twas the night before school starts...

Hey, did you hear that school starts tomorrow? I love the beginning of the school year, not only because my house can stay clean for seven minutes instead of three, but also the excitement! New shoes and new haircuts and ROUTINE! Our house can go back to a finely oiled machine instead of the frat house it becomes over the summer. Now with five kids starting back, I start preparing early. No procrastinating! By this past weekend I had bought 132 glue sticks and enough tissues for a hospital and at least ten one direction themed items. I was pretty proud of myself for being so on top of things! Until Monday...when I realized Esme has to wear uniforms at preschool. Complicated by the fact that nobody makes uniforms in 2T because when on earth does such a tiny person need a uniform? No worries...we'll just throw something together and I'll shop this weekend. Then I realize that somehow I forgot to get left handed scissors for Aliyah. I'll just run by Wal-Mart on my way to work today! Can I just say that they should warn people that going to the school supply section in Wal-Mart the day before school starts is like wandering into a den of angry wolves? Or maybe a crack house? Or possibly a den of angry crackheads? But I got the scissors. It's gonna be smooth sailing from here on out. I went to work and got home around 6:30. Now keep in mind, theMr is still at work also. That means the house looks like it should be condemned and the kids are VERY excited about tomorrow...which translates into running around screaming and punching each other. It's now 7pm and all I have left to do is bathe five kids/find the storage bin of uniforms/iron the uniforms because apparently I packed them away unfolded and they now look like homeless people's clothes/pack lunches/paint tiny nails/and get them settled down and to sleep before midnight. Easy peasy! But after all the chaos, I'm kissing little cheeks and saying bedtime prayers and reminded why I do all of this when Esme says to me, in her sweet little voice,
"I hope I learn where stinkers come from at preschool tomorrow!" 

happy first day of school from our family to yours :)

grace wins

today was a long day. like a tired-stressed-anxious-iwanttodrownmystressinchocolate kinda day. theMr is in full construction mode and working 60-70 hours a week, not getting home until nearly 10 most nights. we are at the beginning of what may be a huge battle over our foreclosure. i spent the afternoon, after work, writing and mailing letters to politicians and media. my brain has been churning all day... grumpy mom plus five kids is not a super combo. by bedtime, i am done. i'm tucking esme in, i lean down to kiss her and she whispers "you is beautiful, mama". oh sweetpea...when she looked at me in that moment, she saw the mom who tucks her in and kisses her every night. the mom who buys her dora yogurt even though it's overpriced and full of sugar. the mom who "carries her like a baby" when she asks. what she didn't see is the frazzled mom who yelled at her today for not putting on her shoes. or the mom who was sick all afternoon from a week of bad eating. or the mom who hid in her bedroom watching tv while her kids played in the next room. she didn't see the mom who loses her temper too often and cusses under breath and doesn't separate the lights from the darks and is a crazy person without her antidepressant. because when she looks at me, she sees love. and love doesn't see flaws. when you look at someone with love, you see all of the things you love about them. the most amazing thing about that interaction is that it's just a glimpse of Jesus. when He looks at us, He doesn't see our sin or our flaws or all of the ways we fall short. He sees his beloved child. He delights in us! how precious that a three year old can model that. i so often think i am the one doing all of the teaching in this relationship, i could not be more wrong.

life of leisure

i've been daydreaming all summer about what bliss it was going to be when school started and it was just me and esme at home. how we were going to color pictures and shop and live a life of leisure together. did you hear that?? it's reality knocking. spending all day with a two year old is like spending with an unmedicated, psychotic hoarder.  that talks a lot.
 she's happy,
she's sad.
 she hates the blue cup.
 she only wants to watch "the shortcake show".
 she wants to narrarate it even though i'm sitting right next to her.
we can't leave the house without her plaid purse, saltines, her matchbox cars, a comb and her plastic transformer that she named "daddy".
 we've discussed her mood swings before. this girl is loco. sometimes i pretend i have to use the bathroom just for a few minutes of peace. the first week i planned all of these fun playdates so she wouldn't miss the kids too much. except now she thinks we are supposed to do something fun and exciting every day.  so when i tell her we're staying home to do laundry and organize my nail polishes, it's full on meltdown. until she sees the nail polish. then she's happy. until i tell her she can't paint her own nails. back to meltdown. until calliou comes on. overjoyed! but wait...she needs a chocolate snack while she watches... we don't eat chocolate at 9:30 a.m. (well, children don't. adults do. but only in the pantry where children can't see.) it's like a toddler emotional roller coaster that NEVER ENDS. you see what i'm saying??

10 things no mother wants to hear...

"did you see what i did on my wall?!"

 "look mama, i cut my own hair!"

 "dad said we could"

 "mama, guess where i peed?!"

 "i was gonna clean it up but i remembered you would be home soon."

