Are you happy now?

For reasons I'm not quite ready to share, today was a rough day for me.   At one point I was sitting on the couch crying.  Peach came up to me.  "Mom, don't be sad," she said.  Then she proceeded to bring me all the stuffed "snowballs" we have in the house.  "Mom, throw them at me."  I threw them, but very few hit her.  "Oh mom, you're such a bad thrower. Watch me and learn."  She threw them all at me.  "Throw them again."  This time she ran a few feet away, did a partial split, bent over, and looked at me from between her legs.  "Bet you can't hit my bum," she laughed.  Every time I tossed them she tossed them back, pealing laughter as they bounced off her head, mine, and cheetahs.  Finally I couldn't help but laugh myself.  "Are you happy now?" She  finally asked.  "Yes dear, I am."  And while I'm still full of much sadness the truth is I was also full of so much joy to have such a lively daughter who recognized my sorrow and went out of her way to ease my burden.  

Ringling Sisters

 Sometimes being a family of six I feel like I live in a literal circus.  The noise, the crazy, the laundry.  I feel like all we need is a tent and we could start selling tickets.  It doesn't hurt the fantasy that this kind of behavior is the norm.  "Hmm, a rocking horse, I bet I could stand on it," says every kid in my family on a daily basis, and this includes Cheetah although her single rider attempts were thwarted by mom rather then recorded for future consumption.  I'm thinking that showing them "Wild Heart's Can't Be Broken" would probably be a mistake.  Speaking of that movie who doesn't have it on their favorite list?  Romance, horses, enough said.  Anyway these antics are pretty much the norm.  I can't tell you how many Sunday's I've walked by the primary room and seen Gigi hanging from one item or another.  Seriously people...a circus!

"This Is My Song"

I sung in church today.  For those of you who know me really well you will understand that this was a reluctant act.  I come from a family that loves to sing.  My mother is very musical and most of my life has been in either church or show choirs.  I cannot even tell you the number of times that people have turned around and told her how beautiful her voice is.  She is a alto, she likes the belt, and she is hard to miss.  I love to sing as well but it makes me very anxious.  I prefer to keep my singing to in the car or in large groups where I can sing loud but enjoy the security of a group.  But last week the Relief Society President asked me to sing in our lesson dedicated to hymns, and so for her I did.  I sung "Be Still My Soul" which happens to be one of my favorite hymns.  I also was asked to share a little about the hymn.

It was during this research that I discovered the tune is actually the same used for Finlandia.  Composed by Jean Sibelius, words added in 1941 by Veikko Koskenniemi, the tune is one of the most important national songs in Finland.  It also has been used in many other hymns.  It was while looking through the hymns that I stumbled upon "This is My Song" which apparently is a song sung by the United Methodists.  I loved it from my first time reading the lyrics.  They are as follows:

This is my song, oh God of all the nations,

a song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;

but other hearts in other lands are beating

with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,

and sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too and clover,

and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

This is my song, thou God of all the nations;

a song of peace for their land and for mine.

This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth's kingdoms:

Thy kingdom come on earth thy will be done.

Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him,

And hearts united learn to live as one.

Oh hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations;

Myself I give thee; let thy will be done.

These words were so beautiful to me.  I have parents who come from two different countries.  My mother is American and my father was born and raised in Mexico.  It always gave me an interesting view on National Pride and what that really means.  Does it mean the raising of one's own country or one's own self above others?  American Exceptionalism, does that mean that we are the best far above others? Sometimes I feel like people lose sight that National Pride does not have to be accomplished by degrading other nations and it has always made me exceptionally uncomfortable.  Let me tell you a story about my father that may better illustrate where I'm coming from.  

Most of my life my father has either been in the Military or the Reserves.  When the Second Gulf War came, even though he was almost in his 50's he was called up to serve.  During that time he wrote me in a letter, "In the back windows of my truck I have two huge flags, one is the American, one is the Mexican."  It touched me deeply to think of his love for both his Nations.

