Many Small Children, pt. 2

In my last post, I was focused on the overwhelming, all-consuming, demanding parts of being a mom of small kids. Every word of that post is true, and I would say that most days I would love to have someone help me in one of the ways I listed. However, since posting that I have been struck by the many incredible gifts of this time with little ones underfoot. I am praying that I will focus more and more on these gifts and less and less on the interruptions, inconveniences, and frustrations.

Here are a few of the gifts that I know won't last forever:

A little guy who wants to dress in costume for days to do everything:

The sheer joy of being able to climb onto a stool

 When they share their snacks:

  The being able to sleep ANYWHERE:

Or thinking it's funny to sleep on the snow:

The imagination:

Here he's saying, "Dino, please don't eat my sunglasses!" and then, "Thanks, Dino!"

and here he's "going to school" (obviously!)

The fun of "peek-a-boo!"

and of course, the snuggles

Obviously, I could go on...there's the silly voices, the mispronounced words, naptimes, etc...but I think you get the point. I'm truly thankful for each of my four kiddos and the various stages that they're in right now. Each stage, like each child, has it's challenges, but overall, there is much to enjoy about each one. I'm praying that God will give me the eyes to see the gifts in the moments that aren't what I would plan or that interrupt my schedule. That He would give me the grace for each moment, and the love that each kid needs, that they might be drawn to Him more and more each day. 

*Disclaimer, lest anyone think I'm too idealistic, I recognize that there will be moments of cleaning up poop, crying over spilled milk (literally and figuratively), frustation when shoes can't be found and we're late AGAIN. I'm just trying to remind myself that there are frustrations in every phase of life, and try to remember the truly special things that are surrounding me each day.

Many Small Children

A friend was just saying to me that before their fourth child was added to their family, she kept hearing moms say that going from 3 to 4 kids was not a big deal. They would say things like, "what's one more?" She and I both shook our heads knowingly at each other. I think at that point I said something like, "One more is a big deal!" And she wholeheartedly agreed. I think any mama with a little one or two has their hands full.

I'm not looking for sympathy here. I realize that we decided to have these children, and we truly do see them as a blessing from the Lord. And I believe that He gives me the grace that I need each day to figure out how to balance it all the best I can. However, I am partially writing this to hold myself accountable later. I want to remember that moms of small children need HELP. That little four letter word help can mean a whole lot of different things. Here are some things that I think it could mean that might apply in this case:

A drink (alcoholic or Starbucks-depending on the mama and possibly the time of day) 

A hot meal (that's kid friendly if it's for the entire family, or not if it's a specific meal for the mom herself)

A visit (with no judgement to the state of her house or her appearance)

A night out (with her hubby or with the girls)

An hour of peace and quiet

A gift card for pizza

A note of encouragement

A phone call (with the understanding that she might be interrupted numerous times by the afforementioned kids)

An hour with a shrink (just kidding...well, mostly!) 

This list is definitely not all inclusive. Chime in with some of you suggestions. 

Three quick things before I sign off:

Another thing I want to remember is to volunteer in the nursery or as a Sunday school teacher when my kids are older. My hubs and I often talk about how the people with no small children that volunteer in the nursery at our church are such a blessing to those of us who really could use the break on Sunday morning, and we want to return the favor when our littles are not so little.

A friend shared the following verse with me: "Be strong and courageous, for the LORD you God will be with you wherever you go!" I love applying that verse to us mom, deep in the trenches of mothering little ones, instead of relegating it only to the old testament saints in battle.

And lastly if you're looking for a laugh about having four kids you must watch Jim Gaffigan's sketch with that title on YouTube. http://youtu.be/GEbZrY0G9PI

That day when it snowed...

Today turned out to be the day that snowed and the boys said they'd rather play in the snow than decorate Valentine cookies. To be honest, I didn't mind. They love the snow and it gets some of that crazy I'm-a-boy-and-I've-been-stuck-inside energy out of them. And I frosted the cookies more simply and as a result, they look a bit more boring, but they're a little more edible with less sprinkles! Without further ado, the pictures:
There wasn't quite enough snow for sledding...

but there's always enough to eat


I loved looking out and seeing Jon helping Will ride his trike in the snow:

and what boy doesn't love a snowball fight?

