Sanity in the Summertime

Summer is getting away.

If my count is accurate the half way point is only a week away. This thought makes me panic and celebrate and feel guilty for the celebrate and panic again. Panic because time is going way too fast; celebrate because some days feel way too long.

According to my calendar I am nearing the end of our summer's busy season. The second half of summer should be less "going" and involve more free time (at least during the week).

It should include more things like swimming and parks and trips to the library and stuff like that.

Unless I add more things to our calendar. Down time is a very good thing. Too much down time can lead to insanity. The key is to find a healthy balance.

Part of my "summer sanity strategy" this year has been to build in down time of the separation variety. Too much togetherness can also lead to insanity. I have done this in two main ways:

one. We have mandatory "quiet time" most every weekday for an hour after lunch. This is also mandatory reading time for the big kids. Most of the kids are in separate rooms to minimize talking.  I tell them what time they can come down and for the most part they stick to it. They've become more consistent at being still with practice, or maybe the crazy eyes they see from their mother when they are not still has been enough to scare them into submission.

Either way, the quiet in the middle of a loud day is amazing.

two. One morning a week a sitter comes to our house and I leave. I rarely use this time for errands; instead I use it to exercise and do things that fill my often depleted tank, this typically takes the form of a table at Starbucks to read, or write, or stare off into space and think.

These two strategies have truly been sanity-saving. I love my kids. I love having them home in the summer. I love enjoying down time with them.

But, as previously mentioned, too much togetherness can lead to insanity, which is good for no one. A little strategic separation in our house has been a very good thing.

Summer Chores

School is out and summer is officially here. It's day 1, the motivation is high and my "summer sanity strategy" is in full swing.

Part one of my strategy involves chores. I pulled out the post-its this morning and started the lists. It's how we do things. Their lists are portable, sticky, always changing and when we happen to be out of the house for the morning, they are easy to skip. I have tried chore charts in the past, but its hard for me to be consistent. My kids love the variety of a daily, ever-changing list they can check off and I like the flexibility.

The challenge can be figuring out what to put on their lists each day.

We have a few standards:  make bed/pick-up clothes and say memory verse are daily. A few school activities (we rotate between math workbooks, writing, and reading) are always included. And at least one, sometimes two "chores" complete the daily post-it note.

The "chores" part has me racking my brain at times. I have my master list, which helps, but I am always looking for new ideas.

Here are a few things my kids will be doing this summer, I'd love to hear your "chore" ideas in the comments.

Big Kids (ages 7-10)

• Vacuuming rooms
• Cleaning bathrooms (I sometimes separate this into just the tub, or sinks and toilets)
• Dusting
• Pulling Weeds
• Sweeping off front/back porches
• Cleaning windows on the front/back doors
• Cleaning/sweeping out the van
• Sweeping out the garage
• Emptying dishwasher

Little Kids (ages 4-5)

• Wiping down baseboards
• Dusting stair rails
• Picking up 
• Watering plants
• Sweeping off front/back porches
• Vacuuming rooms
• Dusting

My expectations on the quality of work is lower for the "littles," and often involves "training" but they have to start somewhere and often surprise me at how well they do. 

Post-it note chore lists work for me and at our house indicate summer is here! 

Something Green

Photography Challenge, Day 4: Something Green

She has been with us as long as we have been us. I believe she was our first furniture purchase as a couple. She has served us well over the 12.5 years we've been together. I say "she" because "he" feels totally wrong, as does "it" when referring to a piece of furniture that has been sat on by us for as long as she has.

Oh, the memories...

She was the inspiration for our guestbook in the early years when we crammed her into our one bedroom Chicago apartment. If you visited us during that time, chances are you sat on her and had your picture taken as proof that you had indeed been there.

When the kids were born, she became a bed for Grandma's and Aunt's who were willing to help us survive the newborn years, especially the twin newborn years. The Grandma's moved on pretty fast, but the Aunt would periodically come back, that is until she moved to Africa.

She has always been one of my favorite reading places. The kids' too!

