Busy Mama

I've been a crazy busy mama and have neglected my blog again but I've noticed a bit of a trend here... when my husband, who works a crummy, bleh schedule, works the night shift... I disappear!

My days look something like this:

6:30AM Wake up and get the 5 kids dressed, find the missing shoe and rush out the door for school.

8:00AM Back home for cereal and Dora and Diego with the 3 little ones.

8:30AM More cereal. Seriously. These kids could eat their weight in cereal.

9:00AM Find the kids trying to pour more cereal into cups so they can carry it to the living room (that or feeding the rest of the box to the dog!)

9:30AM Start watching the clock, begging it to move faster and trying desperately to justify laying them down for a nap early.

10:00AM Daily chores: laundry, dishes, floors, hotspots... etc.

10:15AM Take the toilet paper (or marker, or cup of dirt from outside, or bag of popsicles from the freezer) away from the kids, clean up the giant mess.
 
10:30AM Take the toilet paper (or marker, or cup of dirt from outside, or bag of popsicles from the freezer) away from the kids, clean up the giant mess and rip out wads of my hair in frustration.  

11:30AM Lunch time! Almost there!!
 Noon I made it!  I survived the morning and can now lay the kids down for nap guilt free!  

12:30PM The kids are down and it's time for some me time!  Grab a coke and veg out on Pinterest!! 

12:34PM Kids are screaming... must intervene before they wake up daddy.

12:40PM Back to Pinterest.

12:46PM Kids are screaming again...

12:55PM Back to Pinterest.

12:59PM You guessed it... more screaming.
NOTE: This could make for a really long boring blog post if I keep this up so in the interest of time I'll stop now.  But know that this continues until about 2:45PM

3:00PM Time to pick up the kids and wait in the 30minute pickup line.  Do not consider getting out of your car to pick up your kids quicker.  They will hold your children hostage and make you go to the end of the line for being so stupid.

3:30PM Finally back home where the big kids wake up daddy and the little kids within 10 minutes despite the 5 minute lecture and 3 reminders to be quiet.

4:00PM Dad takes the kids outside for baseball practice and I stay inside cooking up dinner.

5:00PM A frantic rush to get dinner on the table and Dad out the door!

5:30PM Clean up dinner and send the kids outside to run and scream and throw dirt.

6:00PM After breaking up several fights and banishing a couple  whiney kids from the kitchen I declare "movie night" and we all veg out in front of the TV together.

7:30PM Time to get ready for bed!  Sometimes I'm a good mom and we do baths and brush teeth... and sometimes I throw their PJs in the room and say prayers while I'm shutting the door.

Repeat the naptime situation here until about 9PM

It's all so very exhausting. 

But when he goes back to days, I wake up super early with him and send him off to work. The mornings are quiet and peaceful before the kids wake up and I have time to sit down in front of the computer or sewing machine.  

I really enjoy these mornings and unrushed dinners and having someone to crash with at the end of the day.  

So here's to a month of the day shift!  

Hopefully I can get back to my blog. I really do love it here.

1 Hour Flower Girl Dress Knock Off

I found this adorable little dress and just about died.

So cute but at $42 ( and that's after taking 50% off!) It just wouldn't work with our budget.

So I did what anyone would do... I knocked it off!

 And the end result makes me positively giddy.

It took me about an hour to make and I just happened to have the fabric sitting on my shelf... a remnant from Hobby Lobby that I bought just because it was so cheap!

So what do you think...

$4.50

$42.00

or

How did I do it?

It's so easy you'll laugh.  

Step 1:  Make a basic skirt.

I made an elastic waist skirt but you can shirr it or even make it a drawstring!

Step 2:  Attach the tie at the front of the skirt.

I made the tie by sewing a tube of the leftover fabric but you could use ribbon too!

Step 3:  Make & attach your fabric rose.

I made my rose by ruffling on side of a tube of fabric and then just twisted it together but there are a ton of ways to make them!  Or use a button or some other embellishment or nothing at all!

