A GREAT weekend!

What a GREAT weekend! I got to start the weekend on Friday morning by going to a podcasting convention with friends. The group of people there were THE most positive and welcoming people I have ever come across! It was so full of information and encouragement! I am SUPER fired up to start my cast and share my experiences as a Mommy of Many and a military spouse. I am fortunate enough to be working with a great guy who is all set up with the right equipment and know-how. It just all feels right and good! I should be able to announce my first cast very soon. Whoo Whoo!
Last night was the HC Ball. So much fun! The longer we are in this community, the more great people we meet. It was a lot of fun to see so many familiar faces in one place! Ok, it was fun to get dressed up too. I think I met a new hairdresser last night. It's time! Clay looked fabulous and had a great time as well.
Another exciting thing is that I'm leaving in just a few days to go see Kateri and JJ. It will be so nice to see them and see the campuses they are each on. They both sound like they are having great experiences and are in the right places. But, we miss them! Thanksgiving will be so nice, having them both here. Think of me as I take this trip, because I am a little nervous about it. I haven't traveled in a long time.
I hope you each had a wonderful weekend and that positive and encouraging people crossed your path!
Good night~

Great Ideas

Alright, I'm no computer whiz, so I am hoping that I am going to add a link to this blog that will lead you to an interview of a woman, Trish Berg, who is the author of a book about supper swapping. (well the link thing didn't work, but you can find her at www.trishberg.com) I had never heard of her and found her link on another blog. When I listened to her interview, I wanted to share it. I think it's so important for women to band together and share with/help each other. I know that I love to share baby clothes. It saves $ and it saves space. Plus, let's be honest, we ALWAYS have too many clothes for one baby to wear. So, I call friends who have a baby who is the size and gender of the clothes that are in my garage and then they are put to good use, instead of taking up the room in my garage (or cupboard, drawer, closet, storage unit, etc.). When they are done with the clothes, they pack them up (free to throw away anything damaged or add anything they bought) and either hand them back to me so that I can pass them on again OR they can hand them to another mom who's baby can use them, with the understanding that they will again be returned or passed on. The mom who starts the clothes sharing always knows who has the clothes and can have them back if she needs them for another child when the mom using them is done. I love it and I always like to see what's been added. BTW, I have baby boy clothes from newborn to size 12m. that are waiting for someone to use them. Any takers?

A Successful Day

I love this picture! This was taken yesterday evening, after each of these 2 monkeys had several time-outs in the corner. They look so peaceful here. I tell you, time-out in the corner is a good tool. I always tell them t0 take the time there to think about what they did wrong and why. I give 1 minute per year, so it stinks to be 8 or 13! ;-) Anyway, they ended their day of pushing each other, taking things away from each other and generally being yucky to each other, like this.
So, yesterday I drug myself out of bed at 4am to go to the grocery store to get all I needed to make the cupcakes for school. The store does not open until 5am. I was not going to wait around. I went into a 24 hr. drug store instead. Shopping at 4am is costly! I got home and quietly took everything out, so as not to wake the 1 or 2 yr. olds. Guess what.......no cupcake papers! I did, however, have some cute star-shaped tins and used those. It cracked me up when I got to the school that the teacher was all a-gog over the star cupcakes. I love it when my accidents turn into people thinking I am amazing. Hee Hee! So, I pulled the morning off. Even got the Morning Memo up and Tristan's important papers for the week on the white board. Go me! But let me tell you, by about 3pm I was SO tired. I went to bed around 10 and got plenty of sleep. So much so, that around 4am, I was awake and thinking amazing thoughts. I had bright and brilliant ideas. Now, they are gone! I have been trying for hours to remember the funny story I was determined to write to Reader's Digest. What is it about those early morning thoughts. They sparkle and then fade away. I need to have a notebook by the bed so I can jot these, pixie-dust inspired, things down! I'm sure Clay would LOVE that! "Honey, why is the light on"? No light, you're dreaming. :-)
Today has already been a small adventure. When I returned from taking the kids to school, I discovered that the front door was locked and I had the wrong set of keys. So, I asked the 4yr. old to head around the back and come through to let us in. I stood at the front door with my purse, coffee and diaper bag while holding the dog who was trying to lunge for a neighbor and her dog (the dog has now started riding to school with us at the insistence of the older children), while shrieking at the baby (in my kindest, urgent voice) not to go into the street and then answering the phone that was in my pocket because the babysitter was calling. Then I had to wonder where Gabi was. Whew, stuck in the van. Good place for her! ;-) Max came through the front door and I rounded everyone and everything up and into the house (yes, I remembered to get Gabi out of the van). When I finally put everything down and got the kids sitting down, I found the right set of keys in my pocket!
To a good day!~

A Loss

Yesterday, one of Clay's friends, who was stationed on Guam, went down in a helo crash. He leaves behind his wife. This is the second crash, this year, that involved people Clay knew. Please remember the pilot and his family in your prayers and thoughts today.
Thank you~

Happy Birthday to US!

Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy, happy, happy birrrrrthdaaaaaay! A little note to my sister, Beth, my good friend, Kristine, my Aunt, Tammie and the lady at the local Starbucks. Oh yeah, also to the ex-husband of a lady I just met today. :-) We all share today as our birthday. What a great day for so many of us to share! My day was full of handmade cards from the kids, a lunch with my husband and a homemade, ice-cream cake from Maddi. Plus I received many phone calls, emails, myspace comments and in-person wishes. Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I'm starting the week behind! I will be getting up around 4am tomorow and heading to the store to get the eggs, milk and cake mix I need for baking the 24 cupcakes I signed up to bring to Max's preschool class. I'm just too tired to do it now. Plus, I had a couple glasses of wine with dinner and don't think it's best to be behind the wheel of the "White Whale". Shoot! I just remembered I need to pick up a case of bottled water to finish the "comfort bags" that were due to the school last Friday. Man, I really am behind! Sheesh, I didn't do a good job of promoting the annual fundraiser either. It was also due last Friday. I need to get into a better routine of posting the important stuff on the white board! So, my goal for tomorrow is to get the important stuff on the white board, finish the cupcakes and comfort bags and remember to look into the kids' backpacks as soon as they get home. Tristan lost 2 important pieces of paper last week. I've got to get my head out of summer and jump into the school routine with BOTH feet! This is a busy week because I have 2 meetings, the podcasting convention and the Navy Ball. Big breath!!!!!! One day at a time. One event and deadline at a time. It will all fall together and get done. One more big breath AND a glass of water!
Good night~

Juggling Life

Whew! The balls are all still in the air, but now I have to walk with them. That's how I'm feeling right now. It's all self-induced and I know it, but I'm still feeling overwhelmed. Wait! Didn't I say I felt overwhelmed BEFORE I decided it was a good idea to start a website, blog and podcast? Hmmmmm?! Honestly, I can manage anything, but the thinking about it is what makes me anxious. If I break it all down into small pieces, I'm good. Clay says I need more sleep. More sleep?! Ok, I'll try. I can work it in between 11pm and 4am. He's not satisfied with that answer. Ok! I'll try a new sleep regimen of 10pm to 4am. But not today. :-) So, the new website is coming along. I am www.mommyofmany.com. It's not up and running yet, but soon will have the blog and a podcast. I'll let you know as soon as it's ready. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a REALLY quiet day for a Saturday around here. It rained a little, so that canceled a couple of our planned events. The 3 older girls went to a bday party in the afternoon and Clay took the 4 littler kids to the park. It was SO quiet here! I got a little work done and later went down to the park to join them. Very nice! I have to put days like this into my "good memory" file to pull out when it's a tough Saturday. Well, I hope it was good for all of you too.
Good night~

What am I doing?!

I have been working hard to get all of this podcasting stuff in place. Some of that means that I am trying to move this blog to another site. You would still be able to access it here, but when announcing it to the public, there would be another website. So, yesterday I was working on doing that when, BAM! My whole site disappeared! I was sick! It took me hours to get it republished and lots of "on-hold" time on the phone. Anyway, it all made me realize that I haven't got the slightest idea what I am doing. I just wanted to throw my hands up and say, "ok, you're right, I'm in over my head and I quit". But I didn't and here I am today. I just really know NOTHING about how computers work and talk to each other and how moving things from one site to another works. It seems like so much to think about when all I really want to do is share stories and be connected. Ok, one hurdle at a time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, Clay and I are going to the ball (annual military function) next weekend. This means a new dress. So, I took the 3 little ones, while everyone else was in school and headed to the mall. You can imagine that I didn't get very much accomplished. I grabbed several dresses and headed to the dressing room. Thank goodness the large one was open, because I had the stroller with the 2 little ones in it and Max following along. Now, I should mention that I wasn't feeling the normal dread I feel, when about to try on clothes. The baby is getting older and I am busier since the oldest kids are gone (not as many people to delegate tasks to) and this all means less snack time for me (I've also found that since canceling cable, I don't sit in front of the TV late at night with a snack). I've started to shrink a little. A couple people have even commented on it. So, I grabbed those dresses in a size smaller than normal. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!! The ones I did manage to get on had to be zipped by Max (4 yrs. old) and if you've read any of my other posts, you get the idea that he's a straight talker. Well it was no different in the dressing room. When he was asked to zip one dress with a side-zipper, he tried with all his 4 yr old might and then stepped back and said, "There's just too much side". Point taken! I grabbed the matronly, black dress with an easy, up-the-back zipper and promptly checked out. Whew! I guess the accessories will have to speak of the beauty I hope to feel that night, 'cause the dress says , "there was just too much side".
Good night~

