Mommy of Many®

The last few days have been filled with so much! First of all, I took a quick trip on Saturday and came home with a finished website! Then, it was back to helping the kids stay entertained while not being allowed outside. Ugh! They go back to school tomorrow and we are all very happy for the return of routine.

Today, we carved pumpkins. Clay is usually the one in charge of this undertaking, but he’s out to sea right now, so Maddi and Anna stepped up to the plate and got it all done (and even cleaned up!).

Anna and Maddi had volleyball practice today and it was SO nice to be outside again! After volleyball, I took the kids to our shopping center and went into Starbucks for coffee. We all sat outside and the littler kids ran around a bit. There’s an open place and a lot of large planter areas that they enjoy balancing on. Well, there was an older couple there that was none too pleased that my kids were walking on the brick planters, saying things like, “I’ll never sit here again” and “We better go before they fall on us”. Now, I’m a little vocal sometimes and this was one of them. I said, “Now come on, you don’t have to worry! He’s never fallen off of there before”. They just got up and left (quickly). I get so fed up with older people who have forgotten what it was like to either be a kid or have kids. Sometimes I can just chuckle and not say anything, but sometimes, I just have to be vocal so that, MAYBE they’ll have a little flashback. Don’t think it happened today, though.
~Sigh~

Let’s all try to remember what it’s like to be the mama who wants to have her kids in public and is being scrutinized so as not to do it to others down the road.
Good night~

My first show! I’ll introduce you to each of the kids and the role they play in our family. You’ll hear a little of where we’ve lived with the military and why I want to talk to you as, “Mommy of Many”. I encourage you to leave comments either here or on the “MommyofMany-Friends” page. You can also email me at; Jen@MommyofMany.com

Check back daily for new blog and weekly for the next show! Enjoy!

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October has been a BIG month for me. At the beginning of the month I took a trip to see Kateri and JJ and ventured into the wild, blue yonder of PA. I was SO anxious about the trip and the driving into places unknown. But I did it (successfully, I might add) and it was a good trip. As the month has progressed, I’ve gotten my site up and running (with help) and have managed to keep 7 kids busy and alive while San Diego had the largest evacuation in U.S. history. I’ve even relaxed enough about the housekeeping to be comfortable with people staying with us, even though the house looked perfectly, “lived-in”. And now, for the crowning jewel; I am leaving tomorrow morning for an exciting adventure to finish up my website and get my podcast running. Two months ago I wouldn’t have dreamed I would be taking something like this on. The blogging and the family website made me perfectly happy and the great comments I’ve received from all of you made it even better! But now, I want to share “mommy” stories and experiences and the things that have happened because of being a military spouse. I’m so fortunate to have people who are willing to help me get the whole thing going! A wonderful friend and neighbor is willing to get up early in the morning to drive me to the airport. My sister took time off to come watch the kids for the day (because Clay is out to sea) and on and on. So, pray for a safe and fruitful trip and that the kids do well with Maggie. My list of ideas for her to keep the kids busy include; playdough (but only a couple of colors ), baking cookies, movie watching and writing letters to JJ and Kateri. Let’s hope that helps.
I’ll let you know how it all goes.
Have a good night~

It wasn’t long before I found out what would fill the kids’ day, yesterday. We have family at Camp Pendleton and because of the fires, they had been without power for a few days and found out if would be at least one more day before they got it back. We’re so happy that they thought of calling us. The kids all played well together and enjoyed having an impromptu sleep over. I enjoyed visiting! They were able to go home this afternoon, but it was a great visit!

Have a good day~

A little update on the fires. One of the largest fires is reportedly 20% contained and some people in various areas are allowed to go back to their houses (standing or not). My oldest girls each know people who have totally lost their homes. It’s very sad and overwhelming for all of us, but especially the kids. I’m not sure they know how to process it all.

Here on the homefront, we are just trying to keep busy. Too much free time means that they get on each other’s nerves and start picking at each other. So, yesterday we filled the day with these activities; Storytime-reading books from our collection. Hair and nailtime-the girls decorated each others’ hair in silly, exotic ways (the boys played with Bionicles). Maddi did a lovely nail designs for her and Gabi. Gametime-We have MANY board games and decks of cards etc. that don’t normally get put into the mix. It was a good time to bring them out. And finally, a Tea Party-Maddi spent time making deviled eggs and offered crackers and cheese along with tea and sweets.
All of these activities along with a trip to Blockbuster filled the time well enough to keep their minds off of staying indoors all day. Today will be a bit of a challenge because we used up so much yesterday. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Have a good day and stay safe~

