A story from my childhood

I tell stories about my kids all the time, and I thought it would be a nice thing to share a short story about me growing up.

I am the youngest child in my family by many many years-- I do not recall living with my siblings.

When I was little (and even now) I did not sleep a lot.  It made my parents batty.  I would refuse to go to bed, just stay in bed singing, talking, driving my parents nuts....and then before the sun was up I would get up. Ready to great the day. One story is my mom and dad told me to go back to bed because it was not light out yet.  I turned on the light and said "it's light now!!!".  They groaned. Yes. I was always that obnoxious.  My poor parents have had a lot too put up with.  I am so thankful that they did- and managed to not kill me despite the temptation. 

Kid's Speak

One thing I have noticed in having a bunch of kids is that I (and a lot of parents) take on the vernacular of their children.

 Cats become meows, dogs become woofs. Juice boxes become juicy.  Recently, I have taken notice of LittleDude's words: vrooms= his car sandals, Yeehaas = horses, choos= trains, rucks= any large

vehicles that he finds cool.

I know that all kids go through this stage.  Peas said "nuggle" for snuggle for years.  Pixie said "muggle" for nuggle for a similar time period.

It is part of what makes them who they are and while I am thrilled to see them grow I am sorry to see some of these words go!

Bringing Summer Back

It was nearly 90 degrees here last week for a day and I decided to live it up with the kids.

We went to two playgrounds and then to the Arboretum- which is one of our favorite places one that we have not been to in a while but once there it was like revisiting happier times with my like minded mama friends from whom we have drifted away or who have moved away.

We must give off a pheromone of crunchy family as we immediately started chatting with a mom dabbling in crunchy life.

It was almost like before I got sick.  Before I started living live around doctor visits and pain, and I loved it.  So did the kids.

Honestly, I hurt. My lack of kidney hurt. My incisions hurt. But it was worth it.

It was a great way to start the summer.  I even got my first sunburn of the season. 

Cleaning and uncleaning

With 5 kids and a bunch of animals the house gets dirty -- very dirty, fast.

Today I spent hours cleaning, dusting, mopping, straightening, and lots and lots of laundry.

In the end I was really happy. My house was clean!

Then the kids came in. In minutes... no seconds.... they managed to unclean a lot of what I did today. There were crumbs everywhere! More LAUNDRY! A full sink of dishes! How did this happen?

My mother can keep the house clean effortlessly (at least it seems effortless). I am very jealous of her skills in this area- maybe I'll get better with time. 

I firmly believe that if something takes an hour to clean it should take more than 2 seconds to unclean- that needs to be a rule somewhere. 

All I can do is laugh.  If I wanted a clean house having 5 kids and a lot of animals is not a good idea- its a good thing my mess tolerance is pretty high.

Kids Toys I Loathe

Every parent has some kids toys that make them irrationally annoyed. There are the obvious culprits- toys that make noise or giant messes.  Play doh is one of the toys that makes me nuts- it gets every where and dries- colors get all muddy etc. That is a pretty reasonable toy to dislike.

One that does not make sense is balloons. Balloons drive me nuts. Nothing good comes out of balloons. ever.

Helium filled balloons or regularly inflated balloons, doesn't matter. They make me nuts.
If they are the ones with a string tied on them, someone will let it go and then there is an epic meltdown. They may get tangled and then: epic meltdown.

If they are just regularly inflated they get 'kept off the ground' and someone gets stepped on or knocked over then: epic meltdown. Sometimes things get knocked over and then there is an epic meltdown.

There are fights and all sorts drama from balloons.  I truly dislike them, more than I dislike the kids drum set. Just seeing them makes me feel irrationally angry and annoyed.

This summer is going to be great-- it has to be

I am looking forward to the summer.

First, this winter has been long- seemingly interminable. I am ready for a change- of course when at the end of summer I'll be ready for a change too.

This summer will be the first summer in 4 years I have not had to worry about my kidney being a brat- because in a week, it will cease to exist.

I am going to water ski, swim, go tubing, run, pole dance, go to the park, go to the beach, maybe even go camping.  This year will be great.  Finally. After 4 years of stents, surgeries, recoveries, lots of meds, ER visits, this year will be great. I can't wait.

A couple of funny things about being a mom with the stomach flu

Stress incontinence is a real bummer. Puking and peeing at the same time suck.  There is no way to stop it either.  After so many vaginal deliveries, I suppose its bound to happen.

I was doing laundry, because when kids are sick we make exponentially more.  Especially towels. Heaven forbid we run out of towels.  I had to puke.  A few options ran through my head- I could sprint upstairs and puke/pee and hope I made it to the bathroom or just puke in the washer- I mean, I haven't had solid food for 2 days, realistically, I'd be simplifying the cleanup. The washer won. I changed clothes in the laundry room and went on with the day.

After having 5 kids who have had the stomach flu I have learned a few things.  Puke bowls and buckets are life savers. In the interest of making clean up easier here are a few tips:
1)   line the bowl/bucket with a trash bag or plastic bag of some sort
2)   put paper (or cloth) towels in the bottom and up the sides a little to minimize splashing.  I prefer paper towels as I can then just grab the whole bag and toss it, and start again.

When you lose it

Face it.  Kids can be frustrating and overwhelming.  I get overwhelmed, frustrated, and irritated.  Its life.

I try not to lose my patience with my kids, but honestly- it is hard.  It is really hard.  There are 5 of them 1 of me, 2 dogs, and 2 cats.  I feel like I am fighting a losing battle.

And therein lies the problem.  I am not fighting anything unless I choose to. Nothing really needs to be a fight.

But like all plans- they go awry and sometimes I end up yelling.  So what then?  I want to be a peaceful parent who utilizes non-violent communication.  That sense of failure makes me even more mad and frustrated- which begins a frustration spiral and basically becomes a big mess.

So what gives?

a)  try not to lose your patience,sometimes I end up having a glass of water or walking up and down the driveway to calm myself down until I can address the issue.

b) figure out exactly what is frustrating you.  Is it that the kids are being loud?   Work on addressing the core issue.

c) if you yell- and you very well may.  Apologize.  Humbling yourself in front of your kids teaches them a valuable lesson.  It teaches them that grownups are not perfect, that they are worthy respect, and that grownups care about them

So don't despair if you end up yelling.  Try again.  

The cost of art

Art is expensive.  Paintings can go for millions upon millions of dollars.  Art museums charge high fees to view their galleries.

But that is not what I am talking about.

I am talking (or writing) about the cost of art at home.

My kids love making art projects. I have learned that nearly everything can be re-used in a kid's art project an experiment- side note- save toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, and egg cartons--- add a little paint and you have hours of fun.

Its great to see them being creative and learning what happens when all of the colors are mashed together-- but it can get expensive!

Construction paper, butcher's paper, paints (several kinds), pastels, glue, glitter, sequins, yarn, clay, etc all add up. fast. 

I guess I have decided it is worth it.  Realistically, spending $4.99 on yet another stack of construction paper is a better use of that money than a lot of things, and hopefully some great memories will be made.  And that is priceless.