Category — attitude

The kids had a 1/2 day of school today and I had planned to run a couple of errands and then spend some Mommy and Me time with Max. But my plans were foiled. The office I needed to do business at was closed for a training seminar and the weather is too dreary to want to venture out with Max.

I took Max aside and explained that we would have to postpone our plans and that I have lots of work waiting for me at home, so I would be spending the afternoon trying to tackle some of it. He took it in stride and said, “That’s ok. I know why you have so much work to do. It’s because you’re Mommy of Many.”

Love that kid!

Have a great day~

As Thanksgiving approaches and the stores and ads are filled with all the shopping enticements, I’m having to spend a little extra effort keeping myself focused on what’s important and what the spirit of the Holiday Season is really all about. I’ve already found myself in moments of feeling down because I can’t do things a certain way or fulfill particular gift wishes. This season really requires balance and focus! I look around and I want to get caught up in all the frenzy of shopping myself into oblivion and then feel overwhelmed because I know that I can’t. Then I have to take a big, deep breath and remember all that’s in front of me. The beautiful people who touch the lives in my family each day. The friends who step forward to lend a hand. The kind and thoughtful gifts that are brought on random days, just because. The people who have shared their time and talent with my family. I have to think of our health and the fact that everyone is safe and free to speak their mind. I need to remember that each member of my family will be together on Christmas and that it isn’t about what’s going to be under the tree or in the stockings but the fact that the feeling of the season will be alive.

The media and stores work hard to get us to forget all of that! They bring on a HUGE guilt trip if we can’t fulfill our every desire. After-all, it’s the Holiday season, it’s about shopping our pockets inside out.

I’m just trying to keep reminding myself that the important thing about this season that’s upon us is the beauty in our lives, how we live and seeing the blessings in each day. I challenge each of you to keep focused and to enjoy the true spirit of this time.

Have a great day~

This day, this day. What a day. Ever had one that is just wrong from the moment you get going until you just, plain call is quits?

We are driving Mariah to her carpool each morning, which means we leave the house at 7 am. This is a huge task! We normally leave at 7:30 and none of us has adjusted well to the loss of 1/2 an hour. Today, there was much dragging of feet, forgetting to brush teeth and losing of shoes. We left 10 minutes late and with no shoes for Tristan. I really didn’t have a plan for how that was all gonna work itself out. We started to drive to meet her carpool and called along the way. Yep, missed them! Through clenched teeth I said that I’d make some phone calls, focus on getting Tristan some shoes and figure it all out. I called work to let them know I would get the majority of the kiddos to the school they go to and that I work at and then would have to drive Mariah up to her school. I then made a call to see if a pair of shoes might be able to meet Tristan at school. No dice! I headed to Target…it was 7:30 am and they don’t open until 8. AHHHHHHH! I made another call in hopes of shoes meeting Tristan at school. BINGO! Ok, off to the school. Mariah was offered a ride, albeit late, to school, from the school we were heading to. Big breath! This just may all work out.

After much discussion, we decided that Mariah would stay with me and help out in the preschool because getting to school late, on a short day of testing, really wouldn’t serve any purpose. So…extra hands at school today. This actually worked out very well. Mariah is truly wonderful with preschoolers. Who knew?!

Oh…the shoes! We were, graciously, met in the school parking lot, with a perfect-fitting pair of shoes for Tristan.

After making it through the preschool day (one potty accident on Lex’s part) I took Mariah to a sushi lunch and then headed to the grocery store. My basket was full when my phone rang…preschool was calling…another potty accident for Lex and even though there were extra clothes available, he had no extra shoes to replace the pee-soaked ones he was now wearing. Off I went to the preschool to pick up Gabi and Lex, bring them home and then head back to get the other kids, after volleyball practice. Weeeeeeee!

On my way, I received another phone call. This time it was a friend letting me know that a dear woman, who I’ve loved and admired for her strength, faith, compassion and love had passed away. Whew….! The story behind this is a blog unto itself and when I find the right words, I will write it. But needless to say, I had an emotional rest of the day.

