Warning, Contents Under Pressure!
I hate school! Seriously, I HATE the kids being in school. Now, I'm not freaky enough to want them home ALL of the time, but it sure does make my life easier when they are at home. I feel like a time bomb waiting to go off when they are in school! From the moment we wake up at 6 a.m. until we hit the pillow at 10 p.m. (if we're lucky) I am running crazy from laundry, to girls hair, to soccer, to school, golf, tennis, daisy's, intramurals, baseball, piano, dance, doctor appt's, and you name it we're probably trying to work it into the schedule! It's nuts! The kids meet me at the van after school with a friend in tow and my answer is "NO!" They ask for a slumber I say "NO!" birthday parties are hit or miss depending on the friend but usually the answer is "NO!" Really, it is crazy to think about but some things are just not possible when we have so much going on. Do you know that when the teachers assign 20 min. of reading for each child a night, with only the five I have in school now, I am listening to 1hr. and 40 min of choppy,"See Jane Run" books EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT. It's so not a good place to be and on any given night I want to scream "GIVE ME THE DAMN BOOK AND I'LL READ IT TO YOU, JUST DO NOT TELL YOUR TEACHER AND EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT!" But how sad would it be for me to be doing seven kids' jobs behind their bosses backs in the next 20 years...so not pretty!
Then summer comes and now I just say "YES" to everything. "oh, you want to streak at your brother's baseball game? SOUNDS GREAT, HONEY, BRING A FRIEND!" I mean it I am like a totally different parent in the summer than I am during the school year. I am a YES WOMAN! I can handle anything! Even just Friday night all the kids wanted friends to spend the night and I was totally feeling good about having 13 kids in the house. Turned out we only had 11, but it was so fine. I know some of my kids friends probably went home saying "I think Mrs. Hunt is on happy pills finally 'cuz she let us do anything we wanted to do!" I even felt kind of bad for some of the parents who know that I usually have stricter limits than they do when I sent their children out the door the next day telling them "Oh, BTW, they wanted a few donuts for breakfast and I didn't mind so beware they may be on a sugar high for the next oh, say, week! Good Luck, come again!" Actually, they are probably trying to find the doctor who prescribed the presumed happy pills to tell him/her that they need to lessen the dose quite a bit!
Truth is, I am off the hook in the summer! I have no one to impress...or should I say TRY to impress (to no avail) I can put the kids to bed late and have them get up late. We have all day to read for 20 min. Most activities are on a summer break I am free to do whatever I want! It's great! No pressure all fun! Trust me I'm sure I'll be ready for school to start back in session by August, but for now we are enjoying this break...all of us!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Five Finger Discount
The other day Tait had an appointment across town where he gets dropped off and stays for a couple of hours. My choices are to sit in the lobby, sit in the car, or run errands. This particular day I chose to run errands even though this area is a bit shady! OK, OK, it's a lot shady. As a matter of fact when I said I was going to run errands Josh asked if I had brought my bullet proof vest. Anyway, I had to go grocery shopping like you wouldn't believe, and having empty cabinets in this household with these savages is much more risky than shopping in this shady area of town, trust me on that! I also just couldn't sit and stare at the walls knowing I had so much to get done and let's face it not having to lug around the car seat while grocery shopping was an added bonus. So, taking my life into my own hands I decide their is no other logical thing to do than to drop Tait off, hit the grocery store, grab Tait, head home and then put groceries away.
As Kayela and I pull up to the store it really does look pretty nice. It seems to have had a face lift in the past few months and looks just as nice as the store I go to on my side of town. I am on my phone with a friends so I have plenty of time to assess the people going into the store and unfortunately they had not had face lifts recently and they all seem to be a little more rugged than I am used to but I am confident they are all very nice people so it would be crazy for me not to shop here based on surface findings. I realize when I get off my phone that I didn't bring a purse just the diaper bag with my wallet in it. Although it may look a bit funny having a diaper bag and no baby I decide I really don't care and that I don't want my wallet just left out in the cart alone and so I proceed to grab the diaper bag and Kayela and head into the store.
