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."

the bean turns 13

 today Ariana turns 13. i'm sitting in a hotel room with her and her best friend. we're on a weekend trip to celebrate her entrance into womanhood. and have lots of fun ;) while i'm sitting here, sounds of giggling coming from the next room, i'm a little overwhelmed at thinking she is 13. i had her when i was in college and i had no stinking clue what i was doing. young women in college are not supposed to have babies. they are not equipped for it.  her conception was (obviously) a huge surprise. the shock was soon followed by joy, i knew i had always wanted babies. i was just getting an early start. i was a full time college student and a full time worker through my entire pregnancy. i had her in a birthing center that actually acted like a birthing center. i was allowed to lay in the grass outside while i labored and have all of my friends there. i was supported for my choice to go natural and encouraged when it got really bad and i thought i wanted to quit. but after 28 hours of labor, that blessed midwife finally said "PUSH!"  by that point i would have done any crazy thing she asked if it meant the pain would stop. i did push. after a bit of that, they laid a beautiful, screaming baby on my chest and told me she was a girl. the second big surprise she gave me. while i stared at her red, wailing self, i had no idea my whole world had just changed. really, irrevocably, changed. i looked at her perfect face and said "hi" and she immediately stopped crying. as soon as she heard my voice she remembered that we know each other. we just sat and stared at one another, while chaos ensued around us from all of the people in the room.  (we've learned with subsequent births that having everybody in the room isn't always the most relaxing ;)
     because it was the middle of the night, soon they were all gone and it was just me and her. Eli was passed out on the couch. the lights were dim and she was wide awake. i can remember just staring at her tiny body.

 i had never in my life felt so overwhelmed with love.

 i had never felt this new foreign devotion. that i would literally slay a dragon for her.  

that i would annihilate the person that  caused her tears.

 that i was her mama. 

if someone had told me the kind of young woman she would be at 13, i'm not sure i would've believed it. her father and i were so very flawed in those early parenting things. i could spend weeks telling you everything we did wrong with that one and still not have enough time. when i think about that i realize that she turned into this incredible thing because it's just who she is. it's not her parenting. it's HER.  she just really is an amazing being.

she is compassionate to a fault.  she loves deeply and wholly. she is a lover of souls and she never fails to show it. 









 She is so very smart.  smart and wise beyond her years. i would say she's an old soul, if i believed in such things.

she is a kind and loyal friend. one that any young girl would be blessed to have.

she's fun. lots and lots of fun. 

she has a beautiful smile that she gives freely.

she is meant for amazing things.  just amazing things.

i am honored to be her mother. i am more proud of her every day. she changed my life by simply being born.  she changes my life each and ever day by being who she is. there is nothing i wouldn't do for her. she's my bean.

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?!

Guest post from the Bean

Hi, it’s me again, The Bean! (I really hate that nickname) Mother asked me to do another post, so here I am.  My last guest post was on mom so it’s naturally time to do one on pops.

  Here is a list of five things you don’t know about him:

1.     ~ He is in love with cartoons, they are mostly superhero and is you try to delete one on the DVR he will freak

2.       ~Mom has told how he has a good fashion sense, he does but that’s a mild version.  He has hooks on the wall for his hats (there are like seventy, you can’t see the wall) he has a million shoes, and is the biggest fashion diva/shopper out of all of us

3.      ~ He is in love with his body, I have caught him multiple times flexing in front of the mirror or telling me to feel his muscles. Yeah.

4.      ~ He is very smart.  He has an idea on how to make, solve, and/or fix something in way that no one else would have. (he gets it from my grandpa who is just as brilliant)

5.      ~ He believes he’s still seventeen. 

 

Dad is very different from all my friends dads.  He is diverse too.

This is a list of a few things that make him out of the ordinary (besides the ones listed above):

1.       He is known by my class by his hats.

2.       When I brought him on an overnight field trip last year he made friends, with the boys in my class.

3.       He visibly does not age or gain weight. ( me and mom are always teasing him though about fat that’s non-existent)

4.       He likes the same music as me.

Now, here is a list of things that make him like other dads:

1.       He can be very embarrassing

2.       He teases me constantly (I guess that’s more like a big brother than a dad)

3.       He can be intimidating

That is some stuff about my dear old father.  I hope to do another post after this one on the other kids! (or demon spawn as I sometimes refer to them as) Bye!

lost...

