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!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
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2 comments:
I am having the best time getting little glimpses into your daily life!! You are a FANTASTIC mommy! I always wanted a big family with lots of kidos! I love big families:) God had other plans for me....He wanted to leave me with enough time to be an impact on other peoples kids(children's ministry, and many children we have "kept" from birth to school for others)
I had a few thoughts that might help curb the insanity:) 10 minutes in the evening might help with morning crazy. Alot of the patterns that you establish early for your kids will set the norm for them later on.
Night before- Pack diaper bag or better yet teach Abby exactly everything baby needs and have her do it..(then all you have to do is check it) I used to keep fully stocked diaper bags in each car that never left car in case Mark or I had to run somewhere with Baby
Have clothes laid out night before;) or better yet....it's summer and go casual...give kids a bath at night dress them in comfortable clothes for church and put them to bed....
Okay your laughing but it works and most parents have tried it at least once;)
Have Elijah prepare cerial bowls the night before...cover with a paper towel and leave on the counter with spoons. I always kept a light weight container with Milk in it in the fridge. Sarah was so excited that she could get her and her sister feed all by herself.
When Sarah turned 8 I bought her an alarm clock!! She was so thrilled! I told her if she woke up before her clock went off she could just spend a few minutes talking to God and thinking about her day:)
Whatever keeps you sane and gets your morning off to a good start is the best way!
One of my very very best friends with 4 kids gave me a challenge one day ( beacause I am not the most disciplined or structured person)
She had me write down evrything I do on a daily basis and think about them. Evaluate...and see what steps I could take to make them less stressfull for everyone involved....get feedback from Husband and kids
She kept telling me over and over to esablish patterns with my kids early on because they would last a lifetime.
Meanwhile I love hearing your daily life stories! Because they are real and most of us can relate:)
Oh yeah.. My friends name is Kristen Jones. She is mother to 4, Homeschool mom, in college and wife to Creative arts pastor at The Orchard outside of Chicago.
One of the greatest ideas I ever learned from her was about chores.
Instead of assigning kids chores this is how she does it:
She chose chores she felt the kids could do....Taught them how to do them...them listed them on a chart and assigned a money value to them.
Example
Unload dishwaher .50
empty bathroom trash .10
Then the kids worte their initials next to anything they did that day.
Talley it up and payout once a week. No allowances just payment for chores done. Every child expected to keep own room clean..this is just for extra chores that help mommy.
Then she teaches stewardship by creating 4 piggybanks from pringles cans.
every week they devide their money like this
25% tithe
25% Family Tax (Thrown together in one bank...when money adds up they use it for outings, movies, icecream trips, homeschool field trips etc....)
25% savings (each child has something in mind they are saving for)
25% in pocket spending money they can spend anyway they choose.
She has been doing this since they were 8,6,4,3.
The oldest just turned 13 and has a better idea of money management than I do!!!
Go to my blog and find her blog "Life as I know it" in my blogroll. I keep telling her she should write a book!!! She doesn't blog as much now than she used to. Now she facebooks.
Love watching your family grow and think you are awesome!!! I love how you and Jose both cherrish and put your family first. One day you'll be able to write a book;)
Renee-I SO appreciate ALL of your wisdom (which is tons)! I so glad the Lord left "space" for you to work with our children! We are blessed to have you for sure! Thanks so much for all of the excellent ideas from you and your friend. I will be checking her blog out later! I am super thankful for all the tips!
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