Although I haven’t done any funny kid conversations or sayings lately, trust me it isn’t because they don’t happen on a daily basis. There are far too many times when we need to keep a straight face and deal with something calmly and seriously with them and simply have to leave the room to get composure because they make things far too amusing.

With Little Bug M, every day he has something to monologue about, this is absolutely NO exaggeration. The way that his monologues are delivered would set the best actor in the world to shame, it is quite entertaining.

Now, that’s not to say that Monkey E doesn’t have his fair share of moments that quite literally have us laughing until we cry. He says really big words at the most interesting times… but uses them completely how they should be used… it’s definitely made us stop and stare on several occasions.

The noses…

So… let’s first get this out of the way, since it’s obvious in the photo that both of them have the exact same scab in the exact same spot on their noses. You aren’t the first to notice, it’s been a source of great confusion and amusement at school, as the staff thought that only one had it and delivered him to the class they thought was his, only to discover they both had this nose thing.

But I digress…

You see, it is a trampoline burn {trampoline version of a rug burn}. I wasn’t watching the very moment it happened, there were several bigger boys out there and the three youngest were sitting nicely on the trampoline, so I decided to run inside and start making dinner.

The story, as all three of them tell it is that J-Man decided to tell both of the Twinkies that they needed to lick the trampoline. What on earth possessed either him to tell them to do it, or them to actually listen, truly is beyond all comprehension to me. But they did!

Somehow both fell forward at exactly the same time, in exactly the same way {I have to wonder if they weren’t nudged… just saying!} resulting in exactly the same nose thing. It’s one of the wonders of the universe, but there you have it.

Just your general run of the mill interactive morning breakfast table type conversation…

This is a conversation I wrote down recently. Apparently I came in toward the end of a breakfast time monologue given by Little Bug who isn’t always sure how he feels about being home every other Friday.

Bug: We can only watch baby shows on Fridays… but not Chicken Little because there’s an invasion and they don’t like invasions.

Me: Babies don’t like invasions… good to know.

Tater: Especially not when told by Chickens!

Stay tuned for more Crazy Kid Convos in the very near future!

One of the first things I heard today as I was still in that not-totally-conscious-of-the-world-around-me state was an interesting conversation floating across the house from the room several of our boys share.

This Is the Puller3000!!!!!! You just pull it here and the door comes toward you. (Monkey says in a big booming announcer voice)

I am assuming this is a clever promo for Angry Birds Space!

Immediately I couldn’t help but wonder what on earth ever happened to the Puller1000 and Puller2000?????!!! This question may haunt me! I have not had a chance to ask him yet today.

When I mentioned that curiosity to my husband his reply was “Apparently he felt he needed to skip those and go straight to the 3000 model!”

LOL, they are all crazy!

Then, this afternoon, I received the photo above in a text from my husband. He’s working on a project in Seattle and snapped the photo from his iPhone (sorry it’s not very clear) from one of the windows of the building.

Look close and you will definitely see there’s something oddly “Angry Birds” about the Space Needle in Seattle, WA right now (haha). I can only assume this is a brilliant marketing stunt to promote Angry Birds Space which has just been released! I love it!!

Children definitely crave that moment when they are in the spotlight all by themselves. Who can blame them? In today’s world of hustle and bustle and running around to keep up with the next guy over we often lose sight of the pure individuality each child needs and deserves.

Last night was J-man’s school musical concert. It’s a fun event that they do at the elementary school around this time each year and the kids put on a stellar performance of very silly and fun songs for their families.

Last night was his time to shine!

As I drove home with a very smiley and happy 8 year old boy in the backseat, I began to wonder if in a large family it doesn’t mean even that much more to have that individual moment in the spotlight. That moment where you are definitely not “just one of six”.

Yes, we love each of our children very individually and recognize that each of them has unique needs at all times. Watching their faces light up and spending one on one time with them for even a little reason is so priceless though and I realize each time how easy it would be to miss that or simply overlook it in the everyday hubbub.

I am thankful that we don’t have the insane sports season schedule right now. We have been laying low in the area of having all the boys in sports for many reasons, primarily financial (not only the cost of the sports themselves but the gas to take them to all the practices and games was out of control). With that has come some very significant benefits of not feeling so overwhelmed by the ins and outs of everyday life.

If life feels overwhelming and if you feel like you’re missing out on the all-important little things in everyday life with your kids, check your schedule. See what can be omitted, is it really going to be life changing if your child doesn’t play a sport every single season this year? That’s not for me to determine, but the point is that if you feel like you’re missing something, maybe taking a break from a hectic schedule by eliminating a few things is the solution.