I love these boys!

What's in the Bible discount code

Anyone who's been reading my blog for long knows that I don't post things like this often if ever. However, it was because a few bloggers that I follow posted their recommendations that I ended up ordering the first two DVDs in the What's in the Bible series. So this morning when I received an email telling about a promotion that would give anyone I refer a 20% off discount and me $$ towards my next purchase, it seemed like a no-brainer!

These DVDs are more than just your typical Bible story DVDs--it's more than God made Adam and Eve and then skip to Noah and the flood. It's full of interesting information that is presented in a clever way. It's made by Phil Vischer, one of the creators of Veggie Tales. You can go to their site and watch clips--that's what finally got me hooked. :)

If you go through my link here, you can save 20% on your first order and I get $10 towards my next order. It's a win-win!

Pool Fun

Anyone who knew me when I was young knows that I am a fish. I LOVE THE WATER. When we lived in Lake of the Woods, in Virginia, I was on the swim team as soon they would let me be (I was five) and the same with the water ski team. Summer was my favorite time of the year, on top of having my birthday in June, I also got to live in the water. When my family moved back to Ohio when I was 11 and there weren't so many cool water options to fill my summer days, I figured that my parents must have hated me. (I literally wrote them a letter that said as much) There was only one pool in the entire town and it was pretty far from our house. No water skiing. No lakes or beaches within walking or biking distance. I had been so spoiled and I didn't even know it.
Why am I bringing that up now? Well, this summer I am getting spoiled again. I have several friends who have pools and they are very generous about sharing them with us. The first week of June, we were invited to swim at one friend's house and that was the week from you know where, when I got so terribly sick. So, we obviously didn't swim that week. But every week since then, we have gone swimming once or twice a week at one friend's house or another. It has been such a treat. The boys have LOVED it. I have LOVED it.

We've often swam with our friends from church. The kids have so much fun together--actually so do the grown ups!

We've figured out a schedule that seems to be the best for everyone. We go around 12:30 or 1pm, after eating lunch. Will, who is quite the daredevil at the pool and loves to walk right in, can swim with us for a little while. Then after about 45 minutes, I take him inside where we've set up a pack n' play and he can nap for a couple hours while the older kids and the other grown ups and I can enjoy the pool with much less fear of anyone drowning!

I realized last week that after taking the kids swimming over 6 times, I still had yet to get a shot of Will in the pool. Since I was always in the water with him, I felt a little puzzled about how to remedy that problem. But my friend, Shawna, came to my rescue and took a few pics to prove that he really does get to swim with us and enjoy the summer fun, too. (Even if his time in the pool is significantly shorter than the rest of us!)

I'm sure as the summer goes on, I'll have more fun pool pics. I hope you don't get bored of them! :)

Sick and Tired

It's been over a month since I've blogged. And I really enjoy blogging. Many of you know why I've been missing.

It seems this pregnancy has a life of it's own. It began the day after my last blog post actually. We went to church that Sunday, enjoyed a fellowship meal and from there it was all downhill. I took a nap in the hopes of feeling better after getting some rest and woke up to find that I felt even worse. Nothing would stay down, not even water. The next day was more of the same. By that afternoon I felt miserable and had pain in my lower abdomen. I went in and saw my OB, who did some tests and gave me a prescription for the Zofran pictured above. However, it was a little too late, I was already getting so dehydrated that by that night we were in the emergency room. I wasn't sure what was wrong, but the pain in my abdomen was comparable to stages of childbirth. They ran more tests and did an ultrasound (which we didn't get to see). They said the baby (singular, no twins) and the uterus looked healthy and all my test results were fine except that I was severely dehydrated. So we stayed long enough for them to pump two IV bags full of fluids into my system.

