Mommy is Taking her House Back

All I wanted to do was to drop them off at school. I had spent the last hour directing them to get dressed, and eat breakfast; not the usual eggs, but a simple breakfast, just cereal with milk. The older two ate theirs, mostly. The little girls ate some, then the youngest starting emptying the cheerios one by one onto the floor. I told her no.

The middle child, the youngest boy, was still upstairs declaring that his stomach hurt and he couldn’t go to school. It took a phone call to daddy (who was driving to work) to get him down the stairs. Then he didn’t want to eat breakfast. He said that it hurt to eat. I knew he wasn’t sick anymore, yesterday he was perfectly fine but I let him stay home one more day anyway, just to be sure. Today was the day everyone had to go to school. It had been way too many days of sick rotating through everyone in the house, and the chaos was getting overwhelming. Baskets of washed laundry were waiting to be folded. Piles of dirty laundry are waiting to be washed. The machine had been constantly running, trying to keep up with extra sheets, and towels, and clothes. The same comforter got thrown up on and washed twice, two days in a row.

Usually on Monday, I get them to school, and then start the laundry, washing, then folding, making neat piles on the bed, then emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the breakfast dishes, picking up around the house. Making beds.

The last 5 days have been survival mode, just trying to take care of sick people. I have been avoiding the back of the living room, the toy area. The buckets have been turned over, spilling out over the space, growing outwards, embarking on the rest of the room, like a thick oil spill, slowing growing. How many times have I wanted to clean them up like normal, get them back into their neat organized buckets, and stacks, on the shelf? The toy rugs, perfectly squared out, arranged neat, then swept, and vacuumed. But I couldn’t. Every moment another person would throw up, or spill something, or the little one would pee. This morning, there was a big milk spill, and a pee, all within five minutes of having to leave the house. At this point I just wanted them out. Get to the car boys! Get on your shoes and coats. Get your back pack. GO!!!!

They are gone now. It’s Tuesday. It's finally quiet. The dishes from last night are in the sick. The baskets of laundry are waiting to be folded. The two girls are in the living room playing with the toys. I am going to start. I am going to get things back into order. Everything is going to get back into place. Mommy is taking her house back!

Yoga defragmented my brain

Yesterday, my peaceful, calm friend Linda, who is also a yoga teacher, came over for a session. We stretched, we downward facing doged, we breathed, we closed our eyes. My muscles trembled, they worked, and I relaxed. I felt chi in my hands, pins and needles in my feet, and work in my legs.

I enjoyed the yoga, and mostly I had set out for the purpose of strengthening my core without injuring myself. But yoga also did something else. It defragmented my brain. Today I am an organizing machine. I attacked the closet in the baby’s room that was piles of boxes, and bags, filled with clothes, blankets, stuff to keep, clothes too big, clothes to small. Everything had originally started out in separate organized piles, each for a purpose. Over time, clothes would just pile up, some would fall behind the boxes, puzzle pieces would land on the floor, and sometimes, (wince) I would just open the door and just throw stuff in there! But today, I approached it, not as “the project” to do someday, but peacefully, and happily, and the decisions were not hard. Usually, I can’t decide quickly what to keep, what is sentimental, what to give away. Today I filled an entire huge box speedily, and without much thought. I even put my beloved boppy in there, which I used to nurse all five children – with only a moment to pause and think, then decide that if someone else can use it, it is serving a better purpose than filling up a space in my closet. I can only attribute this liquid organizing experience to my Yoga class.

Yoga also undid something, 10 years of motherhood, months of morning school drop off, getting five kids dressed, fed and ready in the space of one hour (and not killing them in the process). Waking up at 4 am with a toddler that will only have mommy, and that needs to be snuggled back to sleep so as not to wake up the rest of the house. The hurriedness of pick one up here, drop one off there, clean the house before the cub scouts arrive for the den meeting – that starts a half hour after dinner!

Today, I am calm, I am whole, I am even blogging – after 2 years off. Thank you Yoga. Namaste!

Good Cookin'

For some reason, I have been taking pictures lately of some of the food that my husband and I have cooked. Here goes:

Tonight's Easter Dinner: Spiral Honey Glazed Ham topped with pineapple, Julienned Carrots with smart ballance and salt, my yummy mashed potatoes made with Skim milk and Smart balance, and crescent rolls. Gravy made from my homemade chicken stock.

These are the eggs we decorated last Easter:

Lumpia's - Egg rolls filled with cabbage, shrimp, bamboo shoot, carrot, and mushroom! Served with Salad. He gets all the credit for the Lumpia, which he made from scratch and fried in his Cool Daddy frier. I made the salad.


White cake with strawberry filling for my daughter's birthday.


Quahogs and Little Neck Clams, served with melted Smart Balance.


Pizza with fresh mozzarella, mushroom, and homemade pesto. We also made Calzone, but the pizza was much better with these ingredients.




Corned Beef and Cabbage for St. Patrick's Day.


Eggs, Bacon, Hashbrowns, Carrot bread, and Gingerbread for Christmas Day breakfast.


Thanksgiving Dinner! Yum, so good, my favorite, Everything here is from scratch except for the bread, which we got at a bakery. Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, mashed squash, whole cranberry sauce, gravy, and peas. Stuffing did start from a box mix, we added celery.

The Dining Room Table

It’s just a few simple pieces of wood; mostly flat, the legs slightly curved. It changes from hour to hour. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is covered with a white tablecloth, and adorned with fine plates, cloth napkins, and decorations the kids made. The floor below it is perfectly vacuumed, and there is no clutter around.