I encourage you, whether you have 1 child or 10 to “make a date” for each one of your children to have their moment in the spotlight. Yes, life isn’t a one man show but spending that time with our kids helps us parent their individual needs even better.

The life of a parent can be such a busy one, there are definitely times when it can all feel overwhelming. Lately I’m finding that in addition to the usual stress, I may also experience a bit of anxiety and even insomnia. So today, I wanted to take a moment to address all of this with a couple of tips for you.

Slow Down

Sure, we may not be able to really do a lot about our everyday schedule, but there’s usually a way to find a few minutes for ourselves somewhere in there. If you can, just set aside a few minutes to do something that’s quiet and helps you remove yourself from the busy-ness of the day.

What Refreshes You?

We all have a few things that truly can bring us relaxation and refreshment quickly, but we each need to decide what that is for us. Whether it’s drinking your favorite mocha, reading a bit of that novel that’s been sitting on the shelf for a few months, taking a long shower or even a few minutes for a bath or a pedicure, find that thing that just makes you go “Aaaaahhh”! The possibilities are endless.

Breathe

When my kids get upset or anxious the number one thing I tell them to do is take a deep breath. It almost always works, helps soothe them and helps them calm down. Adults often forget to breathe! Who has time?

Well, do it! Yoga is a great way to learn to breathe again, it is so relaxing! But, even taking a few minutes to just focus on breathing… steady and even… helps bring the right amount of oxygen to the brain (and the whole body) which makes you feel so much better!

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As you can imagine, life with my Twinky Dinks (aka. twins) in school has been interesting to say the least. Through the years I have given you all tiny little hints into the reality of life with them, but the full truth… well, I may have underestimated your ability to handle it. I apologize!

In an effort to bring life with my particular brand of twin sons to full light I hereby promise to tell you the whole truth… you have been warned.

As the expectancy of Christmas is fully upon us and this is the last week of school till the new year, life in our household has been buzzing…

“Is it time to put the tree up yet?”
“Where is Santa?”
“Is it time to put the tree up yet?”
“What Christmas movie is on tonight mom?”
“Isn’t it time to put up the tree?”

Yes, the ability of children to suddenly focus on one thing when Christmastime is upon us is astounding!

For whatever reason however Bugs decided to have a few “moments” in school last week. We still are not quite sure what provoked his two day rampage into the abyss of naughtiness, but we are breathing a huge sigh of relief that this trip was so seemingly brief (ok so I’m holding my breath a little still until the week is over).

As I picked them up on Wednesday of last week (the reason I pick them up has yet to be shared with you… I’ll save that for another time), Bugs’ teacher took me aside briefly and shared with me that Bugs had  not had the best day (such a lovely way to say that they were naughty). In that moment fear of unknown proportions washed over me. All I could think is “Oh Please NO! ”

I know what they are capable of, I have seen the destruction and mayhem, I know the reality of twin abilities. This is why they are in separate classes in school. But I digress…

“Well, first” the teacher begins (again, I’m panicking as I realize if there’s a first that’s not where it stops… aaahh!), “I found him under his table breaking about 25 crayons into pieces”. Oh lovely! My son, the crayon torturer! Although I was mortified, it wasn’t as bad as it could be.

“Then, he decided to hide in the coat rack after reading group instead of coming back to the class.” O joy, a fugitive. This isn’t the first time but neither of them had decided to go roaming about the school for a few months so I had hoped we’d passed this phase.

Although neither of those issues is a huge infraction, they were the beginning of a 2 day spree where during the bus ride to school the next day he apparently decided his brother needed to be wailed upon. Hitting and other such nonsense ended with a trip for Mister Bugs to the principal’s office.

He’s 6. In the principal’s office. For beating on another child (yes it was his twin but STILL). SIGH

The worst part is, when I talked to him about it later and expressed my concern at the severity of his crimes over that two day spree, he then turned to his twin brother after I had walked into the other room and told him “well it’s your fault I hit you, you wouldn’t stop singing”.

SIGH again!

Now, just to clarify, I do not allow my children to go around wailing on each other, and blaming another person for one’s overreaction in life is absolutely unacceptable in our home. You own up to your mistakes, we deal with it, we all move on (hopefully).

Also, I honestly do not believe that any of my children have ever ended up in the principal’s office before. So, as with so many things in life with my twins, we have yet another glorious radiant first … that I desperately pray we will not be a recurring event!

We all know about the multitudes of stages our children go through from infancy through adulthood and beyond. But what I have found most amazing is that we rarely hear about how that affects us not only as parents but in every way. There are definitely Parenting stages and around here, we have embarked on yet another new stage.

