When They Say 'No'

My kids say 'no' to me often. And that is okay. Here is why: - They matter- their opinions matter - No one should really be forced to do things Sometimes, even if they say 'no' they do not necessarily have a choice. I know this and they know this- but there is usually a compromise to be had if you think outside the box-- sometimes this means we do things that look a little wacky- but whatever, we are working together in a team. How can my kids learn that their opinions have value and matter if I don't instill in them that they matter? I want my children to know that each of them and all of their opinions matter. If they feel I won't listen to them, will they believe their peers will listen to them? This may be melodramatic- but if my girls do not feel confident their opinions matter will they know that they can say 'no' to a boy (or girl)? How will they know that they can say 'no' and be respected if I don't respect them? Go ahead- say no.

He has found his voice

Little Dude has found his voice, he has learned he can talk in little baby coos and get a response and smiles. It is one of my favorite parts of babies. I love this part. Seeing little ones eyes eyes light up when they get a response. It is super cute. We chatted today in baby for about 20 minutes and we smiled at each other cooed and were generally soaking each other up. This part is some of the magic of parenting. I adore it. Somehow I forgot about it between Pixie and Little Dude, but it was a great surprise for me. Each of them is so unique and even at this young age their personalities are emerging. I am so so blessed to have this time with them.

6 things about kidney stone

Kidney stones.


If you have been reading my blog for the past two years you know what pain my kidney stones have given me, here are some things I have learned.

1- when stones are in the kidney they often don't hurt.
2- After excruciating pain of a stone traversing from the kidney south, it can be super exciting to see a stone in your pee. There is a certain amount of pride.
3- Stone hurt buy they are nothing to obstruction, the first time I obstructed I thought I was dying.
4- After a few episodes of stone pain I knew what drugs worked for me. To the point that I could tell the ER doc exactly what to give me.
5-Stents are created by the devil.
6-Stents would make wonderful torture devices

Just avoid kidney stones, really. Avoid.

Pixie has a Pixie

Pixie is now the bearer of a pixie hair cut. She is the latest in my children to cut her hair. There must be some irresistible song that the scissors sing enticing children to cut their hair.

Pixie took a chunk off of the front it .

Oh well she is cute. Not everyone can pull off a pixie!

8, 6, 4, 2, and 17 weeks

Today Stinky celebrates his 6th birthday. Where have the last 6 ears gone?

I love watching him grow up.

He is proud of himself that he know how to make Daddy a cup of coffee and me a cup of tea. He also can switch the laundry and organize the snack cabinet.

He is amazing. He contributes to our family in such a wonderful way. He is kind and generous (when he is not hungry or overtired).

I greatly appreciate all he brings to the family.

He loves to be useful and help I am so so blessed to have him as my son.

From the land of nursing

I have five kids (that is a lot of kids).

Each of my children were born early- they have always had their own agenda; but because of their early arrival there was almost nothing I could do for them. I could breastfeed though.

My mother did not breastfeed me, and until my first baby was born I had absolutly no intention of breastfeeding, that changed.

I had to learn how to breastfeed and my children had to learn how to breastfeed. Instinct tells us to breastfeed, but even things that are instinctual can be hard. A cat will hunt a bird, but she will not catch everyone. It is instinct but practice is still necessary.

One of the biggest surprises I had with each child was how sore my nipples got. They were mangled, cracked, bloody messes. When my child would look at me with hunger in his or her eyes, I would take the good pain meds and nurse (really, I saved Vicodin for nursing)

I was given cabbage leaves, nipple shields, pillows and tons of things to help relieve the pain. I almost gave up.

Somehow I stumbled on nipple creams. I used medical grade lanolin, All-Purpose Nipple Ointment, letting my milk dry on my nipples, ice packs, heat, weeping, and screaming.

Just when I had enough I found EasyNurse and figured that I had nothing less to lose. My nipples already looked like that gone through a meat grinder (babies- even without teeth can do a heck of a lot of damage. EasyNurse actually really helped. I was shocked. Best of all I did not have wipe it off before nursing again. The less I had to mess with my breasts the happier I was.

Thank to a great support system and finally finding a product that worked for me I have been able to nurse without crying in agony. I am now on baby #5 with no plans to stop soon.

EasyNurse is also great to use on little cuts and scrapes. It is very soothing.

**this is not a sponsored post** just was so happy to find a product that helped so much!

Ahead of the times??

I am always behind the times. Ok- not always- but usually.

However... I have noticed something. My parenting style is ahead of the curve.

Before baby-wearing was in I wore my babies (thanks to some wonderful women for introducing that to me). I would tell so many people about how amazing baby-wearing and no one would listen to me. Now of course these same women are eager to try baby-wearing.

Before cloth diapers were in again, I was eagerly researching and trying them. No one believed me when I said that they are not that hard.

Breastfeeding. I am an extended tandem breast feeding mom. 8 years ago I would never have imagined myself here. Now more and more mothers are electing to breastfeed and some are even breastfeeding 2 children. This is so exciting!

Things that I did which were firmly on the crunchy edge of the spectrum are now moving towards mainstream.

I must admit I am feeling a little proud right now. I really really want to loudly and obnoxiously sing "told you so!!!" but I will refrain- and instead take pleasure knowing that children are having their needs met.

Mission Impossible - find a baby sitter

There comes a time when a family needs a baby sitter. Finding one however can be like finding a needle a haystack.

It is one thing to find a sitter for 2 kids or so but finding someone who can handle 5? Getting Mary Poppins contact information may be easier.

We have a had a few really amazing sitters and a few that I am not so crazy about and of course the kids have an opinion too, and finding a sitter who everyone likes is a challenge.

When our regular sitter had the audacity to move to Alabama for college I was crushed. The kids loved her, I loved her... what could be so important about college anyway (kidding). But we would need to find someone who was a little more available.

After trying out several sitters, one clicked. The kids are all giddy when she comes, she engages them. They do things! She takes them to the park! She paints with them (and she cleans up!) which is amazing.

I find myself paying her more than I normally would for a sitter but she is worth it.

When a mom finds a good sitter we will do anything to keep her happy.

the missing diaper bag

How did the diaper bag get lost? It is large. Cumbersome, and in general hard to miss. But somehow ours is missing. I have looked everywhere I can think of the car, closets.. but it has not turned up.

Any ideas where it could be?

Small house, Full of Love

(and noise)

We have a small house by American standards. We have a large family by modern American standards and yet we get along just fine.

5 kids in a 3 bedroom 1.5 bathroom house with 2 dogs and 2 cats.

Here is the thing. We may be right on top of each other, but we have fun. We have tickle fights and dance parties, pillow fights and hug fests.

I am so blessed to live this life. It may not work for others but it works for us.

Can you do something???

I have a really hard time with 'can' vs. 'can't'.

For example: when I hurt my wrist. Could I do xyz?? Well I could- but would hurt a lot. Then I get yelled at for saying I could do something when I couldn't... Shouldn't there be a qualifier there? "Can you do this with out pain?"

Another one, can you drive to my parents house for lunch? Technically, yes I could. It is not reasonable, but it could be done. Sooooo what is the answer? Am I supposed to say, "Yes, I could- but I would have to leave very early"

I can never tell! What do you do?