hudsonisms

So our three year old Mister Hudson...he's a character.
We joke that he is the child who is challenging us on all the things we once thought we knew about parenting, but if we're honest, it's not very funny how true that really is. In any case, he keeps us on our toes and he keeps things fun (and crazy!) around here. Here's a few of the recent things he's said that make us laugh out loud or that I want to remember when he's older and maybe a little calmer. I've scribbled them down on random scraps of paper and am finally getting around to typing them out. :)

"Well, now you have TWO DOLLARS so we can share. One for me and one for Tessa!"
(When explaining his logic for stealing a dollar bill from my wallet and proceeding to rip it in half...makes perfect sense, right?!)

"Bam! BAM BAM BAM!"

(repeatedly yelled at random very loudly...when asked why he was saying it so much, he replied that it is his "secret password for everything!")

"Now I'm UP-SET!! And so FUSSTRATED!!" and "Oh, I didn't E-Al-ize..."

(When he's less than thrilled with my directive, doesn't want to do what I've asked or breaks/destroys something that he just didn't "realize" wouldn't have a good outcome...multiple times a day, people....story of my life.)

"Did you know Fall is a girl, Mama? Because it's pretty like you!"

(When at the park for a walk...Bonus points to you, little charmer.)

"I love you SUPAH bad, Daddy!"

(Lots of things are prefaced with the adjective "Supah!" and when Justin comes home from work he often adds, "I missed you supah bad, Daddy!" I guess he's just a passionate child all the way around.) ;)

"I'm a farmer already!"

(When asked if he wants to be a farmer like his Papa Ed when he grows up....I mean, why would someone ask that? In his mind it is very clear he is already employed by his farmer grandpa in doing all the jobs.) :)

"I don't want to go to MOPS!"

(He is for some reason really averse to going to play with fun toys and interacting with a nice group of children his own age for several hours two times a month...life is so unfair. He asked me WHY I had to go one morning, and I explained that I would be going to a meeting to learn how to be a better mom...then he looked a me for a minute and yelled/cried "BUT YOU ALREADY ARE A GOOD MOM so let's just STAY HOME!!!" ) 

"I can't sleep because I'm not tired, I'm just not sleepy... and I just want to be with you because I love you so much."

(One of his many excuses to keep from falling asleep, staying in his own bed, or generally resisting bedtime...well played, buddy.)

"Hey, Mister Potty Boy!"

(in reference to Ezra because, you know..."he does like to play in the potty, Mommy!" Thanks for pointing that out and being so helpful in noticing, Hudson...) and please know that every effort is made to keep the bathroom doors latched at all times, the boy is still like a magnet to the bathroom.

"I just can't do this. People don't do this. NObody does this!!!"

(He is very sure that no other child is ever asked to put away their toys or eat their food while remaining seated during mealtime.)

"We're pretending to be bruvers!"

(When playing with Luke or Ezra, nevermind that they already really are brothers, apparently pretend brothers are much more fun to be with.)

"I'm so HUNGEE! And I'm very SIFTY and a need a JINK!" 

(generally what he thinks he NEEDS is yogurt, sweet treats to eat, or juice/lemonade/hot chocolate to drink. Very rarely is he actually hungry when what is offered is "gross stuff" like, you know--almost all real food during mealtime, water, or any kind of vegetable.)

I must also conclude this by saying that he also tells me approximately 49 times a day 

"I just UVvv you, Mama!" and "You're the best Mama in the whole IRLD!!" so for all that spunk, he's equal parts sweet little charmer and I can't imagine how dull life would be without him. :)

summertime mom-hacks

Let's just start this by saying I'm not expert on anything. There is constantly laundry lying on pretty much every surface in my house, my to-do list is rarely close to being done at the end of the day, and one of my children calls me "a super mean mom" at least once a day, so none of this is magic and I do not have all the mom answers.  

BUT.

I have figured out a few things over the past few months that have made our life at home with four kiddos just a bit simpler/less crazy or has improved morale on days when people are less than cheerful so I thought I'd share them here. 