A pep talk

While there is no shortage of funny stories from the Lang home (I went department-store shopping with 7 kids for 2 1/2 hours yesterday) I’ve decided to use this little space for a pep talk to the ladies (gentlemen are welcome to read along) out there who are up to their eyeballs in life. It seems that everywhere I’ve been lately, I’m hearing requests for well-wishes, prayers and kind words for many a mother, friend, daughter, sister etc. As women we are stretched SO thin by the demands of our lives. And this is when sickness or lack of money don’t get in the way. Add either of those things and it’s enough to make you feel like you’re going to break. I know that in my life there were many times of the dollar being short and the weeks being long and sometimes I didn’t want to be the “strong” one anymore. I longed to be the poor woman huddled in the corner in need of great assistance from everyone. But we pull through those times, become stronger and then have something to share with others in the future. I’m so sorry to hear of the difficult pregnancies for various people right now and the scariness of having a family member who is ill or suffering or the stress of no money and expensive car troubles or stress over feeding a family for the whole 2 weeks in between each payday. I want to challenge each of us to hear one of those requests and either lift up these people in prayer and good thoughts or find the small way that you can make a difference for just one person in need that is close to you. We will make it! Keep your head up! These hard times will pass and you will be able to look back on them and breathe deeply knowing that you made it.
Have a great day!

Learning something new

The other day I decided to take my kids for a “treat” and let them play in the McDonald’s play place. They were excited because I can’t even remember the last time I did this. When my older kids were little we used to do it all the time, but now I just don’t think about going to McDonald’s. Once we got in there and they had their shoes off and started scrambling up the tubes to discover what wonders lie ahead, I remembered why I don’t do this anymore. My skin was crawling and I think I may have even been twitching from the thought of what actually lie ahead in those tunnels. What sickness where they going to contract from the gunk that’s been left behind by countless other kids? I sat for about 10 minutes cringing, but looking excited for them, every time they would go to one of those little “windows” to wave hello and show me how much fun they were having. Finally I sent one of the older girls to buy ice cream cones for everyone so that I could entice them out of the germ-filled play place. I swear it was all I could do not to run for the Lysol wipes that were in the car. I had to think of what message the other patrons would be getting if they saw me stripping my kids down and rigorously cleaning them with Lysol? Either I’ve become a germ-phobe in my “old” age or I was too young and happy for an air-conditioned play place (we lived in the south for awhile) before. So I settled for cleaning their hands with baby wipes and made them put their shoes on (all the while, thinking,”yuck, yuck, yuck, I wonder what’s on their feet”) and handed them each an ice cream cone. This is when I learned something new. Tristan was contemplating his ice cream when he blurted out,”Mom, ice cream is a vegetable”. Oh really? “Yes, Mom. It has no seeds so that makes it a vegetable”.
There you go! The wisdom of an 8yr old.
Have a great day~

Child guided house-cleaning

What to do and where to start? These were the questions on my mind this morning when I looked around my messy home. I was finally going to have a day at home to clean and organize but couldn’t decide where to begin. The dishes? The laundry? The dining room floor?........I should not have worried so much. As the morning progressed, it became clear that my children were going to guide me through the house (and the yard) on my cleaning expedition. First stop; the dining room. After taking my older children to school I returned home with the 3 little ones and made them their second breakfast. The first one was cereal, this one was the, “make me feel like I’m a real mother and cook something” meal of eggs and toast. I sat them down and delivered the dishes. While they were happily eating a lovingly cooked breakfast, I decided to start a load of laundry. But just moments into the whole thing I heard a loud crash and the sound of a broken dish. What was I thinking?!!!! I had given Luke-Xavier a glass dish on his high-chair tray. Ok, obviously the message was, “not time to do laundry. Time to sweep and clean dining room floor”. Great! Thank you Lex for showing me where to start. Once that was cleaned up and everyone was done I let them go outside while I headed back to the laundry room. And soon I was guided to my next cleaning job......the back patio, followed by the bathroom. Lex, having not eaten the eggs and toast, was still hungry and decided that the dog’s breakfast looked more appetizing than the one I had prepared. But, the key to really good dog food is that you have to dunk it in the dog’s water first. MMMMMM! Gets just the right amount of flavor and texture going. So, out I go to sweep up the dog food and dump the water. But wait! I now have to bathe Luke-Xavier (Lex) because dog food not only tastes good,once it’s wet, it becomes a fabulous moisturizer. So, #3 on the cleaning list, the bathroom. I figured while he was in the tub I could get the rest of the bathroom wiped down. Mission accomplished. I dried him off and relished the fact that he now smelled like a clean baby and not a puppy. However, I had underestimated Max and Gabi’s need to show me where to clean next! So, off to the playroom! They both think that baking is great and like to help me or the older girls when we make something. This time, they decided to try it on their own. And why not?! After-all we have provided a perfectly good kitchen for them in the playroom They were just putting it to good use. Flour is hard to clean up (helpful tip of the day). Thank goodness I’d gotten there before the eggs were brought out. Well, by the time this was done, I no longer wondered where to clean. By now it was lunch time which meant back to the kitchen to start all over again. You’ll be happy to know that I did, finally, get that load of laundry done. And thanks to the guidance of my children the house looks great!
Child guided house-cleaning. Try it!
Good night~

Fit-throwers beware

I almost feel sorry for my last 3 children. Not because they don’t get enough attention. Not because they are at the end of the line or because they have to run around strapped into their car-seats for everyone else's’ errands. But because their fits just go unnoticed. They try so hard to make the fits REALLY big so as to shock me and break me down to a point where I just give in. Poor little kids! Take yesterday; Gabi and I drove to the post office to mail a package to JJ. She came along because she had drawn a picture for him and wanted to mail it. The package was already sealed so she was going to get a stamped envelope at the post office. Well, the place was crowded, blah, blah, blah. I won’t bore you with the details this time. By the time it was our turn she was screaming up a storm. I couldn’t even hear the postman’s questions (you know,”is there anything explosive”.....etc. Ha ha,”not other than my 2yr.old”). So ultimately, we mailed my package and she came home with her letter in hand. In the car on the way home she was screaming this high pitched, ear-splitting scream. I just kept driving. Finally she stops and says, “Mom, I am screaming!”. Yep, I know, but I’m not going to acknowledge it. I wish I had known this technique from the beginning of motherhood. My older kids reduced me to a pile of mush on too many occasions with their fits. The public outbursts especially made me break out in a sweat. Maybe it’s that I’m getting older or maybe it’s just experience, but I like this way a lot better!
Have a great day~

Living under the water

If it all keeps going the way it has for the last week or so, I am going to buy a Lottery ticket! God is GOOD! The planets are aligned. Or maybe it was the itchy palm I had a couple of weeks ago. Call it what you will, but things are just good right now. People are friendly, kind and encouraging/I’ve been treated to free coffee drinks on 4 occasions in the last week/our local Barista cleared out the pastry case into a HUGE bag for us to take home because they didn’t want to throw it all away..........so, if I show up with pastries to anything tomorrow, I’m not being overly generous, I am just sharing the goodness. Anyway, this little run of good luck/receipt of kindness has been nice to have and will be something to draw on in those times (that always do end up coming around) when you wonder if anyone is caring anymore.
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The kids’ imaginations have been flourishing recently and tonight they donned their Speedo goggles and Max buckled on his bike helmet (he doesn’t need the goggles because he has laser eyes) and they prepared for living under water. It’s the little snippets of the day like this that are important to grab. Sure, there was arguing over who sits where in the car or turned up noses at a lunch packed with the bits of stuff left in the fridge (ok, it’s the last few days before payday. You know, that LAST stuff) etc. But there’s always some little, good thing to find in the day to turn it around. Taking the time to write a little each night has been a good tool in helping me to find those moments. I mean, really, how interesting would it be to write about all the yucky or angry stuff?!
I hope you can each find one happy snippet to grab from today.
Good night~

Note to self

Dear Jen,
In the future, when filling a travel mug full of your morning coffee, take a few sips before hitting the road, to make sure that the mug does not leak or drip. Coffee stains don’t go with any outfit.
Ugh!
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So, yesterday (without coffee all over my clothing) I did something exciting! I went to a friends’ house and learned a little about podcasting. There’s tons to learn, but I am planning on getting my feet wet soon! I will keep you all posted. I’m excited! OOOOOOOO, maybe I can slip the “song of the day” in now and then..........:-)
Have a great day~

