Adventures on the way..........

This weekend my baby became a teenager. 13 years ago I was scared to death about being responsible for this little person's life. Well, I was only 18 and this precious princess was my graduation present. Even so any first time mom can relate to adventures never taken. #1 Princess and I have been on a wild ride together ever since.

Shortly after her delivery she stopped breathing and was rushed to the NICU. The first time I got to see her and eventually hold her she had IV's and tubes. Talk about making your nerves go really crazy. She held on strong and a week later she was able to come home. She's been a feisty little bugger ever since. Watching her fight I should have known what an adventure we were about to take together. Strong willed, OCD, and once she sets her mind on something there is no changing it. All of these traits I am trying to be patient and understanding with, and I know someday they will be great attributes to have. The teenage years are unknown to me at this point, but I figure by the time Baby Boy gets there we should have it down and know all of the tricks he might try to pull.

I have had several friends giving her advice on how to deal with her most embarrassing mother. And to them I say one day you too will have a teenager (and most of them daughters) and by then it will be old hat for me, and I will fill their teenager in on all the crazy ways to embarrass their parents.

Looking forward I hope these years are good to us. I hope she realizes what a special bond a mother and daughter share. I hope she chooses her own path and doesn't always follow the pact. But most of all I hope to come out of this as best friends (in the end ,not now of course). My wish is for her to be the best at being herself and not worry about trying to be someone else or someone others think she should be.

Laundry...Oh how I dread laundry

I love a clean house. Vacuum, mop, kitchens and bathrooms are done everyday no problem...but I hate laundry. The putting in and moving to the dryer deosn't bother me. It's the folding and putting it all away that I absolutely dread. Sometimes I leave it in the washer and it has to be washed again. I also hate to smell mildewy. Well this year I decided that the kids could really help out with this...especially since these clothes being washed everyday are mostly theirs. So I put a system in order and most weeks it works very well.

Each child has their own laundry basket (I chose rectangle so I could fit a lot in). I pile shirts on one side and pants on the other so they can easily put them in the correct drawers. They are responsible for getting it to the laundry room on their day and that afternoon putting it all away. My chart looks like this:
Sunday - Sheets (everybody brings me their own sheets, but I help all the boys put them back on.)
Monday - #1 Princess, hubby and mine
Tuesday - Tman and Bubby
Wednesday-Tooker and Baby boy (these two are washed w/ special detergent for sens. skin and allergies so they are only washed together and not combined w/ others)
Thursday- Towels, blankets, and various misc. things
Friday-anything that's left or if someone needs something that they may have already worn
Saturday-usually hubby or myself needs something by this day and I catch up on anything that's left over

I typically have 3-4 loads everyday with all of their stuff, but this at least cuts down on the "mommy I can't find my...or I need this clean by tomorrow". I tell them get everything to me on your laundry day or it won't be done. Then when they arrive home from school they must put their baskets of clothes away before playtime. I also keep hangers in the laundry room so that I can easily hang stuff that I don't want them shoving into their drawers.

I still despise laundry, but at least I have a system that at least cuts down on it piling up so much that it's overwhelming. And I love that they can all put their own stuff away except the baby of course. I have also used matching up the socks as a punishment if need be...no one likes matching up a huge pile of all white socks.

The huge pile of white socks was also a thorn in my side. So I decided to buy each child socks that had different color writing on the bottom (Haynes has a variety of color writings). And now when I match I know which pair belongs in which baskets. On a side note - I even bought them their own color toothpaste so I would no who to blame when it didn't get rinsed out of the sink. This worked until they decided to get back at each other and "borrow" someone elses toothpaste. Oh well I tried.

I hope this helps all of my other laundry hating friends out there. Someday I'll post some to go pictures.

A few more things I didn't mention...