So, here I am, counting my blessings and reflecting on the people who have touched my life and the precious moments that are within each day…even the challenging ones. I’m taking a big breath, having a glass of wine and being thankful for all that I got to live today.

Live!

Good night~

I’m sure you’ve heard me say it before, but I LOVE THE APPLE STORE! I don’t go in there as much as I used to because I’ve stopped taking their weekly classes but I had to bring my computer in, yesterday and it reminded me of how much I love dealing with the staff there and how happy I am to be a Mac user.  I have had some emailing issues, so I drug my computer and external hard drive in and with a smile and a joke, they got everything back to normal.  I always leave there with a smile on my face. 

Each time I leave, I ask myself why it feels so good to go in there and to deal with the staff.  I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s passion.  There’s something intoxicating about dealing with people who are passionate about what they’re doing.  It’s contagious and makes everyone who’s around feel great!  I see this when people talk about anything they truly love and believe in, whether it be their children, their business, food, travel or even…..working at the Apple Store!

Let’s each strive to find a little passion in this day! Not only will it make each of us want to get the most out of the day, but it will rub off on those around us and there will be a whole lot of people stepping a little lighter and smiling a little broader.

Have a great day~

In all my years of being Mommy, I’ve  battled a constant tinge of Mommy Guilt.  When I only had Kateri, I felt guilty that I had to work and go to school so much.  When I had 4 kiddos, I felt bad that I was working around the house to keep things in order and running smoothly instead of spending more time playing with the kids.  When I had 5 kiddos, I felt bad that we’d moved so many times and that Kateri and JJ had to get used to changing schools and making new friends.  When I had 7 kiddos, I felt bad that I was so tired.  Now that I have kids that are away at school, I feel bad that I can’t fulfill their every wish.  Don’t misunderstand, they aren’t over-demanding, but there are many extra activities that happen and I can’t make all of them happen.  The same is true for the kids who are still at home.  They each come to me with needs, desires and ideas and if I said yes to each child, that would be at least 7 things, every day!  So, I have to look at our schedule, budget, and ability and say yes or no.  But it eats at me!  I WANT to say yes to everything.  And sometimes, the requests of one child will be more “doable”, more often than the requests of the other children.  THIS is Doing the Dance of the Children!  The guilt and bombardment can get overwhelming.  I’m determined to focus on what I DO and not what I CANT do.  

Now to try to get the kids to look at it like that!

Have a great day~

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Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for a chance to win the last set of tickets I have to Shecky’s Girls Night Out San Diego!

Now that the house is all clean and fresh and new, I’m having a hard time wanting to put anything back into it!  I like that I can walk through the living room and not have anything to pick up.  I like not worrying that I’m going to trip over something in the hall.  I look at my freshly painted walls and hesitate putting any nails up for pictures.  I don’t want to move the worn furniture back in on top of the new carpet.  They kids have been eating on the dining room floor and when they’re done all we have to do is pick up the plates and walk them to the kitchen.  There’s no table to clear and no chairs to wipe down.  I LOVE IT!  ~sigh~ I KNOW I have to start moving back in and unpacking all the books and pictures etc. but it’s just so nice not to have all the work that goes with all the THINGS.  We dejunked as we packed, but I’m seeing a WHOLE LOT more dejunking.  What do we REALLY need?  A million books that no one has read in years…..300 movies that get popped out of their cases and lie on the floor…..too many shoes…..art work that we’ve admired since the day that budding artist brought it home?  Some serious rethinking of what’s going back into this house is going on.  

Wish me luck on the strength to follow through!

Have a great day~

When people ask me what my website and show are about, I always say that it’s the combination of being a Mommy of Many and a military spouse and how that combination works.  Well, no single event has put all of that into focus better than the Coronado Salutes the Military Ball, this past Saturday!  

