transcripts, scholarships, CLEPs...preschool is easier.

~Last month I had some stale bread. Homemade bread gets moldy really fast. I didn't have time to make croutons or anything else with it so I just cubed it and stuck it in the freezer. Tonight I pulled it out to make stuffing to go with dinner. Glad it was in there. I love freezing foods for later. It's so convenient when later comes.

~I ran out of laundry soap with only 2 loads left to go. How could I let that happen??

~I read something neat in my Bible. As I read through the childrens' Bible I try to keep up at the same place in my own. We/I am reading about Abraham right now. Remember that part when Ishmael was teasing Isaac and Sarah make Abraham send them away? They are dying in the desert with no water. Then the angel comes to Hagar and it says "God opened her eyes to see" and there was a well! It didn't say that God just created the well right then. It was already there. I'm sure that Hagar looked all over everywhere for hope of living before she resigned to the fact that they were going to die. Yet she didn't see it until God opened her eyes.

I prayed that God would open my eyes to see what I need to see. Imagine all that is before me that I don't even know. I'm praying for b-day gift ideas, wisdom for travel preparations, family relationships, and even grocery shopping tomorrow......I gotta get more laundry soap!

A Warm and Nice Saturday

We walked to the park to play with friends. Honey likes this pic b/c all 9 kids (and the dog) are in it. CT's wearing Baby in the new Ergo.

Honey and Bird

Me and my new friend. Notice her cute baby belly!

Smiles.

Meg shooting baskets in her new Peyton Manning jersey.

CT swinging with Baby Boy in the Ergo.

Look at this guy go! At only 3years old Mayfee Boy can ride a 2 wheeler!














It was a beautiful Saturday and the perfect day to learn to ride a bike.






A couple of crashes.







A few tears.
Way to go Baby!!

Teaching Littles

Teaching little kids is so much fun. They are eager to learn and everything is new. I just re-did our little boys' school schedule. It helped me to see just where we were spending time and on what. Here's what it looks like....



After chore time we do our morning meeting and the littles participate. That includes Bible. I dismiss the older ones and put the baby down for a morning nap. That leaves me with a 2, 3, 5, and 6 yo. We gather around the living room coffee table, one on each side, and get busy.



I don't use a lot of store bought curriculum at this age. I just work with what we have. Their school supplies are simply a 3 ring binder with a zipper pouch for pencils and crayons with lots of paper.



A math lesson.

I have a tupperware container full of all kinds of money...real money. I give each one a little bit and they try to count. We identify the coins, their value, my 6yo makes substitutions, and we see who ended up with the most. Then we put all of their money together and count it and substitute for bigger coins and dollars. They love money.



We look at the calendar and name the months, the days, what day it is today. Is it an even number or odd number day? What's tomorrow? What was yesterday? How many more days in the month?



Cuisinaire rods. Lots of fun.



100 chart. Skip counting. Evens and odds.



The clock.

No, I can't do all this every morning. We pick one or two and I just go with their moods. Having a choice of things to do keeps it fun.



~I read aloud from an easy chapter book with pictures.



~5 and 6yo work on Bible copy work. I give 2 and 3yo a page from a coloring book or a preschool worksheet. It does not matter if they don't like to color. They don't have a choice. The point is to accept an assignment and to work on it happily and diligently.



~6yo goes into the next room to do flash cards with the 2 and 3yo while I do a reading lesson with 5yo.



~I dismiss the 2 and 3yo to play quietly downstairs. Their school is done for the day. They MUST play quietly downstairs. If they fight or cry they have to come back upstairs and sit on chairs with their hands clapped over their mouths until we are finished.



~5yo works on his math worksheet while I do a reading lesson with 6yo.



~5yo is done and cleans up his folder.



~6yo does his math and cleans up his folder.



All Done!!