The Bond

Yesterday was a tough one, Matt was working late, the boys were cranky pies because

of allergies, sickness, I'm not quite sure yet, but they had a rough day and so did mama.

We ate pizza outside and strawberries and I was okay with a dinner they loved.

We read some stories outside {one of our favorite summer activities}, 

and I gave them some time to run around before baths.

That time turned into the most magical precious time.

They used their immense imaginations and played continuously, all five, for at least a half hour.

It really was the first time {for all five} there was a stretch of peace...
that was not a direct result of the iPAD or movie... 
no injuries or fighting, no screaming or crying, just pure happiness.

I am thrilled for once I took some video of the moment, 

and well it was the first treasured memory of our summer.

Off they ran around the backyard turning things into airports and taxicabs,

visiting soccer stadiums and catching a parrot in Brazil,

traveling to Disneyworld and watching fireworks,

seriously with big-brother leading the way, they ran and ran

and played.  Everyone contributed something to their ideas

and conversations.  

Ethan said this is the first time I have been able to get all of my brothers and 

me to have FUN at the same time.

It's true.  He has waited a long time for them to all be able to play along with him.

My heart seriously let go of the day's struggles, guilt, and ugly parts.

I felt like the Grinch turning into the Glenda the Good Witch {smile}.

God, I love my boys.

Today Liam, forgetting Ethan was at school, started looking for him to play again.

Soon, Li-Li-Boo, soon, you'll have all summer together.

I know it won't always be rainbows, popsicles and unicorns, 

but last night it was and it rocked!!

Don't you just love those little rays of sunshine,

those moments of bliss that make it all worthwhile 
and everything comes together?  

Thanking God for knowing, I needed that right then and there.

{michelle}

Five things that can hurt a child's heart.

{update: Since I wrote this last night, I wanted to add that this is in no way to induce guilt.  I am talking about significant, repetitive cases here, where people do not realize they are affecting their child, not the fleeting moments of frustration that we work hard to avoid and correct.  No one is perfect and I am surely not one to judge.  
The purpose of writing this was to raise awareness. }

I want to start with the disclaimer that I am not a professional therapist,

but I have learned a lot {and am still learning} from the life I had growing up.

I am not going to revisit it here, but suffice it to say, I have dealt with

some heavier things as a child.

Experience can teach you oh so very much.  

I know sometimes here, in my space, I talk about things with passion and fire.

Especially when it comes to being a mom and how we can impact our children.

I feel like there is this pervasive nonchalant, tinged highly with sarcasm, talk about motherhood lately.  I get it, I am not sitting on my high horse above it.  

We tend to resort to it when we are 

exhausted, tired, and even at times I think people do it because hey,

that's what the cool kids are doing.  

Yet, there is always a gnawing pit in my stomach...

I hope they are just kidding.

For the record, I think most are, and I do have a massive sense of humor,

but sometimes things just aren't funny once you've seen the other side.

Children are resilient to an extent, but we have the power to do damage.

Even moms and dads with the best intentions possible, myself totally included,

can hurt their child's heart immensely.

Here are five things that can really damage a child's sense of self and security. 

Calling a child negative names.  About a year ago, and not solely for this reason but it was a contributing factor, I had to end a friendship because a friend could not stop talking negatively about her son.  The last straw was when she called him a bum because he did not want to play a sport she enrolled him in.  While saying it with a touch of humor, I could tell she really meant it, and those words just kept echoing through my head.  
What if he heard that and does he?  

Wishing your child was different at their core.  This is a tough one because when you have a child that isn't like you or is different than you imagined...where did they come from?....it can be hard sometimes to relate to them.  Struggling with that is not what I am talking about here.  I am talking about wanting them to be different, intrinsically different from who they are and who God created them to be.  It's so important to stop and think, what message am I sending if I am telling my child who they are is not good enough for me?

