Category — children

Summertime in the Lang house has officially started! Never mind that we’ve been out of school and off of work for a couple of weeks. It’s just not summer until there’s a trip! 6 of the kiddos, a friend of Clay’s and Clay have pulled away from the curb and have begun the 1st trip of summer 2010. They’re heading out to Clay’s parents’ house in Nevada. Long drive!

JJ brought some juggling equipment. Fun for the 4th of July!

I’m home to get this house in order, continue Boot Camp and get Anna and Maddi to and from summer school (with a lil help from my brother).

Yea for summer! Yea for trips! Yea for time to get things in order! Yea for stealing a lil time for M.O.M! Yea! Yea! Yea!

Doing the Dance of the Children-in Summertime~

Today should be called “Procrastination Day” instead of Tuesday. I woke up with almost no drive and feeling emotional. I putted around until the LAST minute then headed out to my Kraze Boot Camp class, knowing that if I didn’t show up, Aaron (my trainer and Boot Camp Master) would likely show up at my door and I’d be drug to one of the other classes that are held during the day. No thank you!

Kateri and I got our sleepy behinds to class and the work-out definitely did me good. Something was different about today’s class. I can’t say exactly what it was, but it was good. There was running (there’s ALWAYS running), but it was more broken up. I liked that. We did 1/2 a lap and then stopped for push-ups and then finished the lap…with more push-ups. The time just seemed to go by quicker today.

Kateri’s friend, Jez, who’s been joining us in the mornings didn’t make it out today. Instead, she chose to go to the 6pm class and Kateri (mad woman!) joined her! Way to go Kateri! 2 classes in one day! I hope your legs hold up tomorrow morn! Mariah (my 16 yr. old) also went with them to check it out. From what I’ve heard she really liked the work-out. Whoo Hoo! Way to go girls!

Ok, I’m off to bed and hoping to wake up with a more energy than I did this morning. I felt like Eeyore, with the little rain cloud following me around. No good!

What am I gonna do if my kids keep joining?! Can you imagine trying to discipline a bunch of kids/young adults who do Boot Camp 5 days a week?! Talk about being overpowered. This could be the start of a mutiny!

Have a great night~

It’s Monday and the week is full of good stuff! Arianna turns 15 today, Maddi turns 14 on Thursday, the kids and Clay are heading out for a trip to his parent’s house later in the week and it’s back to Kraze Boot Camps for me (I think there’s a haircut and some wine and chit chat with a friend thrown in there too!). A good and busy week!

I’m trying to stay focused on all the good things because I’m starting this morning a little tired. Lex was sick last night and it cut into my sleep. Poor lil guy! I’m also worried about going back to Boot Camp and being sore again. I haven’t been sore since Thursday and I’ve enjoyed being able to walk without a waddle. I did stay active, but not nearly at the level of the classes. I walked the 3 littlest Langs thru downtown, on Saturday and yesterday I took a bike ride. I quickly found out that the muscles I’d been using in Boot Camp were not the same muscles it takes to ride a beach cruiser with slightly low tires.

So, here’s to Monday! It’s gonna be a good week full of lots of good stuff!

Happy Birthday Anna! I hope this is a great year!

Having children lends itself to craziness. Not only is my head scattered sometimes, but I find myself saying things that would normally sound totally mad and yet, sometimes, I mean them.

This morning I was walking through the house picking things up in each room and I found an open tube of Ritz crackers in the bathroom. I called out, “who left their crackers in the bathroom?”. Or take yesterday, when Clay couldn’t find his wallet and I said, “Have you looked in the freezer?” I meant it!

Of course there are times I don’t mean what I’m saying, at all. I’ve been known to call the kiddos to dinner by saying such nonsensical phrases as-”Dinner’s ready! Get your pjs on and get in the car”. Somehow, they decipher the code of M.O.M. talk and show up to the kitchen to eat dinner.

I’m fairly certain that most of you mamas out there, find yourself speaking this same language of nonsense and near-madness and that, somehow, everyone understands you and things are successfully done in your home. I take comfort in knowing I’m not alone in this.

So, on with this busy Saturday of cleaning, kid’s sports, events, paperwork, computer work and food prep. I guess it’s time to brush my teeth and go jump on the trampoline…Oh! You know what I mean!

Doing the Dance of the Children With a Scattered Brain and Madness on My Tongue~

Happy Father’s Day to all you Daddies!

We have plenty of reason to celebrate over here today. Not only is it Father’s Day and the kids are handing Clay handmade items from school, a cup of coffee & breakfast in bed, but it’s also JJ’s 18th birthday and he just arrived home last night! Big day of celebrating!

