monstermommy

When you realize you've turned into monstermommy and have to ask your kids for forgiveness, then go cry a little and pray a lot and start the day over and it's only 9:00?  Yeah, it's that kind of day.  Thankful for the God of second chances and new beginnings this morning.  He makes all things new and today I need a new heart—His.

How do you do it?

Here's the best answer I didn't write down myself but wish I had.

Yep.  She just about sums it up.

He must become greater.  I must become less.

I think this lady has read my mind.

This has been my experience exactly.

a MUST READ if you are a mom.

here.

just had to link to this on my blog for my own sake.

I'll need to read this again down the road.

My Accidentally Pinterest-Worthy Idea

It started out as a parenting / training tool  and ended up a cute Pinterest-y work of art.  Both functional and beautiful.

Here's the long story...  [If you want to skip it, just scroll on down!]

______

I've set out on a mission this year.

I want to be purposeful about teaching my kids new skills around the house.  

Inspired by a book I'm reading, I'm setting out to teach, maintain and hopefully engrain into our routine, one new skill per month.  

That's about all I can handle!

Last month it was focusing on doing morning chores (get dressed, brush teeth, make bed) without being reminded and to include picking up their rooms before Bible time.  Let's just say the Legos were starting to take over the house!

This month it is Laundry.

I started by having Liam and Kate learn how to sort dirty laundry for the wash.

I keep it pretty simple when it comes to laundry... 

Lights and darks.

No matter how many times I walked them through it, they had problems determining what was a "light" and what was a "dark."   

Being plagued by constant questions of color darkness or lightness was quickly draining my motivation to teach this skill.

Then I had the bright idea that what we needed was a chart I could pull out with examples of the colors that would go in each group that they could refer to instead of asking me!!!

Great idea, but how?

Could I use markers? ...Not enough color options.

Crayons? ....would take forever.

Paint chips!!!!  Ah ha!

I envisioned a poster board with a line down the middle.  I'd cover it in paint chips that corresponded to the most common colors of our clothes. 

Last week Kate and I picked up some paint chips at HomeDepot.  

A few days later I was motivated to finally make the chart since the laundry pile was looming.  

Oops, I forgot to get poster board!

What if I cut the chips into smaller squares and put them in an old picture frame?!  Then I could hang it up near the laundry room closet and leave it out where it's handy!  even better!

Then the accidental magic happened.

What if instead of squares I cut the paint chips into strips, glued them together, then cut them out into the shape of a t-shirt—one made of dark colors and one made of light colors?!!! 

so cute, right?!!

____

I wish I had taken "tutorial" pics.  [But at the time I was too excited.  I'm silly like that.]   

Tutorial... you know, just in case this takes Pinterest by storm!  

Who am I kidding?  

Somebody has probably already thought of this.  I don't have Pinterest, so I don't know.  If somebody's seen this please stop me now!   

Because I am totally tooting my horn on this one!  I can't really believe I thought of this.  

I have very few original ideas.

truly.

______

The beauty of the story...

It worked like a charm.

Only one question....

Is zebra print a dark or a light?!!!

First Zoo Trip of the year

Although short, it was a success.

We were only there about an hour.

Only got to see Indonesia.

Got out just in the knick of time before the rain came!

But we accomplished my goal of zoo-training and the kids' goal of seeing the beloved red panda.

Zoo-training? What is that?

Every year I make sure I take the kids to the zoo sans friends for the first trip.

That way we can do a little "how we behave at the zoo" refresher course.

Because when we go with friends I am usually talking and otherwise distracted and the children are more prone to run amuck. At minimum, embarrassing.  At worst, dangerous.

We practice holding the stroller when I say "Stroller!"  Who can get there the fastest?!  A necessary skill for those times when it gets crowded or the kids are in the way of others.

We practice them saying "Yes Mom!  Yes Mom!"  and look for me when they hear me call their name.  That way I can quickly find a child who slipped out of sight.  Once again, a necessity when taking 5 small children to the zoo.

I remind them of the rules.  To stay close to mom.  Not to get too far ahead.  Not to climb on things everything [ahem, Kate!].  What to do if they can't find me.  ie. Stay still and listen for their name and look for a zoo worker or another mom with kids.

I also make sure Evie understands when she's aloud out of the stroller and that she has to get back in.  So she knows she can expect both when we're at the zoo.

Mostly though, that first visit is about talking about how much fun we will have visiting the zoo this year.  I don't think the kids even realize my sneaky zoo-training intentions.   Yet it is very intentional.  For example I let Kate climb on something or get too far ahead just to avail the chance to talk about why we don't do those things.  

It's all about practice and gentle reminders upfront.  Explaining the Why.  Me having the time to focus. They know what is expected of them and the rest of the season usually hopefully goes smoothly and enjoyably as we explore the zoo together.