Choosing a favorite.   I have read in more than one place lately that it's natural to have a favorite child and it's not really a big deal...really?  Let me tell you how it feels to not be the favorite child...completely and utterly horrible.  I have been there and when you are a little soul, you do not understand that it has absolutely nothing to do with you.  You think if I just try hard enough I'll win them over, which creates a people-pleasing child who loses sense of who they are.  In your own mind, you may love that one of your children is super cuddly or that one listens and wants to help, and those feelings are totally normal.  The issues lies in that really can never be the basis for how much love you show or give.  

 While I do think it's completely normal for siblings to tease one another about being the favorite, that's really all it should be, unfounded lighthearted teasing.

Basing the love you give your child on what they do for you.  Wow I hope I can come back to this and read it God-willing in about twenty-five years.  I have seen so many relationships with children my age and their parents deteriorate {including mine and my husband's} exactly for this reason.  Showing love, care, concern, for the child who does for you {in one specific way}....one child may be closer in proximity, more financially able, whatever the case may be.  It's tough to type this one because it doesn't matter how old you are, you are still the parent and you have to love your child unconditionally.  I realize I speak prematurely, before my children have made bad choices and decisions with lasting consequences.  My prayers are for these occasions even now, BUT I hope I can always remember I am the parent.  What if my heavenly Father only loved me for what I did for him?  

Letting your child believe they are responsible for your happiness.  No child should have this weight on their shoulders.  When our children were born did we finally realize how much love our hearts could hold?  Yes.  Do they makes us laugh and beam with pride, of course.  Do we owe them to not hang our happiness on them...absolutely.  I remember trying to get my father to laugh and if I could then he would be happy at it would be a good day.  That was my goal.  I would put everything into it.  That is so not a childhood. Yes, kids need to see emotions and some of the real aspects of life, but they also need to see us happy, enjoying life, and completely feel like they are the biggest part of our happiness, but not responsible for it, there is a big difference.  

These may seem like really obvious things, but I have dealt with each one and let me tell you, it sucks.  As a mom of five, I want to do everything in my power to not ever have my children feel this way.  It can take a long time to heal.

I'll be back soon with a less intense topic {smile}. 

Thanks for listening friends!

{michelle} 

Ordinary

I am sure I am not the only one who will find it strange that 

I think we are an ordinary family.

I am even laughing as I write this because I realize how funny it all sounds.

Us, ordinary.

Yes, even with all the stares, picture taking, and whispers.  

Plain ol' us.  

We don't have highly groomed backgrounds.

Well, maybe the six-year-old does {smile}.

We haven't traveled the globe.

We don't speak other languages fluently...anymore...unless you count boy as a language.

We haven't finished a triathlon.

{maybe because many days feel like a marathon?}

We don't vacation in exotic places.

Usually we can be found pretty close to home.  

We are a fairly common, typical species...

We {try to} climb trees and pick at their roots.  

We run and explore. 

We get all snuggled up in a towel after sprinkler fun and ask mommy what's for dinner.

We get up close and personal with the creepy crawlies.

Visiting our favorite carousel is a special treat.

And if we feel like getting extra crazy, we take a trip to our local tree farm.

We hug our big brother before he goes off to school, and say

what mom says, "I'll miss you sweetie."

We run some more especially in the sunshine. 

We pretend the bikes we are trying to pedal are our motorcycles, and 

we are part of the most awesome motorcycle gang ever.

And we kiss our brothers' boo-boos on both knees when he asks.

Yes, we are pretty ordinary, but our boys and our life....

well they're extraordinary!!!!!

Enjoy your Sunday sweet friends!!

{michelle}

Pictures

Beyond excited to finally have our pictures from last Spring we took down at Purdue!  Can't believe the boys are a whole year older...whoa that was fast!!  I will update this post later with more including some from fall and the photographer information.  
Just wanted to share before the day got too crazy.  

Happy Saturday friends!!

{michelle}

Label Love via The Social Home

When we started this mudroom-pantry-laundry room update

on that same limited budget, I was drooling over all of the 

awesome pantry inspiration found on Pinterest.

One thing I really wanted to do was pretty up my containers.

OK, I had zero, zilch, nada on the container front.  

My shelves were lined with ziploc bags full of ingredients.