Having children that are so wide-spread in age can definitely be challenging, when the reality of having a Sophomore in High School and twin Kindergarteners really sinks in, the absolute difference between those two age groups is astounding. I know we aren’t the only family in that position, but it is significant.

Our oldest son (known as CJ around here) turned 16 earlier this week. Although I handled it well that day, the week approaching his birthday was a bit emotional for me from time to time. The growth in this young man has been so incredible. But the realization that he’s only 2 years away from being an “adult” and that he’s now old enough to legally drive was overwhelming.

We all know that day will come, but as our children grow and move into a new phase or stage in life we do too. Although I do not live my life through my children, their lives do directly affect mine (of course). As he heads into this new stage in life, I also know that our way of parenting him will adjust, yet again, accordingly.

As we give him a little more room to make his own decisions and even fail a bit here and there on a smaller less painful level we help him grow, gain independence and prepare to be an adult when the time comes. Finding the balance of allowing him to still be a “kid” in appropriate ways is always key though, so as we always have done, we will continue to adjust how we parent him to try and find a good balance.

So, as we juggle yet another parenting stage, I hope that you find comfort in the fact that none of us goes through it alone! Parenting is the most challenging, yet often the most rewarding thing we will ever do in life if we approach it with a good attitude.

I hope that you are able to enjoy each stage that your child goes through, remember that they are each only a short time before the next stage is entered.Enjoy the fun stages and be patient through the rough ones. Seek help if you need it and most of all remember that the day will come when you have to let go and everything you have invested in that child will stick with them regardless of whether they show it or not.

Oh so often, through my day to day tasks there’s a certain couple of nursery rhymes that pop into my head. They are striking because typically they go perfectly with what I’ve been doing that day.

As I go to and from store, school, etc that lovely nursery rhyme with the piggies going to market goes ’round and ’round in my head.

To market to market to buy a fat pig
Home again home again jiggety jig
To market to market to buy a fat hog
Home again home again jiggety jog

You get the idea!

The other one that comes to mind quite often is The Old Woman in the Shoe…I’m sure most of you remember that one! Honestly I think little of this rhyme actually matches my life, but the idea of a woman with a lot of kids in a small living area is something I can sooooo totally relate to!

As I head out on a fun adventure (all by myself even!) for the next four days I thought I’d ask, what nursery rhyme is most relevant in your life today (or this week, or this year)?

Book cover image found here, of my very favorite (and still can be found somewhere around here) nursery rhyme book from childhood!

Let’s face it, some kids are naturally picky eaters. As parents we have a choice, help them become creative eaters who try a variety of foods or feed them only what they like leading to unhealthy eating habits and questionable health.

Today we’re talking about how to get kids to eat healthy, and below you get the opportunity to join in the conversation and share your thoughts for a chance to win a Mom’s Getaway Spa Day!

Although it may seem like a strange combination, I have always felt that giving my children the opportunity to eat a variety of foods regardless of their refusals helps them in other areas of life as well. Not only am I making sure that they are eating a balanced and healthy diet, but I’m also ensuring that they are not a frustration to others anytime anyone other than myself has to feed them a meal.

So, how do we get around the picky eater and whining?

When you have worked to prepare a yummy and healthy meal, hearing a child say “I don’t like that” can be so frustrating.  Being part of a big family, there’s truly not a lot of opportunity to be picky, there’s simply no way to prepare a lot of separate meals just because of one or two childrens’  limited tastes.

That’s not to say we haven’t had our fair share of battles with the picky eater over the years, but we have learned a few things. Feeding children a variety of healthy foods right from the start is paramount for growing a healthy eater. Finding fun ways to present healthy foods and using all the great tools and flavors we have at our disposal to make truly deliciously healthy food is ultimately the very best way to encourage our children to eat.

Heres’ a few more tips.

Let them Help

This is probably the best way to get a child to eat something they ordinarily wouldn’t even look at. Letting them help make the food will almost always guarantee a child will eat it. Although kids cooking can be a messy adventure and requires a lot of supervision, they are actually quite creative.

Sometimes we let them help plan from the meal planning and shopping to the cooking and serving. Taking ownership of an entire meal is something that makes the kids so proud!

Be Creative

Serving foods that are not on your child’s list of things that are ok can be a little less challenging if they are presented in a fun and creative way.  Check out the discussions we’ve been having about Bento lunches, there’s plenty of creative and fun ideas by even simply creating food that’s shaped in fun ways.

Also, having theme nights such as food from a certain country or foods all of a certain color (even though I usually recommend serving a rainbow of colors…which could also be a theme…in this case it works for the greater good to serve one color), etc.

