Coda: What Else Happens While I'm Blogging...Yikes!

Here's the damage from today's post, the one that ended with "I just overheard the following from the bedroom, 'Abby, hold still so I can cut your pony tail!'"

I'm not a hairdresser by any stretch of the imagination, but at least my skills surpass those of a certain 4-year-old who shall remain nameless.

So, does your family have a DIY haircut story?

What Happens While I'm Blogging

I like to think that I'm in control of things around this house.  I like to keep things in order and I don't like it when unexpected "messes" happen.  This morning, however, I have been faced with yet another opportunity to practice love, joy, peace, and patience in the parenting journey.

This morning I was slow to get out of bed when my kids were quick to do the same, and I've also been attempting to write a blog post.  The combination of these things meant that the kids served themselves breakfast (thankfully, they have experience getting breakfast ready and did not leave the floor covered in cereal) and are now working hard on a "project".

Here's a look at what happens while I'm writing (or attempting to write):

Yes, that's right, folks.  Under Joshua's fearless leadership, the kids are making a mess practicing their fine motor skills by very carefully cutting out scraps of construction paper.


I'm glad for the creativity.  I'm glad for their communal effort and teamwork.  I'm glad that they are having good attitudes.  And I'm glad that they are practicing some fine motor skills.  But can I be really honest, here?  This stresses me out!!!

It's just a big mess of paper!  Oh...and a pile of books and school supplies that are now out of place.  At least that's how I saw it at first, but upon further inspection I have come to find out that the pile of paper is really a tomb.  Yep...the kids are teaching their own hands-on Bible lesson, because of course this tomb is from the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.  They are even cutting out crosses to go along with it...and that is taking care of Abby's toddler school lesson about shapes.  Even as I type, Joshua has shown me the angel, cross, and tomb he drew and cut out to use as props for his Bible lesson to Hannah and Abby.  They are now assembling in Joshua's bedroom to sit under his teaching about Jesus' death and resurrection.  Maybe it's not just a big mess after all!

Normally I would just react to a situation like this.  And the reaction would be far from pretty.  Today I'm thankful to have taken a step back, learned the kids' true intentions, and taken time to decide how and with what attitude I will respond.  I may, however, leave blogging for nap/rest time from now on, especially since I just overheard the following from the bedroom, "Abby, hold still so I can cut your pony tail!"  Ummm...apparently lots of practice in a patient response is needed today!!!

What messes projects have your kids initiated this week?  How did you respond?

Friday Funnies - First Installment

Welcome to Friday Funnies, where I post some of those funny things said/done by the kids throughout the week.  This week I only bothered to get the pencil and paper out (a new concept for me) mid-week.  Here's what I heard and saw.  Hope you enjoy!


All three kids at some point or another during the week were singing,
"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.
Merry, merry, merry, merry life is quite a dream."

During Bible reading, Hannah leans over to Claude, looks intently at his face, and then declares, "Daddy, there's hair growing out of your nose. [pause] And look! There's boogers growing out of my nose!"

A conversation:
Me: Abby, did you go poo-poo?
Abby: Yep.  And I'm hiding my legs in my poo-poo.
Me: Really?
Abby: Yeah.  Sometimes I just do dat.
Ummmm....okay???

A very honest observation from Hannah: I like to call Joshua "Boshua" because he likes to boss me around.  [laughs]
And then later we overheard her singing the following: Good night my Boss Man, good night my love.  [giggles]  Sleep tight my Boss Man, sleep tight my love.  [more giggles]

Abby: Dat's my bike helmet to keep my head safed so it doesn't fall off.

Hannah: Mmmm!  Wet Cheerios!  [bends down and picks up Cheerios from floor, puts in mouth, smiles]

Claude and I were trying to figure out some challenges in Jeremiah's feeding.  Jeremiah is nursing, so some of the conversation had to do with me - his primary source of food.
Claude, to me: Maybe you're body is just changing.
Joshua, to me: Mommy, when you're body changes that means you're getting old.
Thanks, buddy!

Joshua: Hey, I have an idea.  How 'bout after I finish my chili I could have some...ICE CREAM!  [laughs]

Joshua: How come there are no steam trains?  Are they extinct?

Joshua doesn't like being left alone at the kitchen table, so this morning when he found himself alone he called out to Hannah, "Hannah!  COME BACK HERE!!!"
Hannah, being as gracious as she is quickly stood up and said, "Oh, I'd better go out there.  He needs me."