 "mom, where's the mop?"

 "we just wanted to see if he would land on his feet"

 "mom, your butt is really big!"

  "mommy i made an experiment!"

 "don't worry mom, i told the guy at the door you were going potty."

an overdue top ten

is anyone still here?  i think this is the longest period i've ever gone without posting since i started this blog! life is busy, you know how it is. i think of a post, i start it in my head, it never gets any further than that. good thing i'm not getting paid for this...i'd be broke!

i thought i'd try to catch up on our summer for those who are not my facebook friends.

top ten most noteworthy events of summer 2012~

10. theMrs is officially done potty training...kinda. except when she decides to hide and poop in her pants. other than that we're golden!

9. we are obsessed with the olympics! the other night the bean and i stayed up until midnight cheering on the girls gymnastics team and watching them receive their medals! there have been lots of somersaults and head stands around here!

8. i don't want to ever talk about chik fil a  again. i'm saddened by both sides. if you want to know my view, read here.

7. we got fleas...again. which is doubly irritating since we don't have any pets. $250 later they are hopefully gone!

6. Za turned 10, the Princess turned 8 and theMr and i celebrated our 12th anniversary with a trip alone!

5. the bean is turning 13 in a week! we are celebrating her entry into womanhood with a girls only weekend away for her and her BFF! 

4. safe families has gained some steam and i'm just trying to keep up with the momentum! i'm developing a team of people who believe in this vision and im excited to see it coming to fruition. while i struggle to manage working while home with five kids, it's coming along. i'm hoping things will be a bit easier once school starts. 

3. theMr has been working like a maniac. his business has really taken off this year. he's super busy but works hard at juggling his time with that and at home. you can "like" his business facebook page to see pics of what he's been doing all summer!

2. we may be moving! i can't go in to a lot of detail at this point, but this is pretty huge for us. we bought this house 10 years ago and have more than outgrown it. i'll keep ya posted :)

1. we are preparing for another year of school to begin! pencils to buy, uniforms to try on, silence to look forward to! it is a LOT of work for four kids to start school... but oh so worth it! we are blessed to have the opportunity to send our kids back to Emmanuel Christian Academy again. it is an amazing school and we are thankful to be a part of it.

that's all we have going on... what about you?!

our visitor

the kids came and woke me up this morning to tell me there was a rat in the house. we get mice every spring, so naturally i ignored them and went back to sleep! when i got up, i sat in my favorite spot in the sitting room with my first cup of coffee and my laptop. while i'm basking in the few moments of quiet (the kids were upstairs starting their chores) i have a little surprise... something running across the floor in front of me. at first, i thought it was a giant rat. then i realized it was a small possum. so i'm standing on the couch screaming, Aliyah is standing on the coffee table screaming, Esme is chasing it saying "come here, kitty!"  i opened the front door and after a few minutes Isaiah was able to chase it out! i think it was more anxious to get out of this crazy place with screaming females and a toddler hell bent on putting it in a baby carriage!  after all of our adrenalin subsided, i realized i was actually relieved that it was a possum as opposed to a rat. i mean, when have you ever heard of someone having one rat? i have no idea how it got in and i sincerely hope it never manages to do again. i never thought anything would be a more effective wake up tool than my keurig. guess i was wrong!

a private message to mothers of young children...

over the weekend, i witnessed something i know all too well while grocery shopping. a toddler, maybe a year old, having a full blown tantrum in a walmart cart. his harried mother was trying everything in her repertoire to calm him, to no avail. he was not having it. i looked around at the responses the other shoppers. some, like myself, were looking on with sympathy. but others were downright scowling. if looks could kill that kid would've been an orphan. i wanted so badly to put my arm around this stranger and promise her it will get easier.



as someone who has been in this position more times than i can count, i felt her pain. it is frustrating, embarrassing and maddening. add to it glares and judgmental head shaking from strangers and you have a full fledged episode. i can't help but wonder.. have those head shakers ever shopped with young children? if so, surely they can remember how stressful it is? do they just not know any better?



i'll never forget trying to leave my grandmother's funeral visitation. theMr was at work. i was 8 months pregnant with esme. it was 8:30p and well past time to go. i was carrying the 2 yr old sideways like a football while he had a screaming meltdown. i was literally dragging the 4 yr old by the collar while threatening the older two under my breath. all the while hoping i didn't give birth in the parking lot. i got to the door of the funeral home and the two employees standing there just stood and stared as i pushed the door open with my (ample) hip and dragged everyone outside. no one offered to get the door. no one offered to help me. not those employees nor any of my friends or family inside. i got everyone strapped in their many carseats. i wasn't sure if i wanted to cry or cuss. in those moments you feel invisible, even though everyone is watching.



