Ordinary Days

or·di·nar·y, adj.

1. Commonly encountered; usual.
2. a. Of no exceptional ability, degree, or quality; average.; b. Of inferior quality; second-rate.
3. Having immediate rather than delegated jurisdiction, as a judge.
4. Mathematics: designating a differential equation containing no more than one independent variable.

Ordinary days. It is amazing (and exhausting) to me that my every one of my days can be so drastically different yet so much the same. On Tuesday I didn't take Will to school -- when it was raining so hard I couldn't see beyond the fence (on the side of the house) the decision was easy. We had a river through our backyard for awhile and the kids thought that was pretty cool. Every time there was thunder and lightning, Jon would stand on a chair, look out the back window and shout "CHOO! CHOO!" The little ones thought the storm was neat, Will trembled like always. I told Will we were going to have school at home since he wasn't at school . . .and so we did. I found the schedule of what they do in his class and stuck to it the best I could having the four kids. First we had workbook time for Will while the little ones played with blocks and cars. Will practiced his letter-writing, did a short-o page, and another phonics-type worksheet. Then we all sat down and read about the shepherd and the lost sheep in the kids Bible stories book. That book had several songs that went a long with it, so we sat and "sang" together. Then we did prayer time all of us sitting in a circle and holding hands. It was supposed to be a game. I say a prayer something like "Dear God, thank you so much for Will and for caring for him like a shepherd watches over his sheep. He is a treasure to us. . ." Then Will picks someone to say a similar prayer about. He did a great job and insisted on saying individual prayers for all three of the kids. He started like my prayer, but then expanded each of them uniquely but still sticking with the sheep/shephed analogy. It was pretty awesome and he took such care picking out the words and looking that child in the eyes and I couldn't help but blink back the tears. Very touching moments -- we ended with a group hug that was more like a four-kid-hug for mama, but it ended in tickles and giggles and was just plain fun. Next was our craft time. As all four kids picked up the toys, I rushed upstairs to print out a picture of a sheep. When I returned the kids were ready to dig into the next activity, and gladly glued cottonballs to the sheep pictures. After the sheep were fluffy and soft, they colored on the pages. The kids played for a but before naps and then at naptime the tides turned.


By the end of the day, I was worn out from fight Will all afternoon. I don't insist that he sleeps at naptime, but I do insist that he have quiet (no toy) time on his bed. I am perfectly happy with him reading, but he decided to take all the clothes out, then all the toys out, and then, and then, and then. It was a battle of the wills between mother and son, and I was determined to win. In the end, I don't think I did, though. Somedays it is such a challenge to enjoy that child. I do love him, but he sure knows which buttons to push to get flames to come out of my ears.


The next day was Wednesday -- the one that I take the babies to Mother's Day Out and Will and I have a fun mother & son day. He decided he wanted to go to the library, so after a quick trip to WalMart before the library opened, we went. Since it happened for me story time, he listened to stories about Thanksgiving, made a craft, and had a snack. Then we picked Daddy up and all went out for lunch. Days like that go by very quickly, but I made sure Will knew he was my only focus for those hours without the other kids. That afternoon, he slept, of course. He still had all his privileges at the end of the day, and except for one little fit about not getting more snack in the afternoon, he was as close to an angel as a four year old can be. It was a good day for us.


Today is Thursday and Will is at school. The babies are in the next room playing after helping me with a little holiday shopping this morning. When I asked if they wanted to go shopping, Maddie got so excited and started shouting, "Foshing! Foshing!" (her word for shopping). It will be interesting to see how the afternoon turns out.

Ordinary -- Tuesday was, Wednesday was, Thursday is turning out to be, too, and next week and the week after will mostly repeat this week. Although they are very different from each other, they still blend into one big "everyday" for me. I read this quote on another blog and I like it. It may just be the one that makes it to my fridge to inspire me daily to enjoy the ordinary days.

