Mums the Word

Every morning my kids ask for candy.  I'm not talking donuts or pastries, I'm talking straight up sugar.  There's probably no difference nutritionally but I'm setting principles for life.  If I let them eat candy in the morning what's next?  Crack?  I hear sugar is a gateway drug.  Just saying. It's not like they need a pick me up either.  They wake up between 5:45 and 6:30 like they've been robbed.  Like something amazing has been happening all night and they have just waisted the last 12 hours.  God help me!  While I avoid giving them sugar before noon, an arbitrary line i've drawn in the sand, I try to get as much caffeine into my system asap so I can ride that roller coaster the remainder of the day until bedtime.  Don't judge, these people shoot out of bed with the sun and immediately start interrogating me about our plans for the day.  I'm not even awake and have agreed to all sorts of things, in hindsight that may be wh...

In a house with four kids, to prevent chaos, there must be rules.  Some rules are a given such as:  No hitting, kicking or biting.  No name calling.  No throwing food at the table (when not at the table, anything is game of course).  However some rules you never foresaw having to make.  Here are some of our ridiculous house rules. 1.  No weapons before 9am!  In fact take all the weapons outside!  Nothing like getting shot in the face with a nerf gun while making your morning cup of tea.  NO!!!! 2.  Don't wipe your boogers or poop on the floor or wall.  If your hands come in contact with anything suspect, please wash them.  For the love of all that is good and decent, wash them. 3.  Don't put your butt in other peoples faces especially if it is naked, no exceptions...unless your married and then you won't have any interest. 4.  No shorts while there's still snow on the ground.  I will just go ahead and hi...

There are so very few people in our lives that love us unconditionally.  They are the ones constantly wondering how they can make our lives better.  Usually it's the people who play a pivotal roll in our upbringing and journey through life.  The ones that teach us the difficult lessons and share the joy in our discoveries.  The ones that journey beside us and lead us through, and to, some of our greatest adventures. These people, with their 'what can I do for you' mentality are irreplaceable. For most adults out there, we've lost a few.  It's the people we think of in the hard times and wonder if they are watching.  Are they proud?... The more of these people we loose, the more we take on their roll.  However big their shoes were, we try to fill them because if they were important to us, then everything that they stood for and believed in was important.  While we will never be them, we will try to be like them. And it will be hard. ...

I used to run all the time.  Then I had kids....and if you've ever done that you know they can kind of mess up your schedule (and also ruin your body but its fine I'm not bitter).  Anyways, I went on a bit of a hiatus.  So after four kids I started running again.  Everything was going well but I was feeling really tight and sore.  While looking for something to counterbalance my running, I found yoga. Long story short, I tried it, loved it and would like to recommend it to all my mommy friends. If you are anything like this mom, you are gonna need at least three good reasons to add anything new to your schedule, and you will need that list to be concise because you are probably in between getting the kids a snack and picking up the next disaster, so here: 1.  It's a full on work out, wet t-shirt included, especially with a good teacher who kills it.    You can push yourself or pull back to get the kind work out you need.    Lots...

Note to readers:  I will use italics to illustrate sarcasm and ridiculous statements. I just read an outstanding article on why we should all have just one child! Just kidding.  It was crap and I'm not just saying that because I have four kids.   The case for having just one kid was crap because the reasoning was unsubstantial and horribly argued.   This article gives a top 10 reason list on why someone should only have one child which I would love to dispel right here: 1.   It's eco-friendly .  I would like to know how.  Are you raising your child to be more aware of our environment?  Do you recycle/reuse everything?  Do you grow your own produce?  Do you use less gas/petrol?  Do you buy second hand? Doubtful.  Very Doubtful.  I would love to write a separate article on this alone.  Thanks for the inspiration.  If you are raising eco-friendly children and environmentally conscious yourself, the...

When the kids are sick,  You're in lock down. Not enough puke buckets  to go around. No one can get to the toilet in time even if they're standing right next to it, You hate to yell and make to demands,  but you've got to be kidding me with that shit! Every time you hear your name, you jump up to do damage control, minimizing the radius of projectile things, well, lets face it, that is your main goal. With Lysol wipes you get every surface,  going from one room to the next, the only way to communicate with the outside world  is only via text. The books and toys covering the floor,  seem to go on for miles. The laundry, clean or dirty,  only comes in piles. You're so f*&^%$#  tired,  you cannot stand the light, God please don't let them throw up  in the middle of the night.  Because the thought of stripping one more bed  or wiping up one more mess, is giving you a migra...

These shoes used to be great!  I remember buying them for my oldest, who is now almost eight.  They went with everything, looked cute and were easy to get on and off herself (their true winning feature). Then there was a boy who had no use for them.  Next came twin girls who took turns wearing them into this raggedy state.  Now they are too small and as I'm going through a current cull of all our things, I grab these to put in the give away bag and a sudden sadness snares me. I'm not an overly emotional person so this doesn't happen often but  as I sit with these shoes on my lap I bite my lip and will myself to not cry over THIS. I think of how stressful life is with four kids.  I think of how much they need me and how much time I spend longing for a time when I don't have to wipe anyone's butt. I look forward to them being in school just so I can get a freaking break and you know, use the bathroom without someone sitting on my lap. None of these help me ch...