Doing the Dance of the Children

This week’s show is sponsored by Aveeno Baby!

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope that each of you moms get a special day. If you don’t have any special events planned, be sure to spend a little time remembering some of your special mommy moments.

Since it’s a Mother’s Day show, I decided to talk about a couple of “Mommy issues” I’ve encountered over my years as a mom. I give you permission to chuckle at me as you listen. Sometimes the things we end up doing as parents can be funny!

Thank you for visiting the site and for listening to the show. You can always email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com or use the “contact” button. Please take a minute to visit our sponsor, Aveeno Baby.

Have a great day~

 

 MOM 29 [14:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (8)

This morning I woke up to an email that I wanted to share part of-

In 1984 President Reagan proclaimed the Friday before Mother’s Day of each year to be Military Spouse Appreciation Day.
This year, that day is Today, May 9th.
In that message, he stated the following:

“Our navy ensures the security, stability, and prosperity of our country…
…While it is our privilege to serve our Navy and Nation, we could not do so without the steady support of our spouses.
…We can be out and about focused on the mission before us,
because of the Love and Support of our spouses”.

Have a great day~

I truly feel like this morning was yesterday, if not the day before. It was a good day, but packed with so much, that it’s hard to sort it into place and still keep it all within 24 hours.

This morning, Tristan jumped out of bed and unwrapped his new shirt and tie and pulled on his new and spiffy, cuff-bottomed slacks. He was so excited to get all dressed-up, cut some flowers from the yard and participate in May Crowning. So, I also got a little fancy and took him to school. Then I left the little ones with a sitter and headed off for a monthly coffee that I host for the Naval Officer Spouses’ Club. I love planning a new cafe for each month. This month we stayed close to where I live. It was a small gathering this time, but great, just the same. Then, off I ran to make it to the May Crowning. All the kids were dressed up in their best. The second-graders were all in their First Communion clothes (the girls always look SO pretty!) and the 8th grade girls always have on new and flowery dresses. After May Crowning, I picked Maxi-boy up from preschool and met the bus coming in from 6th grade camp. Maddi and Arianna got off the bus with big smiles on their faces and dirt on their jeans. They had a great time. I drove home listening to stories of new friends and fun experiences. They are my 4th and 5th kiddos to have gone to 6th grade camp and all the experiences have been equally great! After getting home, we had lunch and cleaned up a bit. The poor playroom has been a mess since Clay left. So, we finally sorted and put away all the fun! After I left instructions for dinner with my sister, I got to go for an, over-due, hair appointment. That is definitely the way to end the day! So, I get to go to bed with a new and sassy hair cut!

So, even though it was a LLLLOOOONNNNGGGGG day, it was all good stuff.

Tomorrow is scheduled to be just as full, but just as good.

Good night~

At dinner the other night, Max started to choke. He was eating salad and it seemed that something had gone the wrong way. We watched him to make sure it wasn’t getting too serious and kept asking him if he was ok.

After he dislodged the piece of lettuce he had this to say;

“I’m ok. I couldn’t talk when that was happening because it blocked the voice (pointing at the lettuce)…. You can die from that.”

We let him know just how happy we all were that the lettuce that blocked his voice didn’t kill him.

Have a great day~

The last couple of days have been all about fun “kid” stuff! Sunday we were invited to visit with some friends on the bay and yesterday we went to Legoland. Some great friends gave us extra tickets that they had, so that we could enjoy the day. Whoo Hoo! Here are some pics of our fun-

Luke-Xavier, proudly, showed us the sand dollar he found at the bay.

Tristan “flying” at Legoland

Gabi and Max earning their drivers licenses

The kids all had a GREAT time getting SOAKED in their clothes. Here, Luke-Xavier is demonstrating the proper way to splash in a puddle.

Have a great day~

Sarcasm is a fact of daily life. We encounter it in movies, cartoons, jokes, casual conversation and in regular communication with almost all of the people we talk to. Our kids learn how to incorporate it in to their speech, thought and communication. But, little children look to us, as parents, to help them form their reactions and understanding of interpersonal communications. If we use sarcasm with our little kids, it undermines the process. I enjoy it as much as the next person but feel strongly that we need to give our kids straight-forward answers to their questions and to save the sarcasm for joking with friends or our older kids, who know all-to-well how to use it and understand it.