Next up... bridesmaid dresses!

Pudgy Toes

I just scored these for Miss Livi Lu

$5.99 @ Zulily's first ever overstock sale!

Perfect for my her pudgy little toes.  

Perfect for this smokin' hot summer weather we've been experiencing here in Texas.

I'd Like You to Meet: Olivia Raine

Two years ago today, this mama of wild, crazy, dirty boys held in her hands a precious bundle, wrapped in pink.

Her delivery was a wild and crazy one... I dropped more F-bombs that day than I'd like to admit... regardless of how warranted they might have been.

She was born on my mom's birthday. Three short hours after they broke my water and four hours after starting the pitocin, I felt the urge to push but wrote it off as a common side effect of pitocin.  

But the urge to push was persistant and getting stronger.  I called a nurse to come check me... 9cm... better call the doctor.  She was out of the room for less then 2 minutes but already back at the nurses station when I started crowning.  

Several nurses rushed into the room grabbing gloves and preparing the room for the doctor.  They weren't paying attention to me.  They were chanting "don't push... don't push" and not listening to me try to explain that she was already here.  

"she's already here... she's already here"  I said... trying to keep my composure. 

They weren't listening to me.

"SHE'S ALREADY F*$%ING HERE!"

That did the trick.

The nurse lifted my gown "... Oh $H*T"  and delivered the rest of my baby girl with the only two fingers she managed to get gloves on.

The nurses and the doctor apologized and I quickly became a legend at the hospital.  I received the biggest room and the nurses knew to leave me alone... I clearly knew what I was doing.

We named her after her great great grandma Olivia (who is still alive and proud to have a namesake) and my mom (her middle name is Lorraine).

That bundle of pink turns 2 today and is exactly what you might expect from a little girl surrounded by a bunch of boys.

She is as girly girl as they come until she sees a pile of dirt to roll around in.

I love that little mess.

He gets 2 birthdays?!

source: brightside studio

I try to read to my boys before bedtime.  I don't always have time to.  Some times I let them watch an extra cartoon instead of reading so I have more time to clean, sew, fold laundry... etc.

But when I make time for it, I'm usually happy I did.

Lately we've been running out of books though.  We've already read through there entire children's Bible a couple of times, finished The Swiss Family Robinson's and all of the other books they own.  And we owe the library some horrific amount of a fine... seriously it's baaaad.

So last night we picked up their children's Bible again and I decided to read them the Easter story again.  But this time I really broke it down for them.  I really wanted them to understand what is going on and why we are celebrating Easter.

I explained in the simplest of terms possible for my 6, 5 & 3 year olds and when I finished Mikey excitedly asked "So it's like Jesus' birthday again... He gets two birthdays?!"

 Ummm... kinda... yeah sure!  Why not?

We talked about what we could do to celebrate His birthday.  Mikey noted that on my birthday we go shopping because that's what I like to do.  So I asked what does Jesus like to do?  What might He do if his body were still here?

The boys were stumped and quiet for a bit before Elijah quietly said "love people... Jesus likes to love people"

And so my boys decided for Jesus' other birthday we would do what Jesus loved to do more than anything... 

source: persimmon&pink

We brainstormed for a bit about how we could do this in a big way.  We talked about being Jesus' hands and feet since His are no longer here on Earth.  We got some crazy ideas like buying giraffes for kids with no parents to help them get things down from really high places (I'm not making this up folks) and some really really sweet ideas like making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone who doesn't have food.

source: animalia.tumblr.com

We ended the night with kisses and prayers and promised to spend more time brainstorming how to love for Him on Easter.

If you have suggestions for something I can do with a small group of little ones (or maybe just the oldest 2?) please share!  I'd love to hear it!

Chevron Romper

 

I'm so in love with how this turned out!

I've been dreaming about these little rompers for some time now but just haven't had the time to figure it out.

