A Sad Morning

Have you ever seen Bill Cosby's stand up when he talks about his wife dealing with their kids. Sometimes, as I get frustrated with my little angels, I can hear him imitating his wife saying, "I have had enough!!" It brings a smile to my face.

Last night I went out with my sister and sister-in-law. They both had had a stressful day and needed to get out and my husband so "Go, have a good time", so I did.

It is a rule in our house, when you get PJ's on, you pick up your room and the toy room for a fresh start the next day. Apparently, Daddy didn't remind them to pick up last night, so this morning the toy room was a mess, not terrible (like maybe they cleaned half way) but still a lot of toys sitting out.

My thoughts: "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!!"

This morning I boxed up all the toys that were still on the floor. I keep threatening to do this to the items they don't take care of, and today was the day. Every toy left on the floor I boxed up and put in the closet until further notice. There were some tears shed, but when Mommy is at the end of her rope - look out!

This mean Mommy is just trying to teach responsibility. Right?

(Can you tell that I may be eager for school to start so my house can stay in order a little better??)

tickle, tickle

We gave our changing table away about three kids ago. I just never used it. We had a box of wipes and a few diapers at various places in the house and the floor worked just as well.

A few months ago I was changing Mac (yes, we should be potty training but.... well....). He was laying on the floor, I was sitting at his feet with my legs on either side of him. Daddy was home and thought it would be funny to show him how to tickle mommy's toes (since they were placed at the perfect spot).

Good one, Daddy!

Now every time I lay him down to change his diaper (and I usually don't have shoes on at the house) he says, "tickle, tickle" in the cutest voice that makes me laugh every time - even if he hasn't 'tickled' me yet.

Chores

OK, I am not the best mother in the world to talk to about getting your child to do chores. This is an area I really struggle with. I'm OCD, and I want it done my way. For example, when the kids put their clean clothes away, nothing makes it in the drawer still folded.


Over and over again we've discussed different things that they could do, but never put anything into action. I'm not saying that the kids don't help out and I walk around like a maid (although, I feel like that sometimes?).

Well, I've decided that I am not being a good mother if I don't teach them responsibility. So here we go, again!

Here is what we are doing (on top of 7:00 clean-up before bed):


I think Mollee (3rd grader) and Tavis (2nd grader) need a little more responsibility than the others. When I need her to, Mollee has to shift the laundry from washer to dryer and then from dryer to basket. Tavis has to take the kitchen garbage out to the big can, which usually needs to go out once a day. He can't push the full can to the road for pickup, but after it has been dumped, he has to pull it back to the house. Mollee and Tavis also tag-team the dishwasher. Mollee does cups and plates, Tavis does plastics and silverware. Mollee is also learning to wash the dishes after she bakes with me.


Daegan (going to be in kindergarten) actually loves to do chores. He always gets the mail for me and when I have some to be picked up he takes it to the box in the morning. He also empties all the little garbage cans into the kitchen garbage once or twice in the week. He likes to run the vacuum if he can, but our vacuum is heavy and sometimes is hard to push. He always wants to set the table for dinner and loves to help me collect laundry.


Capps (5) and Mac (2) have a lot less to do, but I think that is only fair, as long as they have to help with things down the road. Capps is responsible for getting the paper, which he loves that it is his job. Sometimes, he'll empty the garbages instead of Daegan. Mac can clean his own room, which really means all toys are thrown in his closet.


After dinner everyone has to clear their plate. Mollee has to clear Daddy's plate and Tavis has to clear Mommy's plate. As I said before, I usually get them to help me put the laundry away and just don't look at the state it is in later on - it is clean, right? I also have enjoyed getting everyone to help carry in groceries. Even Mac will get the lightest bag to carry in.


I know there are other little things they do, but I'm open to suggestions if you've got some?

Sunday Lunch/Dinner

For Sunday Dinner today we had a big gathering at Mom and Dad's after church. It was the entire Caines Clan (six kids, five spouses, and twenty-one grandkids). Plus, my Uncle Paul and Aunt Sharon were still in town, with their daughter, Dana. My cousin, Alice, was also still in town with her husband, Mark, and their three boys. And my grandparents are in town and will be staying for a couple weeks.