So there you go.  Why the crazy insight into my crazy parenting ways?  Well, a couple of people had asked me what I meant by "zoo-training" the other day when I said I couldn't go with them to the zoo until after our practice visit.  So there you go.  Not that you were ALL curious, but for those that were.

Now we're up for invites, friends! 

Now here are some more pics of the kids by the new zoo sign!

I have so much fun with these guys!

Dishwasher Crew

This is the Dishwasher Crew

Which used to consist of just Liam and Kate.

Best thing I ever did was teach them how to unload and load the dishwasher

then make it part of their morning routine.

They even did it today without being reminded!

LOVE IT.  

Now Evie has gotten in on it.

She thinks she is so big!

And she's actually helpful.

"Well, except for the things she puts in her mouth," Kate says.

Too cute!

Darth Vader has Chicken Pox

In February I finally bucked down and potty trained Zane.

We had started and stopped several times over the last year.

I dreaded the messes.

To be honest, it was mostly me having a problem with Zane wearing underpants before Owen.

But it was finally time.

Time to not have 3 in diapers.

Time for this 3 year old to use the potty.

He ran around pants-less.

we used the "practice" method for accidents.

[I should blog about that sometime]

We made a sticker chart (seen below).

which consisted of a coloring page of Darth Vader covered in red marker dots

Each time Zane used the potty he put a sticker on and got a chocolate chip.

Took less than a week for him to be consistent

after a week and a half I was brave enough to ditch the pull ups when we were out.

I couldn't believe how fast he did it.

He was wearing underpants even for naps and bedtime after 1 week.  CRAZY, right!?

Should have done it sooner I guess!

Here he is explaining his chart. 

Never mind when he completely and inexplicably wipes out at the end, as you'll see in the next video, he recovered.

Uh Oh! Now you're in trouble!

Look what Zaner did.

One of my biggest pet peeve is dumping of toys just for the sake of dumping, especially on a massive, empty-every-shelf-and-destroy-the-room kind of way.

Here is Zane facing his consequence...

the daunting task of cleaning it up all by himself.

yes, I helped a little.

But let's just say it has not happened again.

Choosing Thanks

today i am tempted to be grumpy and lazy and down.

i am stil in my pajamas 

and it's after lunch.

i am sore all over

from my work out

two days ago.

this cold does not want

to leave my nose.

and i think Evie

might have another ear infection.

BUT

INSTEAD

i decided to 

CHOOSE

to be

THANKFUL

so before i get dressed (shooting for 1:00 here.)

here are some things

i am thankful for

today.

Zane is potty trained!  FINALLY! 

that means only 2 in diapers.

cha ching.

maybe come May it will be only one.

ching ching.

peace about Owen having 

bowel and bladder surgery in April.  

a relief.

Liam organized the kids to clean

the loft to surprise me today.

sweet.

Kate drew pictures of 

ninjas this morning 

for Zane and Owen  

so they wouldn't bother me.

blessed.

Evie slept in!  

7:30!!!

i slept in a little too!!!

ahhh.

my electric matress pad.

heaven.

Owen started talking back

then stopped himself 

and chose to obey when i told him it was time

to cath and sit on the potty.  

progress.

Same for after lunch.

too good to be true.

kids happily playing 

the States game so i

can have some time in the word

before we start this day.

wonderful.

and the sun is shining.

it really is a wonderful life and it does me good to remind myself of that.

just a day in the life

 I've been thoroughly enjoying my kids lately.

So thankful for the chance to be their mommy.

The Worst Tooth Fairy in the World

My second baby 

lost her first tooth 

Saturday night.

She's 6 1/2

Liam lent her his 

Tooth Fairy pillow.

and she carefully 

tucked it under 

her pillow

before she went to sleep.

Our kids don't believe 

in 

Santa Clause 

or the Easter 

Bunny, 

although we do

 talk about them 

as we would any 

pretend character, 

like 

Bob the Builder 

or Thomas 

(okay, maybe Thomas is a bad example, I'm pretty sure Owen and Zane think he is real.)

But for some reason 

we still think it's fun 

to pretend 

about the Tooth Fairy actually 

coming!

Only.... 

she doesn't... 

at least 

not

ON TIME.

Liam has lost 6 teeth.

I think 

the Tooth Fairy 

came 

the night of 

1 time.

Interestingly

the tooth exchange rate 

has gone up 

in direct proportion 

to the extent of her forgetfulness 

and 

feelings of guilt.

So Sunday morning when Kate came out 

and announced forlornly 

that the Tooth Fairy had 

not come

Liam comforted her honestly,

"It's okay, Kate.  Sometimes it takes her 1 or 2 days to come.  I should know.  I've lost 6 teeth."

just some blog posts I like

The Public School Parents' Guide to Homeschool Parents - from Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

(neat article that busts up some misconceptions.  I thought it was funny and true.  Don't know much about this blog.  Just liked the article.)

Why I need Grace - from Keeper of the Home

(Awesome post about motherhood and perfection from a great blog.)

A Change of Attitude - from (In)Courage

(I love this blog.)

I Quit - from The Peaceful Mom 
(more about grace in parenting, special needs.  Great blog.)

Please, Ma'am, Don't Ask Me This Question - from Raising Homemakers

(an interesting, seldom voiced perspective.)

Why the new [gender inclusive] NIV is bad for Women - from Girls Gone Wise  

(an interesting article recommended by John Piper. Don't know much about this blog.)

Just keep swimming...

Sometimes it feels like an endless line of making sandwiches, wiping noses, changing diapers, reading books, laundry, therapy...

and I start to tell myself:

"Just keep swimming...

just keep swimming"

- Dory, Finding Nemo

But it's really more than just doing the next thing. (Although that's what it takes sometimes.)

There is a purpose behind it all.

Raising my 5 kids in God's ways is my life's calling. And even though it's hard work. It's worth doing.

It is JOY.

This is on my fridge:

"And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." - Galations 6:9

a good reminder. when I'm tired.

and incredible when you reach the end of yourself and know it is God's strength holding you up.

very cool.

Copy Cat Cuddlers

Zane and Owen have sibling rivalry going on big time lately.

They compete at everything

best seat

best snack,

toy,

or

pretty much anything

that will get the other's goat.

They egg each other on all the time

boss each other,

shh,

chase,

hit,

and

tackle each other.

We're working on getting along a lot these days.

we have them repeat-after

"Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not rude."

several times a day.

Speaking of copy cats

they think they absolutely must do

whatever the other is doing

good or bad.

If one wants to cuddle

the other

HAS to too.

Sibling rivalry can be exhausting

but

I don't mind benefitting from it now

and then.

one afternoon

Ah, how I love independent play!

Breakfast Shenanigans

Can you guess what I've been up to lately?

What they don't know won't hurt them.

chores

The chore charts are working great around here.

Owen loves helping Daddy with the trash

This was not on their list, but Kate offered to sweep the kitchen. Um, okay.

Someone at church gave me a tablet of these chore charts a long time ago. We've used them a couple of times before when we're working on something new like this.

They get stickers for doing their responsibilities. (we're ignoring the day columns)

Owen has his own little train track chart below.

When they get to the end of a row they get to move a stone

from the mug to the glass square.

When all the stones are in the square they have earned a special treat...

a trip to Science Central.

If we catch them exhibiting one of the character traits we're working on or doing something above and beyond what is expected then we can tell them to move a stone.

It doesn't count if they come up and tell us the did such and such.

We have to catch them in the act.

And they don't get one every time.

Conversely, if they exhibit wrong behavior we can tell them to move a stone back to the mug.

They do this at Kate's preschool. It works like a charm. Encourages them to make good choices and to help each other do so.

Helping out

Sunday noon.

Kate & Owen set the table

and

Liam made a fruit salad and pudding for dessert.

What happens when Mommy reads parenting books...

Upon recommendation from my friend Barb

I've been reading

some books:

Raising Confident Kids

and

Ready for Responsibility

both by Robert Barnes

Well, with 4 days off school this week

we've been busy

learning

new skills and responsibilities.

like

- putting away dishes

and

- folding towels

We've also worked on

- loading the dishwasher

- putting away clean clothes

- dusting and vacuuming

No. I'm not kidding.

They already had many other responsibilities that they did very well with (like making their beds, cleaning up toys, getting ready for school, clearing the table, taking out the trash), but this is just taking it to the next level of working together as a family.

They are so proud that they're helping and can do it by themselves.

I am learning to not worry about it being done "just right".

What's better? Having it done quickly myself or growing confident responsible kids who work together to help take care of the family?

That's what I have to keep reminding myself.

____

anyhoo... I'll try to share some more of our adventures that come out of "Mommy reading parenting books again"!

I love having my energy back for stuff like this. Pregnancy really takes it out of me!

Sorry, kids, I'm Baaaack!

patience

If nothing else

my children will learn

PATIENCE.

After all

the most common phrase

at our house full of MSC (Many Small Children) is:

"Yes. But you'll need to wait patiently until _____."

Fill in the blank:

"I'm done changing/feeding/burping the baby."

"I'm done cathing Owen."

"I'm done reading this book to ____ [insert name of any of my MSC here]."

"I'm done talking with Daddy."

"I'm done going to the bathroom! Please CLOSE THE DOOR!"

I guess

I'm learning

PATIENCE

along the way too.

Keepin' Him Busy

No, he is not washing dishes.

(Although that would be very nice.)

A little water play in a sink full of bubbles was just the thing to keep this 2 year old busy while I did some bible study.