 

When I found this chevron fabric at Hancocks I just knew I had to have it and made it that very same day... seriously I think I made it within an hour of coming home from the fabric store... obsessive much?

 

It's honestly been a couple of weeks now since I've made it but I haven't had much luck getting pictures of it.  Livi is quite possibly the dirtiest girl I've ever known.  And who would be surprised by that?  She has 4 brothers!

The first time she put it on, I ran to get the camera and had to find the battery.  By the time I was ready to go the darling little girl and matching outfit were covered in East Texas red dirt.

The stuff is awful!

 

We decided to try again a day or so later but before I could get any pictures worth saving she had a potty accident.  Boo.

This time around I decided to get the pictures (ANY PICTURES!) as soon as I could so ignore the dirty grimy look on the front of the shirt and her face... she's my beautiful little mess.

Despite the fact that I'm hosting a destash competition right now I just bought a bunch of super cute fabrics so I can make her a ton of these!  Should I nix the elastic on the shorts and cuff them instead?

 

Bumps, Bruises, Cuts, Scrapes & Staples

If you're a mom then you know the feeling you get when you see the name of your child's school show up on the caller ID.

Before anyone says a word on the other line of that phone, your stomach drops to your knees and your 2 mile long to-do list gets shoved into the trash.

Most of the time it's something really silly.  Mikey forgot his glasses.  Elijah has pink eye.  Mikey's got a tummy ache.  Elijah has pink eye again.  Mikey broke his glasses.  You get the point... nothing Earth shattering right?

Yesterday I received that dreaded phone call, only this time, as the school nurse tried to explain what had happened, the sound of my 5 year old crying in the background was all I could hear.

I scrambled around trying to find two matching shoes & cursing myself for not following the Fly Lady's instructions in case this very thing happens.

I made it to the school pretty quickly and by then Elijah had calmed down.  The nurse explained that he had been pushed by another student into the metal door frame in the hallway and busted the back of his head open.  The cut was fairly small but it was still bleeding after applying pressure and she was worried that it might need stitches.

We left the nurses office and passed the little boy responsible... sitting on the "sad stump" with a smug look on his face.  I knew before I saw him who he was.  I knew before Elijah said his name exactly who had pushed him.  I knew it was the same boy that spits on my son.  The same boy that calls him names.  The same boy that I saw run over another little boy half his size on a tricycle.

In the emergency room the doctor takes a look and quietly tells me that Elijah needs two staples.  

It was over and done with as quick as it took to pierce a little girls ears and with a tool that looked remarkably similar.  No tears.  He was a champ.

via wikimedia.org

We drowned our sorrows with a couple of milkshakes and headed home to show Daddy the metal in his head as he calls it.

Now

I'm not mad at anyone.  I don't feel the need to place the blame.  Boys will be boys and push and shove and I'm sure Elijah has a dozen more head injuries to come.

BUT

As Elijah's Mommy, I need to know what we can do to make sure this doesn't happen again.

I need to know that I did what I could to prevent any future injuries.

AND

I need to know that this kid wont be pushing my son (or anyone else for that matter) around anymore.

SO

I took Elijah back up to the school.

To show off his shiny staples.

And make sure they know that this little boy put staples in my sons head.

But

  

Instead of being reassured that they take bullying seriously and they would be watching this little boy closely, they tell me that Elijah was pushing too (THEY WERE FIGHTING OVER WHO WAS LAST IN LINE AND WERE TOLD TO STOP AND THE OTHER BOY TURNED AROUND AND PUSHED ELIJAH WITH TWO HANDS) and the boy has been "punished".  

Case closed.

I used the word bully and they grimaced and acted like because the boy is aggressive with all the kids in the class and doesn't seem to single Elijah out that this isn't a true case of bullying.

Huh?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow.  I guess I didn't realize how angry I was about this whole thing until I started writing up this post and trying to get my head around it.  All day today and yesterday I've been having flashbacks of another incident that happened to Elijah 3 years ago at daycare.