yesterday started out as any other sunday would... theMr was on worship team, which meant i got to get the kids ready and to church by myself. so when he informed me he was taking them hiking afterwards, i was thrilled! an afternoon of peace and quiet in my own house? yes please! they left shortly after church, meeting a friend and his two boys there. i put esme down for her nap and basked in the quiet. until my phone rang a few hours later. it was a friend of ours, calling to check and make sure the kids were ok. what? they then explained that they had run into theMr in the woods and two of the children were missing. i think you can imagine the things happening in my mind at that moment. i tried repeatedly to call him and his friend, to no avail. the area they were in is a gorge and there is absolutely NO cell reception there. while i was trying to tell myself not to panic, i was really panicking. i called my friend (who's husband was with him) and she hadn't heard from them either. i called my mom, though she couldn't really do anything! i was stuck here with a sleeping toddler, no car and children possibly lost in the woods. at that point i didn't even know which children. before long, my friend called to tell me that her husband had just come home to drop off their boys and my two oldest children were still missing. i quickly asked her to come and pick esme and i up and take us there (about 20 mins away). i was debating whether to call 911 when theMr got enough reception to get a call through to me. he had enough time to say "going to lose this call, kids are missing, call 911". i'm so glad our other friends had already tipped me off as that call would have given me a heart attack. as it turns out, while they were hiking the two oldest kids were a ways ahead of theMr, his friend and the littler kids. they were frustrated at the slow progress. but when theMr came around a bend, the path was forked and they had no idea which way the kids went. suddenly they were gone. theMr was trying to look, while dragging the two little kids and having no clue which way they went. eventually his friend left to bring his kids home and get help. i called the police, got them on it and quickly threw stuff together for esme. on the way there (and before i lost cell reception too) i tried to call the pertinent people, although my mind was very scattered by that point. we pulled in the parking area right after the squad and the search and rescue people. they sent teams out but asked me to wait there in case the kids came back. by this point, word had spread quickly and friends and family were starting to arrive to search. when we were able to think clearly later, we realized that about 40 people (just that we know of) were either there or on their way to search. we are truly blessed to have such incredible people around us. after almost three hours of them being lost, they found their own way out. they were quite shaken up and scared, not to mention hungry and very tired. i finally broke down when i was able to put my arms around them. here's the amazing part, they found the way out themselves. there are maps along the trails, however they don't tell you where you are on the map. (so not very helpful!) so at each map point, they took a picture of the map with their camera and some landmark around it to make sure they were not going in circles. they also took large sticks and wrote Ari's name in each clearing so that if theMr went by, he would know they had been there!






they took those map pics and compared them with all of the pics they had taken before getting lost to track their way back. at one point, Za realized they were going the wrong direction by the location of the sun. i've always known they are smart kids, but i was so proud of them for thinking clearly and intelligently in a crisis. what amazing kids. on the way home, Za said (in the saddest voice) "can we just get popeyes for dinner, Mom?" uh yes. you can have whatever you want!

once everyone was bathed and prayed for and calmed enough to sleep, the reality of it all hit theMr and i. i battled my own mind last night with not allowing my imagination to get away from me with "what ifs". but God is so faithful. He is able to protect our children in ways that we will never be able to. i'm so thankful for that! i am so thankful that they are ok. i hope to never go through anything like that again!

a guest post from the bean!

Hey, this is the Bean! I've been wanting to do this for a while but haven't gotten the chance. You have heard my life from my mothers point of view, but here is mine..........

The first thing I want to do is show you the top four things I have learned from this blog.

1.My hair is so messy!!!!!!

2.My mother does not like to capitalize.

3.Someone in our house has a name my mom wants to change. (She won't tell
me who though even though I've been nagging.)

4.There is not nearly enough articles about me! (I will have to act up or get a
tattoo or something, jk!)

Here are a seven things you do not know about my mommy:

1.She used to act all the time, like since she was born.

2.When she mentioned her sweats she wasn't lying, she wears them all the
time and they are dead ugly!

3.She's funnier in writing.

4.She's the coolest/funniest person I know

5.She takes a half hour bath every night!

6.She is addicted to reality shows (the Bachelor was on and I was in her way,
so she pushed me!)

7.If you touch her feet she will hit you! Do not touch mom's feet, is a known
around the house!

My life is crazy and usually out of hand but I wouldn't change it for the world! I enjoy reading my mom's blog even though I'm living it! Hopefully I will write again because I enjoy it! (I would love it if you commented!)

<3 Ari

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."

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?

these are a few of my favorite things...

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.

how many kids do you have?

parenting is hard. whether you have one child or seven, it's all consuming, exhausting and hard. i frequently have people comment to me that they don't know how i manage five children. while it certainly increases the workload, there are certain truths that occur any time you have more than one child. here are just a few...

~you have to have several children to understand the trouble you're asking for if you let one child carry another child's happy meal from the car to the house. and never, ever, switch the toys. it doesn't' matter that they are the same.



~only a mother of young children can fully comprehend the terror in your heart when you walk into the bathroom and see three sharpie lids... with no sharpies.

~ you can get your body back (for the most part) after one baby. you can even do it after two. but five giant babies? forgetaboutit. your only hope is that you can get your muffin top down to a size that will fit in non-maternity pants.



~ you recognize that quiet children are children making a craft out of tampons and shampoo.

~you also have learned that there is little that a bandaid can't fix.



~ the best babysitter while you clean the bathroom is the bathtub.

~ it only takes a minimum of two kids to fight over the same cup! five kids arguing over one cup will make you want to start drinking at breakfast.



~ the noise level of a home does not simply double with a second child, it rises exponentially.

~ the above is the same for laundry.

~ supersonic hearing. i can now identify five different coughs during the night. my room is on a different floor than the children but i still can tell who is coughing.



~ you can love many, many children with the same devotion as your first. it's hard to believe when you only have one. you can spend many nights during your second pregnancy worrying about it. but fear not, it's true.

the more kids you have, the more strangers will stare at you, give unsolicited advice and judge you. but those strangers could never fathom how full your heart is. even if you haven't caught up on the laundry in six years.