Mommy of Many®

After sharing all my unnecessary worry with all of you yesterday, I thought I’d give you a visual of how our day ended up.

Many thanks to an Easter Angel who decided that the kids should, indeed, have chocolate bunnies in their baskets! A small gesture, but it made a difference. Thanks!

Gabi’s sign for everyone

The Lil kiddos were up, more than an hour, before the older kiddos. They tore into their baskets while I reminded them to whisper because not everyone wants to wake up at 5am, even for Easter baskets.

Max with the (required) Hops and Lays Gumball Eggs, Chicken. Mr Bunny started putting these in a few years ago and now Max expects them. It wouldn’t be Easter without it!

Gabi, happily showing off her loot.

The baskets of all those still sleeping.

The boys, dressed and ready for church.

After church everyone enjoyed their Bunny Pops. Couldn’t get everyone to pose for the pic, but you get the idea.

Uncle Ted spent the day with us.

After I got dinner in the oven, I took the 4 lils to the park while everything cooked.

My Gabi-girl, having fun.

Me, sitting at the park while dinner’s cooking. Gabi decided to be a photographer. I have several pics of the play structure and the sand (I’ll be happy to share them upon request).

Me and Gabi before we headed back to the house for dinner.

After dinner I offered pedicures to the girls (not that the boys couldn’t join in if they wanted) and everyone got to have fun with sparklers that their dad brought back from Mississippi.

A good day!

I hope you each had a peaceful and blessed Easter.

Doing the Dance of the Children-One Day At-A-Time~

Easter’s my favorite holiday. I LOVE the Springtime, the bright colors, the celebration of what’s new and new beginnings. But this year I’m having a tough time with the fact that tomorrow morning will be here and I’m unprepared. I’m mourning the fact that my older kids can’t be here and that there’s no family around to gather with, put together a nice meal and share the day.

When Clay retired in December, he was fortunate enough to get a flying job the following week. The job is based out of MIssissippi. He’s been traveling back and forth every since. While it’s a blessing to get work so quickly, he took a significant pay cut and with the added travel expenses things have been more than tight.

So with Easter coming in the morning I find myself saddened by the fact that I couldn’t bring my older kids home. That I can’t buy all the foods that would put a “special, holiday” meal on the table and that I can’t do any more than have the kids dye eggs and put the filled plastic eggs into their baskets. No chocolate bunnies. No little toys. Yes, we will still have a special day and they will get woken up before dawn to run outside and gather the filled eggs. I’m not asking for pity, I’m just getting this out of my head and heart and written down because I need to stop the crying today and go get some stuff done. I need to pull out the clothes and make sure they’re clean and ironed and that the socks match and that Mommy can put on a happy face and be excited to color the eggs with everyone this afternoon.

I’m just lamenting what lack of money prevents.

Doing the Dance of the Children

It’s been a FULL day!

We had a half day of school and a regular day of work before we could declare ourselves on Easter Break. Then we waited around for Tristan’s flute lesson, picked Arianna up from a sleepover, got Mariah to a Dr. appt, took Maddi to a friend’s house, went to the park where I borrowed Tristan’s bike and rode as fast as I could while the 4 youngest chased me (this didn’t last long!), headed to Starbucks for hot chocolate, said our evening prayers, discussed what we will do for Good Friday (and why) and headed to bed.

Easter’s my FAVORITE holiday! I love Spring, so I love all the decor around Easter. But there’s something about the early-morning Easter Bunny’s visit that makes me happy. I love the new dresses and shoes and freshness to all the Easter brings and I love the idea of new beginnings.

Here’s to a prayerful and thoughtful Good Friday and all the fun that Saturday will bring with egg-dying and basket-stuffing. And here’s to waking the kids up on Easter morn and making them go outside before daybreak, in their pj’s to hunt for eggs! Yes!

Doing the Dance of the Children~

A few years back, the decision was made that it was best that the food cabinets in the kitchen have the ability to be locked. Too many times I would walk into the kitchen to find various containers of dry items, spilled on the floor or that toddlers had helped themselves to the contents of the chocolate chip container. So, magnetic child locks were purchased and installed. The “key” to the locks was strategically placed where we could easily get to it.

