Mommy of Many®

Many of you know that we had a farewell party for Clay this weekend, at the house. It was GREAT! So many wonderful people came out to say good bye to him before he deploys.

Our 12-4 party turned into an Open-House until 9pm. We loved it! One of the best parts was that a friend of ours who owns a local acai company called Acai Roots came by to wish Clay well and to share a new product with us. He now offers a product that is just the right portion size for kiddos! We passed out samples and let the guests decide whether they liked it or not. You can see from the pics that it was a hit.

The kids loved this frozen treat and the best part was that we didn’t have to feel bad about giving it to them! Yesterday, Maddi decided to pack a cup in her lunch. Because it was frozen, we were able to put it in a thermos and by the time she opened it is was simply slushy.

If you haven’t heard of Acai or you’re interested in knowing more check out their website. This is a great product that’s a healthy alternative to those other cold or frozen treats that we like to hand our kids.

Have a great night~

It’s a beautiful San Diego day and I decided to take my own advice and slow down to enjoy it. As you can see I had Gabi and Luke-Xavier outside in the swing. They both wanted to swing and I had to tell them to take turns. I decided we would count, slowly, to 10 for each turn. It’s amazing that at almost 2 and 3 1/2, that the #10 is not only understood, but makes sense! They each waited patiently for the other to swing 10 times (really it became more like 30 because I counted so slowly) and then they would happily jump out of the swing to let the other on. I was amazed and pleased at their cooperation.
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Speaking of the #10, that happens to be the # of bathroom accidents that we’ve gone through with Gabi over the last couple of days. I don’t know what’s sparked this sudden step backward in potty training. I suppose she could understand a little better than I thought, about Clay’s upcoming deployment. She’s a very bright 3 year old and does pick up on the general feel of emotion around her. Well, let’s just hope this ends soon! I’m running out of wipes and towels!
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10 is also the number of times I’ve told Luke-Xavier that we’re not going to nurse during the daytime. He’s been a strong nurser all along. But, he’s now approaching his 2nd birthday and I feel that it’s time to take the nursing to bedtime only. He doesn’t agree! 10×10 will probably be the number before the end of the day.
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I hope you each have a beautiful day. It’s been a great San Diego day, so far~

This week I talk about Lesson #3 in the Learning Lessons Series, which is that children of all ages need consistency. Over the years I’ve seen that things run a lot smoother if the kids know what to expect. Surprises are great, but not in our everyday lives. We want to know what the routine is and so do the kids. laying out a good routing for the kids has saved me from hearing a lot of yelling and whining.

Thanks for listening! I appreciate your feedback. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com or just use the contact button to the left.

Have a great day~

Well, I’m singing because if I didn’t I’d probably cry. It’s been “one of THOSE days”. I chuckled a bit at 9 am when the battery to the truck was dead and I was supposed to be at the coffee I was hosting. But, by 2 pm when I was in the parking lot of the mall with my 4 youngest kiddos and I was trying to figure out what to do with a poopie accident, the chuckling was over. And let me tell you, that was by no means the end of the trying day! I made more than 6 trips to my house today, Luke-Xavier has double ear infections, my oldest children spent the day fighting for “top dog”, someone couldn’t wait until we got home to use the bathroom, my to-do list is still quite long and I’m ready for bed. ~Sigh~ So, I go back to singing; “Tomorrow! Tomorrow! There’s a Party tomorrow. (everybody now!) It’s only a day aaaawaaay”!

We’re having people over to wish Clay a good deployment. I’m sure that once people are here and I’ve relaxed a bit, it will all seem quite funny………I’ll let you know~

Have a good night~

I drive a large, white van. It’s actually a 15-passenger van and it’s come in handy for bringing extra kiddos to events and when we have company, so that everyone can go places in one vehicle. But, it looks just like one of the vans that they use for getting teams places or govt. vehicles that you’d find on base. Well, the other night, I went to an event on base. I was about 1/2 hour early because I had gotten one of my kiddos to volleyball practice and it left me with extra time. I decided to pull into the parking lot of the Exchange and finish my make-up (I’m always doing my mascara in crazy places!). I found a well-lit area and pulled in. There were almost no vehicles there because it was getting ready to close. So, I settled in with my iPod playing Rod Stewart (you know it!) and started my eyes. I started hearing people talking and laughing, but I just turned the music up and kept primping. Then, came a knock on my window! I about jumped out of my skin! My first thought was that I was going to be told I couldn’t be there by an MP. But when I looked at the guy at my door, I realized that he was carrying a soda and chips and that there were several more guys at the van. They thought I was their ride!