The next day, it might be covered with legos, creations to cool to take down at night, which will be played with again in the morning. Sometimes, it is surrounded by playgroup mom’s, drinking coffee and eating muffins, while the kids play near by, stopping by every once in a while for a snack.

On Tuesday nights, it hosts Cub Scout meetings. The Den Flag stands close by, and the boys have their Wolf books, and projects. There are more chairs than usual around the table, and we crowd in, with parents standing behind the kids.

After dinner, it becomes the homework table. Math, spelling, and writing, are thought over, and written, and checked. Questions are asked and corrections are made. Backpacks are packed.

On Saturday mornings, the table holds casual plates, with eggs and toast, or maybe pancakes. Some crumbs may fall to the floor. They might stay there till after lunch, when some more will fall, then they will be vacuumed away.

Occasionally, when the babies are sleeping, the table will be taken over by scrap booking. There will be colorful papers spread all around the table. For an hour or two, Mom will sift and sort through it all, till some pages are made. Then it will get all cleaned up, and the little papers that fall to the floor will disappear. It will look as though she had never been there.

In between it all, the table will get wiped. Toys that gather around it will be put away. The lights will be turned off. The shutters will be opened and shut, depending on the time of day. But the dining room table will not be left alone for long. It will sit quietly, watched only by the pictures on the wall, and proudly wait for the next event. Then it will come to life again.

Twas the Day After Christmas

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house,
There were boxes, and presents, all thrown about.
Toy Geo Trax, plastic fruit, kitchen items galore,
Opened and scattered all over the floor.

Parent proof packaging crumpled in a ball,
Meant for trash in the basement, but still in the hall,
Boxes from and Lego sets, Bakugan too,
Many for me, and for them, and for you.

Mom got her slippers, and boy they are nice,
Cause I’ll need to be standing on them more than twice,
There’s turkey pans, platters, and many a plate,
To be put away quickly before it gets late.

Not too many dishes, Dad saved me from those,
He stayed up late washing, while I cleaned the kids’ toes,
Cause Anna had candy cane stuck in her hair.
I guess once a year she can have them, that’s fair.

It was overwhelming when we came down the stairs,
And 42 tools, doctor sets, dolls and their wares,
Were mixed with the boxes, and books and all those.
But all in good fun it’s ok I suppose,

For Christmas is time for sharing and fun,
And toys are a plenty, when there’s not much sun,
We have Winter Solstice so up go the lights,
To twinkle, and sparkle, and attract our sight.

For nothing is better than seeing the eyes,
Of boys and girls wondering what is the surprise,
That arrived in the night when they were asleep,
Along with lots of good things they can eat.

One hundred forty two pictures we take,
So we can remember the smiles they make.
We love them so much, and they love us too,
The children and family, Merry Christmas to you!

Home With Baby!

Today my husband brought our newborn baby and I back from the hospital. After four days, of having my blood pressure, temperture, and vital signs checked every couple hours, it is good to be home. Baby is sleeping on our king size bed, where she is safe, and can not role away. No one is telling me to not sleep next to her, and I can nurse her and leave her there, and not have to have her wake up because I had to move her to a crib.

Today when the children came home from school, I saw their faces light up with pure smiles when they met their new sister for the first time. They were very excited to hold her, and could barely wait to see her as soon as they came in the door. The paused long enought to take off their shoes and coats and wash their hands, before dashing upstairs to see her. Eventually they noticed me also and said hi.

As I lay in bed taking a nap with the baby this afternoon, I listened to the sounds of my family downstairs. I heard the older boys doing homework with Grandpa, while the younger asked Grandma to change her diaper, and Dad clanked around in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Anna clomped around the house in my shoes, about 10 sizes to big for her, while proclaiming, "oos! Oos!"

This is my quiet life for a week, while I am being taken care of by my family, before Grandma and Grandpa go home, and Dad goes back to work. Now I just worry about feeding that new baby, upstairs, in bed, while life goes on without me downstairs, as I listen in the distance.

Time and Energy

I have free time, but not energy. Wish I had some energy to do stuff, now that everything I have to do is done, but I am nothing but tired. I’m nine months pregnant, and just a mother-ship for this little baby that is taking all my energy, and space. I lie on my side to sleep, because there is no other way to lie. I do the basic things in the house during the day, but no extras. Walking up the stairs can wear me out. I compile trips up and down stairs to when I have to go for more than one reason. Lucky I have a chore happy 6 year old who likes to take out the trash.

I love and adore my 21 month little girl. No matter how worn down I get by my three boys, she always makes me happy and fills my heart with love. She is so sweet, and wonderful, and perfect for me. I love her presence in my life.

Tonight my 6 year old made a beautiful painting. It has a lot of blue, which is my favorite color, and I love to look at blue paintings. I am glad he is an artist. I am glad he is so sweet. I am listening to the happy sound of him and his older brother building and playing Legos together. They are talking about what they are building and having a great time. It’s Friday night, and I love Fridays, because there are no homework battles, and no schedules to follow. The only problem is I am so tired. I want to be creative, paint or work on my scrapbook, but I don’t have the energy. It’s going to building arms and legs, fingers and toes, lungs and brain. Energy going to her, so she can be creative one day, and swim, and play, and paint, and love. I can feel good about that. Energy well spent.