Are you a Lion?

We all know parenting brings a whole new world of challenges.   And just when you think you've got the hang of it, and you may be feeling a little good about your parenting skills a new situation arises.
Having more than one child, you get to experience first hand how special and unique God has made every single baby placed in your arms.  Yet even though we train and raise each child in the same way, and they come from the same gene pool, their personalities can make child rearing an excruciating, challenging and exhausting feat.
Our first born son is..... well a first born true and true.  I am convinced we as parents are partly to blame. I ran to hold him at every whimper.  I worried and stressed about his sleep,his nursing patterns, hitting milestones at the right time, his environment, letting others hold him, and everything else under the sun.   He is an easy kid but can be fearful to try new things.  We rarely have behavioral issues with him and if we do have to discipline, he is quick to apologize and is genuinely remorseful! Some of the other first born traits  he possesses are:
reliable
structured, likes routine
type A (anal)
cautious
a pleaser
ambitious
Overall he exhibits warmth, he is sensitive, he is agreeable, and a peace maker.  We will call him our "golden retriever" (keep reading!  It will make sense)

So what happens when you surprisingly become pregnant with #2 when your #1 is only 4 months old?
You have siblings 13 months apart, both are boys and you can bet your paycheck they are as different as night and day.  And when I say "different", I mean POLAR opposite.

We have an ongoing struggle with our 2nd son, both with his behavior and lack of respect.  He is a great kid.  A good leader, confident, likeable, and has a hilarious sense of humor.  But we were noticing signs of anger and disrespect that needed attention.  So much so that I decided it was time we went and saw a Christian counselor.  I just knew the counselor was going to give my son a good talking too and he would see his faults and shortcomings and help him want to change his ways!
Guess what?  The counselor did not ask my son one single question!  The entire hour of the assessment was focused on Matt and I.   He asked us questions about our son's personality and about how we handled discipline with him.  It was an eye opening hour and a half of how we need to discipline our son based on his specific personality traits.  He used references from Shepherding a Child's Heart, which is a great read for anyone looking to discipline using God's word and biblical principles. 
During our session (in which my son sat quietly the entire time)  we were able to pinpoint his exact personality using the Smalley Center Personality Interpretations sheet.  We knew right away he was a "lion".  The counselor helped us with some tools we can use to discipline the "lion" with love and purpose, without crushing his spirit.  We needed to get to his heart on the why.

For the Fun of it, Matt and I were able to pinpoint what each other's personalities were and we also took each individual child and were able to interpret each child's personality. 
In this rubric, There is the Lion, The Otter, The Golden Retriever, and The Beaver. One is not superior to any others.   Click on the link below to take the test yourself.  Usually you have one dominant trait and another trait a pretty close second. 
In our family (only using the trait that scored the most) we have
3 Lions, 2 Golden Retrievers, 1 Beaver and 1 otter.
Can you guess what I am?
 Take the test here:
http://brandon.pulpexplosion.com/smalley-personality-test.html

Find the Interpretations here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/64704756/Personality-Interpretation

Big Families

I always knew I would have a lot of kids.  I never really thought about the specific number growing up, but I guess I thought 5 was doable as I grew up in a family of five girls. 
Matt was from a family of 2 boys, and if I had to guess probably always thought 2 was enough!  So I guess we met in the middle and now we have 5!
Having lots of kids comes with challenges.  I have compiled a list of the pros and cons of big families. 
Here are just a few facts if you are thinking about having lots of kids:

