Takes the Cake

Ok, so this morning we had a story that by far takes the cake in the Freyre house! I was in D.J.'s room making up with him after disciplining him, and within a few minutes Kyleigh, Jonas and Landon were all in there with us. I'm cuddling with D.J. when all of a sudden i hear the door shut and Kyleigh says with a big grin on her face, "I locked us in!" I look at her thinking she must be joking, and say "no you didnt....did you?" kyleigh: "yes I did, see!" as she tries to open the door. Sure enough it was locked ( if you havent figured it out yet, the door locks from the outside, why they did it that way, I dont know, but after this you better believe it will be fixed!) So  i sit, and digest the fact that I am locked in a room full of only toys, with four kids, my infant is alone in my room, and there  is a pizza cooking in the oven... every window in the house is locked and all the main doors are locked as well... this is what we call, "screwed!" So im not gonna lie, i was a little freaked out, because when you dont have the money to fix a door if you bust it down, its not the best solution! But i had very little time to think of something and absolutely nothing but plastic toys to use to try and get us out. So, i decide to climb out of the window and try to use a neighbors phone... not sure what good that will do because of course today is the day that my husband is at Virginia tech for the day, with our only spare house key... My neighbors across the street are out, and so i venture on over to Faye, my elderly next door neighbor. I use her phone, but no one could help... she calls another neighbor, Jimmy, who is also elderly, to come and try and help us. Mind you, i havent officially met either of these neighbors yet, so im feeling pretty bad that the first time i meet them is under these circumstances! :P he comes over, and the poor man climbs through my son's window. At this point, Jonas is hysterical, Hayden is screaming in the other room and the timer on my oven is going off...and has been for quite a while now. In the end, he is able to get the hinges off the door and let us into our home, PRAISE THE LORD. However, im ruined for the day because now my stomach is in knots, our pizza was burnt and the kids are extra wild as a result. Oh Lord... thank you for good neighbors, and thank you for nap time, im counting down the minutes because im going to need that time to recoup!!

Christmas

As I'm sitting here feeding my plump little girl, with her rolls and double chin, watching her chow down on her rice cereal, the thought crossed my mind that there are millions of parents around the world that, rather than stare at a healthy fat baby, they are staring in desperation at their starving, sickly thin babies. At that moment, the line, "as we dream, by the fire" sounds from the radio, and my mind wanders to the cold reality that we are so blessed in this country while millions are suffering. We have songs that sing about our warm cozy sweet memories by the fire at Christmas time, as we watch the snow outside, free to enjoy it because of our well heated homes. Millions around the world are starving, freezing and begging for even a bite of food or temporary relief from their unbearable situations. And we are preparing for a holiday that has turned into nothing more than a time to put ourselves in more debt, accumulate more unnecessary items, and suffer more unneeded stress. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE spoiling those I love like anyone else, nothing is sweeter than watching my babies' faces light up on Christmas morning at the sight of the mountain of gifts under the tree. However, the more I grow spiritually, and the more i become aware of the grave situation around the world, I can't help but feel overwhelmingly guilty. The point of this "holiday" is the birth of our Savior. The greatest gift of all. Christ was born so He could give up His life to provide us with eternal hope, joy and peace. To pave the way, the only way, to be with our Father. And His one command before he left was, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19-20 Here we are, enjoying not only the temporary pleasures in this life, but knowing that the eternal treasures are awaiting us. He also told us to love, to care for the broken and lost. THAT is the meaning behind Christmas, not the presents, the music, the traditions, but to share Christ's love and reach a dying world. We may not be able to help the situation many are in in this life, but we can be God's vessels to help them find peace in the life that really matters.  It was heavy on my heart this morning and I thought I'd share! I pray we can keep this perspective, though contrary to popular belief, Christmas is about CHRIST, and about sharing His precious gift! 