Pete's mom came to our rescue that night, and for the next few days she helped take care of all of us. She even made me her amazing homemade chicken noodle soup. After a couple days, I tried to stop taking the medicine because we thought that the sickness had been a bug. No such luck. I immediately started getting sick again. And to top it off, I added a UTI to my troubles. This mama who tries not to take much medicine at all during pregnancy was back on the Zofran and adding to it a strong antibiotic to knock that nasty UTI out. That was one of the longest weeks of my life. I honestly think that I feel better the week after childbirth with little to no sleep than I felt that week. It was not fun. Thankfully, Pete's mom was here for much of that time and he was able to work from home the rest of it. And in the meantime, my sweet Jon and Sam were making me cards:

I counted all the cards that they brought me just to my room (there were others around the house that I think found their way to the trash can--shhhh!) and there are 48. Yes, forty-eight! Jon made about 2/3 of them and Sam made the rest.

That's just a sample.
From that week forward has been a steady improvement. My doctor had said to feel free to play with my dosage if I felt better, so I have. Once I hit 13 weeks, I went down to half the dosage and still felt pretty good. I went a little lower, only 1/4 of the dosage and it wasn't so pretty. I was a little disappointed at first, but ultimately I am just thankful that there is a medicine that I can take that helps me to function and be able to take care of my family. This whole experience has made me very thankful for the good health that I normally take quite for granted. Also, my husband has been a rockstar throughout this whole time picking up all the extra slack for me. That whole "in sickness or health" part of our vows has been put to the test lately.

Since hitting that 13 week mark, I've had a lot more energy. I still get tired easily, but comparatively I'm feeling pretty good. I have been more sensitive and irritable this pregnancy than I remember being in the past 3, but now that I've recognized that, I'm praying and trying to be less reactive. Pete's praying with and for me in that regard as well. If you think of me, I'd love for you to pray for my health, this baby and that I would be more patient with my kiddos and my sweetie. Thank you all in advance!
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13
P.S. Yes, we're planning to find out, if the baby cooperates, whether this little one is a he or a she. The ultrasound should be around the 8th of August. Of course, I'll share the news here after we find out and share with loved ones. :)

What Works and What Doesn't

You know when you deal with the same issues for awhile and it doesn't seem to matter what different angle you take, you continue to not get the results you were hoping to get? It doesn't have to be huge things, in fact the things that I'm thinking of are pretty small in the grand scheme of things, but they are things that you wish would change in one way shape or form. I was thinking about some of those the other day. Thinking that it would be great if there were some panel of people with all the answers and practical solutions that I could turn to for advice or help. Then I thought of this blog. What if I turned to my friends--real life and bloggy friends--to see what they have found works for them. Clearly we're all different and there are many areas where what works for me isn't going to work for you or visa versa. However, I firmly believe that there's a lot we can learn for each other. So here's the plan: I'm going to throw out a couple of situations that I wish I could find a fix for and you weigh in by commenting here or on facebook. And/Or you can throw out some other issues that you're needing input on and we can try to help each other out. We'll start small:

Issue #1 for me:

The toilet seat/lid. My boys are constantly leaving it up. While this is obnoxious to me as the next girl, it's compounded by the fact that my littlest guy loves exploring any and every space he can find. And as many of you read in my blog post, when the toilet seat is left up and he's thirsty...well, YUCK. So, in spite of the warnings and reminders I've given my eldest, the toilet seat is up again often. So...any great suggestions? How have you trained your kids to close the toilet seat/lid?


Issue #2 for me:

Laundry. This one isn't as bad currently. I might actually had found a system that works. I used to have one big laundry day, that way I could ignore it the rest of the week and only face it one solitary day each week. However, with three boys one day just isn't enough. It was spilling over to other days and I was feeling like a bit like a failure. So, now I've been doing the boys laundry on Monday and towels, sheets and grown up clothes on Wednesday. It worked really well last week. This week I kinda slacked on Monday, which made it pour over into Tuesday and Wednesday. And now it's Thursday and I still need to put away two baskets full of laundry. I know some of you like to do a load a day...honestly that sounds like Chinese water torture to me. But weigh in, let me know what you've found to work for at your house, please. :)

Issue #3 for me:

A couple months ago Sam started talking in a baby voice all the time. It may sounds silly, but it's really gotten annoying to me. Even Jon is starting to get annoyed. And just when I think we're making progress, he starts doing it more. Any advice or tips? Have any of you dealt with this?