And by far, my favorite napping place.

She has comforted sick kids...

... and been the spot where we have enjoyed movie after movie. Sometimes all seven of us have crammed together on her to enjoy a film and when the kid's go to bed and it is just Kory and I...

I get 3/4 and he sits on the end. That is until he moves to the floor which is when I know it will be just me and her finishing the movie. I fill him in when he wakes up to go to bed.

There are days I wish she was a different color or a little more modern, but when I really think about it...

I'm glad she is who she is.

Something soft, cozy, and comfortable.

Something green.

Don't forget to head over to Tami's to see other 30 Day Challenge participants!

Caught in the Act

I thought I was being economical.

At first everything was going according to plan. No problems. Life was great. Until, I started noticing...

It really seemed like nothing. A few crumbs behind a chair or under a table. No big deal.

Then, the crumbs begin to show up on his face. I'm ashamed to say I looked the other way. Denial set in.

Things proceeded to get worse.

I started locking the box in the cupboard, but it continued to "disappear." It would mysteriously show up behind a chair or in the toy cupboard. I started getting sick to my stomach every time that box was gone.

I knew something was up, I knew it was bad and I needed to confront, but it is so hard to admit your loved one has a problem.

The day finally came when I caught him in the act.

We were getting ready to run some errands. He smiled sweetly and ran to "find his shoes." I followed. He led me right to it. He had hidden the box again for easy access. He grabbed a handful, stuck it in his mouth and turned. He saw me.

We silently regarded each other. The jig was up. We both knew it was time for change.

Hello, my name is Sean, and I'm a... goldfishaholic.

Summer Eating

Peaches and plums have been disappearing around our house like they are going out of style.

I'm glad they are pounding the fruit rather than the

cookies and sweets which I keep meaning to make "tomorrow."

After all,

there is nothing like a juicy plum on a summer day.

Post-it notes are Great for chore lists...

...because you can always keep them close at hand!

You never know where the chore-list will pop-up while the boys are working.

Summer Days

Summer has arrived and with it an onslaught of seasonal activities. In the short time she's been with us we've already tackled VBS, family vacation, and the summer reading program. Soon to follow is family baseball, swim lessons and birthday week. In between is all the usual every-day stuff, chore lists, grocery shopping, OT and PT, dentist appts, eye dr. appts, breaking up fights, feeding, chasing after and keeping up with my little herd, etc. etc. etc.

It's been fun. I'm loving me some summer days, at least most of them.

(Let's face it, with five kids under the age of 8 we have had moments (ahem, looonnggg moments) where attitudes have been less than stellar (for ALL of us) and bedtime or quiet time can't arrive fast enough or last long enough.)

With all the summer hustle and bustle, this little piece of blog-land has been ignored.

I can't promise that will change a whole lot in the next few weeks, but here is what I'm thinking.

While the writing may be sparse, I am hoping to share bits of our summer with you through pictures. You know, to keep in touch.

So until next time, Happy Summer Everyone!!!

Hanging Out

I think Thomas's friends must read my blog because after Wednesday's post I walked in to find this:

I think they've found a new favorite hang out.

Aah Thomas, I will miss finding you in random places around my house someday.

Don't move on too fast.

Boys will be Boys

I am the oldest of three girls. I did not grow up watching the antics and stunts of little boys, although I vaguely remember the rumblings. I had exposure to boy cousins (that are still some of my closest friends today). I remember a few run ins with neighborhood boys and boys at school, but overall my interactions were limited. I heard stories about the boys I knew, but they rarely acted "that way" around me.

When I got married I heard even more stories. My husband's boyhood escapades are very entertaining and I've heard them many, many times. Especially when he is surrounded by his childhood friends. So when I found out we would be having not one, but two boys at once it was more than a little intimidating.

As our boys started to grow, I began to hear more "rumblings" from other moms. The "boys will be boys" kind of stories filled with close calls and broken limbs. Most of them innocent in nature, but dangerous none-the-less.