Approach it Head On

If all else fails you can talk to them straight out about it. Obviously this won’t work with the toddler/preschool ages who are quite possibly the most picky group of them all, but for kids that are school age, understanding how important it is to eat a balanced and healthy meal is important and can definitely make them think.

In the end, if the child simply doesn’t respond, I always find myself going back to the fact that I’m the parent. I am ultimately responsible for keeping each of our children healthy, and sometimes I simply have to gently but firmly take charge whether the child likes it or not.

We want to know your tips for getting kids to eat healthier! Please join the conversation by submitting your tip in the box below for a chance to win a $500 Mom’s Getaway Spa Day from BlogFrog!

Want to exchange more healthy snacks ideas, money saving tips and back to school shopping advice with other moms? Visit the Horizon® Healthy Families Back to School Community!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Horizon.  The opinions expressed by me do not necessarily reflect the view of the Horizon Organic brand. 

I recently was contacted by a subscriber and she shared her heart and a few challenges that she’s having with her kiddos. As I read her email, I felt her pain and the frustration of the part of parenting that sometimes can be so hurtful…disrespectful children.

My kids aren’t perfect. We’ve had plenty of hiccups along the way.  Quite possibly one of the most frustrating …and humiliating…is public disrespect or tantrums.

Since every single thing we do as parents is scrutinized under a very wishy washy viewing lens publicly these days, many parents have actually resorted to doing very little to discipline their children, especially in public. Sadly, the result is very disrespectful children that have no concern for anyone but themselves.

But I digress (sorry!)….

If you find that your children have become very difficult to handle in public (throwing tantrums, demanding things, etc), here’s a tried and true two step process that has been proven to change their tune.

Step 1: Set the ground rules! Prior to going into the store simply take a moment and talk to your children and very pointedly tell them your expectations and consequences for begging and tantrums.

Step 2: If they go with me and begin to get demanding I stop them and take a moment to remind them of the rules and consequences and point out that what they are doing is not only unacceptable but will result in immediate removal from the store should it happen again. This will be the ONLY warning.

Step 3:  If they continue to beg or throw a tantrum, I simply take them out of the store and we go home. Sometimes they fuss or throw a fit all the way out of the store, but the point has been very bluntly made that this behavior will result in getting nothing at all (and that I mean business).

As with anything consistency is key. You have to be prepared to abruptly stop your shopping trip at any moment and remove your children from the store. Taking them out isn’t always pretty, they sometimes carry on and fuss and may even throw a tantrum all the way out. Simply remain calm, load up and go home.

You can tell them that you will try again later or another day when they think they can control themselves better. This process must be repeated until they can make it through a shopping trip without throwing a fit or making demands.

Until then every shopping trip you take your child on must be viewed as a training exercise. So you may have to make sure you have time to make important trips to the store alone in order to make sure you can complete the shopping trip.

If you have any questions, or have tips to add please feel free to share with us!!!

Note: I learned this idea while taking a class using the book Parenting With Love And Logic. I did not reference the book in writing this post, simply shared what has worked for us over the years, so the process I have described here may be very different than what you find in the book. I wanted to point it out though because I consider that book to be a wonderful reference for ANY parent’s library!

There was a song we sang a lot growing up and the lines in this song ring so very true today, yet so little time is spent reflecting on their importance. Here’s the first verse:

O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
There’s a Father up above
And He’s looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see

I never thought that this song would resonate so clearly in parenting as a perfect object lesson for you guys, but here we are and I see the importance of each verse of this song each and every day.

Yes, this definitely goes along with the whole “garbage in, garbage out” concept you guys love so much (no sarcasm there haha). Just a little more pointed.

What happens when you aren’t careful what you watch or see?

Not only can so many images in this world (via tv, movies, or other things) be very disturbing, unhealthy &/or inappropriate, but when you aren’t careful they can numb you. Your eyes are often said to be the window to the soul… GUARD that!!

And yes, I’m fully aware that it’s not socially acceptable to question the all-powerful wisdom of Hollywood (again with the sarcasm…I know!)

When you were little we tried to carefully guard what you watched on tv, and even sometimes things we’d stumble upon in public. But as you grow, this is more and more up to you.

Your dad couldn’t be a better example of being careful what you allow yourself to see. When he sees something inappropriate on TV, what does he do? If you don’t know, watch him next time and see (hint hint: he looks away…every time…whether I’m there or not).

There are definitely times when we can’t protect ourselves, that’s not what I’m talking about, this is a choice thing. Are you choosing to watch things that will build you up, help you grow, even just plain clean entertain you? or are you choosing to watch junk that will numb you to the beauty of God’s creation and will for your life?

I love you guys!!!
Mom