as someone who is just about past the stage of public tantrum throwing, i just need to offer a little encouragement. to all of the mamas still in the trenches... the ones who fear they will never be able to make a trip to the grocery or the doctors office or the park without someone losing their two year old marbles... it gets easier. i promise. a day will come when all of your children will be able to make through an entire well visit without screaming or trying to bite the nurse. when they can all walk without holding anyone's hand. when you can use a regular shopping cart instead of the cadillac sized one that holds four kids. and when that day comes, and you see a mom with a screaming child in her car and a baby on her hip: pat her on the back and tell her "this too shall pass". and look all those scoffers in the eye and tell them to beat it.

lazy sunday

after last weekend's excitement, i'm relieved to enjoy a quiet, drama free afternoon! even Esme vomiting in the car on the way to church could ruin it. although that was a bit unpleasant. she seems to be fine since, so i'm crossing my fingers. as it turns out, she ate desitin this morning while i was sleeping. who does that? this week she has certainly found her wings... her two year old wings. she painted herself with nail polish, covered her hair in deodorant, covered her body in desitin and written on herself in marker. all during her nap. it seems no matter how many times i search the girls' room for contraband, she finds something. i'm not sure what her obsession is with covering herself with things. but it's getting old. definitely one of the downfalls of having three girls in one room. she has had six baths in the last five days. her bedding has been washed three times. yet, her brothers were so crazy at that age that her antics really aren't a big deal. she's funny and entertaining so we overlook the fact that smells like deodorant. i keep reminding myself that she's the last time i'll have a two year old in the house. that makes me want to let her get away with murder, which is not good! hope your sunday is relaxing and you know where all of your kids are!

more true confessions...

it's been awhile since we aired a little dirty laundry, eh? i know there's nothing you love more than finding out just how dysfunctional i am! if you haven't read the past ones, you can do so here :)

10. pinterest annoys me. i'm not saying there aren't really cool crafts and recipes and picture of cats with clothes on. but i don't have time to actually do any of that stuff so why spend time looking at it? i keep trying to love it because everyone else seems to but after about four minutes i'm bored. i feel like i should apologize here....

9. i have three different types of underwear: "donttouchmeimgoingstraighttobed", "ifyouplayyourcardsrightyoumightgetsomeaction" and "itsON". my husband can easily identify each type.

8. i tried really hard to pretend i couldn't hear my kids getting into oreos the other day because i didn't want to stop what i was doing and discipline them. which backfired horribly when i realized they had spilled the whole package on my bedroom floor.

7. i like to watch parking wars.

6. i also like to eat chips for breakfast.

5. i have zero to no tolerance for whining. it makes me crazy. especially when it's someone else's kid.

4. i don't buy organic and i don't feel the slightest bit guilty about it.

3. i like reality tv way too much.

2. i have a terrible time disciplining esme because i think she's so funny.

1. i can't blog when i don't have anything to say and i feel guilty when i don't blog, like i'm letting people down. letting people down is one of my biggest insecurities.

do you have any confessions you need to make?

10 things i thought i'd never say, part 2

remember when we talked about this before? well the hits just keep on coming...

10. "please do not put hot dogs in your pocket anymore."

9. "they are called "privates" because we keep them private. that means keeping your pants on at church."

8." just let her hit you with the wrapping paper roll. it keeps her from whining."

7. "we don't pee in cups. even when someone else is in the bathroom."

6. "from now on you are grounded every time you use my toothbrush."

5. "it's cabbage. it's supposed to smell like trash."

4. "we don't eat gum off the ground. even when it's grape."

3. "it's bedtime."
"mommy the sun it out."
"then it's second nap time."

2. "i think i'm gonna sell all my skinny jeans to buy a steam mop."


and the #1 thing i never thought would come out of my mouth....

"i don't want a piece of pie. i'm not snacking after dinner any more."

12 days of theMrs Christmas

12 shatter-proof balls...

11 stocking stuffers

10 christmas toenails

9 lights not working

8 chores not finished

7 moose(es?) waiting

6 snowmen smiling

5 Christmas Quiches!

4 Santas sitting

3 kids snoozing

2 days till Christmas

and a crown on the Christmas tree!