• You will never sleep again.  Seriously.  I am hopeful that if my calculations are correct, I will get a full 8 hours of solid uninterrupted sleep somewhere in my 60's.
• You will never have alone time with your spouse.  Without getting too graphic,  you will need to get creative and sneak around like teenagers to find any alone time.
• Your bed is not your own.  At any given moment, someone is in my bed.  Even in the smack middle of the afternoon, pillows are strewn across the room and someone is under my covers.
• You will always be out of food.  I can go to the store on Monday and doggone it if I need to go to the store by Tuesday.  This is especially true if I buy something I do not normally buy.   They are like vultures.
• Be prepared to not sit down and eat a meal in peace or fully taste a meal again.  This could be a positive.  By the time I cook for my family and serve them, and get all their needs met I am not even hungry anymore.  I usually end up eating the leftover spaghetti off one of  my kids plates because I am too exhausted to fix myself one.
• The laundry owns me.  Sometime when I walk into my bathroom and see that the basket is full again, I want to cry.  I think about folding laundry a lot.  Sometimes when I cant sleep, I get to fold laundry on the couch.  It is always beating me down. 
• Summer is great!!  Lets go...shorts, shirt, flip flops!   Winter is dreadful....matching socks, gloves, hats, jackets that actually fit, layer (which means more clothes to wash).
• Going anywhere together is loud and obnoxious.  Try taking 5 to the dentist, To Walmart, Publix, the Doctor,  or to swing by work real quick.  There is nothing quiet about 5 kids.  Nothing!  This is why, if and when we go out to eat, we go to Mexican!
• Road Trips are now twice as long.  Bathroom stops are never quick and are never few on a road trip.
• You will never have control of the TV again.  Thankfully I do not watch TV, but I couldn't if I wanted to. 
• You will never read again.  The last book I completed was only because Matt and I went on vacation and I had uninterrupted reading time.  The next book I read will be on my next vacation.
• You will never have money.  Field trips, Kona Ice, book fair money, hat day, pajama day, fundraising day.  I am always broke!
• Showering with a crowd watching is the new norm, as is using the restroom.  It never fails that if I step foot in the shower or the bathroom someone will need me.  This also can go along with  my 2nd point of alone time with your spouse.
• You will never be on time anywhere again for the rest of your life.  I like to blame this on the "I have 5 kids" line.  You will be excused.
• Your Doctor and Dentist love you!  Why?  3 copays in one week?  Jackpot!  3 of your kids need braces and one needs a spacer?  Gold mine!
• Your insurance company?  Not so much love going on there.
• Your will not drive a cool car.  Just get over it.  You might as well sport some mom jeans while you are at it.  You are not cool!  No matter how good you think you look when leaving the house, jump behind the wheel of a minivan, suburban or church van and your coolness factor has plummeted.
• You will listen to kids music even while driving alone.  You will also know the words to the lamest song ever written that come on pop radio.  It is so bad right now. 
• My intelligence level has dramatically declined, although my elementary math and language skills have become quite impressive.
• Although you may not sleep hours at a time at night, you become very unique as to when you do sleep.  Standing up?  Sure!  At a stoplight?  Maybe for a quick second.  In carpool?  Why not!

  I am not trying to discourage anyone from having lots of kids.  It is great, you should totally do it.  I just want to provide my friends out there with as much information as possible so you are equipped with all the knowledge you need as to what lies ahead. 

One thing I can say, speaking from experience, is that big families are fun and  so worth it, even with a list as long as mine!

Tis the Season

I broke down and turned on the heat.  I had waited long enough.  When I am walking around the house in the middle of the day with my bath robe on, it seems like it might just be time!
Halloween has come and gone, and it was of course a big success with loads and loads of candy.
Owen came home with a bag that probably weighed 40 lbs and happily announced, while holding up his loot, "BEST Halloween EVER!  Being the good mom that I am, I proceeded to tell him to feel how heavy that bag was and if he decided to eat all that candy, he would carry around that much weight in his stomach.  He seemed unfazed, because he is a boy and he is 10 years old.  I can now see that huge pillowcase up on his top shelf of his closet (where I will never find it).

