Fiery Pineapple

I love color. 

I love the way color can draw your attention and evoke emotions. Color is all around us, but the beauty is "in the eye of the beholder" as they say. 

In high school one of my favorite songs was "Deep enough to dream" by Chris Rice. The thought of seeing new colors in heaven was absolutely captivating to me. Even now it makes my breath catch in my chest.

Its random but love the names of colors too and how they usually relate back to nature. After all, they were His to start with. Every color has a name that helps capture it and I love figuring them out. A few years ago at a women's retreat, each woman got a journal that was a sweet shade of orange but I couldn't quite name it. It was sort of a dreamsicle color but much softer. My best friend said "It's cantaloupe." I joked, "This is why I love you!!!!!!" It's a silly thing, but a perfectly named color just makes my heart happy. My living room is glacier blue and my bedroom curtains are the perfect shade of cayenne pepper. And all is right with the world. ;) 

The Lord uses color to speak to me. It's probably why I love it so much. I have lots of stories of this but the one this week made my heart soar and I have to share.

It was a typical weekday afternoon and I was driving the mom taxi. A suburban half full of squirmy kids; on my way to fill up the rest of the seats.

I had Micah, Abby and Kate and they all insisted on sitting together on the back row. They were having conversation that you would expect from 3 kids of their age and development. Intense debates about things like who loves Daddy more.

The conversation ended as they watched the Tennessee hills whiz past the Suburban windows.

And with full confidence, Kate slowly proclaims, "Je-jus loves... all of us."

That alone would have been enough to warm my heart but I'm telling you... with timing that only the Lord could orchestrate (and one of those moments that seems to pass in slow motion) we passed under a huge tree, hanging over the road: a breathtaking shade of fiery, pineapple-y yellow. And it almost glowed as the sunlight shone through it. Not a single leaf on this tree was brown, nor still green. It. was. Gorgeous. It was God speaking. He was shouting a confirmation of what came from my 3 year old's lips.

The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1

"He sure does Kate. Jesus loves us."

I can't tell you how many times I've seen this color since that day. In friends' clothing, in mums at the grocery store, even in my own fall decorating. People would say it's one of those things... like once you buy a car you see it everywhere... but I know in my heart that every time I see this crazy gorgeous fall yellow: its the Lord telling me that I'm loved. He's winking. "Don't forget. I love you."

I wanted to take a picture to remember it forever but I was... ya know, driving. Kids. And honestly, it was too sacred to capture anyway. It was my love note. My wink. This picture was the closest thing I could find to share a little piece of the glory with you, but even it doesn't fully capture...

Photo Credit

How does the Lord wink at you? I've heard some people say He winks through things like butterflies or pennies.... but my God winks are colors. Sometimes it means different things- confirmation of decisions, peace when I need it, or just sweet nothings. Its our language, me and the Lord.

Can I just encourage you for a minute? 

God loves His kids. It's confirmed in scripture again and again. If it were only you left in the world, He still would have sent His Son to die so that you could be with Him in Heaven. And can you imagine if you were trying to tell the person that you loved, how much you love them but they weren't paying attention? 

Seek out the Lord this week. Ask Him to open your eyes to they ways He might want to speak to you. I would venture to say that daily, you'll find that He's softly... and sweetly... whispering His love for you.

Will You not bring us back to life once more
so that we, Your people, will find joy and pleasure in You?
O Eternal One, show us Your unfailing love;
give us what we truly need: Your salvation.
I will hear what the True God--the Eternal--will say,
for He will speak peace over His people,
peace over those who faithfully follow Him...
Psalm 58:6-8a (The Voice translation)

The Homekeeping Notebook: What's in it!

I sort of debated sharing what's in my notebook, in my last post. I thought it would be fun to look back at someday but decided that wasn't really the point of the post. But apparently some of you really wanted to know.

So here it is. But I'm sharing on the condition that you realize this: what works for one family might not work for another. 

AND. I said it in the last post, I'll say it again. What makes all this happen is not the binder, it's the mom. I will humble myself enough to tell you that when I was a young(er) mom ;) I would make beautiful lists and charts and not understand why my life didn't fall into beautifully organized bliss. It was because I needed to get up off my rear, quit looking at my beautiful lists and charts, and get some real work done.

Say it with me: a homekeeping notebook is an extension of your brain, not an extension of your hands. It does not actually do the work for you. Creative-type people (like myself) that enjoy making these books would rather make them then go do what's in them. It's a Pinterest generation fail.

Some of these pictures have an envelope covering the page because I don't really want the whole world to know all of my business. ;)

Lastly: Children must not ever be allowed to touch the notebook. It's mommy's master plan and without it, she will not survive. The end.

Ok I'm going to try to keep this as simple as possible. My Notebook:

Minus Kate's finger this time. I took these while she was napping. But they're all super lame pics. Sorry about that.

First:

My Supplies

This is a must so I can always find a pen when I need it. And it's also my hidden place for things that disappear like scissors and good erasers. And it's a great place to hide the matches.

Pencils

The good pen in the house

Scissors

Highlighter

Sharpie

Erasers
Stick-it notes (I'm obsessed and use them for everything)

Matches

Washi tape (I use it to tape paper invitations inside my cabinets)

My Calendar

This is NOT for appointments. It's my homekeeping calendar. 

I have two calendars. This one and my Google calendar on my iPad. 

The Google calendar is all my appointments, recurring (like weekly Bible studies) or not (like doctor appointments). Jake also has a Google calendar and we each have access to the others calendar, so we can see them overlap and know at a glance what's coming up and if either of us have plans on any given day.

The paper calendar I use for my personal, homekeeping notes like, which days a school lunch is ordered and for which kid, days special bills are due by, deadlines to send out birthday party invites, library book due dates, etc. Stuff I need to see and be reminded of but that doesn't affect what appointments are on the calendar. Does that make sense?

