Chorin' Mamas

Do you ever get tired of being the "only one" who does certain things around the house? Have you ever noticed something that needs to be done and had the following thought process:



"Hmmm, the toilet paper roll needs to be changed AGAIN. I ALWAYS change it. Maybe if I leave it this time, I'll get surprised and someone else will change it."





a few hours later:




"No takers yet. It's early still. The husband isn't even home from work yet."




that night before bed:



"Well, he had a busy day at work. He must not have noticed. Maybe tomorrow. Or maybe one of the kids will give it a try."

the next evening:


"Uggg. Looks like I'm gonna be doing this again."




But stubbornly, you hold out hope. Then after another day of being annoyed that there is no tp on the roll, and the tp has wet marks on it from sitting on the counter near the sink, and the tp has been re-rolled because it keeps getting dropped on the floor, you break down and put the roll on YOURSELF.


About a month later, you foolishly start to hope again! and repeat the above process.


Anyone else been through this? Maybe not with tp, but with some other chore in the house? If you can relate, take a picture of the offending task and link your blog post to this one so we "Chorin' Mamas" can commiserate together. Just to make a boring, repetitive chore a little more fun!

(FYI - This is my first time trying to "backlink" so I'm not really sure how this will work out! If it doesn't work for you to link to this post, then let me know so I can figure out how to make it work -- Happy Blogging!)

Hardworking Hubby

Alright, here's a little shout out to my hardworking hubby! I am so thankful that God gave me a husband who loves his family so much. Garr works extremely hard to take care of us - at work and at home. For example - this was a recent work weekend. Friday: 6:30am to 6:30 pm, overtime: 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm. Sat: 6:30 am - 6:30 pm. Sunday: 6:30 am - 6:30 pm, overtime: 9pm - 5 am. That's 47 hours in 3 days! Did he complain? No. He just goes and does what he needs to do. Does he come home and sit on the couch and expect to be waited on? No. (Although he definitely could!) He comes home and helps me with the kids - plays with them and helps them off to bed. He comes home and helps with the house - making dinner, running the vacuum, etc. He comes home and works out - keeping himself in shape so he can be a better husband/father/police officer. I love that my husband puts us first. It doesn't matter that he had a hard day - if I'm trying to make dinner and the baby is crying and the girls need help with whatever they're doing - he's always willing to help. I'm really thankful for him. He's awesome. God is so good to me.

A note from a 2nd grade friend (who is a boy)

Emelyn,

You are the butter fly in my hart. You wude never hert a fly.

Chris

A Lesson for Mom

I realized something about myself today. I tend to see the negative in my kids faster/more often than the positive. Emelyn came home from school with a letter from each child in her classroom saying what they like about her. Over and over, the children wrote that Emelyn is compassionate and caring - she "rubs their back and makes them feel better" when they are upset. They wrote that she is very smart, but doesn't brag; that she is kind "she would never hurt a fly;" that she is caring and a good listener; that she helps the other kids with their work. These themes repeated themselves on almost every page. It was amazing. But here at home, so often, I focus on her faults. That she didn't feed her bunnies on time; that she was mean to her sister; that she's cranky or demanding.

Tonight, we have 2 little friends sleeping over b/c their mother is having surgery early in the morning. Each time I walked past the room, Abby was leaning over and talking to the littlest girl. Now normally Abby is our most rambunctious one, our clown. So I assumed she was goofing off, and keeping the others awake. I reprimanded her and told her she would be in big trouble if she didn't lay down and go to sleep! I went in a little later and the littlest one was out of bed again and I saw Abby sitting up. When I told Abby to lay down, she started to cry. She explained to me that she was checking on the little girl. That she was making sure she could hear the bedtime music and making sure she was comfortable. Abby's little heart was broken b/c she got in trouble when she was trying to be kind.

I get so busy - laundry, dishes, putting the baby to bed - I didn't take the time to figure out what was really happening. I just assumed the worst. I need to give my children more credit. I need to take the time to find out what's happening in their lives more often. I need to see their good qualities.

I'm thankful for reminders like these. I want to be a better mother. I want to teach my children love and respect for others by example. I need to start with them - with remembering that they are just little people, who need my love and respect more than anyone else in this world.

What took me so long?

Alright - I'm loving this blogging thing. Really, what took me so long? Oh yeah, I didn't have a digital camera. But still, this is great - it's like scrapbooking, but easier! Anyways, here are some recent pictures -- no major story behind them - just some of my faves.

Emelyn Baptized!

Emelyn was baptized this Sunday night. My dad baptized her. It was very special. She has been asking to be baptized for a couple of years, but we wanted to make sure she was ready. She was so excited. She also did special music that night - on the drums! Taking after her dad...

It was great to hear Abby and Liv looking forward to when they will be baptized and it was so cute that they were so excited for Eme. We are blessed.

Mother of the Year Award

Well - I might have done it. I just might have earned the Mother of the Year award from Abby. Abby loves to eat. She admits it. She loves whipped cream too. So this morning, I decided to not be such a strict mom - to be more like Daddy. You should see how excited she was over this breakfast concoction - waffle, layer of whipped cream, another waffle, another layer of whipped cream, frzn blueberries, and - you guessed it - another layer of whipped cream. We called Daddy and made him come home from work to see it. And we took pictures. Moral of the story... I need to make more of these moments for my kids. and for me.

Oh and BTW, she ate the whole thing!

Laundry anyone?

Alright, so last night I had the laundry completely caught up. Pretty amazing. Guess what I saw when I opened the closet door this morning? A HUGE pile of dirty laundry. How in the world does it pile up so quickly? I'll tell you how. A baby who keeps spitting up and goes through 4 outfits and 7 bibs in one day. A husband who works out like a madman, and therefore goes through a workout outfit, a jiu-jitsu gi, and his regular clothes (possibly two sets depending on work), and 3 busy little girls who get wet playing in the snow and messy drinking their hot cocoa. Oh and the littlest girl who is still struggling to stay dry through the night so there is usually sheets and blankets thrown in the mix.

Yeah, I get tired of doing laundry. I get tired of feeling like I never really accomplish anything in this dept. But really, it's ok. I love having a big family and this is just part of the deal. And I know that someday, I'll open the closet door and there won't be a pile of laundry. And I have a feeling, I'll be sad about that.

a lifetime of moments

I've been talking about starting a blog for months now. But that's all I've been doing about it. So many excuses - no digital camera, what site to use, when will I find the time, what will I write about? Well, I got a digital camera for Christmas (thanks Dad Jef!) and found this website via good friends (thanks Sarah and Katie!). As for the time - sometimes you just gotta make the time. And what will I write about? I'm not really into philosophical musings. But I've found that I want to remember the little, seemingly insignificant moments in life, and with 4 kids and a great hubby - I have a lot of those moments to write about! So here goes...