Men are from Mars Women are from Venus-The Mother's Day Story

Okay. I've totally been trying to write this post since right after mother's day. I'm just finally getting in the mood to finish. So, here's the story...

Let me first say that honestly, I married one of the most amazing men in the WORLD! How many men do you know that will help with everything around the house (except laundry unless out of desperation for clean underwear), do a great job watching 4 children while you're working 8hr or 12 hour shifts, change the smelliest diapers, do bath and bed time without prompting, let me sleep when I need to, and the list goes on for a mile! That being said, this past Mother's Day he totally confirmed that men are from Mars!

The back story....I'm not a gift person. Really, I never care about a present for birthday, Christmas, anniversary ect. However, to me, THE HOLIDAY is Mother's day! It's the one day I expect a card that tells me I'm the best mom in the world, blah, blah, blah! (Even if it's not true, I prefer to be at least lied to on that day!) So....Last year I thought my husband already knew this important fact so on Mother's Day I was waiting and waiting for my card! By the afternoon I still did not have it and finally asked Jose to give me the card. He looked at me with the "deer in the headlights" look and that's when the river of tears started flowing! Jose tried to comfort me but then said he needed to leave. He came back about 30 min. later with flowers and a card to try to make up. I read the card and forgot all the nice things it said because at the end it said HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I was like are you kidding? Is this a joke? Did you even read the card!? Okay. That was last year. I finally got over it but knew nothing like that would ever happen again!

Fast forward to this Mother's Day.... I did NOT want a repeat of the year before, so Thursday before Mother's Day I sent Jose a text msg. saying "Hey Babe don't forget my Mom's day card." I was brilliant. I told him exactly what I wanted and gave several days notice for him to come through! Jose had to be at church super early Mother's Day so I didn't see him in the morning. After church we went to lunch. By the end of lunch he still had not given me "the card" so I asked. "Babe, is my Mother's day card at home?" The deer in the headlights look returned! NO WAY! Right. Is it possible?! I thought he was joking but within seconds knew he did not have the card for the second year in a row! This year I was a little ticked. He knew it so he headed out to get the "make-up" card. He returned and I was thinking this better be good! I read everything and then got to the end.......I swear it said HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It really did. I was in shock! NO WAY 2 yrs in a row did I get a Birthday card for Mother's day!? I opened the floodgates! Saying blah, blah, blah about if I was a good mom I would have gotten a Mother's Day card! I have to admit I was a little dramatic only because I wanted it to be memorable!

The plan....That Monday Jose had to go to Charleston and I was still mad! I wanted him to pay! So, I called one of my friends planning the attack! My first thought was to wash all of his white clothes with a red marker to turn everything pink! Then it hit me! My genius plan! I was going to decorate for myself and get my own Mother's day card and my own gift certificates! Jose wasn't going to be home until Monday night so I had plenty of time to decorate for me! I loaded all 4 kids into the car and headed to target to purchase my Mom's Day decor! Here are the pics from the Monday after Mother's day!

Really, I had such a fun time doing this! By the time I was done I was laughing hysterically at myself and at the fact my husband seriously bought birthday cards two years in a row! Now that's funny! He came home that night with flowers and a real Mother's Day card and felt horrible! Stay tuned to find out what happens next Mother's Day! Will it be a birthday card?!

Dangling Earrings

When you're feeling down, dumpy or frumpy......go put on a pair of dangling earrings! It works for me! I may be cleaning, mothering, feeding, or any other ING in the home in my t-shirt and polka dot boxer shorts, but when I have on my dangling earrings I feel like a pretty woman! I mean after all, I am the woman who gave birth to #4 with my dangling earrings right?! Who can feel pretty in that huge oversized ugly hospital gown?! You need those dangling earrings every once in a while for a pick me up! SO......if you're having a bad day or a bad hair day, go put on your favorite dangling earrings =)

The Glamourous Life!

I was in the process of cleaning junk off the floor of the pantry and then I heard Joseph make a noise and his entire mac and cheese bowl with all of the mac and cheese was scattered all over the floor! I went back to the pantry and bent down to sweep up the junk I had left and notice a full wet diaper behind the dog food! My first thought was "How long has THAT been sitting there creating the "fresh" aroma in the pantry?!" Then I proceeded to put the diaper in the trash which made the trash completely overflowing! (Seriously, why does my husband insist on not taking the trash out of the can until it is almost touching the ceiling?!) Anyways, I decided to go ahead and do the deed for once! I looked at the bottom! Can you say DISGUSTING!!! (Don't judge me by my trash can please!) That's when I realized in those 5 minutes how "glamourous" my life is! I sat still and pictured me doing all of the mundane daily things to Fergie's song G-L-A-M-OR-OUS! In my head it was hilarious!