Grabbed by the giggles

This was an odd day at the Lang house. I had the unique experience of not leaving the house and not even getting properly dressed. We worked hard on many projects. The playroom took about 3 hours of our time. It’s, once again, a happy place to watch a movie or play with Legos. Then it was on to the bedrooms. With Kateri and JJ off to school, we’ve been shuffling beds and belongings. That took the rest of the day. I took the opportunity of being home to make a “good” dinner. We all sat around the table and ate on REAL plates. With the 2 kids gone, we can all pull chairs up to the table without adding the “extra” chair on either side that made people grumble about elbows and knees (however comfortable the table is, they are still sorely missed). At the table, the silliness started to be shared and we all ended up with a case of the giggles. Max had a wing of the chicken and found out that if you move one part, the joint makes another part move. Oh, the laughter that brought. Mariah let us all know that after dinner she thought it would be nice to take a “water bath”. Huh? I guess I don’t want to know how she usually bathes. Luke-Xavier is quite a character and decided to get in on the action by leaving a chicken bone in his mouth and blowing so that it seemed that he was smoking the chicken bone (we don’t smoke, so not sure where he got that one). I asked everyone to stop laughing at him so that he wouldn’t develop a complex about eating. Mariah found that particularly hysterical and said she would document the date so that some day when he has an eating disorder (no, we don’t find eating disorders funny!) she can point back to when they were all laughing about him smoking the chicken bone and have clarity on how his life was ruined. Geez! Anyway, it was a good evening with happy sounds around the table. By-the-way, you’ll be happy to know that my children talked me out of using my garageband application to record the, “song of the day” (a happy little tune about such things as diapers, dinner, the dog or laundry), each day and put it up with the blog. They reminded me that I would be the one singing and that people would hear me. Be thankful!
Good night~

Happy Birthday?

This has been bothering me and Clay is still away so I can’t talk to him yet. Yesterday a friend of ours who is a single father of 2 and working on beginning a 3rd marriage (we’ve know him through the first 2) dropped off an invitation to his daughter’s 12th bday party. Again I say, his daughter’s 12th bday party. The girls were excited because they know and like this girl. She has been one of their friends for about 8 years now. Well, the party is going to start at 3pm on a Saturday with pizza at a hotel in downtown. Then the girls are to have formal wear for dinner at the hotel, and a swimsuit for swimming there. They are supposed to stay overnight at the hotel and dress for breakfast the next morning (Sunday morning, we go to Liturgy and then the kids have ECF class). I’m just having a hard time with why the standard has been set so high! REALLY?......a 12 yr. old’s party at a hotel, overnight?! What kind of present is expected for a posh event like this? I suppose my $20 bill would just bring looks of scorn from the other girls who will be attending and who’s parents think it’s a wonderful idea to show a daughter how very special she is by throwing this kind of party. Personally I think it’s over the top and unnecessary. What sort of message is it sending to the girls? I’m of the old-fashioned attitude that a bday party should be in the backyard or a park with cake, a pinata and some play time for the kids. A day at the beach is a fine way to celebrate a bday as well. I know I am not going to be popular with my girls for poo-pooing this party, but first of all, Liturgy on Sunday morning with the family needs to be a priority and second of all I don’t think an overnighter at a hotel is a good idea at this age. Once I talk to Clay, maybe they can go and enjoy, pizza, swimming and dinner and then be picked up, but that’s where I draw the line.
Please feel free to leave your comment on this one. Thanks~

Max started Preschool

Where’s my lunch box?
“In the cupboard with the dog treats”.
And so started Max’s first day of preschool. He had a great time in Miss Allie’s class. I can’t think of a kid who wouldn’t. The classroom looks like she walked into Pottery Barn Kids and said, “I’ll take one of everything in red, please”. It’s a kids’ dream play place! It was super tough to get Gabi to leave! So, Gabs gets to be the big kids at home 2 mornings a week. And Max gets to join the ranks of the “school kids”.
I was able to talk to JJ yesterday!!!!!! He sounds great! After saying hello, he went right into his list of “needs”. So, off to the store I went. Does a day go by that I don’t have to go to the store?! It was so good to talk to JJ and to hear that he’s happy. He has hired himself a latin tutor. What a kid!
Once I had purchased the items of “need”, I headed to the UPS store. I had Kateri’s requested items and some ebay things that had sold (yea!). And the great mailing expedition of 2007 began! At the UPS store, they were very helpful getting me the correct sized boxes (thank you very much)but when they told me how much shipping would be (of course everything was already boxed up) I wanted to faint! They then let me know that a couple of my boxes were going to PO Boxes and that meant they had to go via the USPS and that they charge double for sending things to the USPS! STOP! Then I had to split everything up, tell them to charge me for the boxes, mail the stuff that wasn’t going to PO Boxes and hand over the other stuff. By this time the kids had started to call......”when are you coming home?” So, off to the post office. I managed to find a parking place (beach town, remember) and unload the armloads of items and got in line. I stood in line for about 10 minutes when I remembered that the addresses were on a piece of paper in the van. What to do?! I relinquished my spot and went out to the van. I swear 20 people showed up in that time! Back in line to wait for another 1/2 hour. And the kids just kept on calling.....”So and so dumped such and such/He’s running around outside in his underwear/She fed the dog cheese/Can I get on the computer?/When are you coming home?........Of course I was trying to quietly answer these phone calls and juggle the items I had to mail.....”Ok, Honey, that sounds great. I’ll be home shortly.” Everything finally got mailed and I think I will have a couple of happy kiddos in a few days and happy ebay buyers (I can hope).
More stories later. Have to get the kids to school.
Have a great day~

Adventures of Super Mama

Dun Dun Dun Dun Duh! Today was full of adventure! We started off by leaving the house for school (an 8minute drive) and hour early so as to find a parking place in the madness of the first day. I drive a 15 passenger van, so you can imagine parking becomes important. Everyone got off to school just fine and had a nice first day (1/2 days the whole first week). Then home for the 3 hours before we had to go back and retrieve the children. I had to do some paper work and you can see what Gabi and Luke-Xavier found to keep themselves busy (for all of 5 minutes). When I saw this, I kept thinking (and singing in my head),”Follow the white-diaper road. Follow the white-diaper road. Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the white-diaper road”. After cleaning up the neatly-laid diaper road, it was back in the van to drive in circles for 1/2 and hour waiting for a parking spot to open up at the school. Ugh! I forgot that the trick is to either leave REALLY early or get there 10 minutes late. Tomorrow! Got kids home and fed them a lunch of last night’s left-overs rolled in tortillas. I love tortillas! You can roll anything into a tortilla with a little sprinkled cheese on it and it’s good. But more importantly, the kids will eat it. The one good thing about 1/2 days is that you don’t have to pack lunches and can serve left-overs. Then back in the van for errands. Hooray! I got to go to not one, but 2 stores looking for the last item on our school-supply list; colored chalk. Not to mention looking for neon fishnet stockings (my old pair was getting worn out). Ok, they’re for a runway show that Mariah’s class is putting on. I see interesting people walking around in such items on a fairly regular basis. Just try shopping for some. Not easy! Came home without the lovely fishnets. Maddi was kind enough to make dinner while I was running around, so we fed the kiddos, signed a bazillion papers for school and then........back in the van! I was trying to be a good mother and fulfill Kateri’s away-at-college request for dried mango and individual soymilk boxes by going to our local Trader Joes. So, I buckled the 3 youngest into the van and off we go to Trader Joes for the items and to find Pokey (a stuffed fish hidden in the store that earns you a prize when found)! Yea! Yea! Yippee! Again, I drive a 15-passenger van AND I live in a beach town. Parking is at a premium. This parking lot is tiny and most-likely built only for those golf-cart style cars that locals like to drive to prove that they never really venture far from the beach. I drove around and then made people behind me really angry while I waited for a couple to vacate the perfect-I can get out of that spot-parking space. Whew! Finally! Open the doors on the van VERY carefully so as not to bash the cars on either side of us and squeeze through. Guess what?! No individual soymilk boxes OR dried mango. All out! I did manage to buy $36 worth of other items though. Max and Gabi love tomatoes and they just couldn’t resist putting the Heirloom tomatoes in the cart, “Mom, there are purple ones and ones that look like watermelon!” We made our purchase, retrieved our prizes for “trying really hard” to find Pokey and headed for the van. I didn’t bank on the baby grabbing our precious tomatoes out of the bag and spilling them all over the parking lot! Apparently he likes tomatoes too and just couldn’t wait. Forget it, they are staying on the ground and we are smooshing into the van and heading home! Fun tomatoes will have to wait for the next trip. At least waiting for the perfect parking spot paid off and I got out of there easily. Now the little ones are in bed, the bigger girls are preparing for tomorrow and I am ready to face tomorrow’s “Super Mama Adventure”. Wish me luck!
Good night~

Sharing, Gabi style

I am still chuckling about this!
This morning Arianna made smoothies for the kids. Apparently there wasn’t enough for Mariah. So, she asked Gabi if she could please have a share of hers. Gabi promptly took the spoon you see above scooped a big glob off the front of her shirt and offered it to Mariah. Mariah chose to do without.
This little, curly-haired, gypsy, child keeps us all laughing and on our toes! I have a new name. For the last 2 weeks, we were baby-sitting a family of kids that Kateri had been nannying for until she left for school. They call me, “Miss Jen”. Well, Gabi picked up on that right away and I’ve been, “Miss Mother” for the last 2 weeks.
Tomorrow is back to school for the remaining kids in the house (Gabi and Luke-Xavier will be the only ones at home full-time. Max will go to preschool 2 days a week). It’s been a little crazy around here getting uniforms in check and school supplies loaded up. I think we’ve pulled it off though. My last task of the night is to hem-tape Arianna’s new skirt, until we can get it to the tailor for hemming. Whew!
Maddi and I happened to be in the right place at the right time today. While at Vons we got in line for the Starbucks and the guy in front of us turned around and said he was buying the drinks for everyone behind him. It was almost like winning the lottery. Oh, wait! It was better because the last time I won anything in the lottery it was $1 and that won’t buy a Starbucks coffee.
Happy first day of school tomorrow!
Good night~
P.S. Clay leaves for another school tomorrow. Prayers for safety on his part and smooth sailing on our part please.