I knew while I love the OXO containers, I would nevah, evah, 
be able to shell out upwards of ten dollars for one container.  

Not even upwards of five.  Nope.

I seriously have no doubt as to the awesomeness of how they store food, 

but the container would cost more than its contents.  

I was also getting super tired of things being past their expiration date, 
like way past not safely past, or getting lost in the mess, 

especially baking ingredients.  I don't like how I feel when I waste food,

knowing some of the tough spots we and so many others have been in.   

Our pantry is usually not overflowing because I cannot...

1. afford to keep it stocked to the rim

and 

2. I try to buy more fresh food having boys with medical histories 

{cancer survivor, coronary heart anomaly}

I would love to extreme coupon, and I know we aren't in a position to be picky, 

but I like when my pantry is stocked with the healthy staples we need, 

the things my guys like, including some treats.  

Seriously I just feel good when there is enough on the shelves for us. 

So what could I do on a very limited budget to pretty up my pantry?

Well take a look at one of the inspiration photos from my new friend

Jen at The Social Home.  

  

  This is her Pantry Pretty: Dollar Store Pantry Makeover!  

Gorgeous right?  


And yes, her containers came from the dollar store, seriously!
So I headed to our Dollar Tree {Jen is in Canada, they  admittedly have some better options,
but do not despair} between there and IKEA I did find some containers that would work well
and more importantly, I bought ten containers for TEN bucks and change not fifty!!  


I also wanted to organize and label them nicely like in Jen's makeover,
especially as our pantry is large and open in our mudroom.  


Well I was in luck because Jen also has an ETSY shop
The Paper Society full of label awesome-ness!!


I adore the Custom Kraft Pantry Labels in both designs.
Here, I used the flourish to define a little breakfast area in our kitchen....

{looks like it's time to get to Trader Joe's for some more cereal
for the big guy, I wish my boys would eat it...nope pancakes, eggs,
they want the good stuff!}

and the chevron looks great on the dollar store containers in the pantry....

I have to admit too that getting so many of our staples into 
containers makes it much easier for me to see what we need.
While when I bring the groceries home there is a little more work,
it is so worth it to be able to plan better, visualize what we have,
what we need, and just feel like I now have a pantry plan,
which really is necessary for us.


It's so purty now {smile}.


I will be sharing more soon, we are about 90% done to our midway plan. 
Someday we will have the budget and time to finish up the master plan.
For now, I am thrilled with my containers and labels and no more wire shelves
thanks to the hubs and I putting our heads together to come up with 
an inexpensive solution. Doesn't take much for me!


In case you missed it, here is the 

Kids Chem Lab {How-To}
my real favorite part of the mudroom!  

You just have to stop by Jen's lovely blog, 
take a look at some more of her amazing ideas...


A Nine Dollar spice cupboard...so clever and neat...

Dollar Store Spice Cupboard

Free printable mini-labels...just to get you started...

Free Printable Mini Labels

I promise you'll love her carrara marble backsplash too...
she has fantastic taste and finds the bargain to match in this one!

Carrara Marble Backsplash and Kitchen Tour

Until soon!
{michelle}

Drinking the Hatorade....

Okay, so usually I would not even blink to devote a post to negative comments,

but,

my oldest was bullied last week, yep on the playground, and we have been talking

to him about sticking up for himself, so I am going to walk the talk.

Today I found some traffic coming from a site that I am not about to give

any attention to other than to say, women especially moms

need to stop drinking the hatorade, seriously.

Encourage and lift each other up and if someone does something

you aren't doing, instead of anger, envy, whatever, just try this

be happy for them,

novel idea right?

The comments were in regards to our playrooms, 

hey I can hang with sarcasm, 

but not only was it uncool, it was unsolicited.

I will continue to put out good in the world,

that's just me and spend time creating special spaces for my children,

it's what I do, and I know a lot of other moms do too,

and if it's not your thing, no big deal either.

You'll never see or hear me judge.

For the record though...

No my little boys do not have access to paint, markers, etc. that's all stored,

they can get at chalk and they use it appropriately for the most part..