So, take them for what they're worth, and maybe they'll be helpful to someone else as well!

1. Summer Journals

I started doing this last summer and it has helped with the "I'm bored!!" or the "Can I watch TV??" situation that sometimes happens right at the beginning of the day. Each of the bigger kids have a journal that I write something in the night before and they have to respond to in the morning. Sometimes it's something simple like, "What do you want to do today?" and other times I prompt them to write something more creative like, "Write a story about an invention that you'd like to create..." Tessa likes to draw more than write and sometimes Luke complains about it, but for the most part they enjoy it and there are no strict rules. It gets them writing, starts the day on a better note than complaining when I say no to TV or computer, and they actually really like to look back and read what they've written "way back at the beginning of the summer". :) Of course, I have intentions to do it everyday but that doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes is better than nothing, though, right?

 2. Ready To Go Healthy Snacks

Are my kids the only ones who would eat snacks all day long? I can't imagine they are, but seriously...the struggle is real--especially for a certain three year old at my house who is "HUNGEE!!!" all the live long day. I get tired of policing the refrigerator/pantry and saying NO MORE SNACKS so many times a day, so I've decided I should try another angle...healthy snacks that they CAN eat. Of course, they still don't get to eat snacks whenever they want, but I've found that if there are readily available foods that are good for them, they're more likely to either eat them (which is okay with me) or decide they really aren't as hungry as they thought when they see that sweet treats or other junk is not available. Most of the time, this is nothing more than cheese or fresh veggies or fruit cut up in the fridge (Hudson has probably eaten at least one apple with peanut butter almost every day this entire summer) but sometimes I get crazy and slap some peanut butter and raisins on celery sticks and they are all overjoyed. :)

3. Water Bottles for Everyone

I got these Kleen Kanteen bottles on Amazon because I was tired of everyone using 47 cups for drinks and filling the dishwasher with them all day long, so I made a rule that if you want a drink of water, you must drink it out of your bottle. Every child has their own color which eliminates the struggle of who gets which cup and "the which cup is mine?" debate and helps them be responsible for their own bottle. And, whenever we go to the park or the pool or pretty much anywhere, they fill up their bottles and can't complain about being thirsty because they each have their own drink. We just added Ezra's into the group (and I actually got bigger ones for Justin and I too!) and the big kids think it's great that he has his own color even though he's not really able to use it quite yet. :)

4. Ten Books at a Time

We live in between a few different towns and frequent three different libraries, depending on where we are going that week, on a pretty regular basis. I LOVE the library and am a big fan of checking out books (we get to read new great books for free + it makes a fun outing for us during the days), but it gets a little crazy when you have books checked out from different places and have three kids who enjoy reading them all over the house. I came up with the idea that we check out exactly ten books at a time from one library (which does mean we have up to thirty books checked out at once, but not usually!) and that way when it comes time to return them, we know we have to gather up those ten. In an ideal world, it wouldn't take much effort to gather them since they'd be nicely placed in the "library books" crate, but we all know how well that works. The number ten helps us know we've got them all and avoid fines (usually!) I should also say that we do the Summer Reading Program during the summer with one library and that is a great motivator to get them to read more and have fun doing it!

5. Go Outside

This seems obvious, but most anytime we're getting on each other's nerves and there's talk of "You are the worst brother EVER!" we take things outside--for a picnic on the porch, a walk down our gravel road, out to the playset, or just out with all the bikes and trikes and the baby carrier or stroller for Mr. Ezra who likes to observe all the action. Sometimes we even pack everybody up and go to a park just for a change of scenery, but in any case some fresh air and sunshine usually seems to be a cure for lots of things... :)

Now--tell me your tricks. 

on being a "yes" mom

Sometimes I think by default I've accidentally become a NO parent. 

I don't try to be, but lately...when these little people ask me for something, my automatic response seems to be NO. (Maybe Later, Another Day, and We'll See are close cousins to the NO response, but the general idea is the same.)
Now this is not to say that NO isn't necessary...there is a time and a place for NO--I get that...

