Just This Morning

Areyna.

She's just days away from turning 8.

EIGHT.

Just this morning she woke up early, on her own, to take a shower.

She washed her own hair.

She picked out her own clothes.

She asked if I could curl her hair.

Then she went in the kitchen to make her own lunch.

And after she was done she climbed the counter to get a bowl out of the cabinet.

Not one of those kid bowls from IKEA, but one of my bowls.  MY big bowls.

Then she pulled out a real spoon right before pouring her own cereal and adding her own milk.

When did she get so big?

When did she stop needing me to DO things for her?

When did the "mommy-said-so-so-it-must-be-true" turn into "that's-not-what-________-said"?

Days away from becoming a TWEEN.

She may not need me to DO things for her anymore, but she needs me.

Now she needs me to answer tough questions.

Questions with answers more in the gray area, because life just isn't so black and white anymore.

She needs me to listen to her talk...and talk and talk:)

She needs me to be there to cry to about friends who are being not-so friendly.

I am entering a new era of motherhood as my not-so-baby girl enters a new stage of life.

Baby, we better hold on tight, because life is about to get real interesting around here...

Friday Free-For-All

We've had a great week around the Colony homestead.

Well, all of us except for Jude:(

He was diagnosed with RSV on Tuesday.

But by Thursday he got his smile back!

When we got home from his follow-up at 10am on Thursday morning he was exhausted.  So exhausted, in fact, that he slept until 5:30pm!  I had tried to wake him up two different times with no success, ha!  He woke up a different kid.  My sweet kid!  My happy, content little Jude:)

Then there was Valentine's Day.  You would have thought that the kids were waking up to Christmas morning with all the energy and excitement!

Zeke kept calling it Thanksgiving, haha.  After dinner he said, "Now what can we do?  Can we play some fun Thanksgiving games or somethin'?"  Oh to swim around in his little brain for a day!

Speaking of Zeke...
His special resources teacher called me this week, almost in tears.  Happy tears!  She told me that he came to school in mid-October, hardly able to recognize a single letter and with maybe 3 sounds, which were inconsistent at best.  She did a test to see this week to see where he was with his IEP goals for the year and he is now up to 46 out of 52 letters for sound recognition (capitol and lower case), and has 24 out of 26 letters that he can consistently recognize!  We are thrilled beyond words.  The letters he cannot get are "a" and "g" and that is his dyslexia.  Also, the only letters that he would mess up with sound recognition are because of his dyslexia as well!  It's amazing how his brain works.  He still doesn't know his letters to write them without a reference, and they are backwards and upside down a lot of times, but as soon as his teacher convinced him to move past the "but I don't know my letters" to thinking only sounds to make words, he has taken off!  Now she will be focusing on his dyslexia to help him write from memory, not by references around the room.

What a confirmation for us!  When people ask if I homeschool, I say I "half-n-half", and we are seeing our kids thrive from both Public and homeschooling!  Alethia and Cai BEG for school and never want it to be done when it's over:)

Josh and I planned on keeping Valentine's simple, so we opted for an at-home-date-night, and boy did my baby rack up!  He did a little research and came home and cooked up a feast!  Let's just say that he had the grill going with juicy goodness on the racks AND a pot of boiling water with google open:)  We also had bread, salad, twice baked potatoes AND a SWEET dessert, all for under $50!  Talk about shouting his love. Home cooked goodness that I didn't have to prepare, and within our budget, now that is SEXY!

Well, that's about all I got today.
Hope ya'll have a GREAT weekend!
Happy FRIDAY Ya'll!

Oh, For The Love...

...and all that God has given me to love

My Heart Is FULL.

I Don't Want To Miss It

I was talking with my friend the other day...

...have I mentioned how much I learn from the ladies that God has chosen to surround me with?!  They are an invaluable resource and speak into my life in so many ways that other people simply cannot...

...anyway,

we were talking about how we get so caught up in "doing" the mommy things that we lose sight of just "being" the mommy.

The laundry that needs to be done, or the dishes that need to be cleaned, or the dinner that needs to be cooked, or the bills that need to be paid, or the project that needs to be finished...

If you are a woman, and you have any ounce of air in your lungs, you KNOW EXACTLY what I am talking about!

Yes, every single one of those things is important.

Yes, every single one of those things needs to get done.

Here is where I get stuck, though.  I see all these things that need to get done.  I make a list.  I set out to conquer, meanwhile I keep saying, "After I get dinner going I'll go read Alethia her book", or "I'll let you help me fix lunch tomorrow, let me just get it done really quick today", or "as soon as I get that back splash up I can relax and just hang out with the kids".

But in reality, as soon as I finish getting dinner going I move on to the washing machine and start switching a load of laundry.