So, it’s Saturday at the Lang house.  There are usually several things that happen on Saturday and they all involve running kiddos here and there.  This Saturday was no different.  I did several drop-offs and pick-ups in the morning and then got my head around scrubbing the house.  Clay was also in work-mode and was helping get everything out of one of the bedrooms so that it could be rearranged and cleaned out.  Big job!  I was standing on a step ladder at 4:30, when Clay’s phone rang.  I could hear him greet the person on the other end and knew it was an old friend who he had flown with and who had moved away.  He finished his conversation, hung up and approached me with this, “The Sandberg’s have extra tickets to the Ball.  Can we make it?  Cocktails start at 6 and we have to be seated by 7″.  My first thought was, “The Sandberg’s are back”.  Then I looked at the clock, said, “I don’t have a dress!” and ran to my closet.  Nope, no dress!  We made the decision that we could do it and that I would run to Macy’s and go straight to the Del (Hotel Del Coronado).  So, within 10 minutes, I was in my car with my make-up bag, a brush, hairspray, my good, black pumps and my evening clutch, ready to storm Macy’s for a dress.  I felt like an episode of Instant Beauty Pageant!  But I had less time and no free credit card!  I arrived at the mall and ran straight to Macy’s 3rd floor and to the check out desk (imagine what I looked like with a huge bag over my shoulder, pumps in my hand and a wild, “I need a dress!” look in my eye).  I quickly explained that I needed to be at a ball in about an hour and needed help finding a dress.  I showed them the shoes I’d be wearing and we got to work!  Seriously, the girl that helped me is getting a letter of thanks sent to her department because she was on it!  I told her my size, grabbed a couple of dresses and ran to a fitting room.  She continued bringing me dresses and within 1/2 hour, I had what I needed!  I left the dress on, got rung up, was pointed in the direction of the bathroom and ran to do hair and make-up.  Whew!  Seriously, where was the camera crew?!

Clay had to go out to the squadron to get the proper uniform (I’m still not sure why it was there) and then rush to the exchange to grab a new pair of wings for his jacket.  

By 6:15 we were on the phone with each other agreeing to meet in the lobby.  By 6:30 I had valeted the car and was standing in the lobby, fully dressed, composed and ready for an evening of fun.  

We spotted our friends who had the tickets and followed them into the Grand Ballroom at the Hotel Del Coronado.  Beautiful!  

This was the 24th year of this event.  The Chamber of Commerce of Coronado puts this together to salute their military neighbors on the island.  Various businesses around the island host tables and various invites go out to the military community.  This is the second time we’ve been invited and it’s truly an amazing night!  This year we were at a table hosted by Business Products Express.  They hosted 5 tables and we were fortunate enough to be at the table with Matt Bartell and his wife, Jody who own the company.  They were so much fun!  The Marine Corps Band performed and the speakers were great.  We ran into several people we knew, had a wonderful dinner, danced a little and called it a night.  Wow!

While we pulled it off in only 2 hours, make no mistake that we did get some complaining phone calls from the kids.  They were caught in the whirlwind of watching us make the decision to go, shout some orders for dinner and run out the door.  When I walked through the door that night, I could see the result of  their unhappiness that we dashed off.  I decided that crushed cereal would be better off swept up in the morning.  Back to reality, Cinderella!  

Matt Bartell, standing on a chair to compensate for the tallness of the Sandbergs, the Sandbergs, me and Clay

Me and Clay with Matt Bartell, owner of Business Products Express and our host for the night.

Well, there you have it!  The crazy combination of being a Mommy of Many and a military spouse and how that combination works.  Sometimes I’m Doing the Dance of the Children and sometimes I just get to dance!

Thank you to Brian and Kris for thinking of us.  Thank you to the Coronado Chamber of Commerce for putting this together every year and thank you to Matt Bartell for hosting the tables that he did. 

Have a great day!

As a parent, one of our biggest and often toughest jobs is teaching our kiddos the lessons they need to lead a successful, happy and productive life.  It would all be so much “easier” and “peaceful” if we could just take the hands-off approach and give in to every whim, want and fit.  But that wouldn’t be parenting.  That would simply be existing.  Sometimes I’m tempted to exist because I’ve taught the same lessons over and over with each child.  