School Pocket-Folders

I have one of these for each of my kids' schools. It holds school schedules, important papers from teachers, a class newsletter (only until the next one comes out), etc. I also keep a stick-it note with the "official" arrival and dismissal times, PE days (because tennis shoes must be worn), and the morning bus drivers' phone numbers.

Scripture

The first two tabbed pages are just for inspiration. One is scripture. And I'll probably change it out occasionally. These are verses that have always inspired me as a wife, mom, and homekeeper. And I'm working to memorize them. I want these to be the first thing I see in my notebook when I flip to my tabs.

Job Description

I covered this one up because I think it's so personal to every woman. It's very specific.

It's listed in categories:

Wife

Mother

Home Manager

Ministry

Myself

What are the bare bones things your husband needs/wants from you? We are going through the Dynamic Marriage course with our small group so I have a literal list of my husbands needs, and I've written it out here. (Another reason it's covered) :) I look at it as often as I can to be reminded how I can best serve him.

What are your primary goals as a mom? That could be as generic or personal as you want it to be. But whatever you want to look back 20 years from now and say... Write that down. Its easy for me to slip into survival mode. But I want to parent on purpose.

If keeping the house clean, organized, and functional was an actual paid 9-5 job, what would the job description be? Just because we live in our workplace doesn't give us a pass to live in a sloppy house. How would you want it to look when you got home from a long day? Make it that way for your family! And write out those goals here.

What does your ministry require of you, physically? Write it down. And do those things. Be the best 4th grade sunday school small group leader you can be!!

I highly recommend every woman read "Taking care of the 'me' in mommy". If you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of your family. Now, I'm the queen of dry shampoo and letting myself wait too long to be recharged. So I'm not saying make yourself priority one either, it's still the bottom of my list. I'm just saying - there's a balance. Take care of yourself.

Cleaning (Daily)

Every morning, no matter what day, I try to do this cleaning routine. Try. :)

Dishes/Unload the dishwasher

2 loads of laundry: washed, dried, put away

Clean the counters and tables

Sweep

Tidy the whole house (everything in its place)

Make all the beds

Vacuum the living room

Some of these used to night routines, but I'd rather spend time with Jake than obsess over the last 3 dishes in the sink or the mystery crumbs under the table.

Cleaning (Weekly)

I'm not sure how clear these pics are so I'm writing it again.

Dust

Vacuum all carpet/rugs/stairs

Mop

Bathrooms 

Microwave and fridge (ours get nasty fast)

Windows/mirrors/TVs

Clean out the suburban

Change any dead light bulbs

I'm gonna talk about this weekly cleaning more in a minute.

Cleaning (Monthly)

Vacuum the couches

Clean the fans

Clean the walls

Ceilings and cobwebs

Vacuum the suburban

More on this in a minute.

Order of Days

Kim Brenneman in Large Family Logistics taught me to order my days. I've shifted my days just a little to fit my life better, but I do love doing things this way.

Monday: Cleaning Day. This is when I do my weekly cleaning list. And on the 1st Monday of the month I do the monthly cleaning list instead.

Tuesday: Project Day. Most of my projects consist of cleaning out closets or decluttering somewhere. Maybe someday I can actually stay organized.

Wednesday: Town Day. I schedule my lunch appointments, Bible studies and errands all for Wednesdays.

Thursday: Kitchen Day. Buying groceries and then prepping them for the week. Cutting up veggies, dividing the chips and pretzels into baggies for lunches, pre-making casseroles and soups for dinner, or making any homemade sauces, broths, etc. This doesn't always happen, but when it does, we save a lot of money. Things like single serve applesauce are way more expensive than just pouring it into little tupperwares for the week. And when dinners are planned and ready, we're less likely to drive thru, which is a fortune for us!

Friday: Office Day. Bills, budgeting, filing paperwork, catching up on emails, yada yada yada.

Projects

My list of projects to be done. Basically a to do list for Tuesdays.

To Do

Random to do's and reminders. I just chip away at this when I can.

Meal Ideas

4 Lists: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacktime, Dinner. Because sometimes I get in a rut and need ideas. I forget that one time I made Chicken Cordon Bleu and it was super easy and yummy. This is my reminder.

Meal Plan

Just for dinner. Made before I buy weekly groceries. We may switch the night of the meal, but I least I know I've got something in the house for each night. I print tons of blank sheets and fill up the sleeve. I could write it on regular paper but this is prettier and makes me feel organized. ;)

Grocery Staples and List

I printed up the staples that we need in our house at all times. And then after this section is notebook paper so I can write down my grocery list. This way I can quickly look through our family staples and not forget to write down something that we like to have on hand.

Yearly Goals

This section is under construction. I got the list from a pinterest post and I printed it with the intention of revamping it. But I might ditch it altogether. I'm still deciding. :)

Notes

I'm a visual person and sometimes I need to write out my thoughts to make decisions. Or jot something down quickly and file it in the right place later (calendar, to do list, projects). This section is just my scratch paper.

Decor

Just a sleeve that holds magazine clips, paint swatches, etc. that I don't want to lose. I love decorating our house but cleaning it is usually the bigger priority. So when I finally get to redoing a space, I want to have my ideas together.

