A few of my disasters...

As a reforming perfectionist mom, I wanted to share with you what happens to my house when I prioritize playing with my kids...

Now you know what I have on my to-do list for when the kids are sleeping. I may have to call a Movie Day or two to get these areas under control. But I am realizing that the memories I want my children to have of growing up in our home have nothing to do with cleaning products, and everything to do with laughter and joy and loving one another. Of course, if any of you know how to combine the two... Please share! :)

Reclaiming order from chaos...

We have three rooms in the house that we generally try to keep the kids out of, except with permission. So much of our home is child-friendly, even designed with creativity and play in mind, that I have equally created a few select places to be more mature and less play. The problem is, since we live in the kid-friendly spaces most of our days, the other three rooms occasionally (more than I would like to admit) become messy dumping grounds, spaces that end up unusable and require a good deal of effort to restore. Please tell me you have rooms like this and I am not alone! (Please?!?!?)

The one comforting thought is that I know that everything has a place... It's just not there at the moment... And I wrestle with making good decisions on how to use my time. Since I could naturally tidy and organize all day, neglecting the kids, I have been really trying to play more and clean less. But eventually, I hit a breaking point and I can't stop thinking about cleaning whatever space has become overwhelming. Recently the upstairs craft and music room became that space and its plight has been on my mental to-do list looking for an opening on the calendar to plunge in and restore order. 

Last night the twins asked E to take them to their gymnastics practice. This morning, Micah woke up with the gymnasts and asked to go with E to watch them. Leaving Hannah and Noah and I at home, I knew exactly what to do. Tackle this...

In the process of cleaning out this disaster area, I discovered some paintings the kids had done when we had friends visit in June. I added some simple hardware to the backs of each piece and hung them up in our gallery between the kids' bedrooms. 

After about two hours, I could see the floor again...

We had a wedding to attend in the afternoon and I was wondering if I would finish in time to get ready. Elliott came home with the kids from gym and started making lunch. I was too close to finishing to eat, so I kept plodding and resisting the urge to make piles to be dealt with who knows when. 

And then, I vacuumed. And then I stepped back and smiled. And the sun was shining through the window, smiling too.  :) 

And yes, I realize the only reason it is still clean now is that we left the house before anyone could enter it. But it made me smile anyway. And it makes me want to go create something. 

Pride goes before...

Micah and I had a full week of mornings together a couple of weeks ago. The older five kids had day-long camps and Micah's camp was only a half-day. It was really fun to spend some one-on-one time with our littlest guy.

Monday morning I had a long list of errands, and he was a trooper being dragged in and out of the different stores on my list. His only request was that he be able to climb in and out of the car window instead of opening the door. I decided to say "yes", much to the delighted giggles of my little guy. At one point, as I was enjoying the childhood joy on his face while he plunged headlong into his seat through the window, I sent Elliott a text that said, "I would be such a good mom to one kid!" He laughed. Well, technically he responded, "LOL!"

Our week of mornings was going delightfully well. Thursday morning, I had a friend stop by for a visit and lunch. Micah played happily, enjoying the quiet (or maybe that was me). I asked him to get his bag ready for camp and he cheerfully agreed. I probably should have noticed his devious grins...

I dropped off Micah at his camp, all smiles and ready for fun, then a couple of errands and on to picking up the older kids. Since no busy week is complete without a medical emergency, I dropped most of the kids at home and rushed to a doctor appointment for a kid with a minor wound. While waiting for the doctor, I got a panicked call from the kids at home informing me that Micah had lopped the sleeves off his rash guard for swimming. Really?!?!? Micah continues to prove that he really is the "nobody else ever did that kid".

Doctor visit finished, Elliott and I had a date, so we didn't see the kids Thursday evening and E's mom picked up Micah from camp and the kids enjoyed an evening with Gammy. Because I was not the one to pick Micah up that afternoon, I didn't find out what else Micah had done during my blissful, I am such a good mom of one kid, Thursday morning.

Friday we had to go to the store to replace the cut up rash guard, Micah had some money saved up which paid for the replacement shirt. Then, I took him to camp and went to apologize to his coach for the bedraggled looking shirt he had worn the day before. The coach looked at me quizzically and then said something you never really want to hear, "So, I guess you didn't hear about what happened yesterday..."

To say my mind was spinning with possibilities would be an understatement. I sheepishly admitted I had no clue, wasn't the rash guard incident bad enough? No, apparently it was not, because Micah's coach went on to tell me how when they had sent the kids to the restroom to change for water time, Micah came strutting out of the bathroom and straight across the gym not wearing the cut up rash guard, but instead, one of his twin sisters' swimsuits! Proud as a peacock about it too. And when offered the opportunity to change, he declined saying he was fine. I almost died. Finally, enough of the little girls at camp were giggling over the incident that he was embarrassed enough to go change into his swimsuit and his deconstructed rash guard. 

