A Moment To Go Back To

Do you have those moments in your life that you go back to at random times and they just make you smile no matter what else is going on?  I have been blessed to have many of these moments in my life, but a couple of them stand out even more than others.
A few days ago, when I was searching for a particular photo, I came across this video that captures one of those moments for me.  I was about half way through my twin pregnancy, we had moved out of our home in Illinois and hadn't sold it, so we were living with my in-laws.  Life was in limbo in every direction I looked but one.  I was certain of our family.  The "going to be" five of us were certain.
This video was taken at a friends wedding and it was just one of those times that all else around me melted away and I watched my little girl twirl and dance.  Skyla was just over two years old here and in that transition from chubby baby cheeks to little girl.  So precious.
This is one of those times I will always carry with me.

The Lion, The man and the Masquerade

As we head out of the door for the Masquerade celebration, for the children’s ministry at our church, we realized we didn’t have any masks.  So, in our typical fashion we improvised.  The girls grabbed dresses and I decorated their hair with colorful ribbons and figured they would have masks there to decorate and use.  My husband Brian, however, would not waiver and searched the house for something he could wear.  After sifting through the very large dress up bin of ours he found the plush lion mask.  I have no idea how he fit it around his extra large head, but he did and he wore it proud with a grin from ear to ear.  That is Brian.  We didn’t have time to stop and get me a mask, but I did forget to change from my slippers to my actual shoes before we left the house!  So, I was dressed up with colorful tendrils and …fuzzy slippers.

When we got there Brian was eating up the looks and comments he was getting and the girls looked adorable with their dresses trailing behind them as they ran through the halls. 

The dinner was delicious, the music was fun, the conversation was great.  But, the excitement of the evening peaked when they came and presented Brian with “Best Mask of the Evening” award.  He just looked at me with eyes that said, “See, I told you so!  Yay ME!” 

That is Brian, crazy and all.  He holds this award in high regard and feels like a King today as he sips from his prize goblet.

Great Wolf Never Fails

For a little mini vacation for the family Brian and I treated the girls to a night at Great Wolf Lodge in Cincinnati as a Valentine’s gift.  We hadn’t been in a couple of years and so their little memories were fuzzy, but Great Wolf proved to be a great time once again.

We went on a week day night when the girls, fortunately, had some time off of school.  This, I would recommend to anyone going because the weekends there can get crazy and with little ones it is a lot harder to keep track of them in a sea of brightly colored suits.  From the moment you walk in the fun starts.

The lobby is fun!

 

The rooms are even fun!

We started in the water park and played and played.  Every inch of the place was memorized before we left that night.

Going back to the room, we got dressed and headed to dinner and to watch the bedtime story show with the girls. 

(Note: This is what happens when a short wife hugs her tall husband when she is still wearing a wet bathing suit)

You would think they would be exhausted after all of this because WE sure were, but with all six of us staying in one room for a special night there is only one solution.  MOVIE NIGHT!  We watched Rio for the first time and it was really good.  We all laughed and enjoyed it.  We lost Journey and Lana toward the end, but Trinity and Skyla held their eyes open until the credits rolled.

We packed breakfast for the room and then headed for some arcade action and the pool again before checking out and leaving. 

SO much fun.  SO many good memories.  SO many firsts for the girls.  They all went on some big water slides and Skyla was able to go on the adult ones because she is such a tall little monkey.  We had friends that we saw there and splashed with too.  If you ask the girls what their favorite part was though?  The hot tub was the unanimous answer.  Go figure!

I loved it and I can’t wait to go back again.  Until next time.   Awooooooooo…….!

Check out the video's in the top section!

Snapshots

This moment is brought to you with fun and smiles.  My mom used to play with me on her feet all the time when I was a kid and toss me around and my kids love it too.  I get double duty though and the task of finding new and somewhat safe ways I can lift all four into the air at the same time!  So far, no broken bones!  

Candy Rocks!

This was the exciting title of Skyla’s science fair project this year.  After going through many, many choices and ideas we ended up making rock candy for three weeks straight.  There was time spent on research, experiments, data collection and design of project.  It all turned out well, but I will admit I did a little happy dance when it disappeared out of my door last Wednesday. 