My Clipboard

This is my paperwork "to do" list. Any cards I need to mail, school papers that need to be filled out, documents I need to read before they're filed, etc. I like to sit in my recliner with a cup of coffee and quietly work my way through the pile at naptime.

~~~


Mine is a 1 1/2 inch binder but use whatever works for you. I find that any bigger than that is a pain to lug around. Most of these pages are printed and in clear sleeves. I used a little bit of washi tape folded over the side to make tabs. The To Do, Grocery, and Notes sections are the only ones that have notebook paper as well. Any changes that need to be made to the printed pages, I write on stick-it notes and update/print on Office Day. :)

So this is what my weekdays days look like in terms of using this notebook: First thing every morning, I look over my notebook with coffee. Coffee is essential. Write that down. I make sure to look ahead a few days in my Calendar and make notes in my To Do list accordingly. Then I get the kids all out the door for school (which is a 2 hour process), do my Daily Cleaning list (usually under an hour), then my "Order of Days" tasks (breaking for lunch), and by naptime, I'm usually done and then I work on my To Do list or to do Clipboard. Then I run around getting kids picked up from school, do homework (checking my Calendar for school project deadlines), dinner (checking my Meal Plan for what's next), baths and bedtime. Now does it make sense why I can't function without my notebook??

So there you have it. If you just read this entire post, I'm very impressed. And you're either really nosy or you need some help in this area yourself. If its the latter, please feel free to ask me any questions! ;) I highly recommend making one for yourself if you don't have one already! And let me know how its working for ya. I hope this helps get you started!!

Not Just Being Busy: My Homekeeping Notebook

I'm always incredibly and genuinely shocked when my kids start school, go up a grade, have a birthday or say something increasingly intelligent for their maturity level. As if I thought they would be babies forever. "She's in 2nd grade!" "He looks so big!" "Did she just say that?" *gasp!* Like I didn't see it coming since the day they were born. But I am. I'm shocked. 5 kids in school this year. Whew.

I mean, are they cute or what?

And yes, Kate is home with me. I actually signed her up for Mothers Day Out but it was full and I was secretly happy.

*sigh* Summer is ending, school has started, and the busyness just changes to a different rhythm. And while I'm not usually as passionate about it as Jen Hatmaker, I'm welcoming this yearly change of season.

I've said this before, but my friends and I refer to back-to-school time as New Years. It really is. More than the actual New Years, its a fresh start. New school year, new teachers, new classmates (sometimes), new desk, new clothes... And for moms, a fresh start at our routine. New resolutions. 

And seriously. After all those weeks of summer, I feel like bionic woman with all but 1 kid in school.

So, it's a goal every year but I'm perfecting it: I want to make the most of my time and be ahead of the game. The Lord has blessed us with a huge house and a half a dozen beautiful and energetic tornado children. ;) Which means I've got a big job.

I'm going to keep this place clean and organized, finish projects, stay on top of the laundry and uniforms, pre-make meals for busy evenings, shop for deals on groceries, be on time every where I go and be the very best home-keeper that I can be. Because that's what I'm called to do.

People at church are always asking me, "How do you do it?" And they're probably just referring to how I got these 6 squirmy children into the building alone without a stroller. But IF they were referring to how I juggle the Spencer Clan, this is it.

This is my homekeeping notebook. It's my brain. And Kate's finger pushing it. Which wasn't really meant to be symbolic, but it sort of is actually.

I've had one of these for years, but I'm always tweaking it. My last one stunk so I'm very excited about this new one. I also tried to do a version of this on my iPad with Evernote. It was a fail.

If you are a mom with more than 2 kids, your house is clean, your husband is fed, your kids folders are signed, you get them to school on time and you juggle the madness in your head, I applaud you. I was not, however, born with a brain that has that much bandwidth.

Oh and this year, we have this.

Schedule and checklists posted on the fridge. I've tried this before too, but again, I'm perfecting it.

But listen. Just because the fonts all match and the washi tape is cute, doesn't make this whole binder/schedule system work. All the Pinterest boards and excel files on the planet don't make all this come together. A mom does.

It takes work. A lot of it actually. I don't care if you have 10 kids in 4 different schools, you homeschool, or have no school age kids but a baby and a toddler or 3: Being a wife, mom, and home keeper is hard work. If I'm not sweating at some point in my day, something's probably falling apart somewhere. It's just the truth. Moms. Are. Busy.

But. Why do I need a homekeeping notebook, charts and schedules? Why not just wing it? I'll tell you.

To stay on top of my game

To be a good steward of my time and energy (of which there is little)

To better serve my husband

To better serve my children

Because I think homekeeping is a lost art

Because God's word says that a wise woman builds her house (Prov. 14:1)

Because I want the heart of my husband to safely trust me (Prov. 31:11)

Because the more efficiently and effectively I take care of my family and home, the more ministry I'm able to be involved in (Because I also believe I'm called to my family first)

Because the years pass quickly

Because all of our busy rushing ends in nothing (Ps. 39:6)

And because I want to live on purpose and be a woman of excellence, not settle for just being busy.

Do you have a homekeeping notebook? How do you find it helps you?

**update: for those who were curious what's IN the notebook, see this post: What's in it!**

Tis the season?

I think all moms should get a vacation after Christmas. And I'm not talking about the kind where all your kids are home from school for two weeks.

I've talked to so many moms in the last 48 hours that are exhausted from this season. Its only the 13th. And I can totally relate. I told one of them last night that everyone should be very impressed if I haven't pulled out all of my hair by the end of December. 

I'm conducting an unintentional experiment with my phone- seeing how many reminders I can pack in without it exploding.

Ballet/Hip hop classes

Bible studies

Christmas shopping

Wrapping presents

Christmas productions (2 for one school, 1 for another, and 3 for church. Thankfully my kids aren't in the church ones, but I'm guessing Jake will have to work and I'd like to go to one of them.)

Christmas cards and all that that entails (taking pictures, ordering the cards, addressing and mailing)

$10 for 2nd grade service project by Friday

Canned goods for 2nd grade service project on Monday

Graham crackers for Kindergarten gingerbread house party by Monday

Fruit salad for 3rd grade party on Wednesday

Apple juice for 2nd grade party on Wednesday

Wrapped book for 1st grade party next Friday

Fruit tray for 1st grade party next Friday

Taking meals to friends who just had babies (because I can't imagine doing all this with a newborn)

And all this while still trying to keep up with day to day life with a half dozen kids.

4 of whom just got over strep.

Are we having fun yet?

