Mommy of Many®

Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter, Mariah! 18! I can’t believe that I am now M.O.M. to 3 official adult children.

I hope it’s been a fabulous day of you feeling well celebrated and loved. We can’t wait to see you for Christmas.

Love,
Mom and the bottom 2/3 of your siblings~

Nothing spectacular has happened, we didn’t go to a parade or win the lottery, but having the extra day to just be has felt SO good!

On Friday, 11/11/11, we celebrated Max’s 9th birthday. It was cloudy out, so we chose to spend a couple hours at an indoor playplace-Wacky Tacky. It was crowded and full of the energy that kiddos with a day off have to burn! Tristan and Max especially liked the foam, air guns. They spent quite a bit of time shooting at anything and everything. When as much energy as possible was expended, we headed home for lunch. Then it was present time! Whoo Hoo! In the last few weeks, we’ve discovered the Plasma Car. One of our neighbors has them and the kids really fell in love with riding them. So not only did Gabi get one for her bday (pink, of course), but Max is now the happy owner of one in yellow. These really are great! They hold up to 180 lbs, sit low to the ground and require nothing but kiddo energy.

Then we enjoyed a nice dinner and dessert was some special Daddy n Max time at a frozen yogurt shop that also boasts a hot chocolate bar! Yum!

Yesterday we ran errands and spent some time visiting with a friend that was up from Pacific Beach. The kids enjoyed some time finding items to add to their Christmas lists at Barnes and Noble while I got to hear what’s been happening at the beach. A great afternoon!

This morning has been leisurely, with kids waking up one-at-a-time over the last couple hours. Max has been taking his Lego Creations vehicle (another bday gift) apart and rebuilding it into one of the other vehicles it’s capable of making. This would NOT of been a toy I would’ve enjoyed. I want things put together and to perform whatever function they’re created to perform, but Max and Tristan both LOVE taking their Legos apart and recreating over and over again. The difference between girls and boys? Or the difference between brains that function at what’s been deemed “genius” level and those of us who have regular ol’ brains? Who knows! But I’m glad they have so much fun with it all!

So it’s Legos and Apple Crumble muffins for breakfast and onto a Sunday that will involve some leftover homework, the beginnings of a school project, church in the evening and then youth group.

A good weekend!

Doing the Dance of the Children and Feeling Thankful For All of It~

Lex enjoying a Cold Stone ice cream cupcake

5 days before I delivered. Not the best preggo pic, but it’s what you get when trying to take pics of a lady who’s preggo w/ baby #9 and trying to get “dressed up” for her daughter’s High School play performance and is exhausted from single-parenting due to deployment. Don’t I look T-I-R-E-D?!

Luke-Xavier (Lex) makes his appearance into the world. It’s been pure love since the moment I met him!

Tomorrow my youngest will turn 5. Five! April is the month in which my children start and end. Kateri, my oldest, just turned 22 and tomorrow we celebrate Lex. He’s always making us laugh and giving us insight into his lil head and tonight I thought it was fitting to share 3 of his latest funnies and also pics of 5 yrs ago.

1) We were in the van the other day and Lex had gotten a book order form from school. Max wanted to look at it and tell me what books he wanted. Lex wasn’t happy about sharing the order form but I assured him he’d get it back soon. Here’s the conversation between Lex and Max;

Max-I want these books (pointing to several).
Lex-If you get those you have to share them.
Max-Yeah, we can share.
Lex-Do you want to be rich when you grow up?
Max-Yes
Lex-Do you know how people get rich?
Max-How?
Lex-By people giving them money and if you get those books and don’t share them I won’t give you money and you’ll never get rich!
Max-I said I’d share!

2) Tonight we were leaving Cold Stone and a man selling his (wife’s ?) homemade tamales approached us. We declined the tamales but gave him a Cold Stone, ice cream cupcake. He thanked us and asked us to pray for him. On the way home we were saying out night prayers and when it came time for Lex’s intentions he said, “Mom, you forgot 1! Dear God please bless the biscotti man”. I’m sure God understood-biscotti, tamales, whatever!

3)Lex-”Mom, tonight can I sleep in your bed?”
Mom-”No. Auntie Maggie is sleeping in my bed while she’s visiting and that’s too many people.”
Lex-”I can just sleep on top of you. I promise not to squish you”.

Happy Birthday Eve to my Lil guy!

Doing the Dance of the Children~

I’ve been quiet over here for a few days. I’ve had plenty of things to talk about, but just no time or energy to get them typed out. Sometimes it’s when there’s the most to talk about that I get quiet. Still working on that.

