Sunday, March 25, 2012

My new view


This is what 5 kids in a packed minivan looks like. Is it shallow of me that I am not looking forward to getting a 10 seater van? I won't be able to park it in my garage and I've waited 10 years to have a garage.

*sniff*

I wasn't looking forward to three kids in a backseat and the fighting and mean elbows that were sure to come, but it hasn't been too bad. There were a few of those elbows at first and arguments about not being able to reach their buckles, but after about a month they settled down and got used to it.

Being completely honest- five kids is hard, yo. I've been feeling really overwhelmed. Mostly because of homeschooling, but also because of a big house and me not allowing the kids bigger responsibilities. Well no more of that! During spring break, the kids mastered: (well, kind of) vacuuming, doing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom. We also employed good ol' Mr. Gunny Sack who promptly ate up two pillow cases full of their toys because they weren't cleaning up after themselves.

Since they've been helping with more of the cleaning, things are going MUCH more smoothly. I just need to allow myself more than three weeks time to adjust to adding a new baby to the mix. Most of the time I love my kids and can be the happy mom. If not, I shut my bedroom door and snuggle my baby for a few minutes. That always helps. :)

Friday, March 23, 2012

Stuff I've made recently...

We took some plain t-shirts and jazzed them up a bit using fabric paint and a freezer paper stencil. This was my first try with freezer paper, and it was really easy and fun! On to painting everything!
This idea I saw on my family fun magazine, using a heart doily as a pattern. The trickiest part was poking out all the little paper hang-ons on the doily. I don't know if that makes sense. But I was really pleased with how they turned out.
And I made this little guy a few months ago. :) Simon is two months old now and is a very sweet mellow baby. (Thank you!) He's chunking up (well, as much as my skinny kids ever do) and loves to smile at us. The kids all love to hold him- we're so glad to have him!