Wills and Owen both wanted to go with friends.  Gone are the days of dressing up my two older boys in adorable costumes watching them go door to door.  It is now replaced with a crazy person costume, or last year's famous cold blooded killer outfit.  I held my ground as long as possible that they could not be anything too scary and then last year, I was just too tired to care and I am pretty sure this year was the same.  I did decide that I was DONE buying the older 2 Halloween costumes and they would just have to get creative.  So we now circle back to the being a  boy issue along with  being 10 and 11 years old, and you get a boy in a t-shirt with a pillowcase over his head.  The creativity gene was skipped and Lord knows they are way too lazy to try.
 Do we really even care if a kid is dressed up or not when giving out candy.  I am pretty sure I had a group of regularly dressed teenagers this year, and I didn't even blink that they were not in costume.  I was so thankful to get rid of all the candy I bought. 
My daughters looked adorable in their costumes and my 6 year old as Captain America was the cutest thing ever.  There is something about a little boy in full super hero attire running up and down the streets that just melts your heart.  Please don't grow up.
Avery was Elsa.  Well, she was the ice girl, which worked better because the similarities to Elsa stop at her being a girl.  In years past, Avery has not wanted to go up to the door and say trick or treat, so she would just stay back with me.  Not this year.  That child was running door to door like an Olympic sprinter.  There is one thing Avery will run fast for, and that is candy.  She loved it and it was so cute to watch.
With Halloween being on a Friday night, we were in with the 3 younger ones by 7:30 (yes!), and the older boys home by 9:30. 
It is hard to believe another year has passed and now we go full force into the Holiday season.  
Whenever I think of the Holiday season, my biggest stressor is not the gifts or the relatives, but it is that dad gum perfect Christmas picture that we must get for our perfect Christmas card that we must send!  I love, love, love, receiving all my friends beautiful cards with their gorgeous kids in matching adorable Christmas outfits.  I am so jealous.  Really I am!    How do they do it?   I am blown away at my friends families and how put together they are.  Not even to mention, where in the world did they order their cards from?  Some of the cards I get look like Royalty.
And how do they get their kids to wear those outfits?  You would think I asked my child to put on a full tux when I ask him to wear jeans and a collared shirt (a polo shirt).  And now that my daughter likes to style her own hair and accessorize with every possible piece of jewelry she can find, we get pretty fancy!
I am lucky to get 3 out of the 5 to look somewhat normal.  When you have 5 kids, you are willing to sacrifice a few for the best 3 out of 5.  The first year we brought Avery home, she looked....well special in the first Christmas card picture.  When you have a newly adopted daughter and 4 other kids under 8, you just go with it. 
I have always wanted to send a card that really captured the essence of our family life. 
It would have to be individual pictures though....Dad at work or answering emails, Wills watching the same SpongeBob episode for the 20th time completely oblivious to all his surroundings, Owen sitting up on the smallest branch of the tallest tree he could climb maybe swinging back and forth just to see if it will hold, Gray shadowing my every single move, Avery sitting in time out screaming, Kate dancing and singing in her room to Taylor Swift's Shake it off on repeat, and mom trying to make sure everyone's needs are met simultaneously.
I bet we all would have similar cards if we really told the truth.  But you know what, I too will stress about what everyone will wear, and to please give me REAL smiles, and let's  hug each other like we really mean it , all for the sake of pretending that on a Christmas card life must look prefect. 
I think about the manger scene and how imperfect that stable was for the birth of our Savior.  A dirty smelly stall with only a trough to place Jesus in. 
What a beautiful message that is...Jesus loves to be in the midst of my imperfect family, this imperfect mom.  May I remember that this coming season as I seek to share the birth of the Savior with others.  God send his son (perfect and blameless) into a imperfect world to give us hope! 
Hope for the lost, the hurting, and yes, hope that we can get that one Christmas picture to put on  our cards this year!

Groundhog Day

Tired, Exhausted, Sleepy, Emotionally Drained.  The list goes on.  Sound Familiar?
Today I find myself fighting an ever so familiar battle and I am just so. freaking. tired.
You know, as moms, we read all the books on parenting.  I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and Babywise every chance I got when I had babies.  I would read Your Preschooler and Toddler Books and How to Potty Train in a weekend books when the kids were 2 and 3. 
When I felt like my parenting really sucked, I would look for that book, "Your Parenting Style Sucks, How to change You". :)

But Seriously, looking at all the books in my office:
Bringing Up Boys
Bringing Up Girls
Dare To Discipline
The Strong willed Child
The Internationally Adopted Child
Parenting isn't for Cowards
Shepherding a Child's Heart
One would think I should be awesome at this parenting thing, right? I DID read all the books, right?  I think I did.  I mean over the course of 11 years I am pretty sure I have completely read at least one book all the way through.

You see being a mom brings you into the most exhausting of circumstances...consistency!
What do I mean by this?  You will CONSISTENTLY have to deal with fits, disobedience, lying, talking back, and fighting.  The consistency is the irony  that there are no easy days. No sick days or vacation days or mommy wants to crawl in a hole days.
For example, just a few hours earlier, my mother in law was coming to get my kids to take them to a big Fall carnival at their church.  Might I add, she is an awesome MIL.  The kids have been so excited and honestly, so have I because I wasn't going with them!  I would stay home. Alone.  In my quiet home.
All is going great.  Home from school, homework done, kids happy, mommy happier until......
One kid screws it up. Lets be real, sometimes all 5 darling angels, screws things up.
But today it was one.   That one child that is going to mess up your 2 hour retreat of peace.  It's like they know something is going good for mom.
"hmmmm, mom seems a little too happy about us leaving and getting some much needed alone time for a few hours, maybe I could help change that".
Disciplining really stinks when it affects us, the parents, and it most always does.
Wills made a D on his report card?  I guess he is grounded all weekend and will have to spend every waking hour whining to us.
Owen can't watch TV because he disobeyed, so that means he will more than likely say he is bored constantly and break things.

So back to tonight.   I am now at home with a 4 year old (Avery) who is in trouble because she didn't tell the truth. She flat out lied and lied and then lied again about lying.  And without going into every detail of the 45 minute excruciating long battle of getting her to finally tell the truth... lets just say it was NOT fun.
Truth:  We have disciplined each child the same; in that, we had the same expectations of behavior for each one. 
Truth:  What worked for one child for punishment did not necessarily work for another.