If you come visit you'll see some marks on the wall, last time I checked it didn't kill anyone.

Actually a valuable lesson was learned.

Second, yes my oldest has a separate playroom upstairs because four of our boys 

share a room right now, eventually that will change.

If you had quadruplet younger brothers
 {no matter how much you love them as he does} 
you'd need some time and space to yourself too.

Third, thanks to lovely Chicago weather we spend A LOT of time indoors,

I have FIVE boys six and under to keep busy, you bet I am going to take a lot of time

figuring out how to best do that to meet all of our needs,

and to keep my little men learning and growing

and yes I put a lot of energy into it A LOT and 

a lot of time is spent teaching.

Fourth, my oldest is six and reads + comprehends as if he were a fourth grader, 

no not bragging, just a pure and simple fact, so he needs a space that challenges him.  

Finally, I do believe the time and effort put into children directly correlates to many things like attention span, creativity, love of learning, listening to instructions, etc. 

and no you don't need a fancy place to do that.  

So no, you don't need perfect playrooms {sorry, sarcasm}, 

just a positive attitude really, that's the best thing to pass along to your child

anytime, anywhere.

Thanks for listening,

Happy Friday,

{michelle}

Kids Chem Lab {How-To}

I have a boy who loves science.

There I admit it {grin}.

No, it's not so surprising,

he also loves books, sports, and lots more.

He really is curious about so much.

I like fostering the passions my children have.

When we built this house, we were allowed to change very little
from the set plans and we chose to do a lot of things ourselves,
including leaving the mudroom sink plumbing roughed in.
We were finally able to put in a sink, and while we would have loved
a much more elaborate sink, the most inexpensive does the trick.


Then I had this idea, after purchasing a couple
BYGEL Rails from IKEA for $1.99. 
It had this awesome basket  as an option for $1.99 as well.
You know me, always looking for a bargain.
For $3.99 each I got these very cool recycling bins  that 
also hook onto the rail.  I am just in love with this system
and thinking of other spots in our home to put it!


{sorry, tangent}
The lightbulb then went off, 
to make a little corner of the mudroom into
my little scientists' very own for his experiments. 


A Kids Chem Lab!


We were always hauling his kits out and all the ingredients and then
trying to put things away before dinnertime, keep them away from the little
crew, and now he has a designated space, an Easter gift from us
that we worked on together, spurred on by that IKEA trip, which was really fun.  


I am good as long as he doesn't blow up the house. {smile}


So...here is what we came up with...pretty cool right?!!

Most of the goods came from American Science and Surplus

which I have mentioned before and is an amazing store we are fortunate
to have near us.  On the day we visited everything was on sale 10-30% off, 
score!!  The best part you can buy everything separate from plastic test tubes and beakers
to goggles, even yes, the coveted drinking bird and you can shop online, nice!



{No I am not compensated at all, they don't even know about my little blog,
we just think it's a groovy place!}



E was in heaven picking everything out, especially the little periodic table and the goggles because they just make everything official {sweet}.  

We added a couple really great books...

Janice Van Cleave's Chemistry for Every Kid
Usborne's Big Book of Science Things to Make and Do
that use most items you'd find in your kitchen or pantry
and filled up and labelled the little jars.  

The kits that were gifts and started him out on this whole path,
are stored underneath the little laundry skirt, for easy access.  

These are great for a first foray into Chemistry.
ScienceWiz Chemistry
{which was purchased for E by an aunt and uncle that are actually Chemists, so cool!}
The Magic Schoolbus: A Journey into the Human Body
Scientific Explorer's Magic Science

I added 2 corkboards also from IKEA and painted some graphics
onto them in the color scheme of our mudroom for E to add all of his
notes and ideas, the project was about $12.00.


And, the reaction on my little guy's face?  Well, priceless.
Worth all of the effort and such a fun little area to show to his friends.


It all started with baking soda volcanoes and turning pennies green,
who knows where it will take him?!!


Enjoy the day friends!!
Just don't blow anything up {grin}.
{michelle}

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