repost march spring break 2018

 (Disregard this one. Just reposting so I don't lose it. I had to delete the original post I wrote back in Mar 2018.)

Status quo around here these days which is great. We are on spring break and so far I'm doing okay. I'm actually reading a really helpful book that has totally changed my parenting in such a good way. More on that later.

I took the kids to get ice cream to celebrate spring. Angus still refuses to smile for the camera unless tricked or bribed.

We love our neighbors, even though many of them deserted us this week. Boo. 

I was telling Mya how Dan and I met and fell in love and dated for a while and got married and had kids. In a nutshell. When I finished my little story, she responded. "Awe, like Beauty and the Beast!" 

I assume she means after the Beast becomes human and he's a handsome prince? =)

Dan and I went out to dinner and left the children with a babysitter. The next morning I found little doodles on the wall in my bedroom made with a sharpie. Addie tried to tell me that Angus was the one who did all of it, including the very impressive happy face. Angus is good at many things but art is not one of them. She finally admitted to drawing the happy face and they were lectured and punished. While I was scrubbing the walls with a magic eraser (highly recommended if you have a toddler) I thought to myself, where was the babysitter when they were doodling in my bedroom? My judgy attitude quickly faded a few minutes later when I went back downstairs to find Angus's arms marked up with another marker. Maybe he'll be a famous artist one day. 

Addie being Addie.

For years now, I have been praying for patience, less anger and nicer words in those times when everyone is losing it. I noticed that I totally set the tone in our home. Me. 

I love self-help books, especially parenting ones. I totally believe that in order to change anything in your life you have to start with you. And that's pretty much what this book is about. Basically you have a responsibility to your kids to remain calm, set boundaries and provide consequences. As a parent, you are not responsible for your kids' decisions, they are. Anyway, if you are uber frustrated in this crazy parenting journey, I highly recommend this book. Screamfree Parenting by Hal Runkel.

A friend took a picture of us at church Sunday. One of my favorite things about having a bunch of kids is the pictures of all 6 of us. I love us as a group and I love us as individuals.