Our boys love to talk to us, some of them more (ok, MUCH more) than others. Today as I was checking email my little Bug came up and stood right next to me.

Bug: “Mommy look.”
Me: “uh huh sweetie” (not really paying attention)
Bug: “Watch me Mommy, watch me” (in his happy little voice)

At that moment a light bulb went on. Not only did I realize that I needed to drop everything right then and there and listen to one of my little 4 year olds, but I also realized that we all need to be noticed.

Whether we realize it or not, there is a definite need to feel like you are important to someone in life. As a mom, I need to recognize those great moments to offer my boys my undivided attention.

Not only is this good for their emotional well being, but it also shows them how much I love and respect them as a human being. It’s something they crave… it’s something we all crave… and for now it’s something that they mainly receive from mommy and daddy.

Down the road though, I can only hope that our example of showing them love through these moments of undivided attention will also make them realize just how much that need can be filled by turning to God.  Without Him, that and many other needs we have as humans will never be filled, we will always feel empty, never satisfied.

With 5 brothers to contend with my children definitely have to learn to share the spotlight (so to speak). But among all the other little ways I can show them how much I love them, I’m honored to get the opportunity to spend a few moments getting a glimpse into their little brains by just listening.

I the neglectfulness!! I guarantee you all that I’m still here but I have truly just been trying to enjoy the summer with my kids right now.

There has been some sickness thrown in this last few weeks and as all moms know that definitely puts us behind a bit.

I’m currently struggling a bit as I realize just how close back to school is. I’m not so sure I’m ready for the end of summer just yet. August always seems to feel much more like a precursor to school starting than it does part of summer break.

It’s definitely time to start gearing up for school though so I hope to offer some thoughts about that over the next few weeks. as for the question of when I will resume regular posting… I anticipate everything returning to normal the second week of September.

Until then I will definitely try to offer a few things each week for all of you to chew on as well as a few giveaways. Talk to you soon.

Recently during lunchtime the Twinkies started singing this age old classic rhyme. It was so cute.

They sing all the time and I am forever stopping to either listen or join in throughout the day. It’s the little things like this that are so fun!

Trying to enjoy all those moments can be difficult in the midst of housework, meals, deadlines and to-do lists but they are oh-so-important.  They are just as important for you as a mom as they are for the children.

Sure, you don’t get to pick when they decide to burst into song…and you typically don’t get to pick (though children are usually very open to suggestions) the song they sing.  But hearing those sweet little voices singing a song, made up or known it doesn’t matter can soften the heart and is just such a sweet thing in the midst of life’s chaos.

I hope you can enjoy those moments today!

You never know when it’s gonna strike. The middle of the night stomach bug is likely to rear it’s ugly head when you least expect it.

Around here that’s definitely the case. we always feel fortunate if only one child ends up sick in the night once it starts. Doubly fortunate if they actually didn’t throw up on their bed.

That wasn’t the case last night (this morning actually, around 1:30am to be exact).

The problem is my stomach hurts too and though I am extremely tired, sleep is elusive. And so I write to all of you.

I have to admit that despite it all sitting here in the stillness is so refreshing in it’s own way. Reminding me that without some time spent in quietness I cannot rejuvenate.

How often when I’m at my most overwhelmed do I remember that moms need time outs too? Never, or very rarely.

So this week as I muddle through the daily schedule, I’m also challenging myself to take plenty of time outs as well.

Saturday the boys were outside playing and Monkey comes marching to the house and announces…

“You know it’s raining because it’s dripping from the sky”

When he was told to go outside and play some more while he still had the chance, he replied…

“Well, the sky’s leaking on my head”

I love it!

When I had all boys it honestly never occured to me that some of them might be what I have come to refer to as “talkaholics”.  After all, girls are supposed to have the need to use a lot more words than boys each day.  I have found however that this is not the case for ALL boys…and somehow I got more than one that is a talkaholic.

I honestly do love to hear what they have to say….most of the time.  Sometimes it is a little (or a lot) overwhelming but often, it’s amusing or even shockingly insightful. 

From our resident Salesman, we have Mr Fix It mentality.  You have a problem he has a solution.  Yes, be afraid…be very afraid.  When an 11 year old (who happens to know everything about everything) decides to tackle a problem or issue (regardless of whether he should have been involved in the conversation in the first place) the solutions are…shall we say interesting to say the least.

Monkey will often begin the day with a statement like “Mommy, I need to talk to you”, or “Mommy, I have something to tell you”.  He literally demands your full undivided attention at that moment not a second later. Of course this is a bit unreasonable considering that there are 5 other boys vying for my attention but he doesn’t see it that way.  He honestly believes that the world revolves around him and only him…problem is each and every sibling of his believes the same thing.

Bugs, though not as talkative as Salesman and Monkey still has to chime in with his ten cents worth throughout the day. 