(This is what we use shot glasses for in our house these days...  to grow sugar crystals!)

The after school Science Fair was this past Monday and oh what a night it is.  A night for the children to show off their hard work, for parents to be proud and secretly show off their hard work and for adults to be completely humbled by the projects of the middle school students whose titles sometimes need an interpreter. 

 

It was a great time though and it was fun to see all of the great ideas these little minds have.  The middle school puts on an interactive science fair in the cafeteria each year and this year the theme was candy!  The more the better.  Everywhere you looked there were bowls of candy, sheets of cookies, tubes of icing, plates of treats and all sorts of different thing to earn them or play with them.  There were actually signs advertising candy to entice little sticky fingers to come and play. 

(The girls are making cookies decorated as different cell types of the body)

(Journey and Skyla enjoying their assorted marshmallow and Twizzlers DNA helix)

We left the science fair experience this year with a clear idea of sugar crystals, how they grow and their history.  We also left with exhaustion, a sense of accomplishment, scientific morsels from all areas of the subject and belly aches from far too much fun.  Home for some saltine crackers, cheese and almonds so mommy can sleep knowing I at least tried to mask the fact that they had sugar for dinner and then off to bed.

Goodbye science fair 2012 and onto Pterodactyls for the diorama project due next week.  

Happy Hearts Day!!

Happy Hearts Day!

Though, in the past, this time of year has seemed like we were going at a sluggish pace, this year we are blazing like cheetahs through the days.  We have been SO busy and just trying to keep up with all of the projects, events and deadlines.  Valentine’s Day fell right in the middle of crazy this year, but we did, somehow, manage to remember what the day is about. 

Starting back in the beginning of February I organized a Valentine’s event for the multiples club I am involved in.  The day turned out to be a great time and many children and parents came out to enjoy. 

Of course, no Valentine’s Day is complete without the plethora of school valentine cards that need made!  This year I found “Make your own Candy Bracelets”.  They were complete with a food coloring marker and everything.  My first thought was to make them all and put each child’s initials on them and staple them to the handmade cards we were making.  Cute right?  Well, before you agree let me tell you that my 4 year olds each had 5 to make and my 6 year old had 42 to make.  I know, I know… but, I thought it would be nice.  My husband quickly gave me one of those “Are you out of you flippin’ mind” looks and said we should just staple them on the handmade cards and that he would make a little sign that read “make your own candy bracelet”.  After spending about 2 hours on this process alone I groveled and thanked him for his reasonable thinking skills. 

The girls did make one each for themselves though and they loved them.

Valentine’s morning Daddy woke up Skyla with roses, gave me gifts and roses and then handed out roses to his other ladies when we met him for lunch.  So fun.  The girls marched into lunch each carrying a bag for their daddy filled with some of his favorite things. 

We hugged, we laughed, we shopped and had a great dinner all together. 

I hope you had a beautiful Valentine’s Day with those you love!

Time To Go Shopping?

How many different shoes do you wear? 

(Just an FYI that is is not my shoe collection!  Maybe one day I will have this much variety, but for this point in my life it is boot, tennis shoe or slip-on.)

I can tell you that if I had as many actual shoes as I had shoes to fill in my life I would be sporting a Beyonce size closet.  For me there is the spouse, the parent, the driver, the school volunteer, the church volunteer, the club volunteer, the friend, the sister, the daughter, the neighbor, the organizer and the homemaker shoes and within each of those there are different models and styles and more I am forgetting right now I am sure.  But, my point is that at some point we have to go through our proverbial closet and see what needs to be retired and then we can see what is new out there to gain fun and excitement to your collection again. 

So... first, sit down and think of all the responsibilities you have.  Now, some are inherent and you can’t run away from (no matter how much we want to in some moments!), but some you can cut loose if they are causing you strife and anxiety in your life and you have long forgotten why you signed up for them in the beginning.  You are not doing the organization or others any favors doing a job you don’t have a drive for any longer.  Somebody else can step up and do the job that has a spark for it and can deliver to it what it deserves and needs.  Start to think of all those things that take you away from the direction you want things to be going.  I am not saying up and quit, unless you are in dyer need, but, let the position run its course and don’t renew.