While in the store I meander along at a snails pace because in the back of my head I am thinking that I have about two hours to kill so there is no need to rush. I take notice that shopping on a Monday morning their is really slim pickings or maybe it's just this location, I don't know. Then I notice that their is a benefit about shopping in this location because the prices are much cheaper! Kayela's a trooper and we spend every last second killing time in the store before I head up to the cash register. Once there, several people are ahead of us and I grab a magazine to read (Jon's side of the story of course) when I've skimmed the article and found out how I too can lose all my belly fat in 12 min. I start checking out the gum and candy. I throw 2/$1 candy bars in the cart, a reward for Kayela and I for killing time and saving money, and then it's finally our turn to check out. I walk around the counter with my big old diaper bag and no baby when my obnoxious 5 year old yells " I saw you steal that candy, mommy!" I'm thinking YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT! Now, here's the deal to anyone watching me take just about two hours to fill one cart of groceries and then to have a huge diaper bag and no baby and to top it off that I am in not the classiest of neighborhoods I probably looked like a person who may have a hidden agenda. I pull out my biggest mommy tactic and that is to yank the clarification out of the child so passerbyers don't misjudge me. So, I say to Kayela "I didn't steal the candy what do you mean?" Kayela says "I saw you!" I say "no, stealing is when you take something and you don't pay for it" she says "you did take it and you didn't pay for it" I realize now that the clerk is looking at me with condemning eyes and I have dug myself into a hole with my tactic. I finally jerk Kayela over to me by the arm (vulture death grip) and explain to her that if she opens her mouth before we get to the car again that she will definitely be regretting that decision. I proceed to show the clerk that my child meant she saw me sneak the candy not steal the candy and that I would never steal and how funny kids are that they get all mixed up and see the candy in the cart that's the candy she was talking about and on and on and on! Yes, I knew I looked shady! It was probably one of my more embarrassing moments as a mommy.
By the time we got to the car I was so fuming mad at Kayela! I told her that she should never be announcing things that she doesn't know about and that it could've been very bad had the store people thought I really stole. I told her that if it's IN the cart and I am in line to pay that I have not stolen a darn thing. I also told her that I had gotten a special candy for her and I to keep a secret since she was such a big helper to me. Yes, it was really embarrassing and then I recalled many embarrassing moments I have lived through and the amazing thing is that now, I can laugh at every one of them! (Even the time when Emma was about three and announced to the pastors wife that I wear little diapers because I still poop my pants.....luckily she knew exactly what Emma was talking about, but trust me it wasn't any less embarrassing)
The other day Tait had an appointment across town where he gets dropped off and stays for a couple of hours. My choices are to sit in the lobby, sit in the car, or run errands. This particular day I chose to run errands even though this area is a bit shady! OK, OK, it's a lot shady. As a matter of fact when I said I was going to run errands Josh asked if I had brought my bullet proof vest. Anyway, I had to go grocery shopping like you wouldn't believe, and having empty cabinets in this household with these savages is much more risky than shopping in this shady area of town, trust me on that! I also just couldn't sit and stare at the walls knowing I had so much to get done and let's face it not having to lug around the car seat while grocery shopping was an added bonus. So, taking my life into my own hands I decide their is no other logical thing to do than to drop Tait off, hit the grocery store, grab Tait, head home and then put groceries away.
As Kayela and I pull up to the store it really does look pretty nice. It seems to have had a face lift in the past few months and looks just as nice as the store I go to on my side of town. I am on my phone with a friends so I have plenty of time to assess the people going into the store and unfortunately they had not had face lifts recently and they all seem to be a little more rugged than I am used to but I am confident they are all very nice people so it would be crazy for me not to shop here based on surface findings. I realize when I get off my phone that I didn't bring a purse just the diaper bag with my wallet in it. Although it may look a bit funny having a diaper bag and no baby I decide I really don't care and that I don't want my wallet just left out in the cart alone and so I proceed to grab the diaper bag and Kayela and head into the store.