Sometimes, my ears are just tired by 6pm…TIRED!!!  The brain goes into overload mode and there is no turning back the tide. I like to listen to them, but I have to admit that on the particularly loud days I’m not always sorry to see bedtime roll around.  I suppose that’s terrible but hey, I have to be honest.

I wish I had the ability to document everything they say, in the fray of the moment though, there never seems to be anything to write or record with.  I always just hope and pray that I can remember a tidbit again when I have a way to write it down later…sadly this doesn’t happen nearly enough.

So, as I try and challenge myself to come up with ways to be a more creative mom, I thought I would share with you as well. 

The Challenge…

This week’s challenge (should you choose to accept it) is to spend a few minutes each day looking for a cute, funny, inspirational or simply interesting statement from at least one child and write it down. 

Take it a step further by buying a cute journal at the store just to write these sayings down in. Make sure you write which child it is and the date they said it. 

Simplify it…if you need it to be a little simpler, you can choose one child per week and even only write down two things that child said. That still is a lot of sayings when you add it all up through the years.

As usual ladies, I encourage you to chime in.  Have a great week ladies.

If you have children that are school age, there’s a very good possibility that you wore green yesterday.  Maybe you even had to rummage through several drawers to find something green. And maybe, just maybe, when you did find something green it was a shirt that you don’t mind hanging around the house in but won’t go out in.

No? Well, ok, maybe that was just me.

But as I walked into the grocery store last night, wearing the green shirt I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing outside the house in, I realized that sometimes we do things as a mom that we simply wouldn’t do if we didn’t have children.

I wouldn’t ordinarily worry about wearing green, even on St. Patrick’s Day but for the sake of the kids and their love of holidays I wore it…took a deep breath as I walked into and through the grocery store and chalked it up to one more day of life as a mom.

Gone are the days where I carefully plan and schedule posts. Now I simply blog as I feel inspired by life. I have decided there is a time and a place for both.

I know I’m not alone as a mom who finds that the most joy can be brought about by the littlest things that happen each day. It can be a hug, a giggle, a story, a kind gesture or many other almost imperceptable things. But if you look close you’ll catch them.

This was clearly shown recently when CJ our oldest made a completely selfless sacrifice to try and benefit me. It was so kind, so completely loving that it brought me to tears.  I was amazed by this young man once again.  I’m so thankful for him in so many ways.

So today, I’m looking for the little things and praying that I can offer little things to everyone around me as well!

The twins are quickly approaching age 4 and their latest love, especially Bug is to cut their hair. Bug did this twice within about a month and I did what I could with his hair buzz cutting it and trying to still keep it looking cute.

Then about 2 weeks ago Monkey decided to do it as well but instead of cutting a reverse mohawk as Bug has Monkey cut it straight across the front close to his head. Equally terrible looking lol, but Icould work with that a little more… until yesterday.

As most of you know, I have been cutting all my guys’ hair since shortly after my husband and I got married.  This has saved us a ton of money and headaches over the years and it’s a quick job to do at home.

I had cut my husband’s and 3of the other boys’ hair the day before and apparently I had left the clippers box on the counter. Yes you guessed it, in their infinite wisdom, the twins found that box (though the height of the counter is at forehead level) opened it up and proceeded to clip hair.

Now, the crazy part is that, as usual, they were only in there for a few moments before Salesman and I heard and registered the noise in the kitchen. As we investigated, sure enough we found that Monkey had taken the clippers to the front middle of his head and had a crazy looking front only reverse mohawk look going. Bugs had only a tiny section cut out of the front as well, but it was enough to require a full shaving.

As CJ begged to shave them it is the first time that I’ve ever been able to say yes lol. After all what more could he do to them, they already looked terrible. So excitedly CJ prepared the clippers and a twin and began shaving. The twins weren’t thrilled with the process, but they hated afterward when they saw themselves completely sheared down to the scalp.

They kept asking for us to put the hair back on (which we all fell on the floor laughing over of course) and informed me that CJ is never to cut their hair again. To which I replied that as long as they did not cut their hair again I would make sure CJ didn’t have the opportunity to cut their hair again.

This turned into an excellent way to try and keep them from cutting their hair again. Knowing that they would look as they do now and endure another haircut by big brother may very well be my ticket out of the crazy haircut stage.

We will see……

The conversations with the Twinks never cease to amaze me.

Waking up yesterday to Bugs insisting that everyone “Rise and Shine” as he turns on every light was mildly amusing.

Followed on his heels by Monkey announcing, “I don’t get an awwowance, and I don’t have a job!” *big Monkey sigh*

To which I replied, “well you are only 3 so it’s ok that you don’t have a job or get an allowance.”

Monkey: “Well, yeah, I’m 3-2 years old and don’t have a job or get an awwowance!” (he always says he’s 3-2 years old instead of 3 lol).

Well there’s no arguing with that I guess.