Never Leave Home

As a stay at home mom, I really struggle with cabin fever sometimes. Its a lose/lose with four little ones, because staying cooped up at home with them all week makes you crazy, but trying to take them all anywhere might send you to the nut house. So I generally try and only go out alone with them maybe once or twice a week. However, lately I'm beginning to wonder if we should EVER leave the house. The past few times I've taken them to kids cove have been horrible... they have been whiney, grouchy, and super clingy. they literally sit there and hang on my legs pretty much the entire time. I have no idea what that's all about, but the worst is when I attempt to take them to the grocery store, and today was no exception. I had the whole morning planned out. I had fed them their snacks, they were in great moods, and I was so sure it would be a decent trip out. We had 4 stores to go to if it worked out, but we only made it to one...Walmart. I pulled into the parking lot and had our usual pep-talk. "Stay  by the cart, don't touch anything unless I tell you to, and LISTEN. If not, you WILL be getting spanked." This was of course followed by, "OK MOMMY!!!" So off we go into the store, and for the first 5 minutes, they did everything I told them to, even had their hands on the cart. I thought, "yay! this is going to be ok!" Then all of a sudden, Kyleigh was complaining about her shoe... and while im looking at something, she decides to take it off in the middle of the aisle...then yells that she cant get it back on. I sigh, put her shoe on and tie it, meanwhile D.J. is pulling the cart with Landon and Hayden away from me. I get up and go retrieve the cart ( with a screaming and highly annoyed Landon) walk 4 steps only to hear, "MOMMY!!! I really need to go to the bathroom, my tummy hurts! I've gotta poop!" Mind you, we were just at her Daddy's office for like 30 minutes, but no, she waits until I am alone at the grocery store with four kids. So we rush to the bathroom, and D.J. says he needs to go too. I stand outside the door with the babies while they go potty...tick tock tick tock... I hear about 6 flushes, then the hand dryer keeps turning on and off, on and off, on and off... so I open the door and D.J is standing there with his pants half way down his legs and says, "I need to wash my hands!" So i button his pants and let him wash... more time goes by...and after waiting about 15 minutes Kyleigh finally emerges and takes another 7 minutes to wash her hands and come out. Ok, so we are about 40 minutes into the shopping trip so far and I have a bottle of lysol in my cart... not doing so great. We are SLOWLY making our way down to the grocery part of the store and my kids are hanging on both sides of the cart, which is good in the sense they are staying with me, but bad because every person we encounter is ticked off that we are blocking the whole aisle. So I try to have them walk on the same side, which creates a huge argument over who gets to walk in front. we finally make it to the groceries and my kids are running around me in circles "play fighting", with lots of kicking, punching, giggling, and "hi-ya-ing". I keep telling them to calm down, but I'm speaking to deaf ears. Then its" mom can i have this?" "I want this" "Can we get candy" "Can i get a car?" And Landon leans back and decides to put his fingers in his sleeping sisters mouth, thus waking her up. Then I can't find the coffee Dave wanted so I make a call to him, During which i turn around to find Kyleigh pulling the shopping cart down the middle of the aisle, running into everyone along the way, and Landon is throwing things on the ground, both from my purse and the cart.  Rather than continue in extensive detail, the next 20 minutes consisted of lots of running down the aisles, screaming, kicking, laughing, knocking things over, taking things off the shelves, ripping bananas off their bundles, dipping their hands in the huge boxes of nuts and tossing them in the air like confetti, attempting to climb into the egg area ( i caught him just as his one leg was in there), laying and crawling along the floor, jumping off of benches, and climbing onto a worker's stool. As we are checking out, and I had finally had enough ( especially with the fierce "you are a sorry excuse for a mother" look in the cashier's eyes), I then quietly informed them both they were getting spanked when we got home. So what happens? The chaos turns to crying...no better yet, WAILING. The two big kids start wailing, Hayden was already crying, and just as the bag of lollipops gets put in the bag, Landon starts screaming. yep, I stood there, in front of a very busy Walmart with four embarrassingly loud crying children, my face was burning with humiliation, the people behind me were laughing and staring in awe, and the cashier couldn't even look at me when she handed me the receipt. I push my sobbing crew all the way out to the parking lot, (discovering along the way that at some point Hayden lost a sock), loaded them up, and counted the seconds until we were home. I may never leave my house alone again with my kids... That or I'm packing Ritalin.