Yesterday we had one of our own stories to add to the overflowing pot. Minor in danger and risk, but its a start.

I missed the actual event, although Kory saw it happen. I'm still not sure of all the details, but as best I can tell the boys decided to push their race car up the slide so it could "get worked on." While one of them was holding it at the top, the other climbed in. That's when the one doing the holding decided to let go. He says it was hurting his foot.

The result of letting go was the car and driver shooting backwards down the slide, flipping over backwards and spilling its surprised contents into the yard.

Tears came for a minute, until the boy at the top of the slide started laughing. In his words it was "hysterical." It didn't take long for the stunt driver to join in.

We laughed over the story at supper, although the driver did not laugh as hard as the rest of us, the sheepish look never completely leaving his face. If you looked close, however, you could see a glint of pride at having carried out the ride successfully, even if it was unintentional. His brother thought it was the "best X games stunt ever." That helped too.

We'll see how long this stunt lasts at the top of their list. I may or may not have seen them carrying a scooter up the big slide after supper...

It's true you know, boys will be boys.

I know you've got your own boy stories, I'd love to hear them in the comments!

Interruptions

Confession: I cannot multi-task.

Not even a little.

If I'm talking to you on the phone and try to do something else, my uh-huhs to your stories will turn hollow and by the time I'm done doing what I was trying to do I will have to apologetically ask, "What did you just say?"

I'm an embarrassment to the great multi-tasking female race.

On another note, I like to be productive. I like to make it through a day with something accomplished. Preferably several somethings.

It has been said, maybe by Jill Savage, that motherhood is the ministry of interruption, or maybe it is the ministry of availability. Regardless, this does not bode well for a non-multi-tasking-likes-to-be-productive woman (the same could probably be said of a multi-tasking-likes-to-be-productive woman, although she would probably handle the interruption better).

Kids Interrupt. Often. Everyday. Always.

Don't get me wrong, I want to be available to my kids. I want them to know they are more important than any project I may be working on. But in real life, this does not always show. I get frustrated by the constant interruptions, the refereeing, and the cleaning up of messes that I probably could have prevented if I wasn't so focused on the task at hand.

And this is why motherhood is good for me in the take-your-medicine-even-though-it-might-not-taste-good kind of way. Because when it comes down to it, motherhood gives me daily opportunities to lay down my life for another. To lay down my to-do list and my agenda and serve someone else.

So I guess this means I need to start giving thanks for the interruptions, the refereeing and the cleaning up of messes. Maybe even look at them as opportunities to serve my Creator instead of my self. All the while reminding myself that my first priority as mom is shaping and molding and not planning and accomplishing.

Or I could keep getting frustrated...

The answer is obvious, if only it was that simple to act on in real life.

Instead I have one more area to confess my weakness, pray for help, seek truth and depend on His grace.

The List

How do you motivate your kids to work? To complete and learn basic house-hold tasks?

I've tried chore charts before. The problem (for me). They take thought, planning and follow-through to be effective.

Last summer we used one. I printed charts off at the beginning of every week. We were pretty consistent through most of the summer. They worked, but this summer they sounded like too much work.

So I did nothing, and my kids did very little extra work around the house (with our trip to China this summer I didn't push in this training department anyway).

But now we are home and its time to get busy!

Earlier this week a friend commented that she makes a list of jobs for her kids to complete every morning. As a listy-type of person this appealed to me. Compared to chore charts, lists are low maintenance and non-committal. If a day is extra busy, we drop the list. No problemo.

So far, so good. I make a list each morning. They complete it by lunch time. If they need extra motivation, there are no fun extracurriculars until the list is complete (or no snack/dessert item at lunch).

In an effort to keep "the list" fun, I'm trying to come up with a variety of jobs. The same-old-same-old will get old fast. Some jobs that have appeared so far are washing the door window, sweeping the front porch, emptying wastebaskets, working on math flashcards, writing and coloring activities, reading.

As sad as this sounds.. I am running out of jobs.

The list won't work without jobs.

So, what are so jobs your kids are responsible for completing? I need ideas.