Lately I’ve had a morning issue with one of my younger kiddos who’s learning (or needing to learn) some time management skills.  Every morning he drags behind in the routine and often forgets to put things into his backpack or to brush his teeth.  This means I’m constantly reminding and rushing him.  Often times all the other kids will be in the car and he’ll still have no shoes on, no backpack ready and his teeth are unbrushed.  It makes me want to pull my hair!  I’m trying different ideas to keep him on task, but so far none have worked.  I’m getting ready to make him a check list that he can carry with him in the mornings.  

This morning when everyone was in the car and I had to come back into the house to move him along, I handed him his backpack and he started complaining that he was cold and needed a sweatshirt and was thirsty and needed water.  I decided to teach a lesson about being uncomfortable because of your own actions.  I told him that he’d just have to get a drink at school and that he’d have to feel a little cold today because he didn’t get his uniform together in a timely manner and that every time he feels cold today that he will have a chance to remember that if he had gotten things together on time that he’d be warm.  

Harsh?  Maybe!  But I’m betting he’ll think about it.  And for all of you who are thinking what a mean M.O.M. I am……we live in San Diego for goodness sake!  It’s not like he’s in Pittsburgh fighting snow in a tee shirt!  

Have a great day~

Since I’m out and about and trying to Do the Dance of Life, I find that my head is very full and busy.  So much got put on the back burner in the last month, that trying to play catch up is making my head spin.  I’m falling back on my list making skills to get me through.  

Easter is around the corner and we are finishing up the travel arrangements to get Kateri and JJ home for the break.  This will be the last time that either of them get to spend time with Clay until he returns from deployment, next year.  I know a year sounds like a really long time and that a lot happens in a year’s time, but it seems like they fly by and I’m feeling confident that it’s going to seem like the blink-of-an-eye before we are talking about next Easter and Clay’s return. But between now and the day he leaves, there are so many things that have to be done.  There’s so much to prepare for that we don’t want to have deal with when he’s not actually here to make the phone calls of sign the papers.  It’s always hard to think about things like the kids’ future from far away.  

Next year, JJ will be in his Senior year of high school and Clay won’t be back until just before JJ’s graduation, so we have to think about planning for college NOW.  It’s stuff like that, that keeps me adding to the lists and worrying that I’m forgetting something.  

Well, today, I just need to make the lists and focus on today.  So, pen and paper are at the ready and one step at a time, one day at a time and it’ll all fall into place.

Right? (this is where you all chime in with statements of agreement!)

Have a great day~

The other night I was with a group of great ladies and we were chit chatting about life.  We got on the subject of organizing our houses and how we like things done and how our husbands are often times clueless about where things go or how we like things put away, folded, organized, etc.  This ultimately ends up in our doing all the work or being frustrated when things aren’t done “right”.  BTW this isn’t only about husbands, but older children, as well.  So, the workload of the house ends up on Mom’s shoulders and leads to us feeling like no one can do it except us.  Guess what ladies?  It’s our job to TEACH them how we like it done!  It does no good to simply be frustrated!  If we want help and we want it done our way, then we have to take on the task of guiding the older kids and the husbands through the way the house works.  Over the years I’ve found that the work can be divided up and I can still get the results I desire, by taking the time to explain why I fold the towels a certain way or where I keep the unfolded socks.  The members of our families aren’t as unwilling to help us as we think.  However, they know that we DO have a certain way we want things done and they’d rather do nothing than make us upset by doing it wrong.  

I found out that Clay was perfectly willing to help put clean laundry away in the kids’ rooms, but had no idea what drawer things went into.  A little time and a few labels later, I can count on him to get Luke-Xavier’s shirts and pants into the correct drawers.  

Let’s stop being frustrated and take a little time to guide everyone in how it works.

Have a great day!

This has been quite a week!  I thought I was going to have lots of time between scheduling my surgery and actually having the surgery.  In the short time between finding out that I will be going in next week and now, I’ve come to realize that the time frame is a blessing in disguise.

Thank you for listening to the show and for visiting the site.  Your questions and comments are always welcome!