~~~

So if you are one of those moms running around like a chicken with its head cut off... you are not alone. Go cry in your closet to the Lord for 10 minutes if you need to and dive back into the world of Christmas tree cupcakes, Tamiflu and snotty noses, wrapping teacher gifts, uploading videos of your kid singing Silent Night in the Christmas play to Facebook. Be patient as you wait in the long lines at Target with a crying baby as everyone glares at you. Try to act calm when your 3 year old pulls an ornament off the tree for the 589th time. Take a deep breath and remember the reason for the season.

The Prince of Peace.

Aaaahh, yeah remember Him? Lets let Him reign in our hearts and calm the crazy storms of the American Christmas season. Its not about all the rest of it anyway. Its about Him.

And come January, call me. We can have a girls night out. I'm sure we'll both need it.

The MANY sides...

I've thought about changing the name of my blog. I've never really been super crazy about it. It feels really self-centered.... or something. Like its all about me. And its not. But the point was this- I wanted a place where I can write the things that are in my heart, on my mind, or happening with my family. I could journal them, but this way family and friends can keep up with our family as well. And "the many sides" seemed to fit well since, as most mothers do, I wear so many hats.

Well, recently I've really been feeling every. one. of those sides. I'm a wife and I'm a mom. I'm an adoption advocate, adoptive parent, chauffeur, chef, crafter, cousin, granddaughter, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, friend, home economist, maid, and member of the DS community. And by the grace of God I am, above all, a child of God.

I think I'll keep the name.

The following should probably all be separate posts. But its all in my head at one time on any given day, so that's how I'm writing it.

Ashley and Emily are getting older and more mature every day. At their last doctors check-up, we talked about Ashley and uh... "girl stuff" being just a few years away. Things to watch for, how to handle it. Oh I'm not ready for that phase yet! Can we all just take a deep breath and slow this ride down?!

I've been talking with friends about our hopes and goals in parenting our precious children through the next several years. I don't want to miss even one of the very many teachable moments, training my girls to be ladies. Women of God. These years are so crucial. I want my kids to know they can talk to me about anything. I want to help them grow spiritually. I'm fully confident that I'm raising children in the end times and they need to be firm in their faith, able to rightly divide truth from lies. Sound biblical doctrine from the twisted things the world will throw at them. And I want to rally with other parents who feel the same way, to raise these warriors together. This is not for the faint of heart!

Meanwhile... recently I find that I could spend hours scouring my special needs and Down Syndrome boards online. Trying to figure out if things Micah and Abby are going through are common. 

Does anyone else's kids have these screaming/grunting fits? Does anyone else's kids try to escape? Is it "normal" for kids with Down Syndrome to have this difficult of a time potty training?

Everyone talks about how kids with DS are just the sweetest angels who are "otherworldly" and kind to everyone they meet. And don't get me wrong, Micah has a capacity to forgive that blows my mind. And Abby holds no prejudice, she can tell within seconds if someone is a genuinely kind person and will greet people with hugs that come from straight from her heart! But they also get angry, yell, don't want to share, push, hit, and are probably the most stubborn people in this house! (And if you know me, that's saying a lot.) :) Besides some physical and speech delays, they really are no different than anyone else.

But I constantly wonder- should I be disciplining them any differently? Should I be more sensitive? Do they get enough therapy for their needs? Am I doing something wrong?? Could I be doing something more??? *sigh* My mind could be full-time busy just navigating this road of parenting children with Downs.

Then there's the adoption stuff. MAN is my heart burdened in this area. If I had time, I would dive head first into this ministry. I've started a little group for the families at our church. I don't have a lot of time, or resources, just a strong desire to connect people. A desire to support adopting families and to encourage those who are home.

There are millions of orphans in this world. Children with no one to love, protect, and teach them. What will become of these kids? Lets just say the statistics are not good. If Jesus is the answer, and we are his hands and feet, where does that put me? I want to do something! Do you know how many kids are in my own county right now, in the vicious cycle of the foster system? Did you know most of them have to be housed out side of the county because there aren't enough foster families here? I could actually burst into tears right now just thinking about it. *BIG sigh*

As for my babies. I decided to really go full force potty training Abby and Mabry this week. (Because, ya know, I don't have enough on my plate this summer.) But literally- Mabry potty trained in one day. She has not had one single accident (aside from a wet pull up in the morning or after naps, which I don't count). I'm so proud of her! And Kate is so close to walking. Both of them are talking more and more every day. They are such cute, squishy girls and they just melt me with their adorable little smiles and personalities. Even Ashley will say, "Mom, Kate is just so cute, I can't stand it!" I mean, they are little and they have their moments and fits, but seriously, they are sunshine to everyone in this house. I could squish, kiss, tickle and play peek-a-boo all. day. long. AAHH! I love them so much it hurts!

Aaaaand, my husband. He has so much going on and he needs to come home to a somewhat sane wife. Who loves him, supports him, and does him good and not harm. In all things. I don't ever want to be so busy with the children and the house that I'm too emotionally checked out to be aware of whats going on in his world. I'm his best friend, beloved, and helpmate. First and foremost.


Did I mention I'm leaving for the Dominican Republic next week? Ashley, Emily and I are accompanying Jake and all the youth kids and leaders on the summer missions trip. Only we'll be staying with Jake's parents. (We've divvied up the 4 littles to some precious friends who are helping us out.) I'm so excited for Ashley and Emily to have a taste of another country, less fortunate than this lavish life we lead. But its been difficult to prepare them because, on one hand, this is Grandma and Grandpa's house. On the other hand, its the mission field. Its it's own unique thing, I guess.

