A Few Tidbits on Mothering

What a lovely Mother's Day we had yesterday. It was very different than those in the past, but as I was lounging on the couch after the kids were in bed, eating Chili's takeout I thought to myself, "I've had a really nice day." That's a god feeling. It's easy to get dreams in your head of what the day will be like, only to have those dreams be blown to smithereens when reality sets in say, oh, around 5AM Sunday morning. While I was thinking last night a few things came to me that I've learned in the last ten years. These things are in no way intended to make you wiser, but you might just get a kick out of them. I'm listing six things. Not because I don't have more, but because that's the number of children we've been blessed with, and it seems like a perfectly good number to me!

• Never leave an unattended beverage. Never. I don't care if you put it on the counter and think there's no way little Timmy is going to climb up and get it. Know this. He will. Little Timmy has climbing powers that are likened to those of Spider Man. He will get on that counter, drink your beverage, and as sure is I am living, Timmy will THROW your beverage container(generally glass) on the floor just to see what happens.
• Don't assume because you close the door it'll stay that way. This goes for bathroom AND bedroom doors. This is a behavior that must be trained. Doors will be opened, and resting mothers(be it on the bed or on the "throne") will be spotted.
• Know that if it's not nap time, and it's quiet, there's something going DOWN in your house. No, seriously, get up and FIND THOSE KIDS. First place to check if you have kids under three-THE BATHROOM, next place-the pantry. If in doubt, seek them OUT! Mine are generally stuffing something in the commode, unrolling paper towels, or squeezing out toothpaste. These are only examples though, don't be thrown off if you've got your own battles.
• If you are ready to go, someone is going to have an accident. This may be an actual "I needed to go potty and waited too long" accident, or they could fall and scrape their knee on the sidewalk, spill milk all down their dress, be wrestling with dad and loose a hair clip, or in my recent case, be "trying to fix a stapler" and staple their own dag blasted HAND! Oh there will be blood, sweat, tears, feces, you name it. If you're ready to walk out the door it's GONNA happen. Mark my words.
• Don't use open ended words like "maybe," "we'll see," "we might," or "in a minute." These only allow your children to question you again, and again, and again. I promise. Try words like, "NO," and "Are you out of your mind," or my favorite, "Not on your life!" But seriously, leaving things up in the air can really get a momma nutso in a heartbeat. Try to be decisive. If you can't, know that you're going to need some distractions...QUICK!
• Go with your gut. I mean, the Lord gave it to you. He wants you to use it! Well, for more than digestion and all. This is one of the most important pieces of advice my dear granny ever gave me. You may have been told there's nothing wrong with Susie, but if you feel in your gut that Dr. is wrong, you go with it. Mother Gothel is right, Mother really does know best. If you've got a feeling, don't ignore it. Go with it!

So there you have it, folks. Don't say I never taught you anything. Ha! Now, you didn't think I was going to leave you without pictures from our day did you!?! Well, here you go!

To say my cup runneth over would be understating it to say the least. I'm so blessed by these littles who call me momma. Each day they make me smile. I'm gushing with pride that they are mine!

 

People always ask me how we get them all to smile so nicely for pictures. THIS is how! I promise them that if they'll smile for me I'll let them take silly pictures. All of these were taken with the camera timer and tripod. Hysterical.

Oh this little boy of mine is a MESS, but OH SO SWEET!

My big girls being...themselves.

 

Sweet Mia Jane.

Face of an angel, I tell you, but she's got the will of an OX!

These two are probably the closest of all my kids to one another. They miss each other so much when Addi goes to school. They are buddies, and friends, and I love that they are so close to one another.

Here's another set of buddies with Livi's new bunny, Ms...something or another. I can't remember.

 

 

Here's my big boy playing with his truck. This boy LOVES to play.

 

And here is my sweet boy just sitting next to his momma taking a break. He loves his momma...and Sprite.

 

When we got home I took off Eli's clothes because he was dirty, and I put my Mother's Day shirt on him to take his picture. He WOULD NOT be still for me, so you'll just have to deal with these instead. He's such a HAM!

He was saying, "Go! GO! GO!" And throwing himself backward trying to make the chair rock! Ha!