We all have gifts and talents of some kind.  (Yes YOU do…don’t argue!)  So, isn’t the world a better place when we align those gifts with tasks that compliment them?  Aren’t you in better spirits when you are contributing your talents to a cause that you are encouraged by?  This then reflects in the family life as well, because happy people are contagious.  It’s true. 

Sometimes you can give the worn out shoes to a friend who fits them better and can even spruce them up.  But, sometimes, you just have to take them to goodwill and wash your hands of them.  You can hope that someone is going to come in, see those shoes and fall in love with them with great enthusiasm. 

After you have purged the closet you can be content with your current collection, or, if you are feeling up to it, you can go shopping!  Look around in all the new places that you haven’t peeked in before and see if something catches your eye.  There are so many things you could do with yourself.  Take a new kind of class and learn something, start a new hobby, join another organization that you feel passionate about or get more involved in one of your current positions.  SO many possibilities, but only so much “you” that you can give.  Make the most of that precious thing called time and make it count.

Every once in a while, we just need to open the closet and see what is there.  You would be amazed how amazing it is to get rid of the old and shabby and find something new!

This Is The LAST Time!

I have done this three times before and let me tell you…  it does not get any easier.  What am I talking about??? 

POTTY TRAINING!

I have done this a hand full of times now and every child is so different.   Journey is no exception.  She turned two in October of last year and so it is time to start this process and she needs to be all ready for school to start in the fall.  So, here we go.  The endless asking “do you have to go potty?”, the long visits while I sit on the bathroom floor, the pull ups, the accidents, the loss of convenience and the slow gain of independence. 

I try to use positive reinforcements and I have done all sorts of things while potty training my crew.  I can’t say any one thing works best because what worked for one did not for the other.  It is a game of what can I find that matters enough to her to be a big enough positive reward.  I have a painful feeling in my stomach that this one will be my most challenging game yet.

BUT, this is the last time I have to do this.  I will triumph… eventually, and my goal is to keep this whole thing as positive as I possibly can.  It will come with time and there is no pressure. Right? 

Wish me luck!!!

Unicorns, Dragons and Money Trees

This is a hot topic in my house right now for many reasons, but money is many times a difficult subject for children to grasp.  The subject is difficult for many adults to grasp as well, for that matter, including myself for a time.

In the past I have overheard my own children saying, “just put that card through the machine and then they will give it to us”, or ”If you don’t have any money, just go to that other machine and press the buttons and money will come out for us.”  I understand where they get these ideas from because that is exactly what it looks like, but not at all the way the real world of money works… unfortunately.  The money tree and magic money machines, fall into the same category with all those other mythical things we wish existed. 

So, what can we do as parents to help our children understand the value of money?  For us, it was simple… give them some! I have often heard the recommendation of a dollar, per year of age, every week.  Skyla , our oldest, is the only one we have done this for so far with any degree of consistency.  With her money she has three choices.  She can save it, spend it, or donate it.  She is not a huge spender and so most of it is saved or donated and she can determine the percentage.  And yes, she, on her own, chooses to donate a good portion of her money to our church or other organizations around town.

You can also help your children understand money by explaining it to them.  When you are shopping explain how much things cost and what prices add up to.  Set up a budget with them when they want to go shopping.  They catch on quick that the more things they put into their little hands, the more money goes out of their hands until it is gone and they can get no more.     

Be a good role model for them!  To say we have been umm… tight with funding… for a number of years would be an understatement.  A bad real estate experience, children’s births, unexpected heart surgery, an astronomical school tuition for one and tuition for three more behind her at another school can send a checkbook to the badlands more often than I would like to mention.  So, when we go to the store we have learned to get what we need and skip over the wants.  Our children see this too and understand that every time we go to a store it isn’t for them to get a toy or treat.  We need things as a family and that is what we are there for.  As a mom there are certain things I will not skimp on and that is our food.  What we put in our bodies impacts everything else going on in our lives, so if we put good in, we can get good back out again in our health, energy and overall well being.  This philosophy is teaching our kids what is important too and how to triage funds for the important things. 