In the last few days I’ve dealt with bullying/lying/stealing/the weight of judgement/angry teens/changed schedules and I took a little walk through my past to relive my oldest daughter’s birth and to wish her a happy 22nd birthday. There was also work and school a trip to the park, homework…Ok, I’ve been busy!

Thinking about schooling for next year is weighing on me. I have no idea where we’ll be. I don’t yet know what I’m going to have to work with. I have to find the best fit for Max. I guess I’m stressed.

On a positive note, I’ve started reading a book I was asked to review and so far, I really like it! I’ll tell you more about it when I’m done and have a review for you.

For a little while today, I’m going to put all the things that are plaguing my overworked head on hold and take my 4 youngest to meet up with my sister and my niece for a play date at the park. We don’t see them very often and it’ll be nice for the kids to play with their cousin! And tomorrow another of my sisters is flying in for a visit. Good Stuff! I need it!

I’ll leave you with a little Then and Now visual. I’m so VERY VERY proud of this young woman and all she’s setting out to do and be. All the hopes and dreams I held for her when I looked into her sweet, newborn face are being surpassed. Sometime I’ll sit down and write our story. But for now-

Me and Kateri in 1989. I was 17 and she was about a month old.

Fast forward 21 3/4 yrs

Good Stuff!

Doing the Dance of the Children From Then To Now~

Gabriella Elise Lang is 6 yrs old today! The years have passed so quickly!

Here’s a little trip from down Memory Lane-

Soon before Gabi’s arrival into the world

Kateri, watching me give birth to lil Gabi

Newborn Gabi-girl, heading home from the hospital. I hadn’t had a girl in 8 years and was excited to be buying pink again!

Gabi today, happy with her new umbrella.

Happy Birthday beautiful lil Gabi! You have so much life ahead of you! We’re happy you’re here and love you SO MUCH!

I have a few days of catching up to do!

I finally got over the stomach bug that kept me in bed for most of 2 days and so far, none of the kiddos have gotten it (uttering another silent prayer that they don’t). I headed back to work on Wednesday. I don’t know where I got the bug or exactly what it was, but I haven’t been that sick, that I can remember. It’s probably just that it hit me in my decaying, aging state

Yesterday I celebrated my 39th birthday. A week ago I jokingly said to Mariah that the very last birthday that I would ever celebrate was coming up. She ran with it

What a great day! I was treated to lunch by a good friend, who later, showed up at my door with a homemade chocolate cake!

My girls bought dinner for themselves and the lil kiddos so that I didn’t have to cook

And my brother took me to sushi for dinner.

When I got home, we cut into those cakes and there were some thoughtful gifts waiting for me.

Sylvester Stallone AND Rod Stewart! Now THAT’S good stuff!

I can’t forget to mention how nice it was to open the mailbox and find an unexpected bday card from a friend and M.O.M. follower that held my favorite, local chocolate!

Unexpected surprises are the best!

So, today, it’s back to reality. But it sure was nice to be treated so royally!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today is the second day of celebrating the Teddy Bear Picnic with the preschoolers. They each bring in their favorite teddy bear or stuffed animal and we have a lil picnic at snack time. They’re so adorable and it passes so quickly! I can easily remember when Tristan (now in 5th grade) was having his Teddy Bear Picnic! Now it’s Lex’s turn

We do most of our preschool celebrations twice, once for the M-W-F kiddos and once for the T-Th kiddos. That means that the lil ones who come everyday get 2 celebrations. This was Lex, yesterday.

Adorable!

Ok, on with the regular routine. Many thanks to everyone who helped make my birthday a lil step out of the normal Dance. Now it’s back to Doing the Dance of the Children and hoping to keep up with the music~

“No candles? But don’t those cost, like, 2 bucks?” Yeah, well so does a loaf of bread. Guess where my last $2 went.

Ah, the budget. Forever in the forefront of my mind. Always being reworked, borrowed from, stretched and sometimes broken.

Back to school and Christmas are the hardest times on the ol’ budget and I’m neck-deep in back to school prep right now. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still very real things that need to be celebrated and done, like birthdays. 2 days ago, we had just such an event. When the budget for the 15th was written, I requested an extra $100 for the upcoming bday. My request was fulfilled. However, I had NOT accounted for some uniform items that the girls starting their Frosh year needed. So, the bday $ went to buy 2 new, white, button-down shirts and 2 pair of black flats for Dress Day Uniform requirements. *Think, think, think* What was I gonna do about the bday? I kept being asked for a Birthday Party. My blanket answer was, “well, that’ll be a tough one, but let’s talk about it”.  And talk we did. He asked if he could, “please, please, please have friends down to the beach for a beach day”. Hmmm…the beach is free. I can do that! But what to do about the food and favors? *think, think, think*. Well, we’ll forget “favors” altogether. If they really need something to take home, they can roam the beach for shells, right? Which by-the-way, 10 & 11 yr old boys really don’t care about. Now food-*think, think, think*. Well, I earned $27 from a book I sold on Amazon.com. So, $20 for a cake at Costco and $7 for a 40-pack of CapriSun juice pouches. I’m GOLDEN! I knew I had a huge bag of carrots, and plenty of celery and peppers to cut up and ranch dressing in the fridge (had to attempt to add something healthy to the mix) and there was plenty of PB&J and bread. Another mom donated bags of popcorn and pudding cups.

