Who Knew The Library Was For Pictures

Our library has this really neat little area as you walk in. It's got a little pond with fish in it and tree's (fake of course) in the background. Kenny's always wanted to try and take pictures there, but we've never done it. The weather was not cooperating when it came to getting more pictures of Adam so we decided to try the library.

Ben was our first test shot and he wanted to be reading because it was in the library.

Next came Adam and even though he was hungry and tired, we still got some good pictures of him.

I just had to throw this one in. I love silly baby faces.

After the library we headed back to the falls to see what we could do. The kids were not cooperating and we ended up not taking any pictures of Adam. Kenny did take Sarah Kate to the bridge to try some different shots with her. He did some editing on them and Sarah really liked how this one turned out.

6 Month Pictures Take 1

I just love this picture, binky and all.

My favorite wall in my entire house is in the entry way. It's covered in pictures of my kids. One picture of them at 6 months (or somewhere close to 6 months) and their current picture. I find it funny the number of people who see that wall and immediately drop their jaw in amazement. "You have 12 kids," they ask. HaHa, so funny.

Anyway, it's that time again when we have a 6 month old (or somewhere close to 6 months.) Adam has been in desperate need of a picture and so now that the snow has melted, for the most part, we've been taking him out to see if we can get a good picture of him. Kenny's also trying to do some photography on the side so he's been taking test shots of the other kids. So, between these two things, we have lots of great pictures of the kids. I, of course, have to share them and I'll start by showing the first test shots of Adam. It was a cool, but kind of warm compared to what we've been experiencing, day and we had just been swimming at the gym. We drove down to the waterfalls to see how it looked for pictures. Kenny found a nice little spot and he snapped a few pictures of Adam while the other kids ran around on the grass. The spot was good so we decided we'd have to try again on a non-swim day, when Adam's in a picture outfit. For now, here are some of the test shots Kenny took.

Fortunately Adam is a very happy baby and it makes taking pictures of him very easy.

This one's my favorite. He's not looking at the camera, but I love it anyway.

The other kids wanted to get in on the picture action, but Hannah's pictures were the only ones that turned out. She is growing into a very beautiful girl.

Little Dan's Getting Big

I just wanted to share a cute picture of Dan. Kenny took it one day in the office and I thought it was so cute. He's getting so big, so fast. Where has the time gone.

Cutest Sad Face Ever

On April 10 Gracie fell off the couch and got a little hurt. She was crying and nothing we said made her stop, that is until Kenny asked her if she wanted her picture taken. She didn't want a happy picture, she wanted a sad picture, so that's exactly what she got. I think they turned out really cute, especially for a sad face. It cheered her up, so that's good.

Ben wanted in on the action and action is just what he wanted. He wanted Kenny to take pictures of him jumping off the couch. Crazy kid.

Snowy Spring Break

Spring felt like it was never going to come this year, you know, just like every other year we've lived in Idaho. Spring break was the first week in April and it was anything but springy for the kids. I felt bad that they had to stay inside the entire week, but we did take them swimming a few times and I do think they enjoyed at least parts of the week. On the 8th it snowed again and the kids were NOT excited. Sarah came upstairs in the morning and cried, "NOOOOOOO." I assured her it was a spring snow and that it would be gone by that afternoon (which it actually wasn't, I was surprised that it stayed until the next afternoon.) The kids were glad to go back to school and hoping for better weather.

Is It Really Easier To Give In?

I'm really behind on my blogging and I promise I'll update everyone on what's been going on the past few weeks, but I've got something on my mind and so I'm going to type.

We had a busy night tonight. The big kids spring concert started at 6:30 and then when we got home I let everyone play outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. We played with the basketball, rode bikes, played with friends, and Ben, Dan, and I even played T-ball. I let them stay out longer than I should have, especially considering how tired they all are, and so when the bedtime routine started I knew it had to be quick. While the kids were talking to Daddy on the phone, I told Hannah I would read her and Gracie 1 bedtime story tonight. I didn't have time for the usual 2, 3, or 4 stories, but I wanted to read them at least one because I know they love it so much. Hannah proceeded to beg for 2 books, she begged over and over and even went so far as to tell me, "Mom, you WILL read me 2 bedtime stories." After telling her no over and over again, I finally realized I needed to put a stop to it and so I told her I would read her one story, but if she kept whining about 2 stories I wouldn't read any stories. Long story short, we didn't end up reading any stories and she completely lost it. She laid in her bed and bawled and bawled. She was, at times, uncontrollable and would hang on me crying to read her a story. Part of me wanted to laugh because it's totally not how we act and it really was pathetic to watch, but part of me wanted to cry as well. She's my little girl and all she wanted was for me to read her a bedtime story. What kind of mean mommy am I?