And, last but not least...
Abby is currently infatuated with tools.  This may be inspired in part by Joshua receiving a tool bench with some pretty cool battery operated tools for Christmas.  Since he has new ones, Abby has inherited the old tools.  However, she doesn't have enough hands to carry around a drill, hammer, screwdriver, and saw, and neither does she have a tool belt.  So, she does what any sensible girl without a tool belt (or pockets, for that matter) would do - she stuffs them down her pants.


So, what funny things have your kids said or done this week?

Plans vs. Reality

I like to plan.  I plan out schedules and meals, shopping lists and household organization.  I used to plan out my life months and even years ahead of time.  You can just imagine how all of that has worked out!  Currently, I am a planner who is stretching my flexibility muscles a little (or a lot) more every day.

Today being the first real day of the new year I had some plans of getting off to what I thought would be a good start - earlier wake up, earlier start to school for the day, etc.  Needless to say, things have not gone according to plan.  Here's how today has worked out so far...

I hoped to wake up early this morning so that I could be dressed and ready for the day before the kids woke up.  Instead, I was woken up by two screaming kids who needed more sleep.  I obliged.  Minutes later, a third kiddo came to the bed grumpy as anything.  He also needed more sleep.  Again, I obliged.  And we all slept soundly until 9:17am.

I hoped to start school by 9:30am this morning so that we could have our lessons finished before leaving for the baby's check-up this afternoon.  Instead, we took our time getting dressed, brushing hair, and eating breakfast.  Everyone was ready to start school at 10:30am.  Everyone except for the baby, that is.  He needed to nurse.  I obliged.

I hoped to push back school time to 11:00am.   But the baby is still nursing and it's already 11:30am 12:00pm.  The bigger three, after a handful of meltdowns and arguments, are happily stuffing their Christmas stockings with toilet paper and maxi pads playing.  At this rate we will have to start getting ready for the baby's check-up before we ever gather around our school table.

*Deep breath*  Releasing old plans.  Releasing revised plans.  Releasing the ideal that life should follow any of my plans.  Preparing to be flexible.

New plan for today: Stop planning to make plans that have to be changed into new plans that never work out as I planned.

So, how do you navigate your day?  If you're at home with littles, what's your compass for deciding when to plan, when to hold to the plan, when to throw the plan out, or when to just go with the flow?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

We had fun ringing in the new year complete with the entire crew eating bowls of cereal at 11:30pm, family Bible time in Daddy and Mommy's bed (yes, we were up until midnight), and a New Year's brunch of chocolate waffles and ice cream (yes, we did feed that to our kids...at 1pm...and no, they didn't eat breakfast before that).  We also had fun catching up with an old friend and making a new friend this afternoon.

Last night, over our midnight snack, I asked the kids what they would always remember from 2012 and here's what they said:

Joshua:
...Watching fireworks.
...Having our last ride on the subway.
...Driving across the Mississippi River.
...Packing to move.

Hannah:
...Playing at the Dietsch's.
...Buying the van.
...Packing everything.  "We had to squish the beds in [the trailer] 'cause they were too big!"

Abby:
..."We watched fireworks in Texas.  Yeah, in Houston in Texas."
I asked her three times, each time she gave this same response.  Apparently last night's fireworks made an impression on her!

Claude and I have a bit better long-term memories, so we'll write another post with our response to "What will you always remember from 2012?".

Looking at these photos I realize that we probably look outrageously happy.  Don't get me wrong, we're happy and blessed.  But let's be realistic...4 kids stayed up past midnight.  You know we had some pretty crazy moments around here today!  Keep reading and you'll hear plenty about the nitty gritty of life with a handful of little blessings.  For now, let's pretend that we never stop smiling.  :)

So, how did you celebrate the new year?  Staying up late?  Going to bed early?  Exceedingly unhealthy brunch food?

Why are there Chopsticks in the Bathroom?

Yes, that is a picture of our toilet.  Yes, that is an unidentified floating object in our toilet.  And yes, I did use chopsticks to remove the aforementioned floating object from our toilet.  But have no fear, both the fluzzy floater and the chopsticks were safely removed...to the trash!

Oh, yeah...this is our first post, isn't it?  And it does have to do with the toilet.  I suppose all of my pondering about the first post has been in vain.  If you don't have kids yet, just consider this an introduction to life with small children.  And if you do have kids, I know you need no introductions from me.  Sometimes they put things in the toilet that should not be flushed - like pom-poms from last week's Sunday School craft...

So, what non-flushable items have you fished out of your toilet bowl lately?  And how did you get them out if the water was, shall we say, gross?  (Please note, the photos are black and white for a reason.)