Oh, sweet ‘lil, monkey girl is 3 today. She was a happy girl all day. We really didn’t do much. All the kiddos are home from school and stuck in the house because of the smoke from all of the San Diego fires. Our big outing was to Toys R Us to pick out gifts. Grandma and Papa had sent a gift card, so we took advantage of getting out of the house. We made it out of the store with a new doll stroller, a Dora movie (we love Dora) and a mermaid doll that is a character from the movie. Happy, happy girl! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clay made it home tonight. We weren’t sure if he would be flying during this emergency or not. I guess we’ll wonder again tomorrow.
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So, here it is! The BIG move to my own .com site! There are still some changes to be made, but it’s all mine! Thanks to those who had a hand in guiding me. It TRULY wouldn’t have happened without you! Podcast coming SOON!!!!!!! Whoo Hoo!

Good night~

The surprises never end in the Lang house. The kiddos are home today because of the fires in So. Cal. and will be home again tomorrow. So, it’s only natural that I would open the freezer and find Frosted Mini Wheat cereal. At least it wasn’t anything alive!
It’s actually been a quiet day for having everyone home. I headed to Blockbuster and brought home 6, yes, 6 movies. They are only 2 movies into the stack, so we’re good! Normally I would send them outside to play, but with the smoke in the air, we are inside. Luckily the 2 littlest kiddos are napping. I should probably be doing something amazing with this time, but chose to spend it here.
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A quick and BIG thank you to our good friend, Maria, who is an amazing seamstress and all around awesome person, for calling and wanting to share costumes that she’s made over the years, with the kids. We went to see her yesterday and she had piles of amazing costumes lying around for the kids to try on. Max came home with the cutest Dalmatian costume, Gabi got to bring home Minnie Mouse AND Tinkerbell and Tristan is borrowing a Knight in Shining Armor. She is fixing a Cinderella dress for Arianna and MAKING a lab coat for Maddi. I wish I had learned this skill. Thank you! Thank you!
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Clay and I took some friends to our favorite Spanish restaurant last night. If you’re ever in San Diego, try out Costa Brava. The owner is very passionate about the food and wine and on Sunday nights they have live entertainment. Lots of fun!
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Well, the fires are raging on. Last I heard, we are up to 7 different fires burning with 3 of them being purposely set. Crazy! Many people have been evacuated. A friend’s husband is a local firefighter. Remember those prayers! I’m thinking it’s no different than knowing that your husband is going into a battle zone.
Thanks!~

We are being challenged in S. Cal. with fires. Both schools that my children attend are closed today. I would encourage everyone to remember the firefighters and the families who have been evacuated, in their prayers.

Thanks~

This morning was a surprising Saturday morning because the kids did not wake up before the sun. I truly think it’s a first! I’m sure it had something to do with having two friends sleepover. If that’s the answer to the dilema I need to start booking names for every Friday night. Max and Gabi were invited to a birthday party in the neighborhood. It was so nice for them to have this outting. The little girl wanted a dolphin party and her mom did a fantastic job of creativly decorating their back patio as if it were under water. I love to see people’s creative ideas! By the time we left the party, the kids each had their own bags stuffed with goodies to bring home. Then, it was off to soccer for Tristan’s game. Max came to watch. It’s so nice when the kids want to be there for each other’s events! Max sat at the game with his goodie bag, handing things out to other kids and even the coach. He really enjoyed sharing all the fun stuff from his bag. Tristan was put into the game in the second half. I’m gonna brag a little, because he really did do a good job. He got 2 good kicks out of that half and stayed with the game for that half. But what I’m most proud of is that one of the connections with the ball sent it flying into one of the other team’s player’s heads and how Tristan dealt with that. The game kept going and the boy was upset, but kept running and Tristan followed him until he got the chance to ask if he was alright and then to say he was sorry. Now, as a mom, those actions were so much more important to me than seeing Tristan kick a goal. I know that the game keeps rolling, but it was a glimpse into Tristan’s character and where his priorities lie. Little glimpses into your child’s being like that are priceless! I made sure to let him know, after the game, that he did the right thing and that I was proud of him. It was a nice ending to the soccer day.
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Mariah had her first homecoming dance tonight. She looked very pretty. She’s doing a nice job of juggling the workload of high school with the social side of it.

Well, that was our day. It was a nice change from the craziness we can usually see on Saturdays.
Good night~

So THIS is how brothers spend, “Quality” time together!