Solution to ALL problems! I swear!

A few minutes ago Max came pounding at the bedroom door (for the 75th time!). “Stop pounding on the door! I just need to finish getting dressed”. A shower and clothing were all I wanted. But, that’s another story........He actually had news this time. “Tristan’s tooth came out!” My instant response was, “tell him to get a drink of water”. I’ve found that this is the solution to all that ails you. Just ask my kids.
Kids-“mom, I have a headache”
Me-”get a drink of water, you’re probably dehydrated”
Kids-”MOOOOMMMMM, I’m bleeding!”
Me-”Quick! Get some water! Sit still and take a drink”
Kids-”My stomach hurts”
Me-”Ok, lay down and I’ll get you a drink of water”
Kids-”I feel really nervous about........”
Me-”That’s ok, I’ll get you a drink and you can relax”
It’s true! Just ask the poor little boy that was here for Tristan’s bday party. He leaned backward in hysterical laughter and busted his, poor, head on the piano. It required 5 staples that night! My panicked first response? “Ok, quick! Get him some water!”
And just where does this wonderful wisdom spring from (ha ha! A little water funny)? I think it’s a combination of being the oldest of 9 kids that used water as a solution to most problems. After all, our bodies are made up of x% of water and when it’s low it can cause a host of problems... And I’m married to a man who was a corpsman with the Marines for a few years. I’m pretty sure that water is the #1 treatment for the troops. So, if you’re feeling poorly, it’s probably a little dehydration. Try a nice, big glass of water and get back to me in 1/2 an hour.
Have a great day~

My Recording

It’s good that I can write in real words here and break out of the “recording” that is my daily speak. On any given day I say just about the same things, over and over and over again. They go something like this;
Stop touching that! Don’t scare the dog! Take out the trash! Do NOT jump on that/him/her! Sit down! Do not put that in your mouth! Get out of the refrigerator! Stop hitting him/her! Do not go out that door! Where did she pee? Feed the dog! Come back! Get down! Someone get the yelling baby! Where’s Gabi? Where’s Luke-Xavier? What was that noise? Who broke that? Get that baby! Come eat! I am going to have to start counting! Go get your underwear! That’s it, you have an extra chore! Lay down! It’s time for bed! Get back in your bed! Stop! I said, “now”! What did I just say?..........
Alright, you get the idea. And what response does all of this bring? Silence! Absolute silence! It drives me nuts! I might as well record myself saying all of these things, put it on to play in a constant random repeat and walk out the door. But wait!.......the second I walk out the door their “mom has left the vicinity” radar goes off and the silence is immediately broken with screams and sobs. I suppose if I really wanted them to, “get over here right now” I would just shut a door and have them all running right into my trap. Such mind games! Well, if nothing else, I will continue to chronicle our daily antics just so I can use sentences that are not demands.
Good night~

The Last Weekend of Summer

We could all use a little reminder that there’s something sweet to find in everything.
Well, summer is coming to an end. It was a weird summer around here. We didn’t get to some of our usual summertime activities like the nighttime zoo or driving out to Veijas (is that how you spell that?) to play in the shooting water and watch the light show or the annual camping trip that Clay has taken the kids on for the last several years. We did manage to have some fun though. I just can’t believe how fast it went by or all the change it’s brought to our house. I am still not used to being the only driver (except when Clay is home). Ted moved away and Kateri went to school. When I’m juggling schedules in my head I still try to count both of them in for driving kids places.
Ok, it’s off to ice skating today. This means another trip to the mall. They were smart with the location, because the rink makes $ and so do all of the shops! I am preparing myself to see all sorts of things that will be advertised as must haves. Thank goodness my kids wear uniforms because I’m not sure I could take the pressure of knowing they’d be uncool if I didn’t buy this week’s hottest fashion must. I tell you, the advertisers really know how to work it. I think we will be settling on new socks for Tristan (I know, I know. There are probably 500 pair in the sock basket, but who has time? Any volunteers?) and if I’m feeling especially free-handed I may spring for new underwear. :-) Honestly, after dropping $ on new uniforms and all that JJ needed to look “trad”, socks and underwear are almost luxury items.
Ok, here’s to the last weekend of the summer of ’07 and the start of a brand new school year!
Have a great day~

JJ leaving for school

We spent yesterday frantically packing JJ and gathering the last items needed for him to leave for school today. This a really good thing for him with lots of structure and kids he knows and gets along with. We are hoping it’s the answer to a lot of things. I have spent some days waiting quite impatiently for this time to come. However, packing him up yesterday and trying on clothes to see what fit and what he’s grown out of over the summer, was REALLY hard! Really hard. Having Kateri leave seemed natural. She had been away from the house more and more. She had completed high school in a way that made us all proud and knowing that she was moving on to the next phase of a great life. JJ on the other hand is 15. He’s been a constant presence in the playroom, on the computer, day in and day out. We hear his voice all the time. We argue and discipline and congratulate and give permission daily. It just didn’t feel as easy. I hope and pray that this is the best place for him to grow and flourish. He is an amazingly smart and talented guy. So smart! But his talents were not being put to use here. I will send an email with his mailing address for all to write to him. I suspect it will be hard to be without his siblings. Write to him and let him know we are all thinking of him and loving him and wishing him the VERY best!

Tired mom

I’m so tired that I sat down to write a REALLY funny idea I had had. But as I started to write it I could no longer remember the ending or why I thought it was funny! I think that’s my que to go to bed.
I did manage to list a couple more items on ebay today. And those Bratz dolls......5 bidders so far! Hooray! Now I’m going to sleep and dream of riches earned from our clutter.
Hope it’s been a good day.
Good night~

A Good Day

“Oh, the Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord, for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rain and” EVERYTHING!
It was a nice day with lots of encouraging words from various people. The kids had a fun day with the park and the pool. Clay is home. JJ is getting everything together for school. Kateri’s in a good place. We have a roof over our heads and food in the fridge (ok, it’s only old wheat grass and a potato, but we surely won’t starve!). I think it’s important to say it’s been a good day, when it has been. Thanks to everyone who was kind and encouraging today and to the many great people who are involved in the life of this family.
God bless and Good night~

The Ebb and Flow of $

Clay arrived at the airport late last night after being with Kateri for the last 5 days in Ohio. I’ve been particularly busy in that time with getting Mariah off to high school, shopping for JJ’s move out to school, Tristan’s bday, soccer practice and on and on. So, this morning he takes the cup of coffee I made for him and opens the refrigerator, reviews it’s scant contents and says, “grass and potatoes, that’s all anyone needs”. Kateri’s wheat-grass is still sitting in there doomed to wither and be sent to the garbage can and there are still a few useable potatoes left in the bag on the bottom shelf. We’ve gotten by just fine on hot-cereal for breakfast, pbnj for lunch and whatever, magically, wonderful concoction I come up with for dinner. There just hasn’t been any extra $ to run to Costco and buy all the fun, convenient foods that we usually have. I told him he can go to the commissary tomorrow after work for me. :-) He actually does a very good job of the grocery shopping when given the chance. But having the fridge be bare made me think of how our $ seems to go in cycles. There is the, “we have plenty of $, let’s take everyone we know to dinner” cycle, the,”Oh, gotta buy everyone new shoes. Thank goodness I didn’t splurge too much at Costco” cycle, the “just buy exactly what you need” cycle and the, “hmmmm, having a birthday party tomorrow. How am I gonna pull that one off?” cycle. Yesterday we were in the last cycle. But let me tell you, saving up, “store-credit” can be a good thing! I realized that I had NOTHING for Tristan’s party and couldn’t go out and make lovely goody bags, so off to Tuesday Morning I went with my $36 in store-credit. His whole party actually cost me $10 out of pocket. Now, while I was creative and everyone got “prizes” for games that we played, there were no children randomly singing my praises and shouting for joy because of the magnificence of the whole event. So, while having a virtually free party CAN be done, don’t expect elation from the children. Just expect messy cupcake faces, which are always a sign that they’ve had a good time.
Have a good day~