The Satisfaction of Productivity

I am definitely a mother because i felt the need to blog about the crazy productive afternoon I had...why? Because it is UNHEARD OF. lol we had a very rough morning, with some sleepy,whiney, clingy kids, so i was sure today would end as sour as yesterday did, but as soon as those little heads hit their pillows for naps, I got to work and haven't stopped since! The list of accomplishments:

1. All but one load of laundry is done and put away
2. Floors mopped
3. Dog's room cleaned ( and can I get an EEEEW for that one :P)
4. sheets changed in every room ( obviously that was after naps )
5. all rooms picked up/cleaned
6. Dishes done
7. Bathroom cleaned, along with a total soak and scrub down of the tub with some oxy clean
8. Oven was sprayed and thoroughly cleaned...and the next one will be in another year LOL
9.Kids bathed
10. Dinner is cooked, served, and Mama is THRILLED!

Thank you LORD for days like today where i feel like i actually accomplished something! Thank you for letting the kids sleep, for providing me with energy, and for ample time to get it all done in! I know it will all be destroyed by 10 AM tomorrow, but i'm savoring every minute of it now!! Now i can go one night without stressing about the 50 million things i need to do, and enjoy hanging out with my wonderful family...(and only worry about the 25 million things i need to do tomorrow. :) ) Ahhh... goooood feeling....must enjoy it while it lasts... lol hope you all had a wonderful day!!

Just Another Manic Monday.

HELLO MONDAY!! you have yet to fail at being the worst day of the week! :P We did have a nice break, but come Saturday Kyleigh came down with a bug, Landon has been OVERLY cranky and moody, and Hayden has upped her eating schedule to ever 2 1/2 hours for the past two weeks so i started of my week a little irritable. But i did try and get up this morning at 5:40 to do my devotions, the only way i keep my sanity during the week, and of course my boys also decided it was time to get up,and the dogs had once again peed in the house. Cici also decided she was going to give me attitude today and refuse to go outside. That all should have been a sign for the day! today wasnt even a matter of the moods, well, despite Landon's. It was just non-stop.
          I made an appointment this morning to take Landon in to check out an infection on his foot, and once i got home from that it was all down hill. Landon came in screaming from outside, but being Landon, he cries hysterically if his cup falls, so i never really think anything of it. I picked him up and sat him in his highchair for lunch. 5 minutes later, i realize his eye is swollen and there is a nice cut above his eyelid...talk about feeling guilty :P this is why kids shouldnt "cry wolf", then mommy never knows when its legit! Then I went to put all the kids to bed, and hear a bang in one of the rooms, followed by a screaming Hayden...yep, my daughter decided to roll for the first time today, and it was off of my bed. Before you judge, i have had four kids, i KNOW this happens even if they arent rolling, so i did plan ahead and put her closer to the middle of the bed, i still have no idea how she managed to roll all the way off, but regardless, the guilt is still there! she now has a nice bruise on her forehead and i feel like i should win the worst mother award for the day! im also scared to go out into public with them because at the moment it looks like i beat my children. :P Since then, ive had a bottle of seasoned salt spill all over the counter, my lysol bottle lid was unscrewed ( one guess on who did that) so when i went to pick it up it spilled all over the floor, and Landon ripped three of the leaves on our "Thanksgiving tree" ( where everyone wrote what they were thankful for) completely to shreds. while cleaning up the lysol i started laughing, and Kyleigh asked "Mommy, why are you laughing?" I said "So i dont cry!" lol Oh Lord, only You know why we have days like this...if its to test our patience, please help me pass the test soon so i can avoid these days! If its something else, please give me money to load up on Starbucks!! :D sigh, tomorrow is another day... On the upside, i have 4 healthy babies with LOTS of energy that never leave me bored or without excitement in my day! :) Hope everyone has a wonderful night!