And we had ourselves a party!

Now, the agreement was that if I did give him a party, that would be his present. Since I got off so inexpensively I told him I’d take him to ToysRUs to spend a gift card he received and if he needs a little help with whatever item he chooses, I’ll pitch in…but not until after payday.

I’m proud of our $27 party!

Doing the Dance of the Children and Staying on this Tightrope of a Budget~

It’s birthday time around the Lang house. It’s kind of a big deal because it’s the very first time I’ve had the “baby” of the family be 4. The biggest breaks I ever had between kiddos was 3 years, so this is a milestone for me. No more babies. No more toddlers. No more diapers. No more potty-training. No more bottles. No more…the list goes on.

April’s a big month this year. My oldest hit official adulthood on the 1st by turning 21 and now the “baby” has broken the record for being the “oldest baby”. I know, I’m being a little weird about it. But it’s new territory for me. Everyone’s in school, can dress themselves, make their own bowls of cereal…

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Luke-Xavier! I’m realizing that no matter what birthday we’re celebrating, you’ll always be my “baby” and probably be a lil bit spoiled

Have a great day~

I’ve been in constant motion for the last few weeks. While everything is still getting done, I can definitely say that I’m feeling it! I’ve been going to bed a little earlier (I know that will make my oldest children, who live away from home and are always on me to get more sleep, very happy), but still feel pretty worn out at the end of each day. Maybe it’s just that I’m getting older. I just had my birthday and each year is stacking up on the last to form an ever-growing chain of years. I decided to spend the day with the kids and let them do what they would. Max made me a Lego car, Maddi made me a cake and Gabi drew me a picture. All very nice! The preschool gave me a little special treatment at snack time and now I have pretty flowers for the dining table.

Me and Allie, the teacher I aide for

My big “Birthday indulgence” wasn’t an extra large piece of bday cake or an extra glass of wine. Nope! It was an individual sized bag of nacho cheese Doritos. What was I thinking?! While I DO crave these from time to time, I am sure that they are sent straight from the devil himself! I spent all day with a terrible headache. While there are ways to counteract the effects of alcohol, there are simply no ways to counteract the effects of MSG. Someone please remind me that I am no friend of the Dorito! Maybe I forgot because I’m beginning to forget all sorts of things. Old age?! Here I come!

Thank you to all who sent me beautiful and heartfelt bday wishes and many wishes to my sister, my aunt and my cousin who also share that special day.

Good night~

The last two weeks have been full and busy! We are trying to grab the last bits of summer before JJ heads back to school and before Kateri leaves for Germany. Because all the kids are home and together, my regular routine has been put on hold and we have been taking time to enjoy the beach and time together.

The kids and friends enjoying “game night”

Today is the last little bit of that. Early tomorrow morning, Kateri boards her plane for Germany. We will not be seeing her again until JJ’s high school graduation, next Spring. And after the graduation, it’ unclear when we will be seeing her again because she will, likely, spend next summer in DC. So, it’s been a flurry of grabbing time together and also trying to get important details pulled together and paperwork done. Today, one of my sisters flies in to spend the day with her and to visit with the rest of us. After tomorrow night, it will be time for me to focus on all that’s needed to get JJ ready to leave for the school year. He’ll be going to school a week early for soccer camp. The Dr. gave him the go-ahead to restart regular activity, but to listen to his body and to watch his knee. I’m also getting the school lists together so that everyone is outfitted and supplied and ready to get back to school in early Sept.

There’s been a lot to think about!

Yesterday we celebrated, albeit long-distance, Clay’s 40th birthday. The girls baked a cake and we were all able to talk to him via Skype, to wish him a happy start to his new decade.

I’m relishing the fact that I get to stay in my 30′s for a couple more years and tease him about being so old!

So, lots going on in this house. Lots of hugs and kisses to pass around and hold onto and many plans for using the computer to keep in touch while we are apart.