Song of the Day

Sung to the tune of What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor-
What do you do with a naked baby
What do you do with a naked baby
What do you do with a naked baby
When they’re sleeping soundly
Isn’t he sweet?! He had just had a bath and thankfully was put into a diaper before he nursed to sleep. My solution was to slip his arms into a blanket sleeper and leave the legs out. DO NOT write me and tell me that he’s going to thrash around in the night and end up strangling! He’ll be just fine!
So......I spent today in and out of the house (as usual). We made it out the door for Holy Angels this morning. It was nice to be back at Liturgy after weeks of evening Masses elsewhere. People said good bye to JJ and wished him well. He decided to serve today (it’s been a LONG time) and I really wish I would have had the camera. It was just so nice to see him up on the alter again. After Liturgy, I dropped most of the mob off and took JJ shopping for the clothing he needs to go to school with. Boy, they are very specific about each item;”Khaki pants, pleated, no cuff, 100% cotton or cotton blend, classic cut, not too loose, Khaki (not sand, stone or white).” I was so nervous that I was sweating just thinking that what I thought was khaki may in fact be “stone”. So my solution was to head to a men’s department with a nice, helpful man who knew what was what. However, JJ is not “man” sized just yet and we were only able to buy his sport-coat there (“Classic navy, not bright navy, or new navy, silver or gold buttons, two-button, not three). We will still have to make a last minute dash to find his dress pants (I’ll spare you the details) and his over-coat. The nice, helpful man kept saying, “Trad, very trad”. I am assuming it was short for traditional? Anyone?
After outfitting JJ, I dropped him off and picked up Mariah, Max, Gabi and Luke-Xavier to find Mariah’s final items to be ready for her first day of High School, tomorrow! By the time I got home, the ribs and baked potatoes I had planned to cook had to be shelved for tomorrow’s dinner (we can hope) and we had taco salad instead (thanks to borrowed tomatoes from the neighbor). It was pretty good! However, I found Tristan making a quesadilla with cheese and turkey a little bit ago, because I apparently forgot to ever bring his food out to him. He says that I told him his was coming next and just never brought it. In true “middle-child” fashion, he didn’t bother to say anything and took matters into his own hands. Poor kid! So............
Tomorrow we are having a few kids over to help celebrate his bday. Maddi offered to start cupcakes tonight and got started in true “Maddi baking” fashion (she does very well!). After a little while, I heard a shout and then crying........she had dumped the filled tin over into the oven. ~Deep Breath!~”It’s okay, Honey! I’ll clean it up. Thanks for trying so hard.” So, I put the half-naked baby to bed and prepared to clean out the stove.......for the first time since we’ve lived here! STOP CRINGING! (Carole, it’s finally happened). Did you know that if you don’t use the broiler pan, dust and cob webs build up? I figured that every time I used the oven that the sheer heat would somehow sanitize and clean the whole thing. It could happen! Well, parents of Tristan’s friends (hopefully none are reading this), do not worry! Your child’s cupcake will be baked, tomorrow, in a freshly cleaned and sanitized oven.
Good night~
P.S. “Jen, I thought you weren’t going to be on here for a few days because of all the FABULOUS things you have to sell on ebay”. Yeah, well, as you can see from the above, I’ll be lucky to list them in the next few days! But on the bright side, I have a bidder on the Bratz. Yes!

The day in review (already)

t’s 1:01 pm and I am already reviewing the craziness that is my Saturday. I found the above picture while holding the bathroom door shut with my foot to keep the screaming 1 and 2 year olds out. She used to have a head and is holding a glass of red wine with a cute phrase underneath that says something like; Take time for yourself. Even on the busiest day it’s important to take a break”. I had to laugh! How do I get that job?! So far we’ve been up at 5 am, gotten dressed, had breakfast, unclogged the kitchen sink, gone to the mall for ice skating, visited 5 bathrooms there (I will never cease to be amazed at how many times a potty-training 2yr. old can go to the bathroom), taken everyone home, left again to drop Mariah off at “family day” to volunteer at the nature center and come home to oversee the chores so that we also can go to “family day”. But, it was while on my way home from dropping Mariah off that I listened to Luke-Xavier scream his head off and thought of the Dirty Jobs guys from TV. There I am driving my 15 passenger van in my cute clothes, fixed hair and lipstick, thinking, is there anything dirtier than motherhood?! Potty accidents, dirty pool problems, mess after dirty mess on the various floors, dog accidents, gluck under beds and tables.............Hey, Mike Rowe, try keeping a home with 11 or even 8 people in it sanitary! Well, back to reality and the fact that I now have to put away the picture of “relaxing lady with glass of wine” and continue on to the dirty, crazy finish of Saturday~

The Great Lang Ebay Project

I’ve been putting things aside for about a year with the intent to sell them on ebay. So today, it’s finally time for me to get serious and get the junk cleaned out of here. I’ve started with this HUGE lot of Bratz dolls and will continue from there. It may be a few days before I get back to blogging etc. while I list everything and track it in hopes of making tuition possible for the kiddos. :-) We are listed under h46-driver on ebay, if you are interested in seeing what the Langs have to sell. Only the Bratz are listed right now. The other VERY WONDERFUL and VALUABLE items will be listed later today/tonight/tomorrow. Ice skates anyone?.........
Have a great day~

Tristan is 8 today

Well, it’s Saturday morning so, of course, I was up by 5am. Like I’ve said before, there’s some magical, cosmic force that wakes the children before dawn on Saturdays. I’m thinking it’s fairy dust or something of the sort because they always wake up in this euphoric state. However, any other day of the week, you can’t pry them out of bed before 7 and then you get foul tempers from children who can’t believe their day has already began. So, this morning, Luke-Xavier got me up at 5 and we’ve been partying ever since. Tristan was the 2nd to wake up (mere minutes after Lex) and today is his bday. Yesterday I took him to Target to spend the gift card he received from Grandma and Papa. He picked out 2 new Bionicles with names like; Toa Kongu and Jowlla. I am, of course, totally botching the “real” names. Tristan however, is fluent in many other languages, including; Bionicle, Pokemon and Transformer. Seriously, have you ever heard boys speak in these languages? It’s amazing. Honestly, one of the best parts of his learning these new languages is that he’s an amazing reader! He can sound out crazy words and then use them in his everyday conversations. We will be celebrating his bday with a small gathering at the house. We’ll make cupcakes and, hopefully, I will have gotten the pool to recover from all the dog food and they can swim. ~Sigh~ it’s always something new and fun around here.
Have a great day~

Tip of the day

All pool/spa/pond owners out there-Adding dry dog food to your contained body of water totally changes the ph and makes algae grow VERY quickly. The unapproved experiment has been done and those are the official findings.
Have a great day!

A step into the future

Today was the day! We had a nice morning. Kateri came with me to get Mariah to cross country at 6am, so we were able to have coffee together and then go to Mass at the chapel at Cathedral. Very nice! Kateri was able to see a few people at the school. She then met up with her friend Jez and got her nose pierced. She’s been waiting for this for a long time. Our rule was that she couldn’t have it and be living here, so she got it done just before going. Then we packed the van and headed to the airport. Little Gabi fell asleep on the way, so she didn’t get to say good-bye. Kateri will be home for Thanksgiving. I only broke down a little at the end when she was crying. I’m sure that after next week, when JJ leaves, it will sink in more. Too much change in the Lang house! The girls are already planning the bedroom changes. I feel too young for this, but also feel like it was the right time for Kateri. Thanks for all the prayers. Keep them coming! This will be such a big change for her, not to be around the little ones.
Well, Mariah has her Frosh orientation in the morning and life just keeps rolling on, so I better get some sleep.
Good night~

Today

I’m feeling a little blue today. It was a super busy day. We had several people come by this evening. Kateri is so loved. It’s been nice for her to have all of these send offs. I feel like we still have unfinished stuff. There is still paperwork that I have to send with her. I just never kicked it into high gear and got it all in a nice neat package and sent off. Ugh! We’ll settle into a routine (of sorts) in September. Kateri and JJ will be at their schools, the other kids will have started and Clay will hopefully be around for a while. He has a school to attend the first week of September! Anyway, I’m very tired from being up early to get Mariah to cross country and it’s the same tomorrow, so I better get to bed. Tomorrow is going to be such a whirlwind! A few prayers are requested; That Clay and Kateri have a safe flight (Clay to and from). That all Kateri’s paperwork/$ stuff is in order and fine! That we all settle in ok and quickly to our new household. And that Mariah’s ride schedule to and from school falls neatly into place.
Thanks! Love to all from the Lang Clan. Good night~

A weekend full of family and friends

What a weekend! We-celebrated Clay’s bday at Mr. Mike’s house, the kids were invited over to Mr. Mike’s for the premier of High School Musical 2, Auntie Peggie flew down, Mariah had an audition (went well), We had people over to say good bye to Kateri, went to Mass at the church Kateri sings, visited with family and friends, had all the cousins together for the very first time and even lit fireworks (ok, only sparklers). Busy and fun! I put up a photo page of everyone at our house yesterday. It was fun to see all the kids together. Our busy weekend leads into a busy week. Mariah has her orientation for school this week, and then starts next Monday. We are already at school time! I guess I better get on those supply lists and finish up. I hope everyone else had a nice weekend.
Have a great day~