It is this sentiment that resonated so clearly with me in "This Is My Song".  "This is my home, the country where my heart is, here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine, but other hearts in other lands are beating, with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine."  Just beautiful.  I hope that we never lose sight that the Church is a global church.  That God is a God of all Nations.  That all people have hopes and dreams and value that is as great as our own.  May we always been looking for the best in others, drawing on their strengths, and working together to strengthen up each others weaknesses.  

Pumpkin Carving

This year daddy had a week off from work in the last week of October and so a job that was normally mine got delegated to daddy.  He took on the annual carving of the pumpkins and I was happy to hand over the job.  Pumpkin guts are gross!  So this year while Dr J was carving I headed to the grocery store to shop alone.  Dr J let the kids pick the design they wanted and then set them to work pulling guts.  The pumpkins took a little longer then my usual fare, but the results were far beyond mine.  The results were definitely appreciated by the trick or treaters who came by.

Trunk or Treat

Can you call this a Mormon tradition?  Well we certain seem to favor it.  This year though rather then meeting at the church we met at a ward member's house who happens to have a lot of property right next to a grave yard.  A huge bonfire was built and rather then a chili cook off we had a weenie roast, marshmallows, and plenty of sides (which in my opinion was the best part of dinner).   Games for the kids were held, pictures taken, and then the kids walked a row of cars parked on the property.  Being outside surrounded by big trees that looked black in the fading light definitely added to the spoke factor.  Seriously it was my favorite trunk or treat ever!   

Raging fire....well certainly hot enough to melt my face while I toasted and roasted everything my family ate.

Um yeah, she's happy with her candy haul!

Mommy

Daddy

This kid loves hotdogs! 

Pirate Gigi!

Our car.  Dr J brought some of his work home with him!

Two more pirates.

We Are Back To Potty Training

Potty training...few words bring more fear then those two to this seasoned mom.  Even my easiest child to potty train, Miss Gigi who was poop trained at six months and pee trained by 15 months still took a lot of time and patience.  I've had a few friends who say just wait until they are three but the idea of a whole more year of big people poops...well mentally I just can't handle it.  So we are back on the potty training band wagon.  The four best tips I can give you....

1) Small potties rule.  I know in these pictures cheetah is on the big potty but in general we use a tiny guy like this... I love this chair so much.  One, cheetah can fit on it all by herself.  Two, it means their are two potties in the bathroom.  Three, it can be easily moved anywhere.  Four, there is one solid piece of plastic so there is no place for icky stuff to hide or get stuck when cleaning.   

2) Make potty part of everyday life.  I know there are people who still have modesty but when you have four kids, you might as well kiss that goodbye.  I potty with my babies in the bathroom all the time and even monologue it for my babies.  Do you think I want people in my bathroom?  Do you think I don't know people who monologue their live are a little loony bins?  But these are the breaks of motherhood and letting your kids know from a small age what is going on just helps them.

3) The sooner you can get a kid on the potty the better.  I like to put my kids on the pot almost as soon as they can sit up.  I don't expect them to be potty trained within the week or even the year but I don't want them to fear the potty either and I find that the sooner I can get them on and cheer their successes, the happier they are about it when we really get to the serious potty training.

4) My final word of advice PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE....some kids are going to potty train in a day, some are going to take a week, some are going to take a month, some kids (one of mine who shall remain nameless) may be having accidents for a year.  The more positive you can stay the better and that means patience.  It is a hard job, a dirty job, but someone has to do it.  At least this time I have some help from Gigi!

Cloth Your Kids On The Cheap - How To Find the Best Deals on KidsClothes

When you have four kids and a hubby who has been in school and training for the last eleven years you find a lot of tricks to keep them not naked, even if that is their preferred state, no names mentioned!  Here are some of my best trips.