JJ graduated from High School a month ago and then headed off with his classmates and a few chaperones to tackle the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. They made this trek by bike over more than 2 weeks. He brought back a couple of newspaper articles that feature the boys sleeping on the street and singing along the way.

We were happy to get him back last night and we’re anxious to hear all the stories he’ll have to tell about this trip!

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On top of all our celebrating, I’ve got to remember to get to bed at a decent time tonight and pack up my exercise mat, hand-weights and some water because tomorrow I join the fastest growing outdoor boot camp Kraze in San Diego-Kraze Boot Camps! I’m still a little nervous about taking this on and yes, I’m worried about being sore and tired, but I’m also really excited about how I’m going to feel as I move through this program! I’m inviting everyone to come out and join me and so far I’ve got one friendly face that’s decided to take on the challenge of getting into a healthier mindset with me-Kateri! Whoo Hoo!

So Happy Father’s Day and Happy Sunday! To the summer!

Once again I’m Doing the Dance of the Children with all 9 kiddos in the house~

Summer’s peeking around the corner and that means it’s time for the San Diego County Fair!

A couple weeks ago I was invited to pick a day, grab the clan and come check out the fair. Yesterday was the day! We hadn’t visited the fair in a few years and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. What we all found out is that the fair is WAY more than just rides and food! We stayed for nearly 6 hours, but there’s so many great things to do and see that we could go back for a couple more days and have plenty to keep us busy.

Of course, the first thing we did was tour the bathrooms. Seriously, in the first hour the kids requested 3, yes 3, bathroom stops! Luckily they were easy to find and were actually clean. After that trend was over, we rented a wagon, loaded up Gabi and Lex and headed to the fun.

The kids watched sheep getting sheared

We saw sheep that we had never seen before. Check out those dreads!

Cows…

After finding all those bathrooms and checking out the livestock, it was time to decide what to eat. I know that I see dollar signs when I think of feeding my kids at the fair, but for $50 we fed 8 people. And believe me, they ATE!

Max chose a turkey leg (yes, it was shared, but he did a pretty good job of tearing into it)

The corn couldn’t be resisted

Luke-Xavier couldn’t keep away from it! I think he ate more food than any of us.

Even when posing for pictures, he was still eating!

Of course, you can’t go to the fair and NOT try something fried! The girls chose a fried Klondike bar

But the REAL deal of the day was this;

I wouldn’t have guessed that you could find ANYTHING at the fair for $1! Shaved ice was enjoyed by all!

After filling up we checked our program and headed to some fun shows and events. The kids enjoyed a western-themed dog show

We headed to “The Farm” where tons of different fruits and veggies were being grown, a bee hive could be watched and the kids learned about composting.

They were seriously interested in watching all the bugs at work. I was surprised that they didn’t mind the smell!

Then it was onto “The World of Horses” where we met Cisco-a Clydesdale, Rose and Tulip-mini horses and Butterfly-an Appaloosa. The kids got to be hands-on and learned a lot about the horses. Tristan learned to clean hooves, Gabi got to brush Cisco, Max and Lex enjoyed the mini horses and Maddi and Mariah were invited into the pen with Butterfly and her trainer to try giving commands and reward behaviors. They all had a great time and we appreciated all the time that was spent explaining and teaching!

I think that Rose and Tulip were checking Max out more than he was checking them out!

After all that horsing around…we headed over to the children’s area of The Farm. There were TONS of fun and free things for the kids to enjoy

Gabi really liked trying to milk this cow

Lex couldn’t choose which pony to ride, so he grabbed them all and took them through a maze of hay

The kids pitched hay into wheelbarrows and learned about keeping an animal’s area clean

Even the big kids enjoyed the Children’s Area

Mariah tried her hand at roping

Maddi roped Lex

You can imagine how much Gabi and Max enjoyed “making music” with all of these old parts!

There’s a huge tent set up with lots of great activities. It’s a great place to sit for awhile, let the kids play and to get out of the sun

I walked around and enjoyed all the artwork from the local schools. My favorite was this patchwork USA project

It was time to gather everyone up and head home but we HAD to stop for a pic with the monster truck.

We had a GREAT time at the fair! Grab your sunscreen, comfortable shoes, some bottles of water and plan a day!

We’re glad we did!

Only 2 more 1/2 days at school and then we’re callin’ it summer! I can’t wait! I love summer and being able to be on my own schedule (ok, in reality I only FEEL like I’m on my own schedule. The kids really rule the hours. But I LIKE feeling like I’m in charge). In preschool, we enjoyed a Luau themed party and activities for the last 2 days and for the next 2, it’ll be Pajama Party themed. This means popcorn and movies and lots of lil kiddos in pjs. Gabi and Lex are looking forward to it.

