Morning Routines

We are working on mornings.... for the past 4 year I've let the boys sleep as long as they need, because we were homeschoolers... minus the occasional random day that we need to be somewhere or it's pushing 10:00 and they need to get moving....

I have found {as with most things in my life...} that simple is better. Trying to make a huge long list doesn't work but a few simple thing do. 

With them going to school, they now have to get up... there is no sleeping in. So far the mornings have been pretty smooth. I get them up with plenty of time to do the things that need to be done, and even a little snuggle for each of them in the morning before they roll out of bed.

I would love to say that they boys remember every thing I ask them to do, but alas.... they are 10,8,7. And remembering is not their strongest suit....

So I made some reminders and other things to help our mornings.

I printed and then laminated a sign for each of the doors. The first is a reminder of what I want them to do first. I really think that the best way to start the day is with prayer. Talking to the Lord and asking him for help and guidance through out the day is a habit that I would like them to build.

Then it's just a quick run through of what else there is to do.

Are my kids the only ones that think that if nobody says to make the bed that it doesn't have to be made??? I've covered my bases here!

And as a side note.... I make the boys get their clothes ready the night before, that way in the morning we are not looking for clean socks or the left shoe.

Here is something that I thought of one night.... The boys will get up in the morning and raid the cereal... and while I love that they are independent enough to manage by them self.... I also don't want them to have cereal every morning.... we go through it way to fast!

So... again with the laminating.... I have a "Today's Breakfast" sheet. I can use a dry erase marker and put what's on the menu for that day. It forces me to get up, and make them something... and they are not left wondering what is going on for breakfast... it's right there.

Also, I put a quote and a scripture on it. So while they are sitting and eating they are reading something worthwhile.

This quote is from Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley and it says.... "The Lord has mandated that his people get all the education they can. He has been very clear about this.... And I say unto you young men, rise up and discipline yourselves to take advantage of educational opportunities"

The scripture is D&C 88:119  
Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

I haven't yet decided how often I'll change the quote and scripture.

And then lastly.... scripture reading. Sometimes the scriptures can be a daunting task to undertake. There are a lot of words and a lot of pages. Even for me I have to go back and reread a verse because I have no idea what it meant, or the what the lesson was.

I found over at The School of Abraham a great scripture help! This is what the boys have been using to read for about a year now. Everything is broken down so it's easy to read. Rather than read a whole chapter it breaks the scripture stories down to just verses.

The one pictured is for the Book of Mormon, but they also have the Old and New Testaments.

So when reading about Noah and the animals.... it's broken down and you just read the couple of verses of him actually gathering the animals.

It has a overview about what the reading is and then the verses.... I don't think any section is longer that 20 verses. This is nice in the morning because I know they are reading their scriptures but not feeling like they had to read a lot to get to the part they understand.

There it is. It's simple and easy to follow, and the boys are able to get it done every morning.... with a little reminding of course.

What are parts of your morning schedule??

My first "Mom of the year Moment"

We all have those times where we wonder why anyone would let of have children. Oh I am so thankful for mine and I wouldn't trade it for the world. But really.... how do I miss some things?? or how did they happen, I was standing 2 feet away.

That's when you know you earned the "Mother of the Year" award.

Here is my first.... {that I remember}

{this was back in 2008 and #3 wasn't even one yet}

We got up Sunday morning and as usual #3 stinks. So I take him down stairs and get the other boys some milk before changing him. I noticed it was coming up the back so I laid a towel down so it wouldn't get all over. Then I noticed that it was down the legs, so I just decided to put him in the bath tub. He needed one anyway. I put him in the tub and then took off his diaper and I hear a funny noise as something had clicked in the bathtub.

Looking down to see what it was do you want to know what I found.... ok, probably not but I'm going to tell you.

I found BATTERIES!!! The little ones that look like smarties. Some stupid dollar store toy batteries fell out. Did I know he ate these? NO. Do I know when? NO. They were small like smarties, and I guess they just pass right through. Fortunately there was no damage to his insides, and the batteries weren't open or anything. My heavens this child will be the end of me. He is my #3 but is giving me many firsts. First child to pass anything not food, first child to lick Pledge, first child to figure out EVERY baby proofing thing we've done, oh, and I'm not even going to get into his birth....

My life is always interesting. If you are ever board you should just come and spend a week with me.

Do you have any "Mother of the Year" moments??

The Unspoken Truths of Babies

Congratulations!!! You are bringing home your bundle of joy! This new baby will light up your life in ways that you never knew were possible.

With all the "experts" out there telling you everything that you need to know about your new baby I'm going to tell you about the unspoken truths that really happen.

First of all... the only thing that this baby will get from it's parents are its looks. Believe it or not this little blob that you just brought home will grow into its own human. You can try to mold him into a something but ultimately this tiny person has his own personality. Get use to it. If you are super out going you will probably end up with a shy child. If you are so uncoordinated and can barely kick a ball, you'll get a super star athlete. It's just the way it is.