Merry Christmas from theMrs & a Blessed New Year!!

merry

christmas eve

eve

from theMrs & co.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

i see a lot of bloggers are sharing their Christmas traditions and beliefs so i thought i'd do the same. i've been in a bit of a slump anyway. i have a hard time writing when i'm really happy. much of my inspiration comes from either irritation or sadness. weird but true. when things are going really well, i don't have much to say! but i digress ;)

i have some particular views on the Christmas season and how it should be celebrated. ( i know, you're so surprised that i would have strong feelings on something, huh?) we choose not to do the whole santa thing. however, a few years ago the big kids decided they wanted to pretend santa is real so they could put cookies out. we were fine with that. as long as they know the truth i don't see any harm in pretend. last year they pointed out that the cookies were really for daddy and the carrots for mommy, lol. i'm also somewhat particular about not making Christmas about receiving gifts. for that reason, i don't allow a list made of what they want. while i don't inherently think there's anything wrong with it, i don't want the focus to be detailing all of the things you want. it's really not what it's about. so we don't do it. i know what they want without them making a list anyway. at our house, each child gets four presents on Christmas morning and one to open the night before Christmas eve (which is always a book). this helps me stay on task and keep it manageable. that's still 20 gifts, not including stockings! i will admit i go a bit overboard on the stockings. i love little gifts. each child gets a new toothbrush, a box of bandaids, duct tape and other misc items in their stocking. last year i couldn't fit it all in!

the night before Christmas eve, we let them open one present. this year we are starting a new tradition on that night of roasting marshmallows over the fireplace and watching a movie! i think they will be really excited about that. they like anything that involves smores... they get that from their mother!

on Christmas eve, we all take a long nap and clean up the house. that evening we celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. i love being in my parents house with all of my siblings. now that my brothers are growing up and off at college and whatnot, it's not often we're all together. it's always fun and there is something about it that makes me feel young :) we eat lots of unhealthy food and open gifts and have a time of worship led by my brother, Tony. we come home and tuck in the little people after they've set out the santa snack. we wait until they're sound asleep and put out the gifts. we don't have any under our tree until then. i think it adds to the excitement to wake up to that. plus i don't have to worry about peeking!

on Christmas morning, the kids wake us up as early as they can get away with. the rule is no earlier than 7! theMr and i get our coffee first while the kids vibrate with excitement. they open their stockings first and then take turns on the others. i give each child a tupperware storage bin to put their presents in as they open them so we don't have to separate after. with five kids it helps keep the chaos to a minimum. afterwards. they take their toys upstairs and play while we relax for a moment. we head to theMr's parents late morning and spend the rest of the day with them. we now have seven grandkids on that side so it's lots of fun. we eat and laugh and open presents and eat some more. by that evening, we are worn out! every year we hope that the kids are going to sleep in the next day but they never do!

what kinds of traditions does your family observe?

the first of november

i like november 1st. do you know why? because it means halloween is over. which means i can stop explaining to people why we don't celebrate halloween. and then explain that i don't think they're going to hell if they do. it gets complicated. and i know that this next part is gonna come as a big shock but.... halloween is an issue that theMr and i don't agree on. i'll give you a moment to digest the fact that we are not perfect and we argue. i know, it's hard to swallow. see i grew up in a "don't celebrate halloween or trick or treat" family. but theMr grew up in a family where halloween was a big deal and they went all out for it. therein lies the issue. what does that mean for us? it means we've both had to compromise. we don't trick or treat. but we do let the kids dress up and attend alternative events. my husband is gracious enough to not push an issue that i feel strongly about, even though it means missing that event with his family. i try not to dwell on the fact that dressing up and getting candy is still awfully close to celebrating for my taste. but my kids look so darn cute in their costumes :)

a beauty queen, a ladybug, a soldier, a princess and buzz lightyear walk into a bar zoo...

even grown up princesses need their daddies...

the title of this picture is "I'VE HAD A LOT OF SUGAR!!!"

one (cold) happy family!

never judge a book by it's cover...

it's easy to make snap judgements simply based on appearance.
i find people tend to do that often when encountering a large family.
everyone knows you can't judge a book by it's cover!

this may look like the perfect home to raise a family in...
if only it wasn't a two bedroom, one bath!

you might think this little miss is upset because she is having shots. in actuality, she's angry because her mother didn't let her write on the doctor's office wall with a pen.

this little girl with the big blue eyes looks like an angel, yes?
she's mischievous. and sneaky. beware :)

you may think these two are the best friends, being the youngest in our family.
they fight like cats and dogs. all day long.

is this a male model?
no. it's just theMr.
(there is more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking.)

these two look way too young to have babies...
little did they know they were about to do just that!
(a few times over)

it may seem like this child is angry a LOT.
that assumption would correct.

her royal highness turns 2!

last night we had a birthday party for esme! her actual birthday is friday but i will be out of town. it's the first time in 12 years i've missed one of my kids birthdays! while i know she will have no idea, it still makes me a little sad :( however, what i will be doing is really exciting! (more about that tomorrow!) we had this little get together at our house with our parents and siblings. she loved every minute of being the center of attention! the theme was "esme's favorite things" so we served hot dogs, chips and veggies!

waiting for her guests to arrive :)

she doesn't actually like cake. so she licked the candle and threw the rest on the floor!

she got two babies in a double stroller. she's been taking good care of them and nobody is allowed to touch them but her!

two of my brothers with two of my kids!
(and my brother's sweet girlfriend!)