I heard from JJ this morning. Yea! There hadn’t been any word since the boys left for their pilgrimage, more than 2 weeks ago. But he said he was in Spain and was doing well, just tired. They’ll be back in the States on Thursday and he’ll be home for the summer on Saturday. I can’t wait to hear the stories from that trip!

Tomorrow, after work, I’m grabbing most of the kids and heading to the San Diego County Fair. We haven’t been in a few years, so I’m looking forward to checking it out!

I guess I better call it a night. With Slumber Parties and The Fair looming, I’m gonna need my rest!

Good night~

What a great weekend! All the prep work, stress and busyness of the last week paid off. The girls memory boards were done for Memory Lane, they attended their luncheon, last dance of the year and 2 of the 3 graduation parties that are scheduled. The last party is later this week. Family and friends were on hand to celebrate with them and we had a great family dinner at one of our favorite sushi restaurants.

Whew! I’m glad it’s over and that it was all good for them. Now they have a week off and then it’s into their high school uniforms and off to summer school. I have math books to order tomorrow. It just never ends!

On news of my other graduate-JJ, I do believe the boys are finishing up their pilgrimage and heading back to the U.S. in a few days. He will be home for the summer, this weekend. I can’t wait to hear about the amazing journey that he and his fellow classmates went on. I can only imagine the stories that 16 boys, on bikes, for about 1,000 miles thru Spain and France are going to have.

For my 4 youngest kiddos there is one more week of school. So, regular bedtimes and wake-up routines until Friday when we can throw up our hands and welcome summer. I can’t wait!

Here’s to the last week of this school year.

Doing the Dance of the Children with My Eyes on the Beach~

The last couple of days have been consumed with all things, 8th grade graduation. I’m still working on the girls’ memory boards and have until this afternoon to be finished. Then they go onto Memory Lane, where each of the graduates has all their special items set up for all to see.

This week is filled to the brim with kid stuff. Yesterday the 8th grade went to Disneyland. After school, today, many of them will head to Soak City. Tomorrow is the dance and then a party. Whew! By Friday we will all be more-than-ready to have graduation and call it quits.

I managed to grab a couple hours, yesterday, to take Gabi to a friends’ house to be outfitted for a Poodle Skirt. The preschoolers have a special Father’s Day performance on Friday and Gabi is the lucky recipient of a fancy, new skirt. It turned out SO cute!

Such a busy week! I love projects, but I hate deadlines! I’ll be glad when these boards are finished up and the girls have graduated. Then the work of getting them set up to start high school begins.

Doing the Dance of the Children, One Project at a Time~

For the last 3 days I’ve been browsing craft stores and sitting, for hours, at my computer, pouring over pictures of Arianna and Maddi. All of this in the effort to get started on their 8th grade, graduation, memory boards.

Did I wait until days before they were due because I didn’t know what to do or what to expect? Heck no! These are the 4th and 5th boards I’ve done and a year ago, when they finished 7th grade, I told myself I should start prepping the photos so I wouldn’t be rushed or anxious. Ha! It’s just that everything got away from me (whine, whine, whine, excuse, excuse, excuse). I was single-parenting, due to deployment and I spent the summer days keeping the kids busy. The nights were spent trying to catch up around the house and to get a little sleep. Then the Fall came and I went to work (more excuses). I spent each day juggling school, housework, sports and a work schedule. Then February arrived and my brother came to stay. Life got a little easier. I looked around at all I was behind on, thought of the girls’ graduations that were merely months away and did another load of laundry.

Fast forward to the first weekend of June…Uh…it’s time!

This week is a little crazy and I’m feeling overwhelmed. But, the girls will graduate. The boards will be done. Life will move on.

So-deep breath and a glass of water for this M.O.M. and tomorrow I will tackle a little more. And hopefully I’ll learn from my great dislike of anxious feelings and not do something like this again…

Somehow I have a feeling I’ll be writing like this again. There are lessons we just don’t learn.

Doing the Dance of the Children~

It’s been 2 weeks since JJ graduated from High School and only a few days afterward, he and his class, along with a few chaperones, got on a plane headed for Spain. Each person was outfitted with a new bike and a few essentials for the long road ahead of them. They are heading out for a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

This journey takes them through Spain and into France. I have to admit that, even though I’d heard about the trip for a whole year, I hadn’t given it much thought. Sure, I took him to the post office to get his passport and I sent money for the new bike, but I hadn’t looked into the route or researched the journey. I knew that the Senior classes before JJ’s had done this trip and that it was a wonderful experience.

Yesterday I finally sat down at the computer and typed “Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela” into my Google search box. I was fascinated with what I read and saw! An excerpt from the book,
Pilgrimage to the End of the World states-”A satellite image of the pilgrimage routes provides a little reality check to the bland abstractions of a traditional map. But even this isn’t enough to convey the toughness of the trail. The daunting mountain ranges of the Pyrenees and the Cantabrians speak clearly enough of the great challenges the pilgrim must overcome.” I’m in awe of these boys, on bikes and with little in their pockets, taking on this trek!

