REAL mom Wednesday

You know you are a REAL mom when…

*Monday was a MONDAY.

This past Monday all my kids had school off. Monday is typically my run errands with the babies day to get us going good and strong for the week but it was going to end up being take all six kids with me to run errands to make sure we have food to eat.

BUT, the catch was I had to go in to do my three hour glucose test. Bleh! It always leaves me feeling pretty crummy for the rest of the day but a mom’s got to do what a mom’s got to do. (I know, I know. I could have said no to the order or asked for something else to be done but sometimes I feel like things just aren’t of enough importance (for me at least) to raise a stink on every little thing. You do you on this issue and I’ll keep on chugging the nasty, sugary drink.)

By the time I arrived home the crummy feeling had well settled in. Garrett was making breakfast burritos, which was awesome but I ended up frantically cleaning up the kitchen as the baby was screaming (he needed a nap) and trying to round up all the kids on a beautiful day to make the trek to Costco. We made it though!

By the time we got home, I was shoveling food in my face because #lunchat2:30. Nora had an appointment to get her mullet trimmed (seriously, mom’s trim your child’s mullet. No one thinks it cute even if you are doing it for the sake of growing their hair out. Cut it. It looks awful. And don’t get all sentimental about it because it’s just hair. Kapeesh?).

I digress…we get to the hair salon 10 minutes late because #sugarcrash #toomanykidstobuckle #notenoughcaffeine. I won’t explain how it happened but the moment I got all the kids out of the van my entire purse with my chapstick, phone, and wallet were locked inside. Thankfully it is a friend who cuts our hair so she actually still cut Nora’s hair and then the kids and I walked around NewBo for about 2 hours waiting for Garrett to come rescue us.

The thing is he had forgotten his phone in his car so he didn’t get my voicemails asking for help until a loooooooong time after I left them. And sadly, his is the only number I can remember and I’m cheap and wasn’t about to call a locksmith when I knew my hubby would rescue us. But in true Hufford fashion we looked like white trash since two of my kids were in snow boots (who doesn’t wear brand new snow boots with the tags on, on a 60 degree day in October???), the baby was covered in chocolate (thanks to the giant brownie we bought using the money Eden had in her purse), I was covered in Nora’s hair trimmings, and Nora was without shoes but refused to sit in the stroller.

The kids and I sang all the jolly phonics songs we knew and we talked about what we were going to do if daddy never came with the spare key (we were going to get jobs at the coffee shop and popcorn place and rent an apartment and forever live in NewBo district). All in all it wasn’t bad. It was just a normal day in our lives.

REAL mom Wednesday

You know you are a REAL mom when…

*you wonder how you are so busy and not busy at the exact same time.

Here is a run down of this morning up until 1pm:

6:30am – Put Nora back in her bed.
6:45am – Ella asks to use our bathroom (why she asks, I will never know)
7:00am – Bring Bennett (who has peed out) downstairs for a bottle and diaper change
7:15am – Make coffee and get the kids set up with a show and some cereal
7:30am – Wash my face, put in my contacts, pour coffee, and start my Bible study
7:45am – Nora needs more cereal
7:50am – Tell Eden and Cooper to get stuff together for school
8:00am – Realize I haven’t changed Nora. Change her.
8:10am – Pray with the kids, go over Genesis 1:1, and send kids to bus stop
8:20am – Go to the bathroom
8:21am – Find Nora with an entire box (Family Size) dumped out, stop to clean up
8:30am – Make eggs for the four kids at home and myself.
8:45am – Start kitchen clean up, big two are put on breakfast clean up
8:55am – Attempt to lay Bennett down for a quick nap
9:00am – Finish cleaning up the kitchen and start the dishwasher
9:10am – Switch laundry and put in a new load
9:15am – Try to get myself dressed, teeth brushed, and hair pulled back
9:25am – Get distracted and clean all the ceiling fans
9:40am – Go to get Nora dressed and find her with a poopy diaper and her hand in it -yuck!
9:50am – Wake up Bennett, change him, pack the diaper bag with snacks
9:55am – Load the kids in the van (we should have left 10 minutes ago) to go to the gym
10:05am – Get to the gym and get the kids situated with child care
11:00am – Finish working out, get the kids, head to the photo store
11:15am – Pick up pictures, realize Nora fell asleep in the van, drive home
11:30am – Try and transfer Nora to her bed (unsuccessfully, which means tonight will be great with her!!!!)
11:45am – Feed the kids lunch
12:00pm – Switch laundry, start a new load, start my lunch
12:30pm – Send kids outside so I can eat lunch in peace
12:35pm – Ella insists Garrison is bleeding
12:40pm – Everyone needs drinks outside because it is so hot
12:41pm – Garrison drops his cup and it shatters
12:45pm – Try to finish my lunch
12:46pm – Ella is insistent that Garrison’s foot is bleeding
12:48pm – Try to finish my lunch
12:55pm – All the kids stand at the door complaining how hungry they are
1:oopm – Sit at the computer pretending to do “work”