I had a few questions in my FB inbox today I thought I should address before I got to the laundry. One of the questions was "How do I get your kids to eat all that stuff? Mine only eat chicken nuggets and mac n cheese." This really is a pet peeve of mine that parents become short order cooks when they have children. I have never and will never make a seperate meal for them. If they are hungry they will eat what is served. I completely feel like if you don't expose them to other foods then of course they will only eat the junk if you serve it to them. I get so upset when we invite people over and they ask me what the children will eat. My children eat what they are served and I feel this is why I get such wonderful feedback when they go places without me. I have had so many compliments that my child will eat what is served at friends house where as other children come over and say "I don't eat that" or "That's gross". I teach my children to be respectful and eat what someone else has taken the time to prepare for them. Be thankful! I do not expect them to like everything, but they will be respectful about it. My Bubby as a matter of fact does not like vegetables at all. But before he is allowed to down his milk he must at least try them. He is the only one who does not always like what I serve, but he knows that if he doesn't eat it there will not be anything served after dinner so nine times out of ten he will at least try. I also believe they eat what they are served because I have always fed them this way. As soon as they turned a year and could eat table food they ate what we ate just cut up really small. I also do not bribe them with dessert in order to get them to eat their veggies. This really leads to so many other problems. When we go out or are at friends houses they are allowed to splurge on their "junk" likes. And you know what they usually choose the milk over the soda and juices and they choose the fruit cup, apple slices or yogurt over the french fries at fast food places. Not me of course I love the fries and given the chance to eat the junk I would take it. But we eat so good the other parts of our life I feel we deserve a splurge here and there. Anyway off of my soap box I just wanted to say let them try it. Of course if you only serve hot dogs and chicken nuggetts than that is what they will like. Expose them to a variety and you might be surprised. Give them options and let them choose the veggie for the night. And make what you like for them to try on another night. It's a give and take like any other battle we will face as parents.

Still tweaking but moving forward

I'm still trying to get this blog to be beautiful and full of life...it will get there just a few more tweaks.

But for now let's talk about being tired.
Reason #1 - May is one of the busiest months of the year. The kids are ending school this next week and there are 5 million things to do. Award ceremonies for 3 of them, performances out the wazoo, send in money for anything and everything possible, and of course baseball season is still in full swing.

Reason #2 - A one year old that's cutting 4 teeth at once. Really? I know they need teeth, but 4 at once is a little much don't ya think. He's not been a happy camper. All of these teeth has again caused runny nose and cough - which the dr. says is unrelated- however this has happened w/ everyone of my kdis when they cut teeth. Coincidence? I think not! At any rate he may never sleep again if these stupid things don't break through.

Reason #3 - I have 5 kids.

Reason #4 - I can't sleep myself b/c I have to wake up every so often at night to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, this did not pass after pregnancy. I'm sure this has something to do w/ #3.

Reason #5 - Too many things are always on my mind causing it to wonder and set in panic attacks as I try to drift off. Bills, money (or lack there of), the kids, my husband, laundry, dishes, cleaning other various things that haven't been done in forever, praying for friends w/ illness, or that are trying to get pregnant, or can't, or a healthy pregnancy and baby, and my grandmother, and the list goes on and on...

I know the saying is "You can sleep when you're dead", but I don't want to get to do that yet. If I could just have a day off to pamper myself and sleep - I might feel a little energized and in a nicer mood doing all of the above!

Where's the book on that?

When my oldest child was born I think I read every "how to" and "what to expect" parenting books. After having our 5th child lat year, I realize all of that reading was wasted time. None of these kids have followed the book. Where's the book that tells you they really are their own person and you're only here to supervise. You are not in control. You are merely an employee working for them. Or a pawn in their whole game of chess. And reverse psychology..hahaha jokes on you mom.

Or how about the book that tells you about the never ending laundry, the dishes that are always piling up, the projectile vomit, that Cheerios stick to everything, the things the kids say to make you think you really are losing your mind, little boys hands go straight into the diaper when you are attempting to change it, or that you can never use the bathroom alone again.

Even with all of that said being a mom is the best job in the world.