I remember the days when Owen was younger.  He did not care one bit about time out.  But, he did care if I took his favorite toy away for a few days.
But with Kate, I could mention the word Spanking and that was the end of any sort of behavior problem.
They are all so different and have each given this mom a run for her money and suitcase so that I could actually really run...far away.

Back to being emotionally exhausted and Avery.  You see when you are that tired (5 kids from age 4-11), you just don't care how long they have to sit in time out.  I view it as more alone time for me. Tonight, Avery refused to tell me  the why of why  she didn't get to go to the party, so I left her in time out until she did.  You know how long it took? 
1 hour and 12 minutes.  DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH I CAN DO IN 1 HOUR AND 12 MINUTES?
In my beginning mommy days, I used to stress about the crying and screaming temper tantrums and the throwing of their limp bodies all around, but now I just step right over the lifeless body and continue on my merry way.
Tonight, I took a shower.  A long hot one!  I stayed in long enough to shave my legs without anyone coming in to watch me through the steamy door.

I guess my point is, the books are right.  If it was easy, they wouldn't have to write a bazillion books on parenting and we could read real literature like 50 Shades of Gray or SHAPE magazine.
 I am going to take a gamble and guess that every single mom out there has felt like throwing the towel in when it comes to the same child doing the same behavior over and over and over.    We are all in the same Groundhog movie together.  One day, your efforts will pay off.  One day it won't be Groundhog Day, it will be a new groundhog day with a new battle.  Perseverance and consistency will pay off.  It has to!

I am holding onto the hope, and I mean I am really holding onto it, that my efforts, my consistency and my drinking faith will get me through the next 15 years.  That my efforts to discipline each unique child (in love) will not be in vain., because it sure is an exhausting feat and I  sure am one tired mom, right along side you.

knock knock

It's me, I am resurfacing into the blog world once again.  I tried to think of the many reasons why anyone would have any interest whatsoever in my blog and my life and my list went like this...

I have have 5 kids.
One is from China.
four are American
I do 3 loads of laundry (at least) a day.
Every SINGLE day, I clean dog poop off my front yard from 2 large dogs because it is better than cleaning it off a child's shoe.
I yell at my kids, otherwise they won't hear me because they are always yelling.
I hate homework and loathe helping my kids study.
I recycle.
I work out.
I sew my family's clothes.

Ok, so the last one isn't true, but how amazing would you think I was if  I could sew my family's clothes instead of purchase them from Target?
So, I am ok with the fact that I am a regular mom and wife, with kids just as cute as yours, just trying to be the best mom I can be.   And I thought that just maybe with my random ramblings and life stories I could help another mom out there know that we do the best we can with what we know.

Before I had kids, I had never been a mom before!  The first time I held my oldest in my arms was my first experience at this mommy thing.  Someday I think, I am the bomb-diggitey!  Other days I wish I could diggety a hole and bury myself.
Speaking of first time mommisms.....
I want to go ahead and apologize for that time that Wills, my oldest,  rolled out of his pumpkin seat in the parking lot, onto his head and he rolled under my car...oh that was a horrible day! See don't you feel better about yourself?  That is just one of many,  but you know what?  He is a happy 11 year old.
 He is my favorite!  Just kidding.  I will say that about them all.

Every single strong willed, crying, screaming, adorable, child placed in my arms has made me stronger and crazier at the same time. 

Lastly, I am not a writer by trade, so no judging my punctuation and sentence structure please.  And I don't have a lot of time on my hands to blog--so if you want to read, cut me some slack.
But what I do hope is that through my blog, my humor, my not so perfect life, another mom out there might feel better about her parenting and might see that there is no such thing as the perfect mom!   

It's Magical

How does Disney World do it?  They make you start thinking about your next trip back before you are even finsihed with your vacation!  Oh, how we LOVE taking the kids here.  Mind you, it is not cheap.  But Memories are made and i think Matt and I (although utterly exhausted) have almost as much fun as the kids do!  We got an extra special treat this year to get to spend a few days at Disney with our cousins.  What a treat.  I think those days were our kids favorite.  We rode everything and then, we rode it again.  Spending time as a family in a magical place that somehow makes adults feel like a kid again.  I know we did.  The kids did great.  We left Avery with my mom, because I am not to keen on taking 2 year olds to Disney! It was Grays first trip and the other 3 have been one other time.  We got to do another first.  An airplane ride.  What an adventure that was.  We flew out of Atlanta, because we dropped Avery off first and that airport is a tad more challending than Birmingham.  This may have been the most challenging part of the whole trip.  Trying to get through security and make our way to our gate, which we almost missed.