There were 20 adults and 25 kids. Mom wasn't sure about having that many people, but we convinced her it would work if she did pork roast and the rest of us just brought side items. The dining room table held the 20 adults fine with high chairs on the outskirts, the big girls and the little (2-yr old) boys were at the kitchen table, and all the other boys were at various picnic tables on the deck (we were thankful it didn't rain).

It was a wonderful lunch, great fellowship and the cousins always have a good time playing together. It is actually getting a little less stressful as we get together with fewer and fewer toddlers that need more strict supervision. Although, the noise level with that many kids is loud no matter what the age.

Cross Clan Reunion

Every other summer there is a Cross Clan Reunion. Cross is my Grandma's (mother's mom) maiden name. She is one of eleven children and for many, many, many years, they have been numbering people as they join the family (whether it is by birth or marriage).

My Grandma is #8. My Mother is #26. I am #94. I have cheated to remember this because that is the year I graduated from high school. Jason is #184, Mollee is #216, Tavis is #231, Daegan is #249, Capps is #262, and Mac is #292. Don't worry, I don't just know this - we had name tags with our numbers on it to help us out. In all, there are 332 in the family. Jason and I haven't been to a reunion since Mollee was a baby because of the expense to travel, but this summer it was in town for us and I think there were about 150 that were able to attend.

Friday night we had dinner and a presentation of missions from a few different people in the family. I wasn't as loyal taking pictures as I wished I had been, but here is one of the kid tables:

This morning (Saturday), some met for a bible study and then some went on a train ride and then all that were available met back at the church for lunch. This afternoon some went to ride horses and some went to a pool that was made available by friends of ours. Again, not many pictures, but here are the girl cousins (Mollee, Abby and Eleanor) lounging in the pool.

And Tavis and Thomas doing.....working on their tan? trying to impress girls?
Tonight (Saturday) there was a fancy dinner. We did not sign up to attend tonight, because it seemed like too many activities in a 30-hour period to tote everyone around. We found out that my cousin, Esther, and her family weren't going tonight either. Since they were staying in our neighborhood at my parents house, we invited them down for dinner. Apparently, my two brothers, Philip and David, and their families (who were hanging around after the pool) didn't sign up to go to dinner tonight either so they ended up picking up pizza and coming over also. It was a great 'smaller' reunion that lasted from 5:30-7:00 and then everyone was on their way for early bedtimes.

Avery loved the horse and wasn't interested in pizzaWith all the different activities we had invited my nephew, Thomas, to join us for the weekend. He stayed Friday night and is sleeping over tonight also. Cousin friendships are so important in this family!!

Flower Girl

This is totally for nostalgia's sake.

When Jason and I got engaged I was a nanny for some great friends, Warren and Hella Smith. They have two children, Daniel and Madeleine, who were 5 and 2 at the time. I have many fond memories of being with them.

When we got married, there was no doubt who would be our ring bearer and flower girl (Ginny Henry was also my (not Jason's - she refused to do it for him) flower girl - FYI).

I recently saw Madeleine and it made me feel old.
*sigh*

A Busy Thursday!

Today has been a busy day. It started with dropping off a meal for a friend that just had a baby. From there we went to the school library, which is open during the summertime from 10-2 on Thursdays.

I had packed picnic lunches and we headed to a playground near the school. I called a friend to meet me there and we had a nice visit while the kids played. The kids have a name for different playgrounds around town (the Buddy Walk Playground, the Wooden Playground, the Train Playground, etc.). This is the Big Slide Playground. Here are Tavis and Mac coming down the slide in typical 'goof fashion' and Mollee and Daegan waiting at the bottom to be knocked over like bowling pins.

Of course, Capps was off doing his own thing, he wanted to stick closer to me because there were 'other kids' there. After we got home late I decided not to put Mac down for a nap because I didn't want him to sleep too late and get to bed late. I put a movie on for him to watch while I made cookies for a family reunion this weekend. I made seven dozen sugar cut-out cookies (with help-ugh!) and six dozen sour cream cookies (a family favorite) and I made dough for ginger snaps (which has to sit in the frig overnight before baking).

By 7:00 this evening all the kids were bathed and ready for bed, thankfully, Mac was already in bed and asleep. Once everyone was in bed, I cleaned house a little, messed around on the computer and then got on the treadmill around 10:00, but I only ran/walked for 20 minutes and was too unmotivated to go any further and got a shower and went to bed.

Did I say busy?