While in the store I meander along at a snails pace because in the back of my head I am thinking that I have about two hours to kill so there is no need to rush. I take notice that shopping on a Monday morning their is really slim pickings or maybe it's just this location, I don't know. Then I notice that their is a benefit about shopping in this location because the prices are much cheaper! Kayela's a trooper and we spend every last second killing time in the store before I head up to the cash register. Once there, several people are ahead of us and I grab a magazine to read (Jon's side of the story of course) when I've skimmed the article and found out how I too can lose all my belly fat in 12 min. I start checking out the gum and candy. I throw 2/$1 candy bars in the cart, a reward for Kayela and I for killing time and saving money, and then it's finally our turn to check out. I walk around the counter with my big old diaper bag and no baby when my obnoxious 5 year old yells " I saw you steal that candy, mommy!" I'm thinking YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT! Now, here's the deal to anyone watching me take just about two hours to fill one cart of groceries and then to have a huge diaper bag and no baby and to top it off that I am in not the classiest of neighborhoods I probably looked like a person who may have a hidden agenda. I pull out my biggest mommy tactic and that is to yank the clarification out of the child so passerbyers don't misjudge me. So, I say to Kayela "I didn't steal the candy what do you mean?" Kayela says "I saw you!" I say "no, stealing is when you take something and you don't pay for it" she says "you did take it and you didn't pay for it" I realize now that the clerk is looking at me with condemning eyes and I have dug myself into a hole with my tactic. I finally jerk Kayela over to me by the arm (vulture death grip) and explain to her that if she opens her mouth before we get to the car again that she will definitely be regretting that decision. I proceed to show the clerk that my child meant she saw me sneak the candy not steal the candy and that I would never steal and how funny kids are that they get all mixed up and see the candy in the cart that's the candy she was talking about and on and on and on! Yes, I knew I looked shady! It was probably one of my more embarrassing moments as a mommy.
By the time we got to the car I was so fuming mad at Kayela! I told her that she should never be announcing things that she doesn't know about and that it could've been very bad had the store people thought I really stole. I told her that if it's IN the cart and I am in line to pay that I have not stolen a darn thing. I also told her that I had gotten a special candy for her and I to keep a secret since she was such a big helper to me. Yes, it was really embarrassing and then I recalled many embarrassing moments I have lived through and the amazing thing is that now, I can laugh at every one of them! (Even the time when Emma was about three and announced to the pastors wife that I wear little diapers because I still poop my pants.....luckily she knew exactly what Emma was talking about, but trust me it wasn't any less embarrassing)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
"Toto, I don't think we're in Southlands anymore!"
Crazy, Crazy storm here on Sunday! Seriously, one minute we were gardening on a beautiful day and the next we were rushing to see what damage had been done to our office.
For about a year now we have had our office opened in Southlands. It's energetic and a quick commute for Josh each day. Sunday however, it was hit by a tornado and it was devastating to see how quickly the place was turned upside down. Because we are business owners we were allowed through the police lines to see what damage had been done, if any, to our office. They had cleared everyone out immediately following the tornado because many of the buildings had gas leaks and severe roof damage. It was a very serious process and it was crazy to see how many looky loo's were trying to get in just to see the place. Each entrance and exit was being guarded and while giving our I.D.'s to the stoic policeman he asked the loaded question of "Do you have any kids in the car?" where I replied "yes, sir, seven!" We made him smile and he said "well that's too many for me to write down so just be sure you stay together" He guided us to the "command station" and I felt like I was a secret agent! It was great! I was acting like Emma does when she goes into the office. She once told Josh and I that she feels like the presidents daughter because everyone gives our kids so much attention when they walk through the office doors. When we are hanging out as a family she loves it when the security guards talk to Josh and our family, she feels famous even if just for a moment at Southlands....ha! Little does she know that we are one up on her when she starts to hang out with friends, she will not get away with anything since everyone knows us down there, she will eventually HATE what she now cherishes so much! Anyway, we meet at the command station where we are told to go ahead and enter our building to assess damage done. As we head over it is literally like a Disney simulated back stage tour! It was crazy looking at cars on there sides, HVAC units laying on the street, statues and benches all thrown about like Lincoln logs! To say it was unbelievable is an understatement and I can't imagine seeing a tornado that hit a whole neighborhood. Our kids were so quiet you could have heard a pin drop! One whole store was cleared out, leaving it looking like a wand wash bay. (see below)
I didn't take many pictures just because we were all in shock at the things we were seeing. We stopped and talked to one of the previous owners of the mall who said the tornado had jumped from building to building, and that was very clear. It was mesmerizing to see how one building looked virtually untouched and the next had windows, signs, awnings and doors just gone! With the rain yesterday, it brought more damage to many people because of the extensive roof damage. We feel very lucky in that our personal office was only affected minorly in comparison to what others have experienced. We were allowed to occupy the building again just a few minutes ago, so back to business as usual for us. Thank you to all who have shared their concern for us in the last couple of days, we appreciate it!
Crazy, Crazy storm here on Sunday! Seriously, one minute we were gardening on a beautiful day and the next we were rushing to see what damage had been done to our office.