Thank you for coming to MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show. Please take a minute to visit our sponsor, Aveeno Baby.

There is a rec. center in our housing area that is set up for the community to use and enjoy. Unfortunately it is not managed very well and it has become a hang-out for kids from all over the area (not just in our housing). We have lived here for 8 years and for a solid 6 years, my kids have not been allowed at the rec. Now that summer is on it’s way and school is winding down, the kids are staying even later and starting to cause trouble.

Yesterday one of my daughters took a bike ride with a friend and on the way past the rec. they were taunted and harassed by several of the kids “hanging-out”. When they came home and told me of the issues; a skateboard being rolled in front of the bike, stuff being thrown at them and one kid dropping his pants, I put my shoes on and “marched” down there. Of course there weren’t any kids there when I showed up. DANG!

All of this brings me to wonder about the parents. Why are the kids hanging-out on a school day? Why doesn’t a parent pop by every now and then to see what their kids are doing and who they are doing it with? Perhaps they feel secure because we are in military housing and “nothing bad is going to happen here”. Whatever it is, it frustrates me!

My kids, while not perfect, are supervised. If I can know where my kids are and who they are with and limit their activities outside of the home on school days, WHILE my husband is deployed AND having more than 1 or 2 kids, then WHY can’t these other parents manage it?

I truly believe that they just don’t want to. They’ve decided that “kids will be kids” and instead of trying to keep them from causing trouble somewhere, they have thrown their hands up and decided that there are other things to worry about.

So, another summer of keeping my kids away from the neighborhood rec. center is in front of me.

Have a great day~

Life has seemed pretty fast-paced lately. I have several projects I’m working on for the kids and the paper work seems endless.

Things happening at the Lang-house;
I’m getting paper work together to have one of the children tested for a possible learning disability.
I’m starting the potty-training process with Luke-Xavier.
I’m finishing financial-aid applications for one of the schools.
I’m making travel arrangements for JJ to visit family friends and come home for the summer.
I’m setting up summer camps.
I’m getting ready to have one of my sisters move in for a few months (yea!).
I’m setting up interviews with great women for the series.
I’m writing and sticking to the budget.
I’m trying to figure out where we’ll keep the iguana that JJ is bringing home.
I’m trying a new (and earlier) morning routine (I need more hours each day!).
I’m trying to recover some of the 12,000 pics that got lost from my computer.
I’m meaning to mail things to several people.
I’m missing my husband and praying for his safety.
I’m going to play Bunco Friday night.
I’m thinking about all the house and yard work that need to be done and feeling overwhelmed!
I’m being thankful for the great people in my life who make all of this stuff possible.

Well, there’s an overview of what’s on my plate right now. I’m breaking it down into pieces and trying to tackle it. “one step at a time”.

I hope you each have a manageable load in front of you and that you have a great day~

After returning from running errands, I was greeted at the van by Mariah, who had been babysitting the little ones. She came to warn me about the state of the kids’ bathroom. Apparently Max and Gabi decided to take out all the cleaning products that they could get their hands on and mix up an experiment in the toilet.

When she was telling me, I was thinking back on my own days of this sort of experimenting. I must have been about 3 or 4 (because I remember the house and not being able to see the top of the stove) and my grandparents had a small bathroom that my grandfather kept all of his shaving items in. Oh, how I loved to take all of his good smelling things and mix them into the toilet and watch the reactions. Bubbles were always exciting!

So, as I trudged into the bathroom to face the mess, I couldn’t really do anything but smile!

Kids….they’re great!

Have a great day~

 Other Media: Download (26)

This week I was able to speak with Casey Sprague, a military spouse, mother of 3 and a successful Silpada Designs Independent Rep.. I am inspired by Casey and her accomplishments because she started her business while her husband was deployed on an IA (Individual Augmentation) to Bahrain for 1 year. She’s another shining example of the strength and resilience of military spouses. I hope you too are inspired by her story.

This week’s show is sponsored by Aveeno Baby. Please take a minute to visit our sponsor.

Thank you for stopping by and for listening to the show!