Free is Always Best-I am all about hand-me-downs.  It is kind of easy when you have three daughters.  One girl outgrows something and as long as it still looks decent it gets passed down to the next girl in line.   I actually have a bin in each child's closet for clothes they will be growing into, so when one daughter outgrows something I just put it in the bin for the next girl down.  For years I even saved boy clothes, but after seven years of not having another boy I just sold everything off in a mega consignment sale.  I figured if I do every end up with another son he probably doesn't want ten year old plus clothes, but with the girls this system works great.  I also am lucky to receive the occasional hand me down from friends.  I have a few girlfriends who are moms who have daughters just slightly older then mine and they will often ask me if I want to go through stuff they are going to get rid of.  My answer...always yes!  My sister also has daughters that fall in between mine and we trade clothes back and forth.  The downside, kids aren't always going to match up exactly on sizes to seasons, especially when they are young.  Clothes can get warn out so do yourself a favor and chuck the bad stuff.  Nothing worse then opening up your bin and realizing you have a ton of stained up Tee shirts.  The upside...FREE!

Second Hand-There are four ways I've bought clothes for my kids second hand.  My favorite is garage sales.  You can get some seriously cute stuff for some seriously small money.  The best way to go is to look for sales that are selling what you want.  Craigslist and your local online newspaper are your friends.  Look under garage sales and scoop out sales that are close to you and selling what you want.  I love the site Yard Sale Treasure Map.  It tells you what sales are in your local area, plots them on a map and even tells you what is advertised at the sale.  Make a note of the date, time, and address.  Take cash and show up ready to deal.  Know what you are looking for, types of clothes, sizes, how much you need to buy, and how much you are willing to pay.  Make sure to look the items over carefully.  Nothing worse than getting home and realizing there is a rip or stain you didn't see before you purchased.  If you feel the price is to high ask if they are willing to go lower, even give them the price you are willing to pay at.  The worst that can happen is they could say no.  More often than not, especially if you are buying a lot of items they will be willing to deal.  For years all Gigi wore were Gap pants and this is where I got them.  I'd hit the sales, look around and never pay more than $1 a pair.  So worth it.  The upside-you can get great stuff at a great price, especially if you are willing to bargain.  The downside-garage sales can be time consuming and you don't always know you are going to find what you need.  Mainly they are seasonal, peak time being the summer.  Now that I have four kids and a hubby who works every weekend they are not ideal.  Taking kids with you can be a major pain...they slow you down :)  Also as kids get older they are harder on their kids so you aren't going to find as much of the bigger sizes...especially for boys 4-8.  What is the deal with their pants, man the just really run those knees down!

Thrift Stores-  So my mom is a thrifter but for the most part I haven't been that in to it because most of the stores I'd been to (Goodwill I'm speaking specifically about you) really didn't have that much stuff at them and were seriously overpriced, but recently thanks to a friend I found one I really like.  Sure you still have to search through the stuff but every week they put a new tag color on 75% off, another color 50% off, and a third 25%.  A few weeks ago when I was putting Dr. J's shirts away I noticed one was getting a hole by the collar.  This happens all time time.  He has to wear a dress shirt almost everyday and at six days a week of work, well they take a beating.  So this time I went and checked out my favorite thrift store, and for seven dollars I got him six great looking dress shirts and a striped polo. I mainly just check out the clearance stuff but a few weeks ago I found a pair of brown boots for Gigi that she loves...ones she's going to have to wear until she gets the pair I bought her for her birthday off e-bay.  Downside-a lot of digging.  Upside-cheap if you find the right place.

Ebay- The thing I love about e-bay is sometimes you need something specific and e-bay is a great place to find it.  When I needed a pair of super tiny ballet and tap shoes for Cheetah e-bay is where I got them for a great price.  Recently I wanted a pair of really nice leather boots for Gigi.  She had a pair of boots two winters ago that she loved and wore like everyday. They were made out of knock off swede and after a winter they were in shreds.  She'd loved them so much that last winter we bought her another pair and once again by the end of winter they were done.  This year I decided the girl deserved a pair of leather boots that would hold up better to the winter worth of wearing she was going to give them.  So I went searching on e-bay.  With her size and what I wanted plugged in I found the perfect pair of leather gap boots.  They were on a buy now option and I got them for $14.  I can not wait to give them to her.  I know she will love them so much I'm saving them for her birthday.  Downside-Cost might be a little more, especially since you'll have to figure in shipping.  Can't try anything on or see it in real life before you buy.  Upside-You can shop from the comfort of your own home and search for very specific items and they get delivered right to your front door.