  All in all we arrived to the most magical place on earth and had an amazing vacation!  We are blessed.

Just try to leave....

Matt and I have this problem in our family and it seems to happen EVERY SINGLE TIME we try to go out of town for vacation.   Now... it is just comical!  Something will always try to keep us from going out of town, weather by ourselves or with the kids.  Usually it is an act of nature that will keep us from leaving when we would like to.  Hurricanes, Tornado's, Snow (yes!  in Alabama--which hardly ever happens, unless we go out of town) high winds, heavy rain.
Around 5 pm the night before we are suppose to leave on a family trip to Disney.  Bags almost packed, kids excited, getting all the last minute preparation into place, when Avery comes in with Matt holding a bottle of pills.  Frantic, Matt states that he found Avery eating my pills.  She has white chalky residue all over her face and I have her spit out into my hand whatever she is chewing.
We call poison control, who instructs us to go to Children's Emergency Room downtown.  REALLY?
We finish dinner, because that is what you do when it is a fifth child, and I load Avery up in the car and head downtown.
We arrive and they immediately take Avery back to hook her up to an IV , monitor her heart rate and take some blood.  I see intern after intern after intern until finally the Doctor comes in.  We are informed that the medicine she took can start to cause issues 24-36 hours after digestion, so they need to keep Avery overnight to monitor her.  The problem was we didn't know how much she actually ate!
I call Matt to tell him the joyous news that we will be spending the night at Children's and not able to check out until 6 the next day, which will mean we miss our flight to Disney that is paid for!
AHHHHHH---We work it out with my in-laws who will come and be there with Avery when they discharge her and we will head to Disney as planned.  Matt comes to the hospital to do a parent swap!  I head home to finish packing and try to figure out how I am going to pull this off.
The next day comes!  Older kids to school as usual and I call Matt to check on Avery.  They are sending her home!  All her levels improved over night and since they are only seeing improvement-she can come home!
WHAT A WHIRLWIND!  But, we are back on schedule to get on with our vacation.
This is another one to add to the book of how we cannot escape out of town without a major intervention of chaos!

Here is our little pill popper asleep that night at Children's.  Poor Matt had to get the lecture from the Doctor the next day about not leaving medicines in reach of children!

voting

 

Obama/Romney 2012

I took these two little ones with me to cast our vote for president.  They really had no idea what was going on, but they LOVED their stickers.  I was reminded that morning how blessed we are to live in America.  

Even though times are tough for most, we are so blessed to live in this country.  Matt and I saw first hand poverty, dictatorship and socialism while in China.  It is a scary reality over there , as well as in a lot of other countries, and we must pray for our country and leaders daily.

Let us always remember that it doesn't matter who is president, because Jesus is King!

I told YOU!

Batman-check ; Batgirl- check; Dora-Check; Scary Skeleton kid-Check; Stone cold Killer-Check!

 

 

 

Run x3

 

Last week, our school did the annual "ask your parents for money" fundraiser!  

I am kidding, but IT DOES seem like I give a lot of money to the school.  I guess whenever you have more than one child at a school, it feels that way!  

I had the privilege, and I know this will make many of you jealous, to spend my entire morning out on the field watching children run lap after lap while listening to all the latest and greatest kid's bop songs!

It was really cute, but when you have your 4 and 2 year old out the there with you, it seemed a bit lonnnnnnnggggggg!

I always enjoy watching my kids no matter what sport they are playing, so seeing them so serious and determined to run their little hearts out made me very proud!

 

We also wrapped up fall baseball and flag football!  Praise Jesus!  

Wills was able to practice some kid pitch, which was as faced paced and exciting as watching paint dry and Owen tried out flag football.

Let's just say--we are thankful the seasons have come to an end!

And the Mother of the Year award goes to.....

NOT ME! 
I must admit, I do feel like I should get this award if I happen to stop on the show Toddlers and Tiaras.  That always makes me feel better about my parenting skills!
You see, it just so happens that this child

Cannot SEE!
That's right!  She is Nearsighted!  VERY nearsighted!  This means she can see close objects clearly, but objects  further away are blurred.  So the question was how far can she see? 
(here comes the part where you pass me my trophy!)  about THREE inches from her face!
Poor little thing cannot see anything clearly unless it is right up to her face!  So that might explain 3 things:
#1  Why she LOVES the ipad!
#2  Why she stumbles a good bit
#3  Why she is unsure of strangers (i guess she can't see anyone!)
From here, we go to Children's to make sure that her right eye is not turning in (see pic above) consistently.
And then we get baby girl some glasses so she can see what is going on!
  I hope she will be happy to see that she is in America!  ;)