 

 Mom27 [18:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (84)

Whew! I know it’s been more than 48 hours. Believe me I know! Think of this as me calling home on my friend’s phone, just to let you know I’m ok. I dropped my computer off, thinking that everything was running fine (though it was a little slow) and have since found out that my hard drive was damaged and needs to be wiped clean and everything be reinstalled from scratch.

Now, I have to take a minute to say, once again, how awesome it is to work with the guys at the Apple store. They’ve been patient at every turn and have explained each step. I really appreciate how well they have worked with me and all the time they’ve put in.

So, I’m on a journey and I’m learning as I go.

Don’t forget to stop back by for the weekly show.

Please take a minute to visit our sponsor.

Have a great day~

But, I will continue to check in here. I appreciate you checking in on me! In the next day or two I’ll have to tell you about my Mommy of Many-Mushy Brain Moment! I need vitamins and brain enhancement capabilities!

Don’t forget to check back for the show. I just finished a great interview that will be up soon.

Thanks again for stopping by and don’t forget to visit our sponsor.

Have a great day~

First of all, I want to thank everyone for doing such a GREAT job of remembering to visit the sponsor!

Secondly, I wanted to let you all know that I am being forced to take a 48 hour break. I’ll probably be rocking in the corner from withdrawal by the time it’s over, but I have no choice. It was time for my computer to go in for it’s annual tune-up. This means that my computer is now 1 year old. I am absolutely AMAZED at what has happened in the last year, since buying that FABULOUS MAC!!! Prior to owning it, I hadn’t ever blogged, let alone THOUGHT about doing a podcast. After Clay brought it home I resisted using it for 3 whole months because I was so angry that he was making me change. Now….I can’t thank him enough. Truly, it changed my life!

Thanks to each of you for being on this journey with me! I’m having a great time sharing with everyone! I’ll be back Thursday. Hey, leave me a comment or two to come back to. And, if you’re new to the site, it’s a great time to catch-up! You can scroll through, or you can click on “Mommy of Many Podcast” (to the right) and listen to each of the shows.

And….don’t forget to visit our sponsor!

Good night~

This week I was able to talk to Pilar Hari who is a military spouse, mother of 3 and the co-founder of Focus Families. I hope you enjoy her story of how the military has touched her life and the life of her family.

This show is brought to you by Aveeno Baby! Don’t forget to visit our sponsor.

Thank you for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening to the show.

 

 MOM 26 [14:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (74)

Yesterday morning, Gabi woke-up just as I was going out the door for my class at the Apple store. I kissed her good-bye and told her I’d be back soon.

When I pulled into the driveway, she came running out, flung open the side door of the van, looked around and said, “where are the apples?”.
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Alright listeners and readers, I hope you’ve been keeping those clicking fingers in good shape because you’re going to need them starting tomorrow! That’s right-all the “hurry up and wait” has been changed again. I’m super excited for this opportunity, so help me by making sure you visit our sponsor. You still have a whole day to get your finger in shape if you’ve been slacking over the last couple of weeks. So, this week’s show will release tomorrow and I thank you in advance for your support!

Have a great day~

Over the last few days I was able to get phone calls from Clay while they were in port in Singapore. It was so nice to hear his voice and to make that connection. The kids each got to talk to him a couple of times. Even Kateri received a phone call. The kids and I have all been doing very well through this 1st month of the deployment (we are one month down!) and have worked out a routine and are rolling with life. But, when Clay is able to call and especially being able to hear from him for a few days in a row, made me realize just what a hole there is in our lives right now. We are able to cover it over and walk around it, so as not to fall in, but when we hear his voice we can look around and see the pit in the corner. No matter how well I do with the kids on my own, there’s no denying the fact that it all works best when we’re both here, working at it together.

While the Det was in port they did some volunteer work. They did a beach clean-up where Clay unearthed a snake. Thank goodness we don’t have snakes to unearth on San Diego beaches!
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So, it’s Saturday morning and I’m heading to the Apple store for the first time in a couple of months. I have a few things I want to learn and I need to have my computer looked at. I’ve missed going in on Saturdays! I love the people I’ve worked with there. They all have a great sense of humor and they’re very knowledgeable. I love my MAC, so it’s always great to go in and learn something new! I’ve said it before and I still mean it..MACs Rock!

I hope you each have a great day~