Click here for the story on kltv.com

Since then I've tried to just sort of forget the whole thing.  It makes me so angry and there's not any good that can come from being that angry.  

But now it seems that these staples have stirred all that up again.

Breast vs. Bottle- my personal battle

Have I told you yet that I'm still breastfeeding Isaac.

He's 6 months now.

That's not super old or anything but the truth is I've never made it to 6 months.

I've nursed all 5 of my babies for at least some short period of time and my goal has always been to make it 6 months.  

And now I've finally done it!

But I don't feel especially proud.  Actually I feel a bit guilty.

I feel guilty because, honestly, I don't really like breastfeeding.

I can't believe I just admitted that

I know there are women that love to breastfeed. 

I am just not one of them.

Don't get me wrong.  I don't hate it.  And there are things that I do love about it.

It is super duper convenient.  I can grab the baby and his blanket and a diaper and run off to Target for hours.

I can sleep in my bed and feed him without ever really waking up.

Breastfeeding boobies are the best... yeah... I said it.

Minimal spit up.

The breastfeeding badge.  When I formula fed my babies I knew that no one looked down on me for only giving them 2nd best... but it sure felt like it.

But now I've made it to 6 months.  I've worked through all the hard work... tongue tied baby, cracked bleeding nips, painful engorged breasts, clogged ducts... and now everything is just about as simple as it gets.

So what makes me want to stop?  What makes me consider turning to formula?

Sometimes... most times... I just don't have the time to sit down for 20 minutes and feed him.

When I do, somehow the older kids know that I'm officially out of commission and they start smearing peanut butter all over the couch or trying to balance on top of the fridge with the steak knives.

And I feel like a crappy mom because I often find myself holding him and looking at his precious little face and thinking... please hurry up... instead of how much I love him. wow... that was really really honest

So last week I decided I was done.  I wasn't going to beat myself up over it.  It's just formula and the rest of the kids seemed to survive through it just fine.  Plenty of great moms choose to give their babies formula.

He wasn't crazy about it.  In fact he spit most of it out and made some really really yucky faces.

  

And later that day my sweet baby Isaac broke out in hives.

Great.

I instantly thought it was the formula and threw it away and vowed never to touch his poor little lips with the poison again.

That night I sat in the ER with Isaac, watching a nurse give him a dose of prednisone and listening to the doctor explain that it wasn't the formula at all but a virus that caused the hives.  They sent me home with a prescription for more prednisone.

I'm sure it was just the paranoid mommy in me but that prednisone scared me!  It just seemed like some pretty heavy stuff to give such a little guy.  So I called the pediatrician and while I waited for a call back I hopped on Facebook and talked to my mommy friends.

One of them, an amazing breastfeeding mommy of twins and lactation consultant, advised me to slather him in breast-milk.

Sure... why not?

So the next day when the welts flared up again all over his tummy and back and neck, I rubbed that baby down from head to toe before laid him down for his nap.

I finally got a call back from the doctor... no, do not give him that prednisone... should be a last resort only... try Benadryl first.

So I race out the door to go get some Benadryl and I pop in to check on the him first.  The kid doesn't have a spot on him.

Seriously.  He looked absolutely perfect.  You wouldn't have known that the little guy was covered in welts only 45 minutes before.

And they haven't been back since!

So this whole post is dragging on and on now but the whole incident scared the formula right out of the house even though it had nothing to do with the hives and at least for now I'm still breastfeeding. 

I guess it's time to hide the peanut butter and steak knives huh?

Did ya miss me?

I'm back from my Almost Disneyland trip to Dallas!

We had a blast!  We got to stay in fancy hotel with the most amazingly luxurious bed linens and a super cool pool that was half indoors and half out.  The kids could swim through a little canal to go back and forth!