They’ve already found him

The babies wasted no time in finding their Daddy-O at home. Gabi’s words early this morning (before falling back asleep) were, “I get you a strawberry one”. (She wants to get him a strawberry bday cake). So, later this morning Gabs and I will go to Baskin Robbins and buy her daddy’s cake. Whoo! This man knows how to surprise me! Instead of 24 hours, he gave me 40 minutes. I haven’t felt like a kid on Christmas in a LONG time. But that did it.
Have a great day~

Thursday at Our House

Writing in “eggplant” can you guess why? This is Phil. We found him at Henry’s last night while shopping for our fruits and veggies. We appreciated his “Beatles” hairstyle and his prominent nose. He’s a quiet house guest, doesn’t eat much and can’t spy on us (poor guy, no eyes). We all like Phil but aren’t too sure how long he’ll stay around. We are thinking of inviting him to Parmesan for dinner in the next few days.
OK! WAIT A MINUTE!!!!! While writing about Phil, Clay called (coming home tomorrow night) and said he wanted to talk for a minute. He seemed evasive when I was asking about his day. HE’S ON HIS WAY TO THE HOUSE!!!!!! Good night~

So much!

So much, so much! My head is full, my heart is heavy and my hands are always busy. Today was; Dr.s, groceries, kids, messes, laundry, pool-play, friends, pizza and wine, the computer, the phone and carpooling, Maddi making peach cobbler, Mariah trying out for cross-country and volleyball and Lex meeting a chicken, chasing a dog and playing the piano. Long, long day! Kateri leaves soon. So soon. JJ follows right behind. Clay returns in mere days. Peg comes to visit and friends and some family are coming to say good-bye and wish Kateri well. Clay’s bday is tomorrow. So many years of celebrating birthdays together! Gabi insists on a strawberry cake for her,”Daddy-O”. We’ll get it for Sunday. Tomorrow is full. So I will say good night~

Good Morning!

Today has started early. I had to get Kateri to work at 5am. She’s not driving until Clay gets back because she put oil in the 4-runner and forgot to put the cap back on. YIKES! It’s a mess, but Dad will help. Mariah has to be at a friend’s house by 8am to catch a ride up to the school for try outs today. Thanks goodness for the ride! It’ makes my day a little easier. I have to admit that it was nice to get up really early again. Since summer started, I’ve been getting up closer to 7 and there’s just something that you miss out on by then. Yesterday was a good day. We had some running around with getting Mariah to volleyball try outs. But we took advantage of free sundae coupons and killed the time that way. :-) Gabi and Luke-Xavier were funny yesterday. Lex crawled too quickly across my bed and hit his head on the wall. I promptly went to him and kissed his head. Gabi watched the whole thing, climbed up on my bed and bashed her head into the wall, looking for kisses. Sibling rivalry at it’s best! It was also a day that I found out that our storage issue is even graver than I had previously thought. Not only do the sleeping bags go in the 4-runner, but apparently the used motor oil goes in the gas can! I found this out the hard way when mowing the lawn. Silly me! I figured it was safe to fill the lawn mower from the gas can. Not so! Another thing that Clay will have to deal with when he returns. Luckily a neighbor was kind enough to let me borrow their lawn mower to finish up. Well, off to start the day. Hope it’s great for each of you~

Fly fishing, Max style

JJ got back from a Boy Scout camp yesterday. One of the things he brought with him was Clay’s fly fishing rod and the whole set up. Today, it was still lying on the floor behind the love seat and I asked him to put it away. Max overheard me and promptly asked if he could go fly fishing. I told him that you had to have a river or stream and that he’d have to wait for “someday”. He looked very disappointed and said,”but there are lots of flies in the backyard”.
Love that Maxi boy!

Whoo! Whoo! I’m a lucky girl!

“Hey Jen! Why are you a lucky girl”?
Because I won $1 !
“How did you win $1”?
On a lottery ticket!
“And what can you do with $1”?
NOTHING!

The Van’s back and other stuff

Sorry it’s been a few days. So much busy work to take care of. 2 days ago I got the van back and it’s looking beautiful. As a matter of fact, I’ve drug my feet on putting the car seats back in etc. I don’t want it all messed up inside! But today, I will take Casey’s mini-van and get it washed etc. and put all of our stuff back in our van. I realized that I have to make a trip to North Island for a new sticker since I have a new windshield. More stuff to do. Yesterday I managed to take the kids to MCRD for a little bit of play time before I buried myself under mounds of paperwork. I had to go out and buy more manila envelopes to be able to mail all of the things I found to mail. Several of you will be receiving manila envelopes with odds and ends in them. Kateri took Tristan with her yesterday, so he had a play day with the Hilton kids. He also got his “back to school” haircut. Very nice. Anna and Maddi were lucky enough to tag along with the Gillcrist family to see Nancy Drew last night. Thanks for taking them! Mariah had her JRP class last night and we finally turned in her pics with her resume and work permit. She has an audition on the 18th and will finally have everything ready to go. After I got back from Mariah’s class (10 pm) I started all the searching for tickets for Clay and JJ to head out to Scranton at the end of the month. It turned into a 2 hour project! I totally messed up the whole thing while trying the get the best deal! I booked Clay’s ticket and car by itself because the site I was using wouldn’t let me choose 1 round trip and 1 one way ticket. So, I thought, “no problem. I will go back and book JJ on the same flights”. No dice! They don’t book 1 way flights, no exceptions! I frantically started searching the internet for the same flights (by this time not caring the cost), but could not find the same combination. I was finally able to go through the first airline and they hooked me up. Thank you Javier! He was one man doing his job! However, during the whole process, I started thinking about Clay and Kateri’s trip (which is before his and JJ’s) and that while they had plane tickets, no car or room for Clay. So I started searching for a room for Clay. There’s no room at the inn! There are literally no rooms around the college for his dates. Fortunately we have a couple of contacts who have contacts out there. Let’s hope someone can come up with a suggestion. That’s it from here. Just lots of busy work. Today’s more of the same with a trip to the library thrown in (gotta return those books from 3 weeks ago so as not to owe). Maybe something exciting will happen to write about. ~ 


Monday~that’s all

It really was a nice day today. We stayed home until after dinner and got many things accomplished. Tristan has been working very hard to put together some Bionicle sets that he received way back at Christmas. He’s really great at all those little pieces and following the directions. I’m not sure I would have the patience for it. Kids were outside and in the pool today. We borrowed some movies from the housing office and I finally washed the carpet in the living room. All in all it was nice to be home. The weekend passed without too much flair. Today was Ted’s last day of living in S. Cal (for now anyway). He’s been here since about 6 weeks before Gabi was born. So, needless to say, he’s become a regular face at our house and at our table. It will take a little adjusting to not have him around to pick up the slack, if I need it. Thanks Ted, for all the distasteful jobs you’ve done over the last 3 years and all the times you picked kids up or dropped them off. I hope all good things happen from this point! We all love you and will miss you!
Good night~

Whoa Mama!

So, it’s come to my attention recently that I need to spend the time to make button holes on several of my shirts smaller. I need to do this soon. Luke-Xavier is now 16 months old and in that time he has managed to pull on my shirts enough to make the button holes too big. I have now come home from 3 different things to find myself unbuttoned to a point that is embarrassing. HELLO people! Why did I have to find this out on my own?! Did everyone REALLY think I was trying to catch a little action? “Whoo Whoo, look at me, I think I’ll leave my shirt unbuttoned”? Tell me, please, that all you other mamas have had this lovely experience. I’m pretty sure the guy at the UPS store was amused. So, I will sit down and tighten the button holes, but PLEASE, if you see me with one or two too buttons undone, say something!
Good night~

You know your house is 2 small when..

We are 11 people in about 14oo sq. ft. of house. Because of this, we have a couple of sheds and are creative about our storage and also try to keep things cleaned out as not to keep clutter around. But sometimes, I think it’s all gone too far! Today, I washed and dried a sleeping bag, rolled it up and then promptly walked out to the 4-runner to store it with the others!