See – really all I did today was go to the gym for an hour…

REAL mom Wednesday

You know you are a REAL mom when…

*You are not sure if the best part of working out is that your kids get to be in childcare for one hour or the endorphins you get when you’re done.

We just recently got access to a gym and part of the deal is childcare. Woot! And it’s totally a win-win because the kids get to play games on tablets (which they aren’t allowed to play with at all at home) and I get to hopefully not gain a gazillion pounds this pregnancy!

Crappy foto Friday

Hey-o! It’s Friday! That means the weekend is near and the photos are crappy!

This week has been normal even with it’s not so normal-ness. Monday evening Ella broke her wrist. The doctor to me that she would probably need a  short arm cast for three weeks but of course, #huffordslaw, when you hear the word “probably” assume “probably not” because she has a long arm cast for five weeks (due to the ortho guys schedule) for a very, very minor break. Oh well!

Nora turned two this week! Woot! We have managed to keep that crazy little girl from imminent death for two years! This past year has been brought to us by one broken leg, one disgusting tongue injury, many house escapes, her fair share of bludgeoned toes, and lost shoes. But she is great! And loud and head strong and beautiful and sweet.

Anywho…here are the photos from my phone!

I worked a concert for Salt Co and had a blast selling more alcohol than I have ever seen in my entire life!

She did much better this time with the whole broken bone thing.

“What? I’m two? I thought I was a wild animal.”

Short arm cast. #yeahright

Crappy foto Friday

This has been a whirlwind week with school starting. Maybe sometime I’ll tell you are decision to send our kids to public school (I hear all you Christian homeschool moms gasping at the fact that I love Jesus and send them to be taught by someone other than me – chill out.), it’s actually complicated and simple and we feel at peace with our decision.

Anywho…we had family visit for the weekend while my hubby performed at Brucemore. I had a dentist appointment and we ran a ton of last minute (oh crap! Schools starting!) errands and I sprayed waaaaaaaaay too much dry shampoo in my hair. Oopsy daisy! Oh, I also spent an evening getting certified to sell alcohol. Yep. That happened. But don’t worry. It’s for our church. I mean for a college ministry. Well, it’s so our church’s college ministry can receive money to support itself. But it’s really not as bad as it sounds. I’ll only be selling beer to paying customers, not at our church or like at a lemonade stand type of thing. I’ll be helping at the concessions at Iowa University. See, it’s not as bad as seems.

So, here are some of the random photos on my phone:

REAL mom Wednesday

You know you are a REAL mom when…

*You day dream about having a clean house for an entire day.

I would love to clean my house and have it stay clean for more than a second. A girl can dream, right? Considering that my kids are still working on picking up the basement (it really should have taken them 10 minutes to do a crappy job and 30 to do a good job), my dream may never be a reality!

The broken lamp

Man alive! We have been busy lately and it doesn’t feel like its letting up. I enjoy busy-ness but when it starts effecting our home time or attitudes negatively, something needs to give