more of the same

The cold weather has come...finally!  Matt and I are putting off firing up the heater until November 1st!  That is if I can stand it.  Today I did not want to get out of the shower because it is so cold in our house.   I am sure the amount we spend on the water bill this month is more than we would have spent on heat.
I layered the kids beds with their down comforters and have officially traded summer clothes for winter clothes.  Of course, since we live in the south, I keep a few summer clothes out for those warm days that will surely come.
This past week was packed full of the usual chaos that each week brings.  October has been a tough month for me, as Matt has traveled over half of the month.  I am not a fan of being a single mom, but I know that is part of his job and am thankful he has one.
This week I got to dress up and read to the kids' classes.  I didn't tell the kids I was coming and I dressed up as a "good" witch and surprised them as a mystery reader.   It was pretty funny because Wills knew right away that it was me, it took Owen a little longer and Kate never figured it out until I finally told her! 

On Friday we traveled to Atlanta for my race and to see the cousins.  It has been since Labor Day that we have seen them so they were so excited to get to play.  They LOVE their cousins so much.  I wish we got to see them more. It is the ONLY thing that I don't like about living in Birmingham. 
We packed up and headed out Friday after school.  Matt wasn't flying in until late Friday night, so we went on without him.  I asked the kids if they wanted to take our dog, Harper, and they were like, "Of Course", so we packed her up too!  Although the trip is always long and tiring, we have mastered the art of  limited stops.   The key is dvd's , limited or no drink and stopping half way to fill up on gas, get a  small treat and use the restroom even if you don't have to!   We can leave Harper in the car now that it is not so hot.  In the Summer, it gets a little trickier, as someone has to stay out with the dog.

On Friday night we went to my niece's 5th birthday party.  It was a family party, because when you have 14 cousins in all, you have a huge party without inviting friends.
I ran my race Saturday morning, which was a beautiful but slow run.  I trained at a slow pace for this race and finished fairly easily, although I have an injury that kicks in at mile 10.
It felt good to have another half under my belt.  It is not necessarily my favorite race, but I like to have goals and something to train for.

We headed home Sunday morning because we had ball games that afternoon.  Home Sweet Home!
On the horizon, we have Disney World coming up in 10 days.  I cannot believe it is finally here .  I planned this trip in August.  I have been saving about 80% of my paycheck each month and I was able to pay for this trip with cash!  I got a great deal on airfare and the park package!  My kids have never flown!  This will be a fun first for them.
More on Disney to come as I attempt the mad rush and craziness of getting everything together for it.

A day of YES!~

I have said this before and maybe some of you moms can relate...my days seem to drag on so slow (unless, of course, I have alone time) but my weeks are flying by!  Can it really be almost November?  Although we are running around in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops, fall is in the air!  I am enjoying the beautiful color change in the leaves, the festivals, mums and pumpkins everywhere.

We ventured out to pick out our Halloween costumes a few weeks back!  I am a fan of getting them early and letting my kids wear them as much as they want prior to Halloween to ensure I get my $25 worth in each costume!  Normally I steer my boys clear of the gory and really, actually disturbing costumes they display in these gruesome stores.  It gets harder and harder each year though.  We have done the Ninjas and the Star Wars numerous times.  I have been manipulating enough to convince the boys to NOT be a zombie or an evil monster or any of those type costumes.  But they are now 8 and 9 and to be quite honest....I am just tired.  I kinda have the belief that the more I don't make a big deal about something...the less of a big deal it will really be.  For example, when I was little, my parents would no let me watch the show "Bewitched".  It is kind of funny really, because they weren't really all that strict, but for some reason that show was off limits.  Well guess what I reeeaaallly wanted to watch more than anything else?  Yep, Bewitched.  And if you know that show, it is so lame, but I wanted to watch it because I wasn't allowed to. 
So, what is my point?  I was tired of convincing them to be something "not scary" and tired from having 5 kids out in public in general, that I just said "yes".  So it became a day of yes's!

"Mom, can I have this costume with blood all over the hockey mask that says bloody killer on the shirt?" 
YES!
"Mom, can I be this nasty skeleton costume with a really scary mask?"
YES!
"Mom, can I be Batman for the 3rd year in a row, even though I have the other 3 batman costumes already at home?"
YES!
"Mom, can I be Bat girl?"  (even though I wish she would be a princess or something  girly)
YES!
We made it out of that store in record time!