For about a year now we have had our office opened in Southlands. It's energetic and a quick commute for Josh each day. Sunday however, it was hit by a tornado and it was devastating to see how quickly the place was turned upside down. Because we are business owners we were allowed through the police lines to see what damage had been done, if any, to our office. They had cleared everyone out immediately following the tornado because many of the buildings had gas leaks and severe roof damage. It was a very serious process and it was crazy to see how many looky loo's were trying to get in just to see the place. Each entrance and exit was being guarded and while giving our I.D.'s to the stoic policeman he asked the loaded question of "Do you have any kids in the car?" where I replied "yes, sir, seven!" We made him smile and he said "well that's too many for me to write down so just be sure you stay together" He guided us to the "command station" and I felt like I was a secret agent! It was great! I was acting like Emma does when she goes into the office. She once told Josh and I that she feels like the presidents daughter because everyone gives our kids so much attention when they walk through the office doors. When we are hanging out as a family she loves it when the security guards talk to Josh and our family, she feels famous even if just for a moment at Southlands....ha! Little does she know that we are one up on her when she starts to hang out with friends, she will not get away with anything since everyone knows us down there, she will eventually HATE what she now cherishes so much! Anyway, we meet at the command station where we are told to go ahead and enter our building to assess damage done. As we head over it is literally like a Disney simulated back stage tour! It was crazy looking at cars on there sides, HVAC units laying on the street, statues and benches all thrown about like Lincoln logs! To say it was unbelievable is an understatement and I can't imagine seeing a tornado that hit a whole neighborhood. Our kids were so quiet you could have heard a pin drop! One whole store was cleared out, leaving it looking like a wand wash bay. (see below)
I didn't take many pictures just because we were all in shock at the things we were seeing. We stopped and talked to one of the previous owners of the mall who said the tornado had jumped from building to building, and that was very clear. It was mesmerizing to see how one building looked virtually untouched and the next had windows, signs, awnings and doors just gone! With the rain yesterday, it brought more damage to many people because of the extensive roof damage. We feel very lucky in that our personal office was only affected minorly in comparison to what others have experienced. We were allowed to occupy the building again just a few minutes ago, so back to business as usual for us. Thank you to all who have shared their concern for us in the last couple of days, we appreciate it!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Nanny Diaries
We have found our new nanny! I really wasn't looking for a nanny considering that all of the kids except for Tait will be in school starting in the Fall but this guy kind of just fell in our laps. In the past we have typically had a nanny or AuPair, but I really felt like it was necessary with the amount of kids we have. I have always stayed at home but, again, with the amount of kids it was always nice to have the extra hands. Our family really cherishes our nannies and we feel like they are a part of our family. "Grandma Kathy" we had for several years and she was an amazing asset to our family dynamic. Having raised three children of her own, she really could be a step ahead of me most days. Zona, our AuPair from South Africa, was adorable and sweet and really became "friends" with our kiddos. She taught them to speak in her native tongue (they would make fun of Josh and I, I'm convinced of that although they say they weren't...hmmmm?). It feels a little silly to have found a new nanny now that I am through the toddler years with the majority of the kids but this guy came in and just took over and he works for very cheap which is always a good thing!
Let me tell you about him. He is much different than our previous nannies. Yes, for starters he is a MALE! (I never thought I would have a male nanny and he is VERY adorable) He was born and raised right here in Colorado and likes the outdoors with his family but doesn't prefer to go solo outside. He's somewhat lazy but it doesn't really bother me because Tait is so young he's been sleeping when Tait naps and it saves me from "entertaining" him. I've taken several pictures of him in action...HE'S AMAZING!
supervising tummy time:
To ensure Tait is getting in a full nap he prefers to hold him while he sleeps
He is very particular about prewashing each bottle
Proper head support is a high priority of his
When Tait is content in his swing our new nanny is still very cautious to not leave him unattended
He was thinking Tait felt a little warm and although a male, he still has a "motherly" side don't you think?
So, like I said before, I really wasn't in the market for a new nanny. P.D. clearly thinks that we cannot handle Tait on our own though so he has taken him on as his personal responsibility. He is absolutely sweet to him and very concerned with his well being. When Tait cries P.D. comes racing to us (like we can't hear), when Tait naps P.D. naps right next to him, and when we are holding Tait he "supervises". Hey, for a warm bed and a couple of bowls of food each day...he's the best bargain we've ever gotten!
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