Tag: Four Kids

Happy Valentine’s Day to My Home

I’m in love with my home.

Yes, I have an actual Valentine, and I have four children who are my loves but my home also holds my heart.

It’s my hope that everyone could find a true love like this:

  • We love spending time together. There’s no place else I’d rather be than inside my home’s four walls with the ones I love.

  • My home holds everyone and everything I love under one roof. {disclaimer: my parents don’t live here but I love them just as much}

  • I’ve made mistakes with my home; too many to count. I’ve painted the wrong color, I’ve chosen the wrong chair, I’ve hosted the wrong parties. But still my house forgives and lets me continue to pull and tug at her windows and floors.

  • We’ve seen our share of therapy and made it through the tough times: plumbers for clogged toilets, roofers for loose shingles, glass repairmen, heating & air specialists, and sink hole fixers {to name but a few}.

  • We’ve shared all four seasons together…summer running through the sprinklers with the kids, carving pumpkins on the counter in the fall, hanging stockings on the mantel at Christmas and coloring eggs at the first sign of spring.

  • I may try to change my home from time to time {I know what’s best, right?}, but she loves me anyway despite my constant nagging and second-guessing.

  • Sometimes we watch some racy stuff together after the kids go to bed. Mostly HGTV shows like Fixer Upper and Beachfront Bargain Hunt.  There’s no jealousy involved; we’re just gathering ideas to try out on our own.

  • My home doesn’t seem to mind if we are hard on her. A height chart drawn right on the door casing? Done. Spray paint on the front of the house? No problem. That’s unconditional love right there.

  • There have been a few (thankfully not many) sad days at our house…mostly just fighting between siblings {sister runs around pinching brothers because she hates loves them so much}. Oh and the long nights of strep throat or tummy aches, how could I forget? Those things only make us closer.

{imagine my surprise when I walked outside and saw this. scrub and scrub as they might, it has never quite come off. c’est la vie…} {imagine my surprise when I walked outside and saw this. scrub and scrub as they might, it has never quite come off. c’est la vie…} {…and yes, they’re scrubbing in bike helmets; that’s a whole ‘nother story} {…and yes, they’re scrubbing in bike helmets; that’s a whole ‘nother story}

  • My home brings out the best in me. The best colors, patterns and fun sides all wrapped into one.

  • We’ve had fun together, from dinners with friends to birthday celebrations to sleepovers to the usual nights of homework & Disney Channel.

  • My home keeps us safe and warm and shielded from the daily grind of the universe. She’s got arms long enough to wave lovingly goodbye in the mornings, welcome us back in the afternoons & hold us tight all night long.

  • I plan on growing old right along with my home. We’ll just have to overlook each other’s wrinkles/cracks in drywall and gray hair/faded paint.

  • We’ve created a family and memories together that will last a lifetime. And we’ve got the scrapbooks & photo albums to prove it.

Thanks, home, for being you! I wouldn’t trade my {valentine} for anything. Your home can be your Valentine too.  All that’s required is love inside. And remember: don’t ever, ever go to bed mad! Even if we have to be separated someday, we will carry her with us wherever we go.

{after all, home is where the heart is}

 

Four Kiddos in Preschool

School’s In!

I was going to start this entry about my children going to preschool with a note about my little baby birds leaving the nest, but then I realized that not only are they not actually “leaving” the nest, but they are actually commanding more space in the nest—four times the space, in fact!

As it has always been with my little gaggle, starting school means everything comes in fours. First up came four little place settings for breakfast. Even though I was sad to see them off, I wanted them to feel like school was an exciting, happy thing. I wanted to show them that today was no ordinary day, it was the first day of school! How better to do that than with a nice table set with these cheerful plates and glasses?

After breakfast it was time to get their supplies organized. As you can see, the Mommy Marker was out in force (fource? ha!) With four of everything (sometimes more) it would be a nightmare to try and keep supplies organized in any other way. Glue sticks, wipes, bags, shirts, every-every-every-everything gets a name! Labeling everything not only ensures that you send your children out the door with the stuff they need, but they will end up with the correct items when they get there (with a little help from the teacher, of course).

Of course, no schoolchild’s load would be complete without a tasty lunch. My times-foursome is no different! These lunch boxes are not only an absolute blast and super cute, but they also make it easy for each of my children to find his or her lunch among all the others (I guarantee nobody else in class will have one like it!).

So there you have it. You know, it used to be when my children left the house I had to keep track of four sets of clothes, diapers, and bottles. Now it’s four lunch boxes, glue sticks, and backpacks! Where did the time go?!