Can I have yet another snack 15 minutes before supper because I am absolutely starving? NO. 

Can I watch more TV than the ridiculous amount I have already watched today? NO. 

Can we stay up way past bedtime so as to be completely grouchy & unmanageable tomorrow? NO.

Can you keep Hudson out of ALLOFTHETOYTHINGS at all times so that he doesn't mess up [fill in the blank]? NO. 

Can I eat dessert even though I cried my eyes out and refused to eat my three bites of whatever vegetable for supper because I am suddenly very hungry for ice cream? Pretty please? NO.

Can I wear this fancy long sleeved dress to play in the mud during the heat of the summer? NO, Tess. NO you cannot.

But.

I also realize that sometimes my NO's are not really warranted for any reason other than my own convenience and that's not the kind of mom I want to be.The other day, the cousins came to play and two seven year old boys got out a large amount of waterplay parephernalia and began the job of setting up a water treatment system outside because, you know--that's what seven year olds do, I guess. They were having fun, so I let them go for it (kind of on purpose, kind of "they already started and who could stop them now anyway" kind of decision). Well, then it was time for the cousins to go home and really...almost time for lunch, but they really wanted to stay outside and play more and at that moment---I reluctantly resisted the NO and said SURE >>> cue happy kiddos.

For awhile, they were careful and didn't get completely soaked and just had the best time developing their assembly line/conveyor belt/water works machine...I mean it was serious business and they were having so much fun. Good clean fun, people---sorry, couldn't resist that one. :) But of course, also inevitably totally soaked and in need of new clothes, with five thousand plastic containers all over the yard and driveway. And while this was slightly frustrating to have to help clean up since they emphatically assured me they would handle it all by themselves {shocker: they did not} I had to remind myself that while they were playing...together...nicely...they also were not whining, fighting, or asking to watch TV--which are all things I could use less of. And really what did it hurt besides some extra laundry and a few more minutes of clean-up for me?

Not exactly the end of the world.

And so, I even let them go for round number two after naps
 (this time wearing proper water apparel) and wouldn't you know--the afternoon flew by.
And so, I say this to myself: There is a time for NO...lots of times in fact. But sometimes YES is better.

Does this mean I'll always say it? Probably not, but I'm trying and that's what counts, right? 

I think so.

 

This photo may be evidence that while they did have lots of fun...perhaps there were a few moments of not-so-much-fun having for poor Hudson. Sometimes being two is hard, but even though the big kids did gang up on him just a little, he had his share of fun too, I assure you. :)

mother's day

 

Every year on Mother's Day, I attempt to get a photo and every year it never seems to go quite as planned. This year it was rainy and windy outside before church and after church the troops were in no mood for MORE photos. But I guess that is part of being a mom, right? 

Sometimes (lots of times) things don't really make a pretty picture. 

This year, in all honesty, all I really wanted for Mother's Day was a nap and on several occasions, I may have cried irrational pregnant lady tears despite all the good intentions of my sweet husband and kids.  I did get a nap though, and some very sweet cards and a book. :)

All this is not to say that I didn't enjoy our celebrating and feel so thankful for my job as their mama, I just felt tired (as I suppose is normal for an almost 30-weeks pregnant person with three kids). So maybe these are more realistic photos at what being a mom really looks like, but in any case, I am blessed and grateful for these three whom I call mine and for their little brother on the way. I am thankful for my mom and my mother-in-law who have shown me wonderful examples of motherhood, I am thankful for Justin's grandmas who I love like my own but I also miss my own grandmas who I know would have loved celebrating with me and my family now that I am a mom myself.