One night we went to the Magic Time Machine where Mr. Incredible was our waiter and the kids ran around the restaurant getting autographs from Captain Jack Sparrow, Mario and even Where's Waldo.  It was so much fun but even after our $50 restaurant.com gift certificate it was well over $100!  Ouch!

We spent a couple of days at Six Flags and splurged a bit by letting the kids play some games... they never get to do this so it was a pretty big deal to them!

The best part of the trip (to me anyway!) was when my husband and I were able to sneak out of our room and run down to the bar for a couple of drinks, music, adult conversation and a giant plate of greasy nachos.  

Oh and I got carded!  Ha!  

It must have been the lack of the 5 kids that I usually have hanging on me because I honestly don't remember the last time someone asked for my ID!

But we're home now and I've got a ton of laundry and emails to get caught up on so I'm off but don't forget that today the Spring Fling kicks off! So get over there and enter those giveaways!  Seriously!  Did you see this stuff...

A Crafty Southern Chick

Rosette Earrings and Necklace

Increasingly Domestic

Rice Neck Heating Pad and a Burt's Bees Polka-Dot Perfect Mani-Pedi kit

 

Not Cool.

Today the kids woke up, ready to start the day, bright and early at 5 AM.  Thank you daylight savings time for completely destroying any hope of sleeping in for spring break.

After a feeble attempt at breakfast, I had the pleasure of taking all 5 of them with me to Isaac's 6 month well check.  Armed with a wad of pixie sticks and promises of McDonald's Happy Meals I survived.  Bribery at it's best.

Seriously.  Who in the heck came up with this plan.

Daylight Saving Time... Maybe next year I'll boycott. 

And why, please tell me why must we do this during Spring Break?


Tomorrow, I shall find the man who devised this evil plan and give him hell.

I bet I could make a killing if I tied him up and sold tickets to mom's everywhere for their chance to slap, punch or scream at him.

Anyone want a ticket?

Warhol Posters

Celebrate the Boy with Made and Made by Rae comes to an end today (or tomorrow?)  

And though I am the mother of 4 boys , this is my first time mentioning or even acknowledging it!

But my motto, chanted daily in my head, is better late than never.  So here it is:

 

Warhol Posters

I desperately needed something for the walls in my boys' room. 

I found some cool posters at Ikea but wanted something more personal for over each of their beds. 

I have learned, in my 6 short years as a mom, that there is nothing that a little boy loves quite as much as seeing their face or name plastered all over e v e r y t h i n g.

So I set out to make these cool Warhol prints for each of them.

I found several tutorials on how to do it but they were all so in depth and seemed so complicated. It couldn't possibly be that hard to do, right?

Totally right!

I figured it out, printed them up at Walmart and framed them in these $2 clearance frames at Target!  Wooohoo!

 So do you love them?

Do you need one?

Do you need to know how?

No prob Bob!

Here's the Template and tutorial for you to make your own using the super cool super FREE Gimp!

Step 1: Download the Template and open it up in Gimp

Step 2: Open up your image as a new layer.

Step 3: Scale and crop your image to fit over the turquoise square

Step 4: Adjust the brightness and contrast way up!

NOTE: you can click each of these pictures to blow up and see exactly what numbers I used.

Step 4: Use the Desaturate tool to make your image black and white

Step 5:  Adjust the brightness and contrast again.  Turn the brightness way down and the contrast way up.

Step 6: Duplicate your layer until you have 4 identical layers stacked on top of each other.

Step 6: Move each of your layers over the colored squares

Step 7:  We're going to "colorize" each layer.

Turquoise- leave just as it is and click "Ok"

Orange- Change the hue to 15 and the saturation to 75

Red - Change the Hue to 0 and the saturation to 100

Yellow- Change the hue to 55 and the saturation to 90

Step 8: Posterize each of your layers.

Step 9: Delete the layer titled background

And that's it!  Now just save it as a JPG and send it Walmart or Walgreens or whatever and you are finished!!