While it takes courage to achieve greatness, it takes more courage to find fulfillment in being ordinary. For the joys that last have little relationship to achievement, to standing one step higher on the victory platform. What is the adventure in being ordinary? It is daring to love just for the pleasure of giving it away. It is venturing to give new life and to nurture it to maturity. It is working hard for the pure joy of being tired at the end of the day. It is caring and sharing and giving and loving…(by Marilyn Thomsen)

Some days . . .

Some days just feel "right," and so far I've had three in a row. Saturday was a perfectly beautiful Texas fall day. The kids were in t-shirts and jeans, but it wasn't cold enough for jackets. All six of us went to the barber shop so Allen, Ben, and Jon could get their hairdos cleaned up a little bit. I have been cutting the boys' hair by myself, but now we have our holiday photo session scheduled, and I thought the little ones needed an expert to cut it this time. The kids all were very well-behaved so we went to the mall for a little shopping. That went great, too, so we pushed our luck just a bit more and went out for lunch . . . at a sit-down restaurant. Again, it went very smoothly -- no tantrums, no cranky kids, just smiles, kindness, and joy radiating through all of us. We came home for naps, and Allen and I took a few minutes to clean up the office since I've been in the mood to scrapbook lately.

Sunday was just as peaceful as Saturday for me. I did a little scrapbooking and we played in the backyard after naps. The little ones are getting really good at climbing the ladder, and I got many chuckles out of the different slide-landings. Sometimes they'd flop on the hands and face, sometimes it was a big plop on the butt, and other times, they smoothly landed on their feet and kept running, ready to do it again. Jon was very clear about when he wanted to "'lide" or "whing" and Allen said the others were, too, but I didn't hear their versions.

Today is Monday. Maybe it feels right because it feels like fall today, who knows. When I was getting out of bed late at 8, I wondered if it was rainy -- that's about the only time the kids sleep late. Will came downstairs around 8:30, and the babies finally woke up at 9:00. Sure enough, it was rainy and rather cool. The kids played while I rotated laundry, then we all sat on the floor reading for a long time. Will wanted to color, so I sat him in the kitchen on the floor and put the blocks out for the little kids to play at the table. It was fascinating watching them, and after just staring for awhile, I finally got the camera out to try to freeze time for just a few moments. Will was happy coloring and writing his letters. He proundly showed me a picture he made of me wearing purple lipstick and my necklace, as he explained to me. He is standing next to me and we are at the grocery store.

The babies had a great time with the blocks. Jon is very good at stacking them -- does a two-year old usually have such good balancing skills? None of my other three did as young as he did. After stacking for a bit, he started getting only the purple blocks and stacking them. He took all the red blocks and handed them to Ben, then started an orange tower. He was clearly sorting the colors and it surprised me. Looking over at Maddie surprised me just as much. . . she had all the semi-circle blocks in a perfectly straight line, right next to the cylindrical blocks, again in a perfect line. She was sorting the shapes and ignoring the colors, but making very straight lines. Ben was sleepy most of the morning. He laid down while the others played and read, and at the table, he played with the lid and can that the blocks fit in. He used the shape sorted, putting the square blocks in the square holes, the round ones in the round holes, but he wasn't getting into it like the others were. It wasn't long before I looked over and Ben had fallen asleep in the chair at the table. When I picked him up to carry him to bed, he didn't wake much.

The little kids have been napping and I got some stuff done around the house. Not much, but a little more laundry, worked on getting bills paid, got the mail, not much. I've had a cup of warm tea, and I'm just relaxing and enjoying the day. . . . it just feels "right."

Life for Real

There are things I never thought I would need to say, but with my four, it has become a necessary part of life-training. Here are some quotes from the last few days:

1. Don't use your toothbrush on the inside of your nose.
2. Don't don't lick the cat.
3. Quit coloring the inside of your ear.
4. Who took Maddie's diaper? I want it put back on her right now!
5. Why can't I see the carpet?
6. Where is Jon? How did he get inside the couch?
7. $%&@#!! You kids STOP swinging the DVD player by the cord!!
8. Time does not speed up just because you change the clocks.
9. Don't comb your hair with your fork -- especially when there is still food on it.
10. The toilet is not for washing our hands!
11. Quit hiding your breakfast inside your shirt.
12. You should empty the dog's dish before you wear it as a hat.
13. Locking me out of your room will get you more spankings than letting me in.
14. No, you cannot watch TV -- it is 4:19 in the morning!
15. Just because I got mad about you dumping YOUR drawers does not mean it is okay to dump all of Will's clothes, too!