Easy solution to the problem of the scavenging toddlers…right? Sure!…as long as the “key” never gets misplaced or ends up on the INSIDE of the cabinet before it gets shut. Honestly, we’ve probably gone through a dozen “keys” and jimmied the cabinet open with butter knives and many mumbled curse words.

For the last few months we’ve just left the cabinets in the unlocked mode and trusted that at 5 and nearly 4, the littlest of the Langs have learned what they are allowed and not allowed to get into. I’m not sure what happened, but yesterday afternoon I came home to find that the cabinet that holds all cereal and snacks had been locked. I reached for the “key”. Hmmm…not there. I moved a few things for a better look. Nope, not there. I went to the junk drawer. Nope! I looked in jars and bowls, drawers and under the fridge. No luck. Maddi bent a butter knife and started the process of trying to break in. No luck. So, we left it alone and decided there wasn’t anything we needed from the cupboard for the evening.

This morning I went out to the kitchen, and went to open it, only to be reminded that tot locks are also adept at keeping adults out of things. Back to the butter knife. Back to the rummaging for the “key”. My best solution is going to be a trip to Target to purchase another “key”. However, the peanut butter, crackers, nuts, snack mix and cereal are all locked inside that cupboard. At this point it looks like school lunches are going to consist of bread with butter, canned fruit and water.

Wish me luck on handing those lunch boxes over with a smile.

I suppose I could always play the “Lent” card. “Hey, it’s Holy Week and we’re fasting. Offer it up.”

Have a great day~

It’s been Go! Go! Go! at the Lang house for the last week.  All the kiddos were home so that we could celebrate Easter as a “whole” family (in Max’s words).  We had 5 days together before Kateri had to head back to school.  We are lucky enough to have JJ for a few more days.  The little kids really get a lot out of having the oldest kids home.  And I must say that Kateri and JJ do a great job of making sure to give the little kids extra attention, when they are home. Here are some pictures and descriptions of what’s kept the Lang Clan busy over the last week-

This pair of ducks showed up last week and the kids have been enjoying them, ever since.  They spend the day resting on our front lawn.  They wander the neighborhood for their daily exercise and then show up at our front door to let the kids know they’d like some more attention.  It’s been a lot of fun for the kids!

JJ loaded up the 4 youngest kiddos and took them on a bike ride to the store for kites.  Then he took them to an open area (not pictured) to fly them.  Here, one of them is being flown over our house.

Kateri and JJ helping the kite back into the air.

We attended an Easter party and egg hunt at a local park.

Luke-Xavier finding eggs

Gabi, on the run to find some eggs!

Max’s, Happy Egg Hunting face!

Clay with some of the kids and a friend, goofing around at the park.

The younger kids enjoyed coloring eggs to give to the Easter Bunny.  Kateri lent a hand and the ducks came to keep an eye on things.

Of course there was Easter, itself.  It’s a time of celebration and remembrance for us.  We attended Easter Sunday Liturgy and then went to one of our favorite places, The Island Club, for brunch.  It was a beautiful day!  We really could not have asked for better weather!

The kids woke to their filled baskets.

JJ and Tristan helped to serve Easter Liturgy

The whole Lang Clan on Easter Sunday.  It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to have everyone together!  With Clay’s upcoming deployment, this will have been the last time that the family was able to be together for a little more than a year.  So, we took the time to enjoy it!

As you can see, it’s been a flurry of activity at the Lang house.  I love it!

Have a great day~

Happy Easter!

I’m exhausted from a day of beautiful weather and enjoying the family.  The prep work to make this day happen has caught up with me.  After 4, separate, dress-shopping trips and countless trips to various stores for basket fillers, I’m happy that the day was enjoyed by all.  But now I’m listening to the vacuum as it struggles to pick up the mess of Easter grass that’s been left on the living room floor and I’m ready to start the week of Spring Break that’s ahead.  

I hope it’s been a beautiful and blessed day for each of you! 

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A bright and blessed Easter to each of you!  

The Easter bunny has visited and the younger kids are enjoying their baskets.  I’m trying to pry the older kids out of bed so that everyone can find the eggs that the bunny has left.  Wish me luck!  

Many pictures and stories of this day to follow.

Happy Easter~