Our list will thank you.

Our kids may not.

The Two Year Olds are Back!

I faintly remember doing this before, having two two-year olds in the house at one time.

And here we are again.

Sean's reaction to Suhn has been pretty close to what I expected (maybe one of the only things that has come pretty close to what I expected).

He can go from loving on her, petting and cooing, to pushing, hitting and growling in 10 seconds flat.

And Suhn's reaction to Sean?

She thinks he is hilarious. Except when he is taking her toys, getting in her face or hurting her.

To get a gauge on the frequency of Sean's shenanigans allow me to share Suhn's first English two-word phrases. She says them often and thinks she is quite hilarious when she does.

"Sean no" followed by "Sean nice" (think "Sean be nice")

They are probably the two phrases she has heard the most since joining our family.

So I'm back to refereeing two fickle, "mine"-loving, two-year olds.

(Something I never thought I'd do again.)

Two can be a hard age to have a "twin," (especially when you have spent the first years of your life without one). And yet, I have a feeling, a hunch and a prayer that as my babies grow, they are going to be the best of friends.

Noise!

In a house with small children, peace and quiet can be a hard to find.

With the birth of each child, the everyday clamor has slowly increased. A cacophony of sounds have made themselves at home, making quiet a scarce commodity in our house, especially in the hours before dinnertime!

Voices play-acting, footsteps running, tromping and jumping, blocks falling, toys flying through the air and landing, boys yelling in fun and frustration, doors slamming, little boys crying, laughing, falling, water running, kids barking, chasing, tackling...

Some of the sound bites that come my way, I wish I could bottle up and hold forever. Hearing my tw0-year old hum Jesus Loves Me as he plays or listening in on the twins as they play trains are moments I treasure. When little voices say "Thank You Mommy" or even better "Love you Mommy" I can't help but smile.

Sooner than I think this house of mine will fall silent and peace and quiet will become the new norm. So today I am giving thanks for the gift of a noise-filled home and the dull roar created by the special little people who populate it.

What are some of the noises (fun, endearing, or frustrating) that fill your home?

Snow Day

A break in routine. Stuck at home.

Pulling out board games.

Pulling out snowsuits and boots. Hats and gloves.

Filling the snow with footprints and snow angels... signs of life.

Piling on the sofa. Books at our side. Snuggling. Sharing a story.

I'm sure the less than idyllic moments will also find us.

Whining, fighting, crying.

Moments of Impatience?

Even so, I am looking forward to unwrapping this day.

A snow day, at home.



Question: How do you spend your snow days? Do you have any fun "snow day" projects to share?

A Slower Pace

Sometimes you make an intentional choice to slow down the pace of life and sometimes the choice is made for you. Today the latter is true, a sick child is keeping us home. Although I hope she feels better soon, today we are going to take advantage of the circumstances. We are going to snuggle on the sofa, read more of the adventures of Stuart Little, share a video or two, or three..., get lost in the Christmas tree lights and take pleasure in the slower pace.

AND, so you don't get too idealistic of a picture, I will also be doing lots of laundry, wiping the house down with Lysol, and cleaning up... (some things are better left unsaid if you know what I mean!)

So its not all warm and cozies today, BUT in between all the other stuff I do plan on taking pleasure in the slower pace.

Home

This fall has been an unusual one for me in more ways than our local weather. I have been invited to travel more than I am used to. The final destinations have been varied, my purposes in going have been diverse, the people I've traveled with have changed from trip to trip. Its all been good, and I have been thankful for the opportunities.

Yesterday I returned from the last trip in the foreseeable future (at least the last trip in which I leave my kids behind). It ended with a sigh of relief and a prayer of thanksgiving for safe travels.

Relief that I am home again.

And while I acknowledge that my earthly home is fleeting and can change in a heartbeat, today I am giving thanks for the home God has blessed me with. Not just the physicality of it, although I am thankful for that, but mainly for the relationships that make it up and the joy of falling to sleep at night knowing we are once again together under the same roof.