Consignment Sales/Stores- Now that I have four kids and a whole lot less time I will often shop consignment.  Most areas have consignment sales that will come once or twice a year.  They will advertise in the paper, billboards, online, and at mother's groups.  They are a great way to look for a lot of stuff at one time.  Often they will have a day where stuff is half off.  I suggest going without kids and being prepared to push through a lot of people.  Know what you want, sizes, and what you are willing to pay, be ready to move fast, and try not to get overwhelmed with the racks and racks of clothes.  Also if you have clothes lying around that aren't going to be put in bins for hand me downs, consignments sales are a great way to get rid of them.  The downside, the cost might be a little more and they are often crazy.  The upside they have lots of variety and will often also have toys, maternity clothes, and some will even have baby items like strollers, cribs, and high chairs.  Consignment stores are sort of the same deal only they are there all the time.  We have a local one that I love.  With four kids they have been great.  Last summer when the girls needed some summer dresses I walked in, went to their size, grabbed three dresses a piece, paid and walked out.  This summer when I needed outfits for our summer beach picks I checked the consignment store out first.  I found all three of the girls dresses there and bought them for less then fifteen dollars total.  When I needed Halloween costumes I went to the consignment store. Twenty minutes, and twenty dollars later I had three adorable pirates.  The downside-cost are higher than garage sales.  The upside-lots of variety you can see and touch with your own hands.

Retail- So I definitely believe the motto that you should never pay full price and there are some stores that make this easy for you.  Some of my favorites...

Kohl's-If you have a credit card with them they will send you monthly coupons.  The best ones are for 30% off when you use your kohl's card.  I love to combine them with their sales.  The best sale comes at the end seasons.  Kohl's will eventually knock the prices down by 90%.  Combine that with a 30% off coupon and Kohl's cash and you are in serious business.  The upside-new is fun. The downside-the closer you get to 90% off the more cleared out the selection gets.

Target-So I have to admit I'm in this store probably more then I should be.  They have some really cute stuff for kids and often have stuff on clearance.  I usually like to pick it up around 50% before the selection gets to cleared out.  I've gotten some really cute skinny jeans for my daughters here, and all of Captain E's shorts from last summer came from the 70% off rack, plus if you use a Target card you can get an extra 5% off.  If you aren't a fan of credit cards you can actually attach your Target card to your debit card.  All you need is a check to do it.  The upside-tons of cute stuff.  The downside-you can spend way too much money here, quickly!

Gap/Old Navy-This stores belong to the same parent company.  You can get a credit card with them to earn gap money back on money you spend and cash off.  They often have sales.  They often have coupons.  I've signed up to their online mailing list and get coupons from them probably at least twice a month.  The best coupons are usually for 30% off.  Combine that with sales, and cash back and you are in business.  I love Old Navy around the Holidays.  They always do costumes 30% off a few weeks after the release them and they are some of the cutest better quality ones you can find.  They also do really cute holiday gear which they also mark down 30% off a few weeks after it comes out.  If you like doing matching dresses for Holiday this is a great way to go.  Check out their outlet stores for even better deals.  The upside-Cute, cute!  The downside-prices are going to be a little higher.  Also you need to pay attention to when the deals are and when the coupons are e-mailed out.

The Children's Place-This is one of my favorite new retail places to shop for my kids.  About twice a year they do a monster sale when the season is over and put things at deep discounts.  I like to drive out to the outlet store because the discounts are even deeper.  I combine that with coupons I get in my e-mail by signing up on their site, as well as a 5% off I get for using their credit card.  Using this strategy I've been able to walk away with bags of clothes at great prices.  This is my favorite place to buy jeans for my kids now that they are older.  When school starts I wait for the jean sale and combine that with a coupon that always seems to come out around the same time, along with my 5% off from my card.  At around 8 dollars a pair I buy each child (the two older ones since they don't have any hand me downs) 5-7 pairs and call it good for the winter.  The upside-great prices.  The downside-the best prices are on stuff at the end of the season.  I buy ahead and keep it in the bins, but sometimes the sizing might not work out quit right the next year, and of course you have to store it.