Anyway, my mind is swimming trying to make packing lists and instructions for all four. Micah is his own world of instructions. ABBY is her own world of instructions. Then there's the babies with all of their gear.... Bottles, sippy cups, diapers (just for Kate, whoo hoo!), toys, doses for Tylenol, emergency contacts, medical releases. Then there's the packing for us... passports, copies of passports, books for the flight.... gonna have to weigh the bags to keep them under whatever the weight limit is... I'm nervous about customs with a 7 and 8 year old, just remembering how miserable it was going to Ukraine. And that was just me and Jake. But at least we'll be with a bunch of youth leaders and like 40 high schoolers. That should be fun. ;)

Back to my point. Or was there one? Oh right, the many sides.

Anyway, on top of all of this, the laundry and dishes in this house require so much care, I feel like I should mention them as a part of our family. Its like some crazy monster... if I threaten to break off a limb or two, he grows back 4 more. Where does it come from?! And Praise God for homemade laundry detergent, I'm loving that stuff. But ya know, every time I load the washing machine or dish washer, I try to remind myself that I could be hand washing all of this. Suddenly I don't mind so much. :)

~~~


I hope this whole post doesn't sound like complaining. I'm just... chronicling all of it. :) These are the many sides of me. Each a completely precious and sacred area of my life. I would never trade any of it away. I just have to find the balance in it all. And daily lay it before Jesus. These kids are his kids. Down Syndrome is no mystery to Him. Orphan care is closer to His heart than it is to mine. And I am doing what he created me to do. When you boil it all down, I'm Amy. Wife, mom, sinner saved by grace.

You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. (Ps. 71:21)
My flesh and my heart fail;But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Ps.73:26)

Just roll with it

Days like today remind me why I don't even try going out.

Today I thought I'd  bend the schedule and have a little outing. Nothing too fabulously exciting, just running some errands to get out of the house.

My plan was to load up all the children, go to Target to grab a few grocery staples and some craft supplies, then get some lunch at Sonic. We'd wrap the trip up with a visit to the car wash place to vacuum out the suburban and run it through a wash. It sounded like a good plan: I'd only have to get the kids out once, they could eat grilled cheeses while I cleared out the trash and toys, and by the time they were done eating I could do the vacuuming, run through the washer and be done.

Wrong.

On the way to Target the kids are already way fussy and crying that they're hungry. The last time we went in was fairly successful and I'd been wondering if it was just a glorious beam of light for that one moment in time... or if I am, in fact, super mom. A shrill scream from the backseat snapped me back to reality and knew I shouldn't push my luck at Target. So, change of plans. We headed to Sonic first. They can eat in the car, then we'll do Target (maybe they'll be happier if they're full), then the car wash.

Wrong again.

I get to Sonic, order enough food for the 7 of us and realize I don't have my debit card. And I don't have the first clue where it is. So I push the button again to tell them that I need to cancel my order because I can't find my card. "Hang on" she says. Then a girl pops around the corner and in a casual, cheery voice tells me, "We've already started making your food, so we're just gonna bring it out and you can come by later to pay for it. Once you've found your card." "Oh my gosh, are you sure?!" "Yeah definitely!" So they bring out my $27 worth of food and I told them that my 6 hungry kids and I were extremely grateful and I promised to be back later. Is that not so cool?!

So then I make a phone call to Jake to help me remember when I would have used my debit card last. We decided it was Kroger.

Thankfully our Kroger has those spiffy shopping carts where the little cozy-coupe-looking-car is down in front and the back (facing me) has two seats. So Micah and Abby can sit in the car, and Mabry and Kate can sit in the top part facing me. Ashley and Emily linger on either side of the car to be sure that Micah and Abby keep their arms and legs in. And that Micah isn't pulling on peoples pant legs as we go by or anything. So long as everyone is quiet, people don't stare too much.

In we go to Kroger and no, they don't have my card either. Weeeeeeell, awesome. I'm so glad I just got my whole crew out of the car. I should have called first.

Determined to accomplish something, we go over to car wash because I have a few ones in my purse. This is a process that takes lots of strategic planning, but it is, in fact, possible. Wanna hear how? Well, you're still reading, so I'm gonna tell ya.

I took 2 trash bags with us. Ashley went around with one, it was the "keep" bag. Toys, cups, etc. Emily went around with the other gathering trash. Meanwhile I unloaded the stroller out of the back. Then one by one, I unbuckled the "triplets" and put them into the back of the suburban. When Ashley and Emily were done, they joined them. Then last I took Kate out and handed her to Ashley. Then I could take all the carseats out and line them up next to the stroller. All the kids played in the back (because to them, its like some sort of super cool fort) while I vacuumed out the entire suburban. Once they got bored I passed out baby wipes and they each "scrubbed" some seats. Then I'd put the car seats in one at a time, and its occupant in right after it. I had to make sure never to leave any doors open but the one I was at, lest a child escape. But it was also 88 degree's outside, so it helped keep the A/C inside anyway. So that whole process wasn't bad.

Imagine with me, for a second, what this looked like from the outside. A big suburban and next to it is lined up: 3 pink floral car seats, two boosters, and a beast of a stroller. The vacuum machine is howling, the back hatch is packed with children, a couple of them making strange growling/yelling noises (which were really happy noises... I don't know how to explain this to you if you don't have kids with special needs) the rest just squealing and laughing, and the mom is sweating to death- half in the car/half in the summer sun- holding a mammoth vacuum hose. And some woman still decided to approach me and give me her phone number in case I ever wanted to sell any of their car seats. Seriously lady?????

Anyway.

Because I used up $3 vacuuming, we didn't have enough left to do the car wash, but... whatever.

2 hours, 6 tired-but-full kids and 1 clean-inside suburban later, we got home. Not terribly unproductive, but ya know? Just a reminder that when things don't go as planned, you've got to roll with the punches.

Tonight my husband is taking me on a date. (With a pit stop by Sonic to pay our bill. God bless 'em.) AND apparently I need to cancel my debit card.

The moral of today's story is, juggling children and chores is not too difficult if you take your time and be strategic. And when it all falls apart anyway, just roll with it.

Daily summer schedule

I like schedules. I'm a firm believer that kids are happier and more obedient when they know what's happening next and what's expected of them. I think I mentioned in my last post that I was tweaking my spring break schedule for the summer. Well, I've tweaked it and expanded it. A few people have asked me about my schedule, so I'm posting it here.

It won't be on my chalkboard the way the last one was because I need the chalkboard for my weekly menu, reminders, and the big girls' memory verses. So I've taken a screen shot of my schedule (that I made on Excel) and I think its going to be the "desktop" on my computer. For easy reference. So here it is. Spencer Summer Schedule 2012. Say that 10 times fast.