You're not Alone

Ever wonder if its just your kids that are nuts? Or why no one else seems to be dealing with the same craziness as you throughout the day?? I felt this way for a long time...I would write my posts on facebook, but never really saw anyone else share the same ventures. Or when I'm out, and other mothers appear offended by my children, or in a store and my kids are the ones crying and running down the aisles..."Am i really the only one that deals with this?? is there something wrong with me??" But after a while I soon discovered ( through observation) that no, I am most certainly not alone, but for some reason no one ever feels they can share their experiences with the world. If you know me well enough, you know I'm an open book. I really don't feel there is a whole lot that needs to be kept hidden. Life's too short, and people want honesty and raw reality. So what you see is what you get. I post my things on facebook as a means of venting ( so i dont explode (or cry), and to provide entertainment of course, but also just to show others that hey, you are not alone, my kids  are off the wall too...and this is with me TRYING.  Women act like the church does most of the time, where we are all too scared to be honest about how we are feeling, or whats going on in our lives because we don't want anyone to make judgments about us. But I have a secret for you....NO ONE is perfect, we all make mistakes, we all have problems, we all struggle to work through this or that, ITS NORMAL. Actually....there's this great guy named Jesus Christ who died for that very reason! amazing isnt it?? :) I hear so many of my friends apologize for sharing their feelings, or as they put it "complaining", every time they express their struggles, or when they are having a bad day. If you can't feel comfortable enough to do that with your friends, who can you do it with?? Who cares what people think! quite honestly, most people will love the fact that you are real, who knows whose heart you are touching by just letting them know you have problems too... that we dont have it all together after all! What a relief to know we can just be ourselves... tired, frustrated and in need of some serious support when it comes to being a wife and mother, and juggling the many many roles we have. Its hard work, and that's ok! Yes, my kids drive me absolutely CRAZY most days, and many times i genuinely just don't like them very much, but they are the joy of my heart and i would be lost without them. I think most mothers feel this way, but cant bring themselves to say it out loud. Well, for those of you that do hesitate, im letting you know, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! :) God is faithful and He will get us all through it, we just need to continue seeking His will, strength, and wisdom and we will be just fine. My heart and prayers go out to all you wonderful ladies, know that I sympathize! :)

Advice

I'm not a big advocate for offering up advice for parenting unless first asked because its super annoying, however I'm going to make an exception today. my best advice for new mothers is this: "IGNORE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SAYS, INCLUDING YOUR DOCTOR!" Obviously this doesnt apply in EVERY case, but over-all, I stand by it. I'm no pro by any means, i vouge for that... but i have had four babies, and i can say with complete assurance that all kids are DIFFERENT. No one knows their child better than the mother.

You think its necessary to have them sleep on their backs?? the risks are there no matter how you put them to sleep, just monitor them. once my kids could sleep on their tummies, they slept through the night... so this time around i did it right off the bat, and guess what, Hayden sleeps through the night. most adults like to sleep on their bellies, so why wouldnt a baby?? now, there are exceptions, some babies prefer their backs, or their sides.... let your baby choose!

Pacifiers: one of mine hated them, two loved the big fat straight ones, and Hayden loves nuks... again all kids are different.

Swings ( and the like): I stressed and stressed about getting a swing this time around because it was a life saver for my first three...guess what, i now have a swing sitting in my living room that is only used when landon tries to get in it. Hayden hates it!

swaddling:  none of mine liked it! they always fussed until they were free, but some babies do...again, let them "tell" you.

Diapers.... cloth or disposable: personally, im all for convenience, but everyone is different... do what works best for you. The whole saving money thing, im still not so sure i agree... i spend about $410 a YEAR for two kids, it would have cost me about $900 to buy USED cloth diapers to last until potty training...2 years, so in this particular case, i'm spending less for disposable. its all about what YOU want and what works best for you and your baby.

Caffeine: its perfectly FINE.  i drank it a few times a day with all my kids... so much for low birth weight since mine were all over 8lbs.

and most importantly, If your baby is acting like something is wrong, and you feel that they need to be seen, odds are, they do. Im pretty anal about not going to the doc unless absolutely necessary, especially for rashes and stuff because so many things can cause them. But landon had one a few months back that i knew was more than just a typical rash, so i took him in. Before even saying hello, the doctor walks in and says " We dont know what causes them, its hard to tell, theres nothing we can do." I was pretty annoyed, so i lifted up his shirt and said, "well can you tell me what THIS is?" and she immediately shuts her mouth, looks it over, and says, " oh... wow, well that would be a skin infection." I rest my case... I've had this happen on a few different occasions, so go with YOUR gut, not anyone else's.

A few of my friends have asked me for advice on things, and i always tell them what worked for mine, but end it with, " every kid is different, you just have to see what works for yours." seriously, stop stressing, your baby will let you know what he/she wants and how they want it. All you need to do is ignore everyone else, stay in tune with your kiddo, and you'll be just fine! :)