There’s been no word from the boys, so I’m going with the phrase, “No news is good news” and trusting that all is going well. I can’t wait for JJ’s return home so that we can hear all about this adventure, both spiritually and physically. I’m just more proud and pleased than I can convey that the boys are having this experience!

I truly hope that each of my children gets to embark on experiences like this one!

Doing the Dance of the Children and hoping to foster their dreams and nurture their souls~

This morning Luke-Xavier (4 yrs. old) comes in a asks if it’s a school day. I told him it wasn’t. Then he asked if we had church. I told him there was no church and no school, that it was Saturday. He went running to Gabi (5 yrs. old) and excitedly exclaims, “Gabi there’s no school and no church today. No nuffing! We can just watch Smurfs (they just recently discovered them) and do nuffing!”.

Ah…to be a lil kiddo, enjoying a Saturday, again. Little do they know that those Saturdays of doing “nuffing” are fleeting.

So, while Gabi and Lex do “nuffing” today, M.O.M. will be catching up on laundry and paperwork and tackling the things needed for the girls’ graduation.

Happy Saturday! Try to find a moment to “do nuffing”~

This afternoon Luke-Xavier and I had some “mommy and me” time. We had to stop at the grocery store and after shopping I held his little hand and we walked across the parking lot. He spotted a mom, with a baby in a front-carrier, loading groceries into her car. Here is the conversation that followed-

Luke-Xavier-”That mommy has a baby. She’s carrying her funny.”
Me-”That’s how I used to carry my babies, in a front carrier. I carried a lot of babies that way.”
Luke-Xavier-”You carried me that way because I was your baby.”
Me-”That’s right.”
Luke-Xavier-”…and Tristan and Max and Gabi were all your babies.”
Me-”yep, all of you.”
Luke-Xavier-”But I was the leader of the babies. I cracked first. Then I looked inside and I saw Tristan, Max and Gabi.”
Me-”You ‘cracked first’?”
Luke-Xavier-”Yes, my egg cracked first, so I was the leader.”
Me-”I thought you were each in my tummy on your own and I didn’t know you were inside an egg.”
Luke-Xavier-”Yes, we were in eggs. God put them there.”
Me-”What about Kateri, JJ, Mariah, Anna and Maddi?”
Luke-Xavier-”They’re big kids. Big kids weren’t babies….were they?!”

Gotta love the way kids make sense of it all.

Doing the Dance of the Children, one cracked egg at a time~

My M.O.M. brain is overloaded with end-of-the-school-year obligations and projects and the prep that goes into 8th grade graduation…x2! I’ve written my list and I’m adding to it all the time. Little by little I’m getting things crossed off, which keeps me from freaking out about all that’s on that stinkin’ list.

One of the items that I’m having trouble with is pulling a funny M.O.M. story from out of the depths of my overworked brain. I know I’ve had plenty of laugh-worthy experiences and that I’ve blogged about the things that could only happen because I’m dragging a bunch o’ kiddos behind me somewhere. But if you think I could come up with even one such story…when I’m being asked for it…forget it!

This is where you come in. If you’ve followed the blog and can think of a story that made you chuckle or if you know me and my family and can jog my brain on a funny experience you’ve witnessed, could you share it with me? I’ve been asked to share one of my funny experiences of being a Mommy of Many™ for an interview and well…nothin’!

Alright then, while I have you all picking your brains for something I can share, I’m going to go back to the scanner, printer, photo albums and the memory boards. Anna and Maddi graduate next Friday and I need to pull out the creativity to make these boards something they’re going to be happy with and that represents each of them accurately.

I’ll be happy when this school year is over and I can catch my breath during summer. Though that thought is a bit silly because the minute summer starts, I have to start thinking about getting everyone set up for next year…~sigh~

Doing the Dance of the Children and hoping not to miss a step~

The long weekend is over. Back to the regular routine. I have to admit that I’m SO ready for summer to be here. It seems weird that 2 of my kids have finished up their school years, but that the rest are still at it. Now that Kateri has returned from Gaming, JJ has graduated and is on his European, biking trek, one sister has moved to San Diego and I got to have a weekend of visiting family and friends, I’m ready to forget the daily grind and move into bbq and beach mode. Soon! But before that can happen I have to finish up all the details for my 2, 8th grade graduates. The rest of this week will be a frenzy of memory-board building. I better make sure my printer is full of ink and that my scanner is ready to work overtime.

I hope you each enjoyed the long weekend. I know we did!

Now, back to Doing the Dance of the Children~