Life is busy and messy and sometimes the days seem long, but I sure do love them.

the lemonade stand

The lemonade stand has been an idea of Luke's for a long time. I'm not sure if he first heard about doing one on Curious George or read about it in a book, but in any case, he has been asking to have one, playing lemonade stand in the bathtub, and wondering how much you can get by with charging for a glass of lemonade for the majority of the summer. I told him we'd do it before the summer was over, so I had to get in gear. Little did I know that our local bank was sponsoring lemonade stands and would provide you with materials to do a stand....too bad I had already purchased all our stuff before I figured that out. Anyway--we came up with the idea to do it Grandma Karma and Papa Joel's shop since we figured we would get a bit more traffic there than at our own house and the kids came up with ideas of what they wanted to sell and were sure to mention that they would need stripey straws. 

 

They made the sign (it took all of my willpower to go against my perfectionist sign-making/handwriting tendencies not to coach them and to let them do it all by themselves) and it turns out they did just fine. 

We also talked about what we'd do with any money they made and decided that most of it should go toward our Compassion friends who we sponsor (check out the link on the sidebar to learn more about Compassion if you're interested) and they could each keep a small amount for their piggy banks, too. I mention this not because I think we're great parents for making them give part of their money away, but because it's a challenge to figure out how to encourage your kids have generous hearts...and let's face it...how to make OURSELVES have generous hearts. We have lots of stuff. We have far more than we need, yet it's so much easier to be selfish rather than selfless. When we were all done and Luke realized their grand total was $17 (basically a fortune in his mind), he was pretty excited about spending it on legos. I reminded him about what we'd decided and he cried, "but we worked really HARD for all that money!" and really--they had. And how many times do I think the same thing or decide that I really "need" something that in all reality is not a need at all? Adults might not be so ready to admit it, but it's the same selfish stuff, we just aren't always as willing to say it out loud.

It's something to think about for all of us and this is just part of the reason that I can't say enough good things about Compassion. While it may appear that we are helping some children who are less privileged than our own in terms of monetary wealth, in reality we are the ones who are being helped as we try and teach our kids about generosity and friendship. We are learning and trying and hoping to instill values in them and in turn we try to re-teach ourselves the same things. We're not doing it perfectly and there are times when we feel we're doing just the opposite. On lemonade stand day, there were a few moments of less-than-loving arguing over who got to pour the lemonade and who was in charge of the money jar, so we had to work out a few of those little squabbles, which I guess were teaching moments, as well.

All that being said, it was a good afternoon and it was fun to see the kids interact with their "customers", whether they were strangers or some of their favorite family members who just so happened to stop by. They did a good job of counting up the "order totals" and Luke kept tabs on their total profits as they sold nearly every cup. He also decided that if anyone came back for seconds, he would offer them a discount for 25 cent refills...it's obvious who our little business man is. :) We ran out of cookies, lemonade, and energy after about two hours, and just maybe all learned another lesson in generosity, so I'd say it was a successful day!

pick your battles

For the last several weeks, this boy has been phasing himself out of taking naps. 

For nearly 4.5 years, he has taken a nap almost every afternoon.

[Translation: for the last long while, I have had a few hours in the afternoons
 to get things done without a little person needing my attention.]

This transition hasn't come so easily for him or for me...

though he is "sure" he is not tired, he actually is,
 and this is evidenced by the growing number of grouchy fits that have been thrown recently.
 I have tried many times to explain rationally that he does indeed need a nap, but it really just ends up getting us both more frustrated, and I found myself arguing with a four year old, which is never a good idea.
(and it's possible a few grouchy words have been said by me as well...true story.)

But, after a few weeks of trying to fight it, I realized I may as well embrace it.
On the day of my "let it go" revelation, I decided to forget the stuff I needed to get done and do something fun with him, so we drew pictures and colored and he wanted to write me a note,
on my hand so I wouldn't lose it...

Then he had the idea to help me make cookies and so (of course!) we browsed Pinterest together and found some recipes. But, after much deliberation, he realized he didn't want any of those, but just wanted to make grandma's gingersnaps instead, so we got to work...

We're still working on a new routine of going to bed a bit earlier to make up for not napping,
and he's trying to figure out what the phrase "quiet resting in your room" means, but overall,

I think we're going to do okay with this transition.