Next.... at some point you really will think your baby has been taken over by a demon. Weird noises will come from your child as well as all sorts of unnatural body fluids and there will be projectile vomiting. You'll swear that he was 12 feet from the wall and yet that is where all the vomit landed. It will pass. And your child will again be your precious little one. It's a right of passage for all new parents to try to figure out where the green stuff that is all over the baby actually came from.

Now well meaning people will tell you to sleep when the baby sleeps.... Two problems with that. If you have more than one child at home good luck with that. As soon as you get the baby to sleep and think you are going to lay down that's when the toddler will figure out how to unlock all 12 locks you have on your front door and escape. Or he will decided that he needs a bath and the toilet already has water in it. No... when you have extra kids at home {who would normally watch TV} with a new baby will all of a sudden need you every second that the baby is sleeping.... even if dad is home. And the other... If baby is the only one you'll think 'great he's sleeping I'm going to lay down'.... Then with out fail every person and the dog will come to the door. You'll get packages, well meaning friends, a stray dog that keeps scratching. Face it sleeping when the baby sleeps is a ridiculous thought.

The term "Baby Proofing" is in my opinion a dumb thought. When have you ever seen a newborn launch himself out of someone's arms to put a knife in an electrical outlet??? Yeah... me neither. Toddler Proofing is a better term. By all means be safe, I'm not saying to leave open flames all over your house and hope that nothing happens. But be realistic in your expectations. If you don't get all the outlets covered and cupboards locked before baby comes home from the hospital it's ok. You'll have time to do that. Besides... all the baby proofing in your home that you do is more to irritate you than it is to keep the child safe. Kids... even little one are smarter than we give them credit for, they are the ones that can figure out the "Child Safety Locks" while we parents have to use a hammer to get things open.

Just don't dress the baby.... I mean in nice clothes any way. It's cute and all but really, the Baby Law states that "If I am in a nice outfit, especially something that is all white, hand made, or an antique I must have a massive blowout that requires a whole box of wipes and an bath for both me and the person changing me." I'm serious leave a baby in a onesie or just a sleeper. Nice outfit means poop for days! If you are going to do pictures "try" to trick the child and not get him dressed until 10 seconds before the picture is taken and then quickly undress him. But be advised... they are smart and have supplies ready to handle the unexpected.

Speaking of poop, up until this point all things poop has been a private matter. But as soon as you have a baby it becomes an open topic of conversation. How many times your child does or doesn't poop, the color of it, the smell of it.... yes, you'll go there. And.... you'll be amazed that you will be able to smell your kid from across the room, you'll be able to pick him out from a dozen kids, and know exactly how much he pooped. And when you are having an off day you won't think twice about picking your kid up to smell his butt. {and we always talk about how gross dogs are for smelling butts.... } And then in the toddler years you will celebrating when the little one poops in the toilet. Phone calls will be made, Facebook statuses will be updated. Poop is now a part of your daily life.

Never say "I will never".... You'll eat those words so fast. You say 'I will never let the baby fall asleep in my arms' next think you know you are out on the couch with the baby on your chest while both of you are sleeping because this is how anyone in the house will ever have a chance to sleep again {see reason above for not sleeping} You say 'I will never put a leash on my child' and you will end up with a wandering child that is like Houdini when it comes to escaping.... remember they are their own person. You say 'I will never'... the baby will help you change that.

This is a wonderful time! Babies are awesome!! Except for when they aren't. Don't feel bad if you have a bad day. It's ok to hand the baby off to someone else and go for a walk or take a shower or even have sex with your husband. I'm serious. I had a friend call me and ask me to take her baby for a while because she just needed to be with her husband without feeling guilty that the baby was being unattended in the next room. Babies cry, and sometimes that's all they do for no reason. It will pass... I promise you that you will not send your sweet child off to college still crying for no reason.

Please.... Please.... have realistic expectations for yourself. TV mom are not real, Celebrity moms have help. You are a real person. If all you accomplish today is to brush your teeth celebrate that! The next day..... or month will be better. The mom that you see who seems to have it all put together... Yeah, the truth is she hasn't showered in 4 days and after she got in the car realized that she wasn't wearing shoes. Don't compare yourself with anyone. Babies should bring joy... sometimes they won't... it's true... but comparing yourself to someone else will will NEVER bring joy.

As a mom of 5... soon to be 6 kids the "experts" know nothing.... these are the real things about babies!!

{Tell me what would you add to this list??} 

Potty Training

Oh yeah, what a great time of life!!! Time to throw out the diapers and condense the purse. You will soon be able to leave the house without getting everyone in the car and then smelling that smell, and knowing that your little one just had a blowout and you now have to change clothes and the car seat as well.

But first we must hurdle the ever daunting task of potty training.

Like everything in life hindsight is 20/20 and the thought of having to actually take the steps to potty train makes some want to rip their hair out. But when its done, there’s happy dances done by all.

So far I have potty trained 4 boys. Each boy came with his own rules on how this new adventure was to turn out, and I had to learn to just go with it.

#1 was by far my hardest. There was one time that I was in the basement huddled in the corner, rocking myself, crying on the phone to the husband that this boy will never pee in the toilet. {let it be known that I was also 5 months pregnant with #3 so crazy was part of my day} Anyway, he went back in diapers for a while.