The dangers of driving a vehicle that looks like every other govt. van!

Have a great day~

This afternoon I had only two of my boys with me. I had an appointment and ran some errands. While we were in the van we had this conversation:

Tristan: When I grow up I’m going to live alone and have 3 dogs. I’m going to have 3 so that they’ll always be together. When the oldest one dies the other two still be together. When the middle one dies, I’ll be with the other one and when it dies, I’ll die.

Max: I’m having 3 dogs too. NO, I’m having 16 dogs!

Mom: Wow! That’s a lot of dogs! Don’t either of you want to get married and become dads?

Tristan: No, I just want to live by myself, in the woods.

Max: No way! My kids would mess up my house. They would tear everything apart and they would be wild.

Mom: You guys are wild sometimes and I clean up after you.

Max: But you’re not going to live at my house. Hey Tristan, I’m going to live right next to you!

Tristan: NO YOU’RE NOT! I’m living in the wilderness by myself!

Max: And my house will be touching yours.

Mom: So, Max, you’re not going to marry Brooke anymore?

Max: ~Hits forehead with hand~ Oh! ~sigh~ Now that you reminded me, I will.

Mom: You don’t have to. I just remember that you kept telling me that you were going to.

Max: No, I will. I’m going to marry Brooke, have 16 dogs and 22 kids and, Tristan, I’ll live RIGHT NEXT TO YOU!

So it goes with conversations between brothers!

Have a good night~

This week, I expand on Lesson #2 of the Learning Lessons Series. From time to time, I am able to enjoy the quiet and simple moments with my kiddos. I have to remind myself that it’s ok to spend a day at home, with nothing planned. The overriding message that’s all around us as parents is the “GO! DO!” While planning events with and for your children is not a bad thing, we can easily get overwhelmed with a full calendar and forget that spending a day in our own yard is enjoyable.

Thank you for listening to the show! I would love to hear your ideas on how to slow down or the tactics you implement in your home. You can email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com and until next time, I’ll be here, doing the Dance of the Children!

When I picked the kids up from the school yesterday, Tristan met me at the van looking very worried. He came around to my window and said that he needed to tell me something. My first thought was that he had gotten into a fight (no history of that, but that’s where my head went). Then tears started to well-up in his eyes and he started to say he’d made a mistake. I got out of the van to be with him and see why he was so upset. He said that whoever made the lunches didn’t put his name on the bag, so when lunchtime came around, he couldn’t find his lunch and thought he had left it at home. He then went to the teacher, very upset, and explained that he forgot his lunch and didn’t know what to do. She told him to go to the office to borrow $ for lunch truck. He started to cry and said, “How can I tell my mom that I borrowed $?” So, even though he was upset he borrowed the $ and bought lunch. After school he noticed a bag in the classroom and decided to look in it. It was his lunch. He started crying to the teacher that he had borrowed $ and his lunch was right there! She assured him it would be ok and to take the lunch home to show me that it had no name on it. When he got to the van, he was so upset that he had borrowed $3 and that I was going to have to pay it back and that his lunch was there the whole time.

All I could do was comfort him and let him know that he’d done the right thing and that I’d never want him to go hungry. I told him that $3 isn’t very much and that it’s not a problem for me to pay it back. But, when you’re 8 and you don’t get an allowance $3 seems like a lot of $. His big tears over this were so sad and so cute all at the same time. I couldn’t help thinking what a sweet kid he is and how good life must be if that’s his biggest worry!

Have a great day~