Fairly simple summer day

I love the above picture of Max from today. It just looks like summer to me. A little boy riding, as fast as he can, on his bike, that he loves! (thanks Joe and Casey). I think it may be time to take the training wheels off. JJ first rode a 2-wheel bike around this age, so did Arianna. We did have to run around a bit, but we also did some summertime things like eat lunch in the yard and swim with friends. Yes, our pool is full of children again. They are so happy! Summary of today; 1) kids fed and dressed 2) trip to Boy Scout store 3) Take new boy scout pants to MCRD for hemming that MUST be done by tomorrow (they said yes) 4)replace missing sunglasses, while at MCRD. I couldn’t believe how much my eyes were hurting without sunglasses. 5)Drive through Chik Fil-A to claim free lunch (awesome deal that I ran across last week). 6) Go home, set up kids at their picnic table to eat. 7) Play in pool with friends 8)PAPERWORK! There are so many loose ends for Kateri and JJ leaving for school. Somedays, I can’t even think straight about what I need to find and where to send it. 9) Get ready for soccer and errands 10) Socceer 11) Errands 12) Picking various kids up from different places.
Ok, wait a minute! The title of this blog is a fairly simple summer day. I’m not sure why I felt that it was simple! Reading this list makes me think it was a CRAZY summer day. I guess because we did get to enjoy being at home (even for a little while), makes me feel better. Or maybe it’s just the great picture of Max riding his bike during Tristan’s soccer practice. Whatever! I’m having one of those reality moments, where it grabs me by the head and makes me look it in the eyes. I swear I’m in la la land most of the time. Oh well, it works! Good night~

Building blocks of life

A few days ago my one of nieces came to visit/play with the kids. The babies are getting older, so they are becoming more vocal about what they want and don’t want. It was interesting to watch Luke-Xavier with her and how he problem solves (sometimes with a quick hit to the head or a swiftly thrown block). It was nice to visit (maybe not so much for Sophia). Today I took Mariah for her sports physical and then to the exchange to pick up a few items. Toward the end, Luke-Xavier was getting restless and noisy , so Mariah took him to the car (mind you this is still not MY car). I left the store and was greeted by Mariah without the baby. HUH?! He was locked in the car! Luckily an MP (is this still what they are called?) saw what had happened and quickly came to ask if the baby was locked in the car. We had 2 fire trucks, several policeman and paramedics at the vehicle in mere minutes. Luckily they got him out without breaking the window (which is what they originally said they would have to do). He was sweaty and hot, but enjoyed the show and the attention. Whew! I cancelled the rest of my errands at that point and headed home.......to finish fixing the pool problem. Thanks to everyone who had suggestions! I am sure this would not have gotten out of control if Clay were around, but I was completely clueless. It looks like the kids will be back to swimming tomorrow and I now have a chemical routine (for the pool) to follow. Thanks also to Ted for lending a hand. Maggie left this evening. We all REALLY enjoyed having her here. She and Ted went to the American Idol tryouts. No luck! She was with us for 6 days and was invaluable in lending a hand with the kids! Max and Gabi were especially sad to see her go. Come back soon Mag! However, Peggie will be down for a visit soon. Hooray! She will be here for Kateri’s last weekend at home. It’s coming up SO quickly! If anyone would like to say good bye to Kateri and wish her well on her journey, we are planning a pot luck at noon on Sunday, August 19th at our house. She will be leaving at 4pm to sing at the 5:30pm Mass at Sacred Heart parish in OB. We will be going to the mass as well. All are welcome! Tomorrow it’s off to the Boy Scout store for items needed for the next camp. JJ is leaving for a week long camp, in a few days. Tristan gets to have soccer practice and a sleep over at a friend’s house (he’s very excited) and Mariah has JRP. Arianna and Maddi, who are still on their N. Cal adventure, will be meeting up with Auntie Katie tomorrow and heading to her place for a few days. I think they will have fun. Ok, off to bed.......Good night~

Something funny (I hope)

Today, I did something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I sent in a little quip to Reader’s Digest in hopes that they find it print worthy. Here’s the little story that I sent;
Sunday morning I called my sister because the kids wanted to know if she was going to church with us. She said, “no, I went last night”. “Ah, you’re a vigil Auntie”, I said.
What do you think?

Worrisome Day

Earlier this month my dad had to have a procedure done on his heart because of an irregular rhythm. They put him to sleep and used the paddles to stop and then restart his heart in hopes that it would then beat regularly. It appeared to work but today he was back in the hospital having the procedure done again. This time they had to use the paddles 3 times! He went home later today. We are all very nervous for him. Please keep him in your prayers. We are just not sure what to expect.
Good night~

Following these words of wisdom

"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."

Good night~

Catching up

I’m trying to make up for not writing in the last few days by putting up several new things tonight. Things that have happened over the last few days; Maddi and Anna left for a trip to both sets of grandparents. Luke-Xavier pulled the curling iron down on his forehead. Gabi found a snail that she thought should be a pet. Auntie Maggie came to San Diego to try out for American Idol. JJ got lots of badges at a Boy Scouts award ceremony. Mr. Mike is back in the hospital with meningitis again (it may have never actually left). Tristan had soccer practice and a flute lesson. We had visitors at our house (doesn’t usually happen unless planned out, but was very nice). Our pool had to be drained and I’m still scratching my head trying to find the best solution to keeping it clean. I suppose I need chemicals but am nervous since it’s not a huge pool and I don’t want to put too much of something in. Obviously I will need to research this and ask questions, but, REALLY, do I need this?! Don’t worry, I’ll get it done so that the kids can enjoy the pool again, but, UGH! And the most exciting thing (for me anyway) is that I have been invited to speak on a radio program. It will be pre-taped and is still awaiting approval, but I am VERY excited about the prospect of speaking! I will let you know if it all works out and the when of it all as it draws nearer. With Kateri moving onto her next phase of life, I have felt compelled to move forward also, and am hoping that sharing my story in this way will be a positive experience. I hope that the things I’ve learned on this journey from teen mom to mom of many will be helpful to others. Clay and I have beat the odds by staying together and building a family and life together and I want to help young woman see that even if they have made a wrong decision at a particular time in their life, that there can still be a light at the end of the tunnel. Wish me luck! Good night~

A Funny Exchange

This exchange between Max and Gabi made me think the classic, “Rabbit season, Duck season” exchange by the two pictured above.
I made hard boiled eggs for the kids the other day and heard Max and Gabi arguing while eating;
Gabi- It’s mustard
Max- It’s a yoke
Gabi- It’s mustard
Max- It’s a yoke
Gabi- It’s mustard
Max- It’s mustard
Gabi- It’s a yoke
Max- You’re right, it’s a yoke!
Gotta love Max’s way around things!

All Together!

Everyone got to be together today to swim at our friends’ pool. I took the opportunity to take pictures because there will be few times in the future that all 9 Lang kiddos will be together. Sad but true! In the above picture, the kids are; JJ, Maddi, Tristan, Kateri, Gabi, Arianna, Luke-Xavier, Mariah and Max. This evening we got Anna and Maddi packed up for their grandparent excursion. They leave tomorrow! They are excited and nervous. Anna is nervous about flying. Everyone say a little prayer for a safe flight and trip for them. Thanks! It was tough getting chores done this evening because of all the packing excitement. To get the sweeping done, I told Maddi that the broom was now her best friend and that they had to play together to try to hunt down every piece of anything on the floor and that she should let her new best friend win. Well, it got a lot of giggles and also got the sweeping done. Trying to convince Arianna that the dishes were her friends was not quite as successful. However I do hear the dishwasher running (I’m just not so sure that there is anything inside of it!). I’m going to put up a picture page of today’s swimming. Enjoy! Good night~

Little Blessings and a Pretty Quiet Day

Today was a pretty quiet day. So nice for a change! We finally got the pool re-filtered and going again. Whew! Big job! Thanks JJ for all the help with that! Yesterday the girls had a little bake sale to raise pocket $. There were left overs and Maddi had promised some cup cakes to Mr. Mike, but when he called and said that he was going to come by to pick them up, an unknown entity had eaten them all! So, she began the baking process all over again. Which I am sure she did not mind. Tristan’s flute teacher came by for a make up lesson (the one I was so angry about last week). He’s doing well. I think that we will finish the summer with this teacher and then look for a less expensive one. I was able to talk to Clay for a short time today. It sounds like he has a lot of work for this course. Hopefully he will be able to study being on his own. The poor guy has never gotten adequate study time for anything, because his schools are always here. He always amazes me, though and pulls it off! Our kids get their amazing brains from him. I always had to work REALLY hard to pull through in class. Maddi and Anna are starting to get things together to leave for their grandparent trip on Wednesday. Arianna stayed the night with Kateri tonight since it was her last chance before her trip. Kateri has been house sitting at various houses in the neighborhood all summer, so sometimes one of the older kids will have a sleep over with her. Gabi managed to make a break for it today. She ran all the way down our street, around the corner and to the housing office, in nothing but underwear! I have had to put the very large tub of paperwork in front of the door to keep her in. It’s the only thing that she can’t move (I told you before that there was entirely too much paperwork to be done). She’s a gypsy at heart! JJ called and asked if he could bring a couple of friends over to jump on the trampoline in the back yard. I said yes and then found him back there with 5 friends! It all worked out fine. I made a crazy dinner! I don’t ever cook like this, but I gave the kids hot dogs, chili (from a can), corn (from a can) and fruit (from a can!). It was a crazy, clean out the cupboard meal! But, it got eaten. Anyway, when watering the plants today, I found that our avocado seed that we so lovingly planted next to our wonderful lemon tree (grown from a seed from a lemon cut open in our neighbors kitchen!) is sprouting! Hooray! I love watering and finding things like that! Kateri showed up after work with some new toys from the kids she nannies for. A playskool playground with the little kids and play equipment is already being loved by Max. Thanks guys! It was a good day! Good night~

Let the Circus Begin!