Immediately, I texted Elliott. I also shared the incident with a close friend. I told her how I had jokingly sent Elliott the text on Monday about "being a good mom of just one kid". She replied, "pride goes before the fall." Yep. Totally. 

A cozy read...

In the last three days, the harried summer schedule we have been following has slowed down. Instead of rush, rush, rushing from one commitment to the next or preparing for a big trip, we have spent our afternoons cuddled on the couch, drawing at the table, or playing with blocks and cars while I read aloud to the children.

Monday we read Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. Yes, I cried. It was a delightful read, and completely written in poetry. But totally easy to follow and funny, as it is written like a poetry journal between the main character, Jack, and his teacher, Miss Stretchberry. Jack is probably in the 4th or 5th grade. I have already lent it out and am looking forward to reading it again.

Tuesday we read Hate That Cat also by Sharon Creech. Yes, it is a sequel. Even more endearing and precious than the first. Jack is a year older, and he is happy to have Miss Stretchberry again. Yes, I teared up. Again. A sweet, touching book.

Today we began The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg. I didn't want to put it down, but I promised the kids they could go swimming at 3:30pm. Even with swimming promised, there were gasps of distress when I laid aside the book. Something tells me I know what we will spend the afternoon doing tomorrow. 

How are you spending your lovely summer afternoons?

What's in a name...

Lately, Micah has taken to calling Elliott "Dada" instead of "Daddy". At first it was cute and I thought he was playing some game like "I am a baby..." but the name has persisted for the last few weeks. And honestly, it is funny to me that our family "baby" is the first and only one to call Elliott by such an endearing title.

As cute as it is when Micah rattles off, "Dada, Dada, Dada, Dada...," sometimes it gets to be a little much... but then something like this happens...

Micah: "Dada, Dada, look at me, Dada, Dada..."
Elliott: "Simon Says 'Don't call me Dada...'"
Micah: (without skipping a beat) "Elliott, watch this."

... and in a Bill Cosby kind of way I say, "just let him call you Dada." They grow up so fast.

A mommy comedian...

You never know who you are going to meet sitting on the bleachers at the gym. And yet, a few weeks ago, I struck up a friendship with a mom whose son is on Caleb's Boys' Team. We have been talking and laughing, and it was obvious pretty quickly that this mom was a Christian.

And then, as we were visiting tonight she said, "You know I am comedian, right?" I laughed and agreed she was pretty funny. But finally, it turns out, she started a Christian Women's comedy group a few years ago. Their main goal is to help women see that "Imperfect is Perfect" and God is more than able to meet us in our messes. So, in case you need a laugh, meet my friend Jessica over at www.ChristianComedyChicks.com

When the world stops spinning...

My schedule is pretty predictable. I like that. It is so predictable, in fact, that the local coffee shop on my way to take the kids to gymnastics and TaeKwonDo knows when my kids have class. Maybe that is too predictable. :)

We have settled into our extra-curricular activities, and even though we are slightly busier than I originally anticipated when we signed up for some recreational classes in the fall, everyone is excelling and we have managed to keep a fabulous balance with family time. We divide and conquer the dinner hour on Mondays, but every other night we are all together. (You may remember this being one of my biggest hesitations about getting started on the journey of athletics...) We have noticed a work ethic in some of our kids that has been distressingly missing previously, they are enjoying the more active schedule and it shows in their work in other areas. So far it has been a win-win.

Summer is up and running, and with it, our Christmas presents to the children are keeping us going. Instead of "stuff", we gifted the kids "experience" (a.k.a. day-camp of your choice). Next week the kids will go in three different directions based on interests and age. Excitement is bubbling over. I am wondering how much coffee (for me) and gas (for the suburban) will be needed to keep the whole program running. This is a first for us. It will either be the start of a new tradition (stuff-less Christmas gifts) or it will be chalked up to "been there, done that, here's a Lego set". I will keep you posted. I am nervously optimistic.

An update on me... I am always behind on laundry, usually don't know what dinner will be until something has already started cooking on the stove, my inbox overflows daily because I ignore it until I take potty breaks, and my computer probably thinks I am mad at it because I now use it more as a clipboard to write on than a computer. I am still writing the Preschool church lesson, albeit finished later each week than it ought to be... we are wrapping up a series on the Armor of God this week and I am hoping that the class doesn't end up getting out of hand when I pass out swords to all the boys. I am getting ready to prepare the school year for our crew, we are starting the first week of August and new schedules and assignment sheets need to be designed. In a nutshell, normal chaos.

I think I have finally stopped looking for the ever-illusive "normal" to return. God gives seasons of peaceful rest, and He gives seasons of bubbling activity, and both are a blessing. Sometimes I laugh at myself and wonder why it took me so long to figure that out. I joke sometimes that I look forward to the day the world stops spinning, but really, I am learning to put on my seat belt and enjoy the spin. I don't really know if this will be a season for blogging, but I will update when I can.