I am not an advocate for letting your kids get everything they want and not setting limits, but I do feel that sometimes I am not a very fun mom!  Can it be because from 3:00-6:00 I am a taxi driver? Or that when I finish cleaning after breakfast , it is almost time to start lunch?  Or maybe because I am a full time wrestling and boxing referee?  Or because I am the keeper of endless time outs and fits?  Maybe it is because OJ gets spilled on the floor at least 2 times a day, or when I walk across the kitchen, there are enough crumbs to feed at least 4 more kids!? 
I do feel like I say No a lot more than I say yes.  So, it was fun to just surprise the kids a be a mom who says Yes to something when they thought I would say No.
I must admit that it was the most pleasant Halloween shopping experience I have ever had!

So, here are my 5 little monsters!!!

Our daughter (who happens to be from China)

We have had our Avery home for over a year now. I look back at this time last year and am amazed at how far she has come in the last year.  Not just growth on the physical side (yes, she now runs!) but growth in her maturity and trusting others.  It is so evident that the presence of love,  family and consistency can bring a child out of the depths of isolation, weariness, and distrust of people.
When Avery was placed in my arms, she screamed and cried.  She kicked and wanted me to give her back.  It was so hard, but I knew we had the best of intentions in mind.  We knew God gave her to us.  She only knew what she had experienced and it wasn't the love of a mother and father.  She didn't know what a family would bring.  The only reason she calmed down that day was she finally fell asleep on me (because I wouldn't put her down), but if you know Avery, she didn't like me that day and she let me know it!

 Back to present day, Avery is energetic, loving, spunky, and is trusting!  I am mama and she is mine--has always been!
This brings me to my point!  Matt and I were having this discussion the other day and we both felt exactly the same way.  I told Matt that when I look at  Avery I do not see a Chinese girl anymore!  I just see my daughter.  When we first adopted her, the fact that she was Chinese did not matter, but we noticed daily.
Matt said he has forgotten she is even Chinese!
I think it is so cool how God gives you His eyes when it comes to your children, and I think he is really at work in an adoptive family!  He sees no color.  He sees a child of God!

Most outings as a family, bring many stares!  Sure, it is probably from the 5 children we are surrounded by. But even when I am out with only 2 or 3 (and Avery is with me) we get stares and sweet looks from others.
It is the same thing I do to families that I happen upon who have also adopted.  I am drawn to them.  I notice their adopted child, because I love the act of adoption!
I am sure these families are just like us.  They do not see a child that looks different.  They see a child that fits in perfectly.  A little girl who is spunky like her brother, sweet and loving like her sister, stubborn like her mama and smart like her Dad.   We see a child that God cared so much for and He knew we needed her as much as she needed us.

So, that day that we were matched with Avery and saw her for the first time  in March of 2011--when Matt so famously said, "I can't believe we have another daughter--and she is Chinese" has become.
Thank you Lord for Avery, we are blessed!

Thick Skin

Most of my boot camp clients have a love/hate relationship with me!  They love me because I push them and challenge them to do things they didn't know they could do and the hate me because I push them and challenge them to do things they don't want to do!
Often times, during class I have heard, "I hate you right now" or maybe the  day after a tough workout, I will get an email that says, " I think of how much I despise you with every step I take".
It is usually all in good fun, and it is actually pretty funny because I think we can all agree, that when you have kids your skin gets thicker!  Sticks and Stones, right?

Here are a few sweet, uplifting words my kids have spoken to me!  Enjoy!

"Mommy, if we buy the new Madagascar 3 dvd, we get a free afro .....it kind of looks like your hair, Mommy.  Except yours is not colorful!"

"Mom, why do always have real dark skin under your eyes?"

One day, While walking in a very crowded store, my son smells a foul odor and says (in a way too loud voice)  "Mom, gross...Did you Fart?    (btw--no I didn't)

"Mom, your bottom is the biggest in our family!"

While kissing one of my kids good night, they sweetly tell me," ewwww...you smell really stinky".  (probably because I taught a class and haven't showered yet!)

"You should shave your face like Daddy does!"

2 things (and a gift!)

Today I spent most of this rainy Monday at  home washing and folding load after load of laundry.  In fact, my washing machine has been on it's last days over the past year.  I knew any day now it would quit on me and today was the day it decided it has had enough of our insane amount of clothes that need washing each week.  I was hoping it would give me another year.  It feels like we have had a lot of unanticipated events happen, each one costing more money than we would like to spend.  Because a mom of 5 cannot NOT have a washing machine, I will be heading to buy a new one tomorrow!
I have tried to use at least one day of the week that the kids are at school and spend it mostly at home, not rushing around town.  It gives me a chance to catch up on some housework.  I try not to schedule anything on Mondays.  I do usually have to go to the grocery store, but sans kids is a bonus and I will grab me a coffee a take it pretty slow.
Today as I worked at home I caught a few glimpses of 2 things I really loathe to do!  I don't know why I dread these particular chores, but I really really do.  I mean give me a vacuum and I could do it all day, but these 2 things ....well, blah!