I got the kids to the evening Mass without Clay or Kateri tonight. We choose to sit toward the front so that the kids can’t use the excuse of not being able to see, for not paying attention. This is not always good, because the whole church can see every movement we make. Some days there are more movements and noises than others. Tonight, by the time Mass was over, I was literally in a sweat! Luke-Xavier is getting very vocal and loves to sing along to every hymn and voice his opinion of the homily. And, of course, the other kids HAVE to tell the little ones, in their LOUDEST whisper, to be quiet, every few seconds. But we made it through and there were even a few friendly faces to see afterward. That’s it for today, it’s been a busy weekend with a busy week to follow. I sent out our June Snapfish album tonight. If you don’t get our albums but would like to see each month in pictures, email me and let me know. Here’s to a great week! Good night~

Kid Fun and Max's Words of Wisdom

Since I didn’t get the chance to write yesterday, I thought I would include it in today’s blog. Yesterday was the last day of volleyball for Mariah (so glad!). I took the kids to this great library and we got there a little before it opened. There’s a big duck pond there. For those who have been to Meadow Vista, it’s much larger than that one and those of you who have been to Frazier Park, it’s about twice the size of that one. Anyway, we had lunch there and walked around and spotted turtles, ducks, geese and a couple of hawks in the trees above us. It was great! The library was open when we were done and the kids really enjoyed it. It has been 8 or more months since I have taken the kids to the library. You may be thinking, “wait a minute! Does this woman know that the library is FREE and she has a million kids”? Well, the library might be free for most people, but it costs us plenty each summer! I always set up a “library” box for the checked out items, but it NEVER works out as planned! The final straw came last December when I had to fork over $300 for missing items, late fees and the collections fees. Yup, they will send your account to collections and not even tell you. Anyway, I am getting off track! Bottom line, it had been awhile because, frankly, it’s cheaper to go to Borders and buy the items. But it was a really nice library with a great kids’ area and we got to bring home movies and books. The kids have been rediscovering videos and DVDs since we turned off the cable. Max and Tristan really like Disney’s version of Robin Hood. The other day, Max was telling me all about the story and how he is one of the characters that carries an ax and what character Tristan is. I decided to play along and said, “ I am Maid Marian”. He looks at me, caresses my face with his little hand and says, “no, Mama, you are Lady Cluck”. Enough said!

Reality

I spend most days in a blur of movement. I am able to keep reality and it’s vicious bite at bay. But, some days the reality of daily life grabs me by the shoulders, shakes me and screams,”LOOK me in the eyes! I will NOT be ignored”! Today seemed like one of those days. It wasn’t a bad day. Nothing terrible or extraordinary happened. It’s just that I wasn’t able to stay in the fog of moving faster than reality (it could have something to do with me cutting my caffeine intake from 6 or so cups a day to 1). This morning I was woken by a phone call. I was glad to get it because I was having a disturbing dream. But, the phone also woke the 2 little ones. Usually I can get up ahead of them and put myself together and make coffee or something to get the day going before they wake up and need attention. I don’t know about everyone else’s kiddos, but mine need attention immediately upon waking. Later in the morning, Kateri drove me to pick up a mini van that we will be using for a little while, during my friend’s vacation. The wonderful thing about this vehicle is that my friend is a genius and bought an extra bench seat for it that can be switched out with the captain’s chairs to get 8 people seated instead of 7. This is PERFECT for me! However, Kateri and I needed to switch the seats out before I left with the vehicle. You should have seen the show! It would have made GREAT reality TV! Lucy and Ethel, Lavern and Shirley or even Laurel and Hardy could not have done it better! Finally, sweaty and exhausted I drove it home. Then we began the Dance of the Children (I am rather fond of this title). 1) Clean, dry and Fabreeze the mini van because Gabi began the day with an accident. 2) Take overdue movies back to Blockbuster. 3) Get gas. 4) Get Mariah to volleyball. 5) Take remaining children to the mall to pick up soccer equipment for Tristan’s first practice this afternoon. 6) Stop at ATM, give JJ money and send him to the gaming store, while I shop. 7) Send Maddi to ice skate while I shop. 8) Navigate Sports Chalet with 4 little ones and find equipment. 9) Take children to the train for being good in the store. 10) Get that, much needed, cup of coffee. 11) Leave JJ and Maddi at mall for 1 extra hour while we pick up Mariah. 12) Pick JJ and Maddi up from mall and head home. 13) Get Tristan dressed for soccer practice, thank Maddi for being willing to stay home and make dinner, thank Ted for getting Tristan to practice. Then load 3 youngest children, along with Mariah, and head to her JRP class and audition. 14) QUICKLY clean Gabi and rinse her “big girl” pants in the toilet before throwing them away because it was hopeless. 15) Spend an hour in traffic on the way home. 16) Eat Maddi’s wonderful dinner. 17) Leave to pick up Mariah and assign younger children to older children for care. 18) Watch Mariah’s audition (beautiful!). 19) Stop at Whole Foods for essential salad items for baby shower salad. 20) Get home, look around in horror at the devastation (though, I should mention that the baby was in bed, asleep). 21) Set timer for 15 minutes and demand that the 3 oldest children that were here clean up while I brush the teeth of the little ones. 22) Get little ones to bed. 23) Share my day.
So, see, it wasn’t awful, just very much set in reality. However, tomorrow, I hope the fog sets in. By the way, the socks pictured above are available for folding! :-) Good night~

What a Day!

Well, some days you win and some days you lose. I would have to say that I was a loser yesterday. Call it a combination of Clay leaving for a month, PMS, paperwork that HAD to get done and running around for various things. I even got angry that the flute teacher didn’t show up for the make up lesson that I scheduled the day around, before I realized that it’s next week. NICE! There was a general ugliness in our house yesterday. But, today is a new day with a chance to redeem myself and be the wife/mother/friend/adult I am striving to be. But, even with yucky days, there is good. Maddi got to spend the ENTIRE day at Sea world with a friend. Mariah started her volleyball camp and we did manage to go to the park in the afternoon and the kiddos that went with me had fun. Luke-Xavier is getting big enough to get onto the equipment by himself. Max brought his bike and zoomed around the playground. Tristan challenged himself to the obstacle course and Gabi enjoyed everything (except taking turns on the bouncy whale). Arianna came with me and helped watch the little ones. Kateri came over after work and helped with dinner. The salad turned out really good. Thanks Honey! And Clay came home from work in go mode and got much done before getting on a plane this morning. There is always turbulence around his leaving. Even if we can’t directly see it at the time, it always traces back to it. But, we always do just fine while he is gone. I think that this time it’s hard for me to realize that when he gets back, there are only 4 days before he leaves again to take Kateri to school. It’s all right around the corner! The week after Kateri leaves, Clay takes JJ out to school. So much change in our home for this fall!

Out and About with Mariah and Kateri

What a busy day! While ice skating was going on, it was a chance to find Mariah a “little, black” dress for an audition she has this week. After finding the dress, I was promptly informed that shoes were also needed. Off we went in search of shoes. We were actually very efficient with the dress and shoes, but just before leaving the mall (and remembering to retrieve the girls from skating), I was informed that much was needed for volleyball. AHHHHHH! Nope, it was time to go home, volleyball items would have to be purchased after dinner (or at least I needed to make an appearance at home!). (I had found out that while I was gone an impromptu pool party was forming in my back yard). After Clay returned from the Humane Society, Kateri, Mariah, Gabi and I left for another mall for volleyball gear. Of course when we got there they were having an amazing sale and much time was spent on trying on clothing that we were not there for. Gabi was very patient! So, I tried on a few items and found that a pair of pants that I already own and love (and get a lot of wear out of) were on the clearance rack. Now, here’s the question, if you REALLY like an item and use it a lot, is it wrong to purchase another for when the first one is worn out? My girls thought it might be wrong. I didn’t care! I had the chance to get them for under $10! Yep, they came home with me and in 2 colors! :-) Mariah is now ready for volleyball camp, Kateri has a couple of much needed items and I will be in my pants a little longer. Good night~

A Little Tribute to Moka

Our second bullmastiff and 3rd dog, Moka, had to be put down today. Since Ranger (our boxer) was put down earlier this year, she has steadily declined. She stopped eating all together a few days ago and had lost 30lbs. So, today Clay and a couple of the kids took her to the Humane Society. The kids are very sad. We have not had a good dog year! A good friend of ours gave us a rescue dog named Lilly about a month ago. We had hoped that Lilly would pep Moka up and that she would return to her youthful ways. Not so. Luckily we still have Lilly, who has fit into the family very nicely. She lets the kids play with her and Luke-Xavier can “pet” her and she just loves it. It’s amazing how attached to a pet you can get, even when it’s not the first and you already have a house full of kiddos. Each pet truly has it’s own personality and enhances the family in some way. I will miss the sense of protection I got from having Moka around! Hopefully Lilly will step up and make us all feel secure.