(Click to enlarge)

Other notes:

~Anything with a slash "/" means different thing on different days (ex. some nights I'll give Micah a bath while Abby and Mabry are reading)

~Free playtime for the littles: playroom or backyard

~Free playtime for the bigs: inside or backyard

~Outside playtime for all: playing in the culdesac, bikes, park or pool (should we be so adventurous). Or this will also be our time for "outings". Activities like the zoo, library, big park and such.

~Quiet time: reading, movie, or computer. (Micah and Abby wear out easily, so there's a chance they will both fall asleep during this time. They just don't get naps at school so I don't want to schedule them in, making them used to a regular nap time. Also, TV will be limited to one hour. Then they'll have to switch to books.)

~Craft time: coloring sheets or organized crafts

~Table time: Flashcards, writing, projects

Of course there will be days when we need to be flexible. And I'm sure the weekends will be different. But overall, I feel really good about this schedule. We'll see how it goes.

Operation Spencer Summer 2012

I feel like I'm getting a very small taste of what teachers feel like the week before school. Preparing schedules, getting the classroom ready, making charts...

Summer starts on Thursday and all the troops will be here, all day every day. Even if it were just Micah and Abby here all day, I would have to be at the top of my game. I can't turn my head for one second with either one of them. But throw in a rambunctious, fearless 6 year old who only wants to play with the boys outside (that should be fun in 10 years)... and an 8 year old who, while very helpful, will NOT STOP TALKING  is an endless reservoir of things to say and really wants me to listen to every last word. ;)

And mind you, I'll still have a busy baby who's learned she can crawl to the top of the stairs by herself but the only way down is falling... And an overly, ummm, "dramatic" 2 year old who can be running and laughing one minute and laying on the floor screaming with tears the next...

I have to have a plan. One that includes schedules, chores, charts, rewards, crafts, activities and books. Lots of books.

I'm tweaking my schedule from spring break (which you can see here). That one seemed to work really well. And I found some chore cards on Etsy that I'm going to replicate.

Click here for the Etsy listing

For rewards I'm deciding between a treasure box of goodies or sort of a coupon book of rewards. Like, "Good for one treat from the Ice Cream truck" or "Good for one bubble bath in Moms tub". Or maybe I'll do the treasure box for the little ones and the coupons for Ashley and Emily.

I also want to have an arsenal of craft projects up my sleeve. Pinterest is amazing for stuff like that.

And activities. I can't take them to the pool. At least not by myself, I'm way out numbered by kids who can't swim. (Micah alone will just jump face first into the water and sink like a rock.) The pool will have to wait for the weekend when Jake's home. But this list has some great ideas that we'll definitely do.

Click here for link.

Lastly, I'm making sure that we've got some good books for summer reading.

There will be some breaks. Like VBS. And later in the summer we're taking the big girls to the Dominican Republic to visit their Grandma and Grandpa. I'm super excited about that trip!

But that leaves 8 1/2 weeks, so I need to have this planned. Operation Spencer Summer is underway.

Adventures in Motherhood: diary entry #8956

Maybe... just maybe... someday I will be ahead of the game. As in... not baking cupcakes at 11:45pm and hot gluing sheep ears to hair clips at 6am the next morning. 

And now I've got a whole day ahead of me with its own adventures.

Its gonna be a coffee IV kinda day. 

Happy Wednesday.

New Look

Its exactly 1:11am and I just finished the "new look" on my blog. *sigh* Why do I do this to myself? I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow! I've got a full day that involves the Muppets Movie and ice skating with my big girls and some friends. I'm really looking forward to it but... as I snore during the movie, I'll be dreaming of my beautiful new blog. :)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!

Adventures in Motherhood: diary entry #7695

Today's adventures included getting six kids ready for church: dressed, hair fixed, shoes on, coats on, diapers packed, sippy cups labeled, etc, etc, etc... and into the car. That process in and of its self would make for a pretty funny video on Youtube. (For those unaware, my husband is the youth pastor at our church so I'm kind of a single mom on Sundays.) 

Upon arrival at church, I got them all out of the car, little ones into the stroller... and then Mabry proceeded to throw up everywhere. All over herself, the stroller and the parking lot. I kid you not. I stripped down my puke covered 2 year old in chilly October weather and "washed" her with baby wipes. Some nice man saw us and ran back to his truck to get us a couple of towels he had. I sheepishly asked him if I could wash them and give them back. He looked at the large splat of vomit on the ground and back at me and said, "No its, okay, you can keep them." I cleaned up the best I could and loaded everyone back into the Suburban and headed home. So much for that.

Once home, I get my keys out of the ignition walk to the door and realized- I don't have my house key. Its not on my key chain, its in my coat pocket. But my coat is in the house. So I open the garage door but the door from the garage to the house is locked too. I'm locked out. Awesome.

THEN I realize, my phone is in the house. I can't even call anyone to tell them that I'm locked out of the house with 5 kids plus a puker.

I tell myself, "C'mon Amy, you can do this. Figure this out." So I head over to my grandparents house. I didn't want to take the kids in for fear that I would get my grandparents sick, so I just asked for some grocery bags (incase she thew up again) and asked Papaw to email and text Jake letting him know to meet me at Sonic after church was over. It was the best plan I could come up with.

 

I could have driven the 30 minutes back out to the church to get Jake's key... but we go to sort of a mega church with hundreds of people so it isn't like I could just pull up and leave all of the kids in the car to run in. And for obvious reasons I couldn't take them IN to get his key. On top of that, Jake would have already been in the middle of his message... can you just see Jake stopping, mid-sentence, looking over the high schoolers to the back of the room and seeing his children- all lined up and bundled in coats, and me: jumping and waving at him, with a naked 2 year old on my hip, trying to sign that I need his key? Ummm, no. 

A miserable day at Sonic it is. 

I ordered our usual 8 corndogs and 4 tots. It was only 10am mind you, but a time-of-day-appropriate meal was the least of my concerns. The kids ate (minus Mabry) while I nursed Kate in the front seat. Then the kids played on the gated playground while Mabry watched "Letter Factory" in the back seat.... over and over and over.

Around the time that Kate needed to nap, we drove around for a little while to get her to sleep. Then came back to Sonic for more playing... and more tots. Desperate times call for desperate measures, don't judge me.

Around 1:30pm Jake pulled up. I'm not sure if it was out of love for me or out of fear of the look on my face, but he didn't even give me the "why aren't you organized enough to leave the house with a house key and your phone" speech. 

But he would have been right. And I'm fully aware that I bring these problems on myself.

~~~

People ask me if I'm organized because I have so many children or if I have so many children because I'm organized. To which I answer "I'm sorry, I'm Amy, have we met?" 

Beyond burdened... breaking...

This is the last thing I should be doing right now (blogging) but my heart is so heavy, I feel like its sunken down to the pit of my stomach and is making me sick. And I have to get this out...

On the surface, my day looks like this:

I woke up this morning and nursed my baby. I got myself ready, came downstairs, got my 1st and 2nd grader dressed, fed, and hair fixed. I packed up backpacks and met 2 other moms in the driveway for our morning carpool. After my husband drove all those kids away, I came back inside and got the next 3 kids dressed and fed. Then I loaded all 4 in the car to take Micah to school, only to realize my stroller was in the suburban with Jake. And I cannot take 3 "hand holders" and a baby carrier across a parking lot and into a busy school... without my stroller. It physically cannot be done. So I called my grandfather to meet me at the school and sit with the 3 girls while I took Micah in and got him settled into his classroom.

Now I need to take the girls 30 minutes out to the church, where Jake is, so that I can get the stroller out of the suburban. So that I CAN take my stroller and children into the school to pick him up at noon.

Then I'll bring them all home, feed them lunch and lay them down while my grandfather (the superhero) sits here with them during naptime so I can run over to Abby's school and have the big IEP meeting. Then I'll come home, get the kids up, Ashley and Emily will get home from school, I'll start dinner, feed them all, do homework with the big girls, bathe the little ones and put them all to bed. Then I'll sit on the couch and wait for my husband to get home from youth group so I can hear about his day.

So.

Why, in the midst of this day, is my heart so burdened? Because right now, on the other side of the world, there's a little 11 year old girl with Down Syndrome. She does not have a family because she has Down Syndrome. And she's wasting away at a mere 10 lbs. Unless someone saves her. I know that I cannot. But who will? Most people won't even look at her profile. Most people feel helpless so they don't even look.

And the ONLY thing I can think of are these words "If Jesus is the answer, and Jesus lives in us, doesn't that mean that WE are the answer?" Over and over these words repeat in my head.

So there she sits. If she's still alive as I type this.

And I will go pick up my stroller and get my son from school. I'll go on with my day. I'll click seat belts through my kids' chubby little legs and be reminded that there is a girl who's leg is no thicker than one of my finders.

God please.... God please....

I have no more words.

Getting into the groove

As we slowly slip into the groove of a new school year, I'm feeling so very blessed.

I was really anxious about Micah and Abby's school situations this year. Though we still live in the same town, we are now just barely inside a different county. Which means Micah and Abby can't go to the same school anymore unless I want to pay out of zone fee's. And not only do they have to change schools, but they'll both be going to different schools.

It was previously written in Micah's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that he would be in PreK this year, 5 full days. But. This new county doesn't "do" preschool for six year olds (no matter how far behind in development apparently). So Micah has to go to the school we are zoned for and start Kindergarten. *Big sigh* I can't believe my little boy is starting Kindergarten.

So now I'm not only dealing with stress of "figuring out" a new school but also all of the emotions of another one of my babies starting Kindergarten. That's an emotional milestone! And extra stressful for me with Micah because I'm completely NOT convinced he's ready. But when it comes down to it, will Micah ever be ready? Probably not really, no. So here we go... we're strapped in to this wild ride of a roller coaster called Elementary School.

So that's how I WAS feeling. Then we went in for Micah's Kindergarten testing. I got to meet everyone that will be working with him this year. And it was a great meeting! I feel so much better about sending him now. Though its a mainstream class, his teacher has a background in Special Education, he'll have his own TA (teachers assistant), and the best part (to me) is that they are all willing to sign with him! HURRAY! In fact they're encouraging it! Of course he'll still have his speech therapy, we are by no means giving up on the hopes that he'll some day talk. But this will open up communication for him in a huge way at school. As I was chatting with one of the staff, I looked over and his TA was hunched down, looking in his face, smiling and signing "friends". I thought I was going to melt right there. :) :) :) It was like a little wink from the Lord saying "he's gonna be fine".

Now, why is Abby going to a different school? Well, this school doesn't have a preschool program. So Abby has to go to the closest school that will provide special education preschool. Which isn't far at all, but I am sad she won't be at the same school with Micah. And when she starts Kindergarten, she'll likely go to Micah's school... on one hand, I'll be really happy they'll be in school together again. On the other hand, that means 3 schools in 3 years. :(

I haven't met anyone from her school yet. We've got lots of evaluations and meetings before she can start. So I'm just praying the Lord will line up the right people for her.

On a side note, we were cleaning up the playroom yesterday and Abby held up a letter M from a puzzle and said, "Mom. Mmmmm." YAY ABBY!! She knows almost all of the letters' sounds. I'm so proud of that girl. :)

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

Meanwhile, for the big girls, we just started a carpool with 3 other families in our town. And I'm super excited about it! I think its going to be really helpful to all of us. We'll never have to drive out to the school on Jake's day off, which rocks. And the girls won't have to spend every afternoon in aftercare which equally rocks. But bless Jake's heart, he's the one doing the morning driving and gets to spend his morning car ride's listening to the conversation of 6 early elementary kids! Lord, give him some extra grace!

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

Stay tuned for more school year adventures from the Spencer family.

Tired but good

Aaaahhh to sit and update the ol' blog. :) Something I haven't done in far to long. But come to think of it, there are many things I probably need to do that I haven't in far too long. To all of you whom I owe an email back, forgive me, I promise I haven't forgotten. :)

The truth is, I don't get on my computer much these days.

Right now I type this with a very poor internet connection from the "living room" (I'm chuckling to myself right now that I'm even calling it that) of our humble hotel/suite. We've been here for a week and have one more week to go. Per a friends' suggestion, I'm going to share with you what its like in our tiny quarters. You walk into the very small, said living room with a fold out couch, coffee table, a dresser and TV. Then there is a two person table that connects it to the kitchen: a small fridge, a mini microwave, a sink and two electric burners. There is one door to a full bathroom and another door to a bedroom which has a king size bed, a desk, and another dresser with a TV. Surprisingly there's another full size bathroom in that bedroom.

Yes, its tight with 7 people, but it actually works. Micah and Abby sleep on the floor next to our bed (on cozy palates that I secretly think might be softer than our mattress), Mabry's pack n'play is in the 2nd bathroom (for those who know me, putting pack n'plays in bathrooms and large closets is nothing new! :)), and Ashley and Emily share the fold out couch. So really its not a bad setup. No one is getting much sleep, but hey, we've all got a cozy place to lay down. :)

At mealtime (and yes I've been cooking... creatively...) Micah and Abby sit at the coffee table, Mabry sits in her trayed booster seat on the floor, and the girls sit at the table. Jake and I either eat standing or "facilitate" the kids while they're eating and just eat when they're all done. The kitchen has one pot, one skillet, one spatula and a few dishes. So we've had tacos, spaghetti, hot dogs, sandwiches, and a few meals out. :)

Its not in our town but close enough. Jake is still taking the girls to school every day and I'm just driving the little ones into Spring Hill for school a couple of days a week.

Oh and Florida! Well... it was an adventure. :) Me, my friend, 9 children and a babysitter. We lived. (Because I don't have a great connection here, I've opted to only post the pics of that on FB, so if we're FB friends, you'll have to check them out there.) Lets see.... the plan was to leave out after church on Sunday (Easter). But because something MUST go wrong, Abby threw up all over herself minutes before we had to leave for church. The next few hours after that were, um, interesting. My mom came to my rescue as I waited for my friend to get out of church... and those were a couple of interesting hours that Mom and I don't even want to remember so I'll move along in the story. (Thanks again, Mom) :) So I met up with D'Arcy and we hit the road around lunch time and had what I would consider a fairly successful caravan to Florida. (Side note- Abby never threw up again, thankfully!)

Our week was good, but extremely tiring. Micah really needs to NOT be away from his Daddy that long. He knows exactly how to push my buttons. And he's a professional escape artist who nearly gave me a heart attack... a couple of times. The other kids did okay. Just the usual stuff- the girls wanted to talk my head off 24 hours a day, bicker with one another, and perfect their love/hate sister relationship. The other highlights: we went through more sunscreen than I thought was possible, we watched the tail end of the Royal wedding, Ashley, Emily and Micah are all a little braver in the pool, Mabry and Abby finally made friends with the sand on the beach, and we made more memories taking late night walks to the Sugar Shack.

At the end of the week, I had to drive back a couple of days earlier than D'Arcy. Yes, I was a little nervous driving the 8 hour drive home alone, in my 3rd trimester, with five children, 3 of which are in diapers and the other two not old enough to be considered help when you're traveling. (In other words, if I had to pee, we ALL went in.) But actually, it went surprisingly well. Except for that one incident when Micah opened his door while going 70 through downtown Birmingham. That was a little scary.... ANYway...

I still say I'd rather be busy at the beach than busy at home. :) And I DID get a little start on a summer tan, even with a baby on my hip. :)

Last but not least, baby Avery is kicking my butt. Well... my abdomen I guess. :) She's a strong baby, and reminds me a lot of Emily in the womb. Extremely active but to the point of being painful. I've gained decent weight (though I lost a couple of lbs at the beach, lol, no big surprise there!) but I've been having these weird nauseous/dizzy spells the last couple of days. And the exhaustion is really getting to me too. I think I could sleep 12 hours at night AND take naps and still be tired... just can't seem to catch up. :/

Ok, well, speaking of sleep, its off to bed for this tired momma. We still plan to close on the house May 20th, so please keep us in your prayers. I can't wait to share pics of our new beautiful house when this whole escapade is over!