I am sure I'll find more . . . there are some others I tried remembering, but they are lost in my mind right now.

This is the morning . . .

Today at some-rediculous-dark-thirty in the morning Will came to our room to ask if he could watch cartoons. The answer from Allen was a definite "No! Go to bed!" What seemed like five minutes later to me it happened all over again. "Can I watch cartoons now?" "NO! Go to bed it's not morning yet." And just a little later, "NOW can I watch cartoons? I can't go back to bed since I am already dressed.""NO! Stop waking us up. Don't ask again until the first number on the clock is a 7."

A while later, Allen got up a showered. It was still dark out, but Will came to me and asked, "Can I watch cartoons now? I speeded up the time so it must be seven now!" Ugh. I looked at the clock by my bed and it was, indeed, 7:01am, so I went and turned on the cartoons and planned to get back in bed for a few more minutes. Then Will pointed to the clock in the living room . . .and told me that was the magic clock that HE could speed up time on. I felt my blood boil as I looked at the old mantle clock and asked him exactly what he did. . . he told me he opened the glass and turned the hands a lot. He was quite proud of himself. . . until he saw my expression. Oh, yeah, I was peeved!

I told Allen what happened and his opinion on the matter was the same as mine, "I give him points for creativity but take away a lot for orneriness." Will now understands he is not to touch any clocks except his own.

Yesterday, while I thought Maddie was napping she climbed out of her crib and dumped the laundry basket, the pajama drawer, and the sock drawer. Many of the clothes covered the entire sheet of Jon's crib, Ben had a few, and as far as I could tell, there was no carpet to be seen in their room. She made the biggest mess those little ones have ever made. I was mad when I made her help me pick it all up and put it away. . . do you know how long it will take to get it back to the way I can find things? There goes my Saturday. When I was working on dinner, the little kids opened Will's bedroom door and did the same thing to his room! Clothes EVERYWHERE!! And so were the blankets and sheets from the bed; and the bookcase was empty, too. I made them pick that up, too. I may have to go out and get another bed tent for her, but I am procrastinating. I hate spending $70 on a tent that they are going to poke their tiny fingers into and start ripping it apart. . . . but then my other option is to take all laundry out of my kids' rooms. And put it where? Why not just leave it in the dryer? Or stacked in my room, like usual. . .

Club Initiation

Maddie has finally joined and is a card-holding member of the Li'l Stinkers Club. She was initiated today at naptime.

Requirements:

1. Must be able to operate snaps, zippers, and velco to undress completely.

2. Must have diaper duck-taped all the way around or he/she takes the diaper off and makes as big of a mess as possible.

3. Must be able to manipulate taped diaper to maximize mess.

4. Must be able to open door knobs, especially the ones parents want them to avoid.

5. Must be able to climb out of bed quickly and quietly.

6. Must be able to assist other club members meet aforementioned requirements.

There are twice as many requirements as there are members right now. Membership has its privileges, particularly that members together create chaos in such a way that parents do not know who did what. The challenge is that parents often discipline ALL members.

November is Upon Us

I can't believe it is already November! Today was so pretty, we had shorts on the kids, and all the windows were open in our house. Absolutely beautiful! I love this weather -- I can smell the leaves, I can hear them falling and rustling in the wind, I can feel the breeze, and I can hear the twinkling of our wind-chimes on the porch. Very peaceful to me.