Click HERE to leave a review for Mommy of Many at iTunes

 

 MOM 57 [10:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (75)

There are times in life when everything just seems to fall into place.  This trip to Washington is one of those.  My friend, Pilar, and I planned this trip a couple of months ago.  When I found out I would be having surgery next week, I thought I should probably cancel the trip.  After giving it a little more thought, I realized it was the PERFECT time to get away, have some fun and take some time out for thought and reflection.  Yesterday was our FUN time!  We went to Seattle and had THE BEST day!  It was full of laughter, good food and beautiful scenery.  I couldn’t have asked for a better day!  Here are a few pics to share-

we had a great lunch at Max’s at the Marketplace

We enjoyed the fish market

We were silly enough to have our picture taken on a big, brass pig

One of the things I really wanted to do in Seattle was to go to the original Starbucks.  Heck, I’m at my local Starbucks at least once a day and I felt like I’d be making a pilgrimage.

Today has been a relaxing day with time built in for thought and reflection.  I need a little time to make sure I have thought out all the things I wanted to question before I go in for this surgery.  I feel very fortunate to have people in my life to make that possible!  A thank you to Clay for keeping the kiddos while I got away and a thank you to Pilar for offering me her “sanctuary” as a place to unwind and be a little bit pampered.  I’m not so sure how I feel about her making me leave my phone downstairs, though.  She was serious when she said I was to relax and reflect!

Tomorrow, I will wrap up my vacation and head home.

Thank you for all the words of encouragement and the kind thoughts and prayers!  They are all so appreciated!

Have a great day~

Good Morning!  It’s Monday and the start of a new week.  I’m deciding to be cheery and optimistic about this day and the beginning of this week.  Today I have 2 repairmen coming to the house.  One for my washing machine and one for the washing machine that housing brought in.  ~chuckling and shaking my head~.  Sometimes you just have to let it go!  When housing brought the machine in, I immediately loaded it up and got started.  Everything seemed fine and it ran the whole cycle.  But everything was still wet after it spun.  So, I spun it out again…..and again.  Nope!  Everything was still wet.  I had a bright idea!  My machine was on the back patio and pumping is it’s problem, not spinning.  So we plugged it in on the back patio and I drug the wet stuff, in a bucket, to my machine, loaded it up and spun it out, put it back into the bucket and brought it to the laundry room and put it in the dryer.  It wasn’t a perfect system, but it was getting the job done.  After 4 loads like this, my washer decided it was being used and quit spinning.  So, we are facing Monday morning unsure if we have clean uniforms or underwear and there’s nothing I can do about it.  BUT, I insist on having a cheery attitude, because after-all, I DO have repairmen coming for each of the machines AND we are safe and warm in our home AND I have plenty of food to pack the kids’ lunches AND my gas tank is full and my car is running perfectly AND my in-laws are visiting after we haven’t seen them in 2 years AND on Thursday I get to take a trip to Washington St. to visit my dear friend, Pilar AND I even got new jeans and new shoes for the occasion.  So, it’s time to squash frustration with looking at my blessings and to move forward, into this week with a good and positive attitude.  

Are you with me?  Let’s go!

Have a great day!

Finally!  

I’m so excited to have a new show up!  There have been some hurdles that have kept me from getting a show done, but it’s finally here.  Thank you for visiting the site and for listening to the show.  Your comments and feedback are always appreciated.  Have a show idea?  Let me know!  You can use the contact link to email me.  

Click HERE to leave a review for Mommy of Many at iTunes

 

 MOM 55 [7:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (79)

Sometimes you just have to stand up and blow your horn.  We all do things we feel good about, that make us remember who we are.  We are more than any of the labels we each wear, even though our labels are important and help define us.  Every once in awhile you get a moment to grab onto and live in that makes you beam.  Yesterday I was the lucky owner of one of those moments.  I was able to buy the January issue of Military Spouse Magazine which happened to contain my very first, published column in it.  Buying that magazine and remembering that I do something other than pack lunches, wash clothes, wipe noses and bottoms, drive kiddos in a million directions, etc. gave me a feeling I wish I could harness.  It’s easy to forget that my daily grind isn’t who I am.  

Today, I’m hoping you can each find a moment to remember that even though your labels are important, that somewhere (often deep-down) inside, there’s YOU.

Have a great day~