All that to say, this morning's quiet time was all about the drudgery of life! How funny. My favorite part was when it said, Drudgery is the test of genuine character. The greatest hindrance in our spiritual life is that we will only look for big things to do. Yet, "Jesus . . . took a towel and . . . began to wash the disciples’ feet . . ." ( John 13:3-5 ) It also said, "Don't always expect God to give you His thrilling moments, but learn to live in those common times of the drudgery of life by the power of God." That was great for me to hear!

Sunday Mornings!

There is really NO other way to describe Sundays in our house except CRAZY! Every Sunday Jose is off to church for set up before any soul in our house is awake! That means, I have to get every one ready by myself! Usually, everyone wakes up at the same time (which makes it even crazier)! So, while I hold Moses in one arm with a bottle, I use the other arm to get Joseph's breakfast and the kids milk! After baby is finished with his bottle, he gets some TLC from the Rainforest Swing (his other mother)! I put Joseph down from the highchair so he can create chaos all over the bottom floor! (Oh yeah, and I yell at Joseph every 5 min. for stealing Moses' passy!) During this time I try to feed the older 2 and myself! When we are done eating, I put Joseph down for an early nap and pray Moses stays asleep long enough for me to take a shower and not go to church looking like a grease ball with BO! After I get my self somewhat put together, it's the kids turn! I pick out all the clothes, throw them over the balcony and YELL "KIDS HURRY UP! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE! GET DRESSED NOW!!" I hurry downstairs and become a drill sergeant trying to get them to focus on changing their clothes. PJs eventually fly off and are scattered all around! I don't worry too much b/c I hate being late! I get the babies dressed and pack the diaper bag (which is seriously a 20 min. chore making sure I have EVERYTHING a 3 month old could possibly need in a 4 hour period of time!) I turn on the car to cool off, praying no one takes it, but think if someone does it's God's fault if he allows a thief to steal my van when I'm trying to go to church! (Quick side note: Did you know in Meck Co you can't leave your car on more than 5 min. or you can get a ticket?! We actually had a cop in our neighborhood give us a "warning" during the winter time!) FINALLY, we are ready to bolt, leaving our house in complete disarray! But hey, at least we make it to church on time to hear a great message! We just finished a great series called FAITHOLOGY discussing other religions! Very thought provoking! Click on the link then click watch if you want to see!

Laundry....

Since I have nothing on my "To Do List" besides the laundry and have a hundred loads to do, I figured I would write a post about how I do my laundry! [I know, my life is sooo interesting;-) ]

The before...

1. I divide/separate! (I LOVE this part!) For some weird reason it's actually fulfilling to make different groups that match! I know I have issues. Save the emails;-) I prefer to divide into darks, whites, lights, and towels.

2. Go get all hangers and match them up in the laundry room! Except wire ones! I can't stand wire hangers which is a problem b/c Jose frequents the dry cleaners so we have a bajillion wire hangers! (If you have a great use for them let me know!)

3. Get the detergent ready! We go through a LOT of detergent so these are ones I got B1G1 and had coupons for! However, I am planning on saving us lots more money b/c when these are gone I'm going to "copy" my friend Tia and make my own! Can't wait! (Click on her name so you can see how.)

4. The next step is business as usual! Put in, wash, and dry!

5. When the first load is dry pull out and put into basket, then put washed load in dryer, then start hanging shirts & dresses and making piles for each family member! Keep repeating this step OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER about 15-20 times and then you'll be done and too tired to put away any of the laundry so, everyone's "closet" is the laundry room! Hip Hip Horray. Mission accomplished =)

I LOVE THIS SONG!

No matter what the season brings, there is an everlasting HOPE that is unchangeable!

Baby Signing Time

With my older two children I never used sign language and just "guessed" what each wanted by the moaning and groaning! When I was getting curriculum for the kids last year, I bought Baby Signing Time, Learn to Sign 1 & 2 to try with Joseph. When he was about 10 months old (you can start sooner) we just kept signing everything (everything that we knew). Eventually, he picked up on it! Now, he is able to communicate! He knows more signs but I couldn't get him to "perform" (lol) all of them for the video! (I promise I'm not a stage mom!) I really didn't know this type of thing existed before! A friend told me to look up the creator of Baby Signing Time's story...It was very moving and inspiring. If you want to read it click here! If you are looking for something to do with a baby, I would highly recommend any of the Signing Time products!