The first would be the folded clothes lining the stairs. Notice that I do not spend a lot of time in my folding and this is because once the clothes are placed neatly in the drawers, they will never be folded again until they reach me once more hot out of the dryer.  Now, I put the kids clothes in their drawers for them.  I realize this is something they can totally do on their own, but I get a tad satisfaction when I neatly place them in the drawer on top of clothes that have more wrinkles than a dryer (not an iron) could ever get out.  Maybe its the obsessive part of me that wants to know that they were at least laid in the drawer neatly at one point in time!

 

This is another chore I cannot stand!  I usually can pass this one onto the kids, but today was a day to catch up so I succumbed to it.  I will add that I left them there for a few hours before I finally mustered up the "just do it" attitude.

 

And I must end on something that I love to find.  Here, lying by my bedside, a sweet present given to me by my 4 year old.  Yes, it is wrapped in a black trash bag. And he informed me that he put a surprise by my bed but it was "NOT a ball!"  If I didn't know any better, I would probably assume it was a bag of trash (or laundry) but I cannot wait to rip it open tonight and find the beach ball present that Gray has so thoughtfully given to me.  The present just for me that I bought with my money.

Living the Dream

Wow!  I have been out of touch with the blogger world for awhile now.  So much has happened and I can't bore you with all the details of the last 5 months, so I will sum it up that life has been moving at lightning speed and is as crazy and fun as usual.  Tonight as I packed 5 lunches (right after cleaning the kitchen from tonight's dinner), I laughed as I told Matt that I was "living the dream!"
In all seriousness, I  feel like am.  Sometimes "the dream" feels a little repetitive.  Sometimes "the dream" feels unappreciated.  Sometimes "the dream" feels exhausted and worn out.  But, what a gift from God that I have a wonderful loving husband and 5 healthy children that we love so much.

People always, and I mean ALWAYS, ask how do you do it all?  And I laugh because I don't do it all! 
I have learned to say "No, I can't volunteer to be room mom" or "No, I can't meet for dinner tonight" or "No, I can't bake 100 cookies for your bake sale".  We eat cereal for dinner!  We order pizza!  We don't take baths every night!  We watch T.V.   I send my kids to public school on a bus!
You know what I like to call it.?...survival!
Most nights, by 9:00, I am crashing! I try to read that book on my bedside table, but I fall asleep after 2 pages!  After the end of the day rush of homework, sports, baths, dinner, cleaning, packing lunches, and bedtime routines that run too long....I long to just sit and breathe.  Well, this usually means I sit and fall asleep within a few minutes.
So, life with 5 is just the same as life with 1 or 2 or 3 or more.  Busy.
But, I wouldn't change a thing at the end of the day! 

So for an update: Wills is in 3rd grade this year.  Owen is in Second.  Kate is in First.  Gray is in 4 yr old preschool.  And Avery is 2!
I am still a stay at home mom with a part time job of a trainer, Spin instructor and group ex instructor.  I love both my jobs!
So, here I am to try once more to keep up with this blog that I truly love so much!  I love what it will hold for my kids down the road.  A glimpse into our life and what is was.  Since I can barely remember yesterday, I figure I need to journal it because I for sure won't remember all those special memories years from now!

 first day of preschool

first day of MDO...not liking the pics

 First day of school 

 (from left to right)  Owen, Wills, our neighbor, and Kate

Firsts

We took Avery to my parents lake house for the first time over Memorial Day weekend.  The drive up to Hiawasee Georgia is always a long one, but so worth it once we are there.  It truly feels like a "get away".  We spend most of the days on the water.  taking out the boat, riding jet skis and swimming.  3 of my sisters were there with their kiddos, so we were a packed house and it was a blast.  My kids love being with their cousins more than anything.  I am so thankful for this.  Because we are in Birmingham, it is extra special when they get to be with their cousins. 
Avery really enjoyed it too!  She got lots of attention and had lots of fun on the boat and the jet ski.  I couldn't help but think that less than a year ago, she was in China and had no idea that in 9 months she would be riding a tube behind a boat in the mountains of North Georgia!  Isn't God amazing and faithful?
We laugh because Avery's personality would be great for an only child family....she demands attention!
I love that God has a sense of humor too!  He chose us to be her parents and for her to be the youngest of FIVE!

No More Teachers, No more Books!

Schools out for Summer!  I have mixed feelings on not having any alone time, but we have so many fun things planned for this Summer that I kinda feel like a big kid myself.  I met the kids at the school bus with Popsicles...a special end of the year treat!  Good bye to kindergarten, First, and Second Grade!