Today was rather ordinary -- we cleaned house some, put away lots of laundry (thanks to Allen), and the kids played outside. We went out for dinner, then rushed home so Allen could catch "THE BIG GAME!" I rolled my eyes when I heard why we were rushing home, but I understood. Texas Tech, undefeated #7 team, was playing rival University of Texas, undefeated and #1 in the country. Allen and I are Red Raiders -- Allen like Tech so much, he graduated twice. I played on the computer while he watched the game. It wasn't long before our dog was howling at Allen because he was yelling and jumping all over the living room. When I finally went down to hush him, I ended up staying for the last three quarters. That says a lot about how exciting the game was -- I don't watch football. It was an awesome, sit on the edge of the seat kind of game. Allen yelled a lot and we had discussions about it later. I said thinkgs like "Stop yelling at the TV! They can't hear you!" and "Seriously, Babe, the guys KNOW they are supposed to run. I think they practice it daily." His response, and I am quoting him:

It is by will of the fans alone that the players set in motion; it is by the juice of adrenals that the players acquire speed, the helmets acquire stains, the stain becomes a warning. It is by will of the fans alone that sets the players in motion.

That was our evening. I enjoyed spending it with Allen, but I really could've done without the shouting -- I rolled my eyes so much they ached the next day.

On another note, Ben has been creative lately with his clothing. Last week when we were at the pumpkin patch, I put three or four goldfish crackers in the bib-pocket of his overalls. He was thrilled to have a snack handy and used it throughout the day and he has tried to do that more often. Tonight at dinner, Allen asked Ben to hand him the wipe he had used to clean his hands. Ben quickly said no and stashed it down his shirt. Earlier this week, I kept him in footed pjs for the morning. After breakfast, when I changed him and got him dressed I found, in ONE foot of the pjs: 2 blocks, 1 hot-wheels car, 1 plastic lion, and 4 pieces of cereal. The other foot had a lot more cereal that I think he was saving for later, like with the goldfish. This is just one of those cute quirky things about Ben right now and I wanted to remember it. Now if you see him in pjs and limping, you can bet he has a treasure he's hiding from the rest of us.

Happy Halloween!

Hooray! It's Halloween and, Clearly, a favorite photo time for Mama. As much as I try, though, I still get frustrated and cranky when I can't get a picture of my kids together. Maybe in a few years they will understand what it means when I say, "Look this way and smile!" This wasn't one of those times, and I did lose my cool. Is it really too much to ask for four young kids to sit still for the same few seconds as their siblings? To look at me? To be happy about it? The answer is YES - it's too much to ask. Yes, I cheered up later, but this was the best picture I got with all of the kids. This year, Will picked out his Darth Vader costume. Not a great choice for night safety, but it turned out okay. Last year Jon was Peter Pan and Ben was a pirate. This year I switched them -- why? So the pages in their scrapbooks show different costumes. That's the only reason. And another year of Tinkerbell? Nah -- this year we used the wings from the Tink costume, but paired them with the princess dress from the costume box, and Maddie was a pretty little fairy princess.

We went to a friend's Halloween party last tonight. It was a family party with emphasis on the kids. There was a giant inflatable slide that all four of our kids loved, but for the little ones to ride, Allen and I had to climb the mountain and slide down with them. Around 7, the babies were getting cranky and ready for bed, but we stopped at three houses to trick-or-treat. We hadn't planned it that way, but it happened. By the third house, Jon understood what was going on with the bag he carried. When we turned to leave the porch, he stood there looking at the home-owners with his puppy-dog eyes, and his lower lip sticking out just a bit. He held his bag open really big and gave them "the look" that he gives me when he wants something. We got a kick out of that one!

All the kids were worn out, and between the three houses with mounds of candy for each kid (including several full-sized Hershey bars, and family-sized Twizzlers), the few things we bought (but weren't home to give out), and the goodie-bag from school, we had a ton of candy. Definitely a year's worth -- and yes, it will probably last that long. I froze much of it, but the rest is in Will's pumpkin. On dessert nights, he is allowed to choose what we are eating or one item from his pumpkin. We even had some left from last Halloween that I trashed when we got the new load.

Overall, we had a wonderful night. Many of the moms from my mothers-of-multiples club were at the party, and it was great to finally introduce Allen to the ladies I've eaten many dinners with over the last year. It was funny, though, since I've never been around so many multiples. . . I'd see one princess, then another. I'd see one little kiddo in a black and orange outfit, then the other. I think there were five sets of twins and our triplets, plus all the other siblings and friends.