A Recap

For family, and anyone else who might be interested, allow me to present a Halloween recap:

On Friday we attended the Halloween party in Mya's classroom. The boys were thrilled to be there. Really.

Just as Sean was ready to loose it, it was time to go home. I had the privilege of carrying a thrashing little boy (who wanted to walk by himself through a crowded parking lot), encouraging two big boys to stay close, and talking a little girl out of crying because she was being asked to walk through grass in the rain. It was wonderful mommy/kid bonding time. Did I mention it was raining? Really.

For Halloween this year we had three puppies and one kitty. A huge thanks goes out to Aunt Leslie for helping put the costumes together. I think they turned out rather good. Really!

After bringing home way too much candy, Mya waited patiently in front of the door just waiting for trick or treaters to come so she could fill their bags with candy. I think this is her favorite part of trick or treating. Really.

Now comes the job of monitoring their candy in-take until the monster stash is gone. Including the more difficult job of monitoring my candy in-take. Sigh. Really.

In All Things

They say there is a silver lining to every cloud.


I know, I know that is so cliche, but you gotta admit looking for the silver lining makes the cloud so much more enjoyable.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says "Give thanks in all circumstances." Sometimes easier said than done, but giving thanks does help one focus on the good rather than the bad. There is always something to be thankful for isn't there? Even in the direst of circumstances?


My circumstances last week were not dire, but they did give me cause to practice thankfulness in all things. The flu bug hit my little buddy. We had to cancel plans, including a visit to dear friends who (because of distance) we see far too little as it is.

I felt sorry for myself for a little bit, but then gave thanks. Thanks for the extra cuddles I received from my sick baby boy. Thanks because we were forced to slow down and stay home (during an especially busy season). Thanks for recovery and health.

My little buddy is doing much better. Although now that he is feeling better, he has decided to become a little more grouchy and demanding giving me a whole new set of circumstances to be thankful in!

A Lovely View

Sometimes I forget to say thanks for the most basic of things. Like breath and sight, and the ability to move freely... without pain.

Today I am especially thankful for the ability to walk. freely. without pain. A small thing until it is taken away. Last Friday the picture above comprised my view for the first part of the day. The ceiling of my bedroom. Lovely isn't it.

My back decided to stage a protest. The strike was loud and painful and to be honest, I don't really know what caused it. I wasn't sure how to react at first and moved almost seamlessly from laughter to tears to laughter to the confusion of those around me.

My husband stepped up to the challenge and truly saved the day giving me a bright side which included an opportunity to read all of Ted Dekker's Green.


So today I am giving thanks for a small thing, that is really a big thing: pain-free mobility.

I'm also giving thanks for small things like frozen bags of vegetables that soothed my sore back, my new, darling heating pad, which faithfully emitted pain-lessening heat when I needed it most, and the creative writing of Mr. Dekker.

But most of all, I'm giving thanks for my Man who took care of all the things I couldn't, including me!

A Foul Wind

A foul wind has been blowing through our house. Less than ideal circumstances have come my way and my reaction has been, well, less than ideal.

Its nothing big, just little things. Little annoying things that have me grumbling around the house like an ogre.

There is a song from my youth that contains the words, "Are you grumbly hateful or humbly grateful, What's your attitude?"

I've definitely been on the grumbly hateful side of the spectrum this week.

Needless to say, I have not been the happiest, most patient momma.

My parents used to have a magnet on their fridge that said, "When momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

I hate how true that is. It is so unfair that my attitude has the power to make the rest of the family unhappy. Sometimes I just want to be in a bad mood, by myself.

What a luxury that would be!

Unfortunately, when I start grumbling around, bad attitudes tend to fly through our house faster than crumbs appear on the kitchen floor during mealtime.

It can be such a burden.

In reality, I know I have a lot to be thankful for. And when I start to focus on those things, I tend to move back to the "humbly grateful" side of the spectrum. The wind changes. The rest of the family tends to follow suite. And all is right with the world again.

That is, until the next foul wind blows through!