As children, most of us learned the Johnny Appleseed song; “Oh the Lord is good to me……..” Well, I am singing the Johnny Appleseed song because not 2 days after the whole, check finding incident, we have FULL funding for Kateri through a whole other lender that offers better terms and interest. The very day after I found that expired check in my purse, the financial aid office called me. I immediately went into the whole story. When I was done, she said she didn’t know what I was talking about and that they were just waiting on Clay’s SSN verification for approval of funding from a particular bank. “Huh?” That was my response. Anyway, it all worked out so beautifully and so beyond the realm of human concept, that I just have to keep singing the Johnny Appleseed song and reminding myself to pick up my mustard seed and move along!

Thanks to all who offered a little prayer on our behalf! It worked!

Good night~

We are bombarded daily with the “go” idea. We must keep our children moving and busy. We are supposed to plan play dates, gymnastics, lunches with friends, preschool, soccer, field trips and on and on. And while all of these things, taken individually, are good, we are brainwashed into thinking that our children should be in constant motion. So, today, following this line of thinking, I had planned to take the kids to the pumpkin patch for the day. Today is the first day this week that we could be home for the whole day (school hours). When I looked around and saw all that needed to be done and knew the hectic nature of putting everything together to be gone all day, I did something radical. I decided we would spend the day at home. After-all, we already have pumpkins. Not only have I been able to play with the kids and tidy up, they are pulling out their toys in a creative manner and enjoying the quietness of their own yard and playroom. We put on kids’ music and took down the puzzles. I hadn’t built a puzzle with my little ones in months.
So, lesson #2 in my Learning Lessons series is; Slow down. It’s ok to not have something planned. The kids (and you) will enjoy the breath of fresh air that comes with it.
Have a great day~

There is just NO excuse for what I found in my purse tonight! I reached in and pulled out all the papers that had accumulated in the last month and found an envelope with a very large check in it. This actually made me cry because it was my daughter’s loan check for her college tuition. I didn’t cry because she’s away and it made me miss her. I cried because I had mailed it in a special envelope and paid for tracking weeks ago! I made a point of mailing it before I went out to see her because I didn’t want it in my purse while I was flying because it might get lost! We have been in a panic over it because the tracking showed that it was delivered on the 8th and Kateri said she received it, but that it was just junk mail and that she threw it away. So, we’ve been in a tizzy! Now, I find it and it’s expired! Dear Lord, help me! It’s definitely time for prayer! Let’s hope they are amicable to replacing it. So now I just need to figure out what happened in this mushy brain of mine. Do I need more vitamins? More sleep? 6 more hours in each day? Less to do? Hmmmm……..Probably all of the above.
Lesson of the day-everyone makes mistakes. YIKES!
Good night~

It doesn’t matter that I have been doing the job of “Mommy” for 18 years, there are still lessons to learn. Sometimes, I’ll realize that it’s a lesson that I forgot and am revisiting and sometimes it’s all new. Today I revisited a lesson forgotten. Gabi wanted to play with playdough. I always cringe when she asks for this because it ALWAYS ends in a mess. Well, today I thought, “why do I get stressed about playdough?” I realized that it’s because there’s always the mixing of the colors and the bits all on the floor. The poor kids end up stressed out about the color mixing and that mom is yelling about the mess. So, I thought, “Why do I give her so many choices?” The thought process brought me to the conclusion that too many choices are stressful for both of us and that she would be just as happy playing with a little bit that won’t get all over the floor and that if I gave her 2 colors that were similar the mixing part wouldn’t matter so much. As you can see from the pics, it worked!

Voila! Today’s lesson; Don’t give your kids too many choices. They really just want to play and have fun.
Have a great day!~

This is the scene I came upon early this morning. At least he was in his highchair! Yummy yogurt!
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The day was a bit crazy. Today, being Tuesday is Bible Study, recording and then I had a haircut. I hadn’t gone to Bible Study in the last couple of weeks, due to recording, but Max and Gabi started to ask about seeing their friends and I realized that I needed to keep their routine familiar. Then, I brought them home to be with the sitter and headed over to record. Well, we decided that the most important thing was to get what’s already been recorded, posted. We worked for 2 1/2 hours and ended up with NOTHING!!!!!! I haven’t been so bummed in a very long time! Not only did I not get to record, but we ended up with nothing to show for our time. I felt VERY bad for Martin and Yvette and the time they spent. We did learn a few things, which, of course, is valuable. But DANG IT!
So, tonight, I’m going to see what I can manage to make happen with my limited knowledge. I have been given a few pieces of advice on sites to look at for tutorials and I hear that GoDaddy has great service. Wish me luck!
By the way, the new hair is great!
Good night~