The next day at lunch time I'll be in an even bigger hurry and leave a disappointed 3-year-old standing there as I pick out the plates for lunch, a task that he is very capable of doing on his own.

I finally get the back splash up, but while I was finishing that task I was already mentally onto the next house project that I was going to begin working on.

This race, called life, will not ever be complete until we are looking Jesus in the face, and then it will be too late!

Too late for the life lessons that can be learned by including them in my every day.

Too late for the story times and the make believe.

My kids are growing up right before my eyes and I'm running out of time.

I will only have these little years to invest into for so long.

I don't want to miss it!

Words Of Wisdom / He's 3 #1

When Zeke was two I decided to keep track of all the things that could potentially drive a mama crazy in order to keep perspective.  It was a way to look back at those sometimes cute and always crazy little things he did when he was in that roly-poly-gotta-squeeze-em stage.

Cai is at that stage now where he says (and does) the darndest things.

So again, in order to be able to look back and smile at all his disobedience cuteness I will be documenting those little things:)

******************************

Randomly at dinner:

Cai:"I like sticks and berries.  I like to eat them.  Sometimes Chase is mean to me in my class. When Chase is mean to me I like to poot on his head!" - said with a mischievous look in his eye and a cute little giggle:)

*******************************

We have trained him well, um, I mean, sorry Chase!

Happy Birthday Jude Warren

Our sweet Jude turns 1 year old today!

God graciously gave me a successful pregnancy overseas.

We weren't even sure if he was going to be a boy or a girl.

My delivery was awful.  I thought that I would be stuck with a baby in my belly for the rest of my life!

(Yes, I am well aware that this really can't happen...)

But he finally decided to arrive.

All 7lb. and 4oz of him.

He has been a happy, content baby ever since!

I love how he smiles with his entire body!

I love how he makes everyone else melt.

I love how his siblings love on him.

I love how he wants to be right up in the wrestling matches,

but can also sit, perfectly content, while occupying himself.

I love how he lets me sleep.

He is finally weened, as of 3 days ago:(

(not by his choice, I might add.)

His 9th tooth just broke through, and I'm pretty sure the other 3 molars are right behind.

He is a cruising champ and loves to walk with assistance.

He is getting to be a picky eater.

Not that he doesn't really like things, but if he has a hankering for something else,

you better watch out, 'cause he'll make a fuss 'til he gets it.

Happy Birthday Jude.

I am so glad God decided to let me be your mommy!

"I Say This Out Of Love"

Josh and I have come a long way in our relationship since our dating non-communication learning communication days.

I feel like we do fairly well at navigating through the choppy waters of misunderstandings and arguments...most of the time.

We learned early on about the rules of "fighting fair" and have learned even more lessons, through trial and error (and a handful of ugly crying episodes), about how each other deals with conflict between us.

While we are far from perfect in regard to the ins and outs of marriage conflict, I do think that we have unwrapped a treasure that is going to help us grow old together and remain in love as we continue to seek to delight in one another.

Oh, you want to know our secret?

We have discovered one of the best ways to offer "constructive criticism" without the other getting offended.

1 - Timing - Timing is key.  You don't want to bring up something that has been bugging or irritating you when you ARE irritated, frustrated or upset.  Wait until you are neutral and have cooled down.

2 - Make eye contact and remove distraction - For Josh, that means I look him in the eyes and say his name, not "Babe" "Pooks", "Shtookey" or any of the other name I tend to call him on a daily basis.  This helps him know that what I want to tell him is worth listening to.

3 - Prepare the other person -  Josh and I begin these kinds of conversations with something like, "I say this in love" or "Can I tell you something out of love"?  It gives them a chance to prepare themselves.  I mean really, who likes to be told that they did or said something that hurt you or have a habit that really isn't your favorite:)

4 - Tone of voice - Use a tone of voice that is not accusing.  Simply bring a gentle awareness of what is bothering you or what could probably be done differently in the future.

5 - Make light of it -   Nobody is perfect and allowing your defensive wall to come down and find something to laugh about will help everyone be motivated to make the change.  Chances are they don't even know there is something eating away at you:)

Again, we aren't perfect, but this little strategy sure helps us get through some issues and I thought it would be worth sharing.

Takin' Up My Time

Don't worry, we are all happy (most of the time) and healthy (besides those stubborn coughs that seem to linger FOREVER) around the Colony homestead.  I know you were all worried about us;)

We have been a little preoccupied by current happenings though.

For one, we are in a process.  I'm not quite sure I'm ready to share it with you but I will say that I have been scanning a butt bootie-load of documents and sending them off.  And by doing this I have found THE COOLEST app!  I can sit on my butt bootie and scan a document with my phone and email it or fax it without having to go anywhere!  It is, by far, one of the most practical and mom-friendly apps ever created!  I no longer have to load up a colony of children, buckle them into a colony of car seats, drive around the corner, unbuckle a colony of children and herd them into an office, just to scan or fax a single document.  My sanity has been restored by this wonderful app.