Have a great day~

1 dad home before deployment

1 visiting uncle

1 lawnmower

1 weed whacker

One 15-passenger van

14 people

1 birthday

2 trips to the beach

16 hot dogs 

8 grilled chicken breasts

2 salmon steaks

3 bags of asparagus risotto

2 lbs of broccoli

1 ice cream, birthday cake

2 half gallons of ice cream

2 loads of after-dinner dishes

15 teenagers playing soccer in the street after dark

1 movie

1 late-night round of fresh squeezed lemonade

1 queen-sized inflatable mattress

4 extra people, sleeping, scattered throughout my house

This is what yesterday looked like at the Lang house.  This morning I’m moving through a quiet house, full of sleeping people and picking up the remnants of what the girls found to do after I’d already gone to bed.  I turned off the movie that had been playing all night, wiped up the stickiness from the lemonade they’d made and started load 3 of the dishes from last night. 

I love summer!

Have a great day~

Here is a picture blog of Lex’s special day at Disneyland

Luke-Xavier arriving at Disneyland for his 3rd bday

Hi!  Would you like an M&M?

Hi there!  I’m Luke-Xavier and it’s my birthday.  I’m at Disneyland!  Would either of you care for an M&M?

Look who’s over there!

Mickey, trying Lex’s ears

Let me help you

For your efforts, you deserve an M&M!

It’s good!  You deserve it!

After the picture would you like an M&M?

If I keep meeting new friends, I’m gonna be out of M&Ms!  Wonder how many are left?

Me and all my Disneyland friends LOVE M&Ms!

It’s really nice to meet you!

Nice to meet you too.  Aren’t you going to offer me an M&M?

This was a very happy birthday!  I LOVE Disneyland (and M&Ms)

Peace all!  I’m outta here!

This long-distance parenting is kind of tough. We got a call yesterday from JJ to let us know that he had been hurt during rugby practice. I know……,”rugby practice! Of course he got hurt”. So, we had to figure out the Dr. situation and what to do. We contacted our provider and found out that he could go to an ER or Urgent Care and it would be covered, but to see a Dr. in a clinic would not. Ugh! So, off to the ER he went. The report is that his wrist is fractured. Luckily he will be home in a couple of weeks and can HOPEFULLY be seen here at that time. We have a friend who’s an orthopedist and is going to look at his x-rays to determine if he can wait that long. Long story-short, we need to get some paper work done to have him eligible to see a Dr. where he’s at school. Why does life take so much paperwork?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s Mariah’s birthday! She’s 14 today. This makes her very happy because she’s been one of only a couple Freshmen at her school that were 13.

The kids are getting big SO fast! Thank goodness I still have little ones (even with their crazy messes and changing diapers) because I’m not ready to just have “big” kids.

Have a great day~

Oh the Saturday we’ve had! Well, let’s start with soccer. Tristan did great! He actually made contact with the ball several times in this game. Other parents were cheering him on. So, he just needed a few months to warm up to the idea of going after the ball and focusing on the game. Whoo Hoo! There’s one more game in the season, so I’m looking forward to him being excited about it. After soccer we picked Mariah up from her volunteer time at the Nature Center and headed to a birthday party for a friend’s daughter. All the kids had a great time! The older kids helped set up and the younger kids got to enjoy the games, jumpy, food and fun! Anna and Mariah joined in the festivities and had a water-balloon fight. This eventually led them into the jumpy, where they collided and it looks like Arianna may have broken or at least, very hurt and bruised fingers. We will keep an eye on them through tonight and head to the ER in the morning, if necessary. She is very upset because tomorrow is the next play-off game for volleyball. We’ll see how she’s feeling in the morning. So, after a long and fun party in the park, we headed home to put kids down for a nap and I jumped in the shower and then made a mad dash for the store to get a bday cake for Max. He will be 5 tomorrow. The service at the Vons bakery was TERRIBLE! I won’t go into the whole thing, but, Man, do we have a loss of the sense of service these days, or what?! Anyway, I left, cake in hand and headed to, my friend, Casey’s for a Silpada show. We enjoyed some great wine and conversation as well as her jewelry collection. The kids called a couple of times while I was there and this is a sample of what was said, “you know that glass thing on the butcher block? It’s broken!” Then there was this, “So I heard your bedroom door close and lock and when I got it unlocked, Tristan was standing in front of the littler kids with a sword (foam sword from Legoland) saying, ‘Who’s with me?’ ” So, let’s see, Tristan was leading a revolution against the babysitters. Nice! What’s next? The whole 2nd grade?! So, I came home and cleaned up the rest of the floor and read the posted “List of Complaints”. Mariah had taken a poster board and asked each of the kids for their complaints for the night and listed and posted them for me to view when I returned. You’ve got to love the way my organization skills have rubbed off on these kids! Not too many months ago, Mariah led a protest, complete with signs and chant when the computers had been turned off due to abuse. These kids are going to be something big someday!

Well, that’s life in this crazy house of mine!
Good night~

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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~