Do you ever feel like it would be so much easier to just give in to your children? When they cry, throw a tantrum, or pull that 'cutest pouty face ever' act (Hannah has this down to an art, her pout is priceless,) sometimes I just think to myself, "It'd just be so much easier to give in." Sadly, I think I've done more and more of that over the past few months and maybe even years. Life's crazy here if you hadn't already guessed. I've been overwhelmed at times and I think with the craziness, uncertainty and just pure child to parent ratio, well, I'll just come out and say it. "I've been slacking." You're all shocked, I know. (Please just humor me and pretend you're shocked.) But really, I've been falling behind in my discipline and I can see the change in my kids. I still think I have fairly good kids, but not as good as they have been and could be. I've known this for awhile, but this past week I learned just how far we've fallen.

Kenny's gone this week and will likely be gone most weeks this summer. Single parenting 6 small kids is not what I call fun, but this is where we are in life and I'll do it and we'll all survive. He's been gone for 4 days now and my kids have taken this opportunity to push their boundaries and see how far they can get. Every kids does it, right, and this new daddyless dynamic has provided my kids with the opportunity to get away with more, so they think. When Kenny left on Sunday I sat the kids down and told them things were going to change and I was going to need a lot more help from them. Now, I have to admit that I don't blame them for not believing me. I've told them this before, with full intent on following through, but not actually following through and I can completely understand them sitting there thinking my words are empty words. However, this time is different because it has to be different. I do need their help more and things do need to change. The disciple needs to come back.

Parenting is a hard thing because there are so many things to teach children, things you don't even know you're teaching them. With my lack of discipline I've been teaching my kids things I don't want them to know. They've discovered that if they whine enough I'll likely give in just to quite them. I catch myself doing this, but it's almost like I'm powerless to stop it. The desire to just have some quite is so large that I give them that candy or don't make them do their chores. It's lame because I'm smarter than that. I know that a little hard work and 'pain' now will result in things being so much easier in the long run. I think when you're in the middle of things you often react before thinking, that's what I often do anyway, and it's typically not the best choice.

This goes beyond just me having to put up with their whining. I'm teaching them so many things I don't even realize I'm teaching them. I'm teaching them that they don't have to listen to adults, they don't really have to work, and that it's OK to be whiny and bratty and that if they are they'll get what they want. I'm teaching them that it's OK to get what you want when you want it and that life should be all play and no work. Giving in all the time is definitely not doing my kids, or I, any favors.

I want them to learn the value of work. I want them to understand what other people are going through and be sympathetic and helpful. I know they're little and there's only so much of this that they can do, but I think starting young is important. I want my kids to understand that there are consequences for their actions, whether good or bad. I don't think that my lack of discipline and my giving in to them is teaching them these things. In the past I've always excused it away by telling myself that they understand all those important things and that when it really come down to it they'll choose right, but really, if I don't teach these things to them how are they going to learn them. If I don't put my foot down and hold them accountable for their actions how are they going to learn about consequences. If I don't make them work, how are they going to learn the value of work. They're kids and it's my job to teach them these things and if they know these things, not only will they be better children and hopefully become better adults, but life in our family will flow better and we'll all be happier.

So, back to my original question. Do you ever feel like it would be so much easier to just give in to your children? YES! I often feel this way, but giving in to them is only an immediate gratification and can cause longterm issues. So, what happened when it came to Hannah and her bedtime stories? I debated with myself over and over about what to do. Should I just read her a story (after all, studies show reading to your kids at bedtime is VERY important for their growth and education) or should I stick to what I said and make her go to bed without the story. I'm proud to say I did the later. I talked to her about her choice of whining over and over and how that led to not getting a bedtime story and even though she was sobbing uncontrollably she was able to repeat (enough that I got that she understood me) what I had talked to her about. I told Gracie to leave her alone and let her cry, I kissed her, gave her a hug good night, told her I loved her, and left the room. She cried for about 10 minutes, calmed herself down, and then fell asleep. I felt like a horrible parent. It's not at all fun listening to your kids cry, but I knew it was an important lesson for her to learn and she'd never learn to listen if I didn't give her consequences for her choices.

I'm sure we'll have many more of these episodes come up in the near future, but I'm determined to teach my children how to listen again and do what they're told. I often tell them, "You know, you don't get anything you want by whining." Now it's time to show them that. I think a lot of things are going to change around here (I'm hoping anyway,) more things than just me sticking to my guns. I think a list of family rules is important, but more importantly I think it's key to live them. I'm hoping to get organized in some way. My friend has bought the Power of Mom's organizing tool called Mind Organization for Mom's (M.O.M) and it sounds amazing. One day I'll be able to afford it, but for now I'll just have to go off some of the tips she's given me. I think organization is a very important thing to help a family flow in harmony. Our lives are going to become completely restructured with the goals of becoming better people in mind. My family is seriously lacking direction and we'll never become the people we could and should be if we don't change that. So I'm hoping that by being the 'mean mom' or using more discipline, my kids will learn to be loving, caring, well rounded children, because really, isn't that what all parents want for their kids.