Donating is a part of what we do too because no matter how hard things may have been for us, it is leagues harder for others out there and we need to do our best to help them.  The girls see us saving for donations and giving and understand that good will can make this world smile even in dark times.

Do we ever go on trips or do any extraneous things?  Sure!  We understand the importance of a family get away and that time you can only get when you are separated from the madness.  Are they frequent? No, but they are cherished times.  And sometimes there is a little splurge here and there and they recognize it is something special and extraordinary.

The little ones are the leaders of our future and looking at the way the world is today, I think it best we pass on some lessons that may resonate into the years ahead. 

Good luck with your little bankers!

Sleeping Beauty

At my house every game is somehow turned into a princess trying to flee from some evil person and a prince coming to her rescue.  Thank you Disney and nearly every other fairy tale movie out there! 

This is what I find while putting away laundry one day and I had to capture the moment.  Yes… Journey is Sleeping Beauty in a plastic “under bed” storage case, with couch pillows and blankets awaiting the kiss of her prince, who that day was played by Trinity.  Trinity, while wearing a long flower gown with boots and a doctor overcoat and chef hat, marched up, and with as deep a voice as that little lady can muster, declared her love for the sleeping young lady and kissed her.  Too funny!  I love being able to witness these moments.

  

Talking To the Heart

We were all created differently.  We look different, we think different, we perceive things different and, even though we umbrella classify emotions under static terms like “happy”, “sad”, “frustrated” and “love”, we feel different too.  One person’s trash is another’s treasure, right?  The same can be said for emotions.  What your significant other feels is fine, or even great, can leave you feeling empty and unappreciated. 

I have been married for 10 1/2 years now and together with this man for nearly 15.  You would think I know him well, and I do, but we are still mastering our ways of showing the other our affection and love in a way they perceive it best.  It is harder than you might think.  What one person craves in order to fill their “love bank”, so to speak, could seem like nonsense to the other, or shallow to the other, or it just might not be anywhere on their spectrum of “ways to show how much I care”.

So, www.5lovelanguages.com is a great site that you can go to and both you and your significant other can fill out a short quiz that will compile things to give you an idea of your “Love Language”.  There is a book that has been recommended to me for couples and another for children.  They have expanded to have a dating and work place edition as well if you are interested.  Brian and I took this quiz and I was able to predict his result rankings right away and he was surprised by mine.  Reading through the explanations it was interesting to see what helps a person that speaks each language, but what I found most interesting is what hurts the most for each kind of person.  Of course there are probably a million derivatives of these love languages, and the limited questions on the short quiz do not cover every aspect of our love palate, but it is a good tool for couples to use to start loving each other in a better received way.  It helped me understand Brian a bit better and it helped him discover more about me and what I need.  I am not big on putting out there what I need because I am better at concentrating on what others need more, but for a healthy marriage both parties need to really feel received love, not just given love.  I would tell any woman to talk to her husband about her needs, but I am better at giving advice than taking it in some areas.  Aren’t we all?  (please say yes!)

Take a few minutes of your hectic and wild days and take the short quiz, maybe even buy the book, and see how your relationship can grow even further.  No, I have not a single affiliation with this company.  I just like when I find a little something that could make this life a little richer.  

January Showers Bring February... ?

Since when did strolls around the block, bike riding, playing on the swing set and a good game of tag in the backyard become commonplace for January in Indiana???  As many of us know, this has become more of the norm lately.  Usually at this time we are forced to endure the bitter cold, bundled up, eyebrows frozen hours of shoveling or ice breaking.  What strange, wonderful, curious and somewhat bothersome winter weather we are having.  But, we mine as well enjoy it.  Right?

The girls and I have been spending a lot of time outside and this week was no exception.  The wind blown hair, rosy cheeks, skinned knees and bruised legs and elbows from falling off bikes and swing collisions can all prove it.  This past Tuesday we were even able to have a picnic outside on the nearly 60 degree day.  Why not?  In spring the rule is usually 50 degrees, so why amend it because it is January?

I hope everyone is getting out there and breaking up their winter blues with some surprise spring-like days.  Who knows how many we will get and I am sure, now that I have written this, we will have a snowstorm of historical magnitude tomorrow.  Maybe then we will build an igloo and have a picnic in there!