A Truly Disgusting Tale of Little Boys

I am hesitant to share this story because I'm a little embarrassed and grossed out that it actually happened. Add to that, that it happened it my home with my kids and I shutter. However, having been encouraged time and again by funny and somewhat disgusting stories by other moms, especially my college friend, Jen, I decided I would post it. Hopefully, others not involved in the incident will get a laugh at our expense. Pete and I already decided it will be a story the boys will tell once for years to come.

It all starts with this kid, who is more curious than the cat--you know, the one that curiosity killed--or than that favorite little monkey, George. Will is into everything these days. EVERYTHING. If he can get his hands on it, he thinks he should explore it. He's claimed his older brothers' water bottles as his own on numerous occasions.

Last night we come home from church, Jon and Sam help Pete collect the trash and take it out. (I use the term help loosely, but hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?) Then, since we got home a little earlier than usual, the boys asked to play a computer game for 15 minutes before bedtime. We agreed, but told them that they needed to be done at 8 o'clock without any arguing. Jon had to go to the bathroom and really didn't want to waste any of his game playing time, so he ran off to the bathroom and was back in a flash.

Pete and I settled onto the couch while Will roamed around bringing us various items he had discovered. He brings me a ducky. He brings me a book. He brings me a empty cup and has a wet shirt. He shows me the cup and says, "No, no!" while shaking his head. At this point, the cup is empty, so I just shake my head and let it go. He walks off with the cup. Next thing I know, I hear choking. I decide to investigate. As I round the corner I see a sight no mother wants to see, my son scooping water out of the toilet and drinking it. As I get closer, I realize its worse that I thought. Jon, in his rush, had not flushed the toilet. Will was drinking pee water--YUCK, YUCK, YUCK. I wish that I could say that the next few moments were handled with grace and mercy, but since I have talked with Jon repeatedly about leaving the toilet open and had just found my 16 month old drinking urine, I was far from graceful. To deal with the physical mess, I'm so thankful Pete was home. I snatched Will up and quickly stripped him down and cleaned him up and got him something sanitary to drink. While I did that, Pete took charge and got Jon to help clean up the mess in the bathroom. Apparently he was less than gracious with Jon initially as well, because by the time everything was said and done, both Pete and I were asking Jon to forgive us for being so angry. The upside of this story is that Jon hasn't left the toilet lid open once today. And Will seems to be fine. His lack of skill with non-sippy-cups probably came in handy this time.

So there you have it, my gross boys living up to their name! I've heard the tales of kids playing with their poop and thankfully never actually experienced it with my own children, but I have had one of my children drink pee. *shudder* Yuck.

Egg-stra! Egg-stra! Easter Fun

I've been mulling over some deeper thoughts about perspective lately and I'm hoping to blog about it soon, but for now, I'll just share a glimpse of the view from here.

the shirts came off because the dye as getting a bit messy and little boys come clean easier than their shirts
Jon and Sam both thought that the shrinky plastic things were really cool

Sam dropped one of his, but decided it didn't matter and kept on decorating...he's such a funny boy

Jon was really into trying to draw on the egg with crayon

the end result was pretty sweet--stick figures and names of each member of our family

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this project at first, but then I realized that it really could be fun. The boys were sure looking forward to it. I just had to realize that there would be messy moments and it wouldn't be perfect, but it could still be really fun. And what do you now? it really was fun!

Pics from December

My old camera revived itself for a couple weeks in December, just long enough for me to think it would last through Christmas. While it was healed, I took the following pictures and was able to recover them with my new camera when I put the memory card into it! I'm sure my mom will appreciate these, but for the rest of you...well, you can bear with us! ;)

This particular night these two goofballs were in rare form:

They were wrestling with their amazing daddy

the little guy even joined in for a minute

and then he ran while he could!

It wore him out