So here are some tips that might help you avoid the rocking…

*Please wait until they are ready AND you are ready. #4 was ready about 3 months before he was 3 years old BUT... we were in the middle of a move. Moving across the country while potty training would have been the death of me. So if you know your life is going to take a crazy turn just hold off.

*Explain to them what is going on with their body. Up until now they never had to think about it. Tell them what it feels like to pee. Point to their body parts {and please use the correct name for everything} and help them connect the dots to what they are doing.

*I only have them use the regular toilet, with no extra seat. My reasons for this are 2 fold. First, the thought having to clean out a little potty grosses me out. Worse than cleaning dirty underwear, and messes on the floor. And I don’t want them to think that sitting in front of the TV all day on a potty is what we do. Second…. If we are at a friends’ house and they have to go I want them to be able to go. I want them to be comfortable peeing at home at the store, at the neighbors’ house ect.  It’s a personal thing, but those are my reasons.

*If you have an independent child who doesn’t like being told what to do try changing the way you say “Go Potty”.  #1 didn’t like being told to go to the bathroom and sit and wait if he really didn’t feel like he needed to go. So I got a timer {The PeePee Beeper} Juiced him up and set the timer. I set it for every 10 minutes and when it went off I asked him if his body was ready to pee. I wasn’t telling him to go I wasn’t running him to the bathroom and making him sit. If he said no I respected that {and then set the timer for only 5 minutes}  He felt he had more control over his body and was willing to stop and check to see if his body needed to pee.

*The reluctant potty goer might be afraid of missing things. If you promise that nothing will change keep to that. So the toy that they were playing with needs to still be there untouched until he gets back. If you were playing a game that same game needs to pick right back up where you left off. It won’t take long before they realize that when they are gone for a short time it’s ok.

*I have taught all my boys to sit first. They have to anyway when they poop. And I sit them backwards on the toilet. They are able to balance better, and if they forget to hold their penis down at least it sprays the back of the toilet and not all over the bathroom. Once they can pee that way they are usually really good about standing and not making a mess.

*Make the reward worth it. And it doesn’t always have to be a new toy. In our house you can’t use scissors or wear a tie to church until you are potty trained. Those are privileges for “big boys”. 

*For night time…. Get 3 or 4 plastic sheets then layer the bed with a plastic sheet, and then a fitted one. Keep doing that until you run out of sheets. Then when there is an accident at night you only have to strip one set and send them back to bed. No remaking a bed required.

There are all sorts of ways to potty train and each child will respond differently, but these are things that have consistently worked for us.

And once it's done I take myself out. Good Heavens it's a lot of work to potty train a child!! So once the rewards are passed out for doing the deed I treat myself with something for sticking with it.

What are some things that have worked for you?

A little Pink never hurt anything....

So.... I have 5 boys! Crazy I know.... They are crazy.... I know!!!

They range in age from 10-1.

There they are.... don't they look like fun!!

They are.

Well we just found out that we are having a GIRL!

I about fell to the floor.

Really. I was preparing myself for another boy and I was happy for that. I really do like being the mom of all boys. I'm not all that girly.... although I do try to be.

It's weird now having to think about pink things... like bows, and dresses, and tights, and shoes...

The boys are learning to be excited. They are looking forward... kinda... to a girl. But they did make me promise NOT to paint their room pink or make them wear pink. {apparently I come off to my children as that being something I would actually do}

But I make no promises.

An intro of sorts

I think it's nice to know who is behind the blog so here is an intro about this blog... and me.

I'm Leah and I have been blogging for 5 years now {"hi Leah....."} I blog normally at The Dog's a Boy Too and that is more of a family blog. I have intentions of printing it out and having that be my scrapbook but I have yet to do that. It seems like every time I save up the money all of a sudden someone needs new shoes, or the car needs tires, or that child cuts his hair and then his Sunday pants and needs new pants. It's always something.... I'm sure you know.

I have also started other blogs... I think I might be an addict of sorts....hum... I should think about that. I homeschooled for 4 years and started a blog with that.

Now I send the boys to school and I started a blog about that....

I take pictures.... when my lens doesn't have finger prints or peanut butter on it... and started a blog about that....

Are you seeing the pattern???

So instead of having 12 different blogs I thought I would do one {more} I can't give up my original blog, it really is dear to me, but I need a place for all the extra stuff that I want to post that doesn't really belong on a family blog.

So here we are.

Portable Picket Fences.

The name actually was thought up by my best friend, and I thought it really fit perfectly for what I want. You see we have moved way to much, and I always tell people I need a portable picket fence if I am ever to have one. We have lived in 5 different states, lived along both the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean {like see it every day!} 14 different homes and have traveled well over 5,000 miles.

We are now in Utah, and hopefully to stay but who really knows about that.

I don't know where this blog will take me but I do have some goals and I am hoping that with real dedication and work that I can reach the goals I have. And after a lot of prayer I feel that the jumping off point is a blog that is more than just about my family.

I hope you enjoy it here and can find a place to call home even if it one you have to pick and move.