Spending Time with the Kids

This week I have been catching up on things I got off track from the holidays and all of our illnesses.  My school organizing, grading papers, cleaning house, starting some DIY projects and most of all…spending time with the kids.

With 9 of them in the house, I will occasionally notice that I haven’t spent much time with one or two lately.  Some are more needy and some will have a project going on the requires my attention.  But there will always be a kid or two that hasn’t gotten enough “Mom” time.  And since we all got so sick right after Christmas I have been a bit neglectful.  Don’t worry…they have all been fed and kept warm.  I let them out of their cages every day to sweep the chimney and haul water up from the creek.

I wanted to reconnect and give them all some time out of the house, so I made a plan.

Monday: the 4 little boys

Tuesday: Grace

Wednesday: the 3 little girls

You may have noticed that Jacob isn’t on the list.  He gets alone time with me when I drive him places and that’s about all he can take.  Plus he has mid-terms this week so he’s unavailable.

On Monday I took Noah (12), Adam (10), Elijah (8) and Levi (4) to the big city.  We went to the toy store where they spent some of their Christmas money, we went to Sam’s where they helped me with the heavy stuff, we went to get a yogurt and we talked….a LOT.  They told me their ideas and their plans and what they want to be when they grow up and their favorite books.  The whole day was downright FUN.  Just me and my guys with no agenda.  And I never once had to open a door for myself or carry anything.  They are quite the gentlemen.

Then on Tuesday I asked Grace if she’d like to go out with me.  I wanted to take her to see “Beauty and the Beast” in 3D.  It was her favorite movie when she was a little girl and I thought it would be sweet to watch it together again after all these years.  We did a little local shopping and then went to the movie.  I resisted the urge to reach over and hold her hand when Belle started singing, “I want much more than this provencial life!”  Baby Grace used to sing that with her pacifier in her mouth wearing the Belle dress I made for her.  Every day she’d put on the dress and carry around a little basket of books and do the whole scene for me.  I had nothing to do but nurse Jacob and watch her perform.  Now she’s all grown up and…..{snort!}…..waahhhhhhh!!!!

We didn’t get a picture together because it was pouring rain.  You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you we looked mah-velous.

On Wednesday I went out with Hope (18), Faith (16) and Patience (14).  We headed back to the big city.  Going out with them was not the same relaxing time as it was with the boys.  These girls have plans and things to do and places to go and we hit the ground running and were home after dark.  At the end of it all I crashed into my recliner and wondered how we got it all done.  Target, Joann’s, JCPenney, TJ Maxx, Photo Express, oh the list was so long.  Whew!  But we laughed a LOT and they tried on clothes and spent their own money so all it cost me was some gas and Chick-fil-a for lunch.

We all agreed that we can’t show you our picture without showing you the best part…..the SHOES!

I asked Hope later, “Why don’t you have any stockings on?  It’s COLD!”  She said she was perfectly comfortable.  Weird.

As you can see, the girls wear their skirts much shorter than I do.  As long as they are complying cheerfully with our rule that their skirts must be below their knees (including being below the knee when they are sitting) then the length is up to them. They always look so nice.  Being modest and a teenager has never been a problem around here.

All in all it’s been a wonderful week.  The kids have reconnected with Mom and the mood in the house is lifted.

Spend some time with your kids today.  Just stop everything and be together doing something they love.  Let them talk, listen and just be present in the moment.

I’m so glad I did!