Another thing that has been taking up time is checking out Areyna's butt bootie.  I've been reading a wonderful book called, Six Ways To Keep The "Little" in Your Girl.  It is an EXCELLENT book with super fun and helpful resources to help build the relationship between a mom and her tween.  Yes, my daughter will be turning TWEEN in just a few short weeks!  Anyway, we've been spending a lot of time on this site called Secret Keeper Girl.  It's something fun we like to do together.  One of the sections on there is a "Truth or Bare" fashion test.  Rainy has been bending over and giving her clothes the true modesty test all week long:)  I LOVE IT!

I have entered a new world, my friends.  Before, the only home updating projects I'd ever known came with a spray paint can or a flat head screwdriver.  But now (thanks to Christmas gift cards, birthday money, EBATES and the selfless help from my friends!) I have a new tiled backsplash.  All for under $100!  I ordered from Lowes through EBATES to get a percentage back, they shipped it FOR FREE to my local LOWES and then I used my cash and gift cards to pay for it. It is quite lovely, if I do say so myself:) We still have a few tiles to cut in and some cabinets to paint one day, but it's a start.

A last, but most certainly not least, I have been tagging items to sell at the Raleigh Kid's Exchange.  I'm not shopping this year *gasp*, but I sure had a lot to sell since Jude turns 1 year old in a few short days, and we are DONE adding to this sweet colony of mine;)

There is just one more five more things that have been keeping me busy ~

Hope ya'll have a great day today!

Before You Go Judging

My SIL has had a lot on her plate, and with her husband out of the country I knew she could be running on empty.  There really isn't much I can help with, since I tend to be shadowed with 5 extra sets of little hands and feet, but I could take her little shadows with little hands and feet and let them come play with mine for a while:)

So I asked if I could steel her kids for a day.

Alethia loved having some other girls to play with, Rainy and Zeke LOVED being picked up by the multitude of children at the cross walk after school, Cai "wuvs Kaywis", and Jude had endless people wanting to push him up and down the hallways on his little car.  Which means that all the kids stayed occupied and content the majority of the time.

It was a win-win for everybody!

There was one downside...it was the end of the month and I was in desperate need of a grocery store run.

Here is where you are going to have the tendency to think: "Uh-uh, no she didn't!"

But my refrigerator and pantry weren't leaving me with much of an option.

With two of the kids in school I was down to 6.

Totally doable.

I got my coupons together and piled them all in the car to head to Harris Teeter.

After we got all situated in the car I decided that we had better lay down some ground rules that were going to have to occur in order for this trip to be successful:

1 - Cooperation

2 - Obedience

(and reiterating that Aunt Tasha ONLY gets what is on "the list")

BONUS rule: you have to eat one of those yummy sugar cookies after we have success!

If these rules were not obtained I told them it was going to be very hard to keep Matilda in check. (she likes to flick little naughty noses;)

We made our way into the store and handed out assignments.

Kayil wanted to push the big cart, and every couple of aisles we rotated Alethia, Cai and Karis. Cana pushed Jude and the food and helped me pick out the best produce:)

We had plenty of time, so we took our time.

It really was kinda fun.

AND I saved $81!!!!!!!!

So now you are are REALLY thinking "NO SHE DIDN'T", and maybe a few other things like, "how does she do it?" or "I can't even handle my own kids, and I only have two!" or a multitude of other self-esteem deflating things.

And I'm always about trying to keep perspective, so here is my mini sermon to us all:

I wanted to help my SIL and this was the ONE thing I could do.  It's only 8 kids.  People have way more and function just fine, right? I can totally do 8 for a day.  Besides, outings like this go way different when they aren't all your own kids (and if a couple of them are older than 3) and if you make a game out of it, and if it is just one time (it's not like I take kids with me to the grocery store every week).  It was only for a short period of time.  It's not like I do this every day.  And as for the grocery shopping outing, my friend Kelly put it quite perfectly when she said that maybe I just needed a challenge for the day.  It was a challenge, something different, something to accomplish and it got us all out of the house for a little fun.

Besides any of ya'll out there could totally do it too.  The key is to have plenty of time, realistic expectations, and try to make it fun!

PS - I took the picture to document for the memories.  Not to prove something.  I mean, if I ran a marathon or made it through a week with my husband out of town (I think of my sister whose husband lives in Afghanistan 6 months out of the year...she's my hero in this department!) you better believe I'd be documenting that too, ha!

So don't go judging me, or yourself for that matter.  It's all about perspective.  Besides, everybody is a winner on my blog!