Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Giggles
Eliza is giggling now. I love it! Jared helped me last night by recording her. She is so much fun! Eliza will be 2 1/2 months on Tuesday.
People keep on asking me how I am able to do everything with 5 kids. I think I have come to the conclusion that really the more kids you have and the older they get the more fun it is and dare I say easier. I think back when I had just one or two kids and it was a lot more demanding on me. But now, I have some awesome helpers. I would take having 5 kids over one or two any day, well except on those days when I am grumpy and need to be in time out. Our summer has been going great! I have some fun pictures from our trip to Utah back in June that may be posted some day.
One of the fun things I started this summer was having the girls take turns alternating Sundays with helping plan the meal for dinner and then they get to pick who we have over for our guests. 5 years ago I would have thought it impossible to be able to let my children help me prepare food. It was too much work for me and my immature brain to let them get food all over the place(not on purpose mind you). But I just tell myself now "In a few more hours they will be in bed and then you can make the home clean again....they are only this age once and you are teaching them valuable skills." Sometimes I have to scream this to myself when the other voices of wanting my home to stay clean get in the way. Sometime I purposely make a mess right along with them just for the sakes of it. It is fun.
July was filled with Jared being gone a lot, on business trips and church stuff. The girls and I had some adventures. One week I made pioneer week. SO on Monday night they took baths the old fashion way, outside. In fact the whole week they bathed outside(in their bathing suits of course). One night they were whiny. SO I said, "After dinner we are going on a mini pioneer trek!" They all seemed eager and thought that because I was excited about it they should be. Well we started on our journey. After the first 1/4 mile the murmuring began. "I am tired...my feeeet huuuurrrttt......caaaaaaannnnn we reeeessst etc.!" They soon started hearing stories from me about what the pioneers endured and how blessed we are to be living in this time of day when we have so many conveniences, yada yada yada!
We did a little more than a mile, and everyone was exhausted and hot. When we got back to the house, I ordered them all to go out to the back and that we were going to do something super fun. We all got back there where I then proceeded to spray them down with the hose, while they all had their clothes on. At first they were all screaming saying they couldn't get their clothes wet, but I assured them this was fun and in no time we were all laughing and sopping wet. side note: If you ever need to get rid of frustrating feelings, seriously take your kids outside and hose them down, they will think it is fun as long as you do it with a smile on your face. In the winter time I have some really soft like air balls for the inside that the girls and I play dodge ball with. I always win :)
The best part is that playing with your kids is fun and it really is a huge stress reliever. I have learned that when a situation gets frustrating, things get resolved so much quicker when I am willing to get right down there on the ground with them and play, or throw a tantrum with them, or what ever the case may be.
I have days where I feel like all I tell the kids is "leave me alone, I am in time out!" In the moment it is not so funny, but in retrospect I laugh at myself. I am so blessed to be married to a man who makes me laugh at myself and at the frustrating situations that come my way daily.
Take time to giggle this week. It heals the soul and brightens your face. Heaven knows brightened faces are fading quickly in our society. Be a beacon of hope and joy to those around you, it really is a lot of fun!
People keep on asking me how I am able to do everything with 5 kids. I think I have come to the conclusion that really the more kids you have and the older they get the more fun it is and dare I say easier. I think back when I had just one or two kids and it was a lot more demanding on me. But now, I have some awesome helpers. I would take having 5 kids over one or two any day, well except on those days when I am grumpy and need to be in time out. Our summer has been going great! I have some fun pictures from our trip to Utah back in June that may be posted some day.
One of the fun things I started this summer was having the girls take turns alternating Sundays with helping plan the meal for dinner and then they get to pick who we have over for our guests. 5 years ago I would have thought it impossible to be able to let my children help me prepare food. It was too much work for me and my immature brain to let them get food all over the place(not on purpose mind you). But I just tell myself now "In a few more hours they will be in bed and then you can make the home clean again....they are only this age once and you are teaching them valuable skills." Sometimes I have to scream this to myself when the other voices of wanting my home to stay clean get in the way. Sometime I purposely make a mess right along with them just for the sakes of it. It is fun.
July was filled with Jared being gone a lot, on business trips and church stuff. The girls and I had some adventures. One week I made pioneer week. SO on Monday night they took baths the old fashion way, outside. In fact the whole week they bathed outside(in their bathing suits of course). One night they were whiny. SO I said, "After dinner we are going on a mini pioneer trek!" They all seemed eager and thought that because I was excited about it they should be. Well we started on our journey. After the first 1/4 mile the murmuring began. "I am tired...my feeeet huuuurrrttt......caaaaaaannnnn we reeeessst etc.!" They soon started hearing stories from me about what the pioneers endured and how blessed we are to be living in this time of day when we have so many conveniences, yada yada yada!
We did a little more than a mile, and everyone was exhausted and hot. When we got back to the house, I ordered them all to go out to the back and that we were going to do something super fun. We all got back there where I then proceeded to spray them down with the hose, while they all had their clothes on. At first they were all screaming saying they couldn't get their clothes wet, but I assured them this was fun and in no time we were all laughing and sopping wet. side note: If you ever need to get rid of frustrating feelings, seriously take your kids outside and hose them down, they will think it is fun as long as you do it with a smile on your face. In the winter time I have some really soft like air balls for the inside that the girls and I play dodge ball with. I always win :)
The best part is that playing with your kids is fun and it really is a huge stress reliever. I have learned that when a situation gets frustrating, things get resolved so much quicker when I am willing to get right down there on the ground with them and play, or throw a tantrum with them, or what ever the case may be.
I have days where I feel like all I tell the kids is "leave me alone, I am in time out!" In the moment it is not so funny, but in retrospect I laugh at myself. I am so blessed to be married to a man who makes me laugh at myself and at the frustrating situations that come my way daily.
Take time to giggle this week. It heals the soul and brightens your face. Heaven knows brightened faces are fading quickly in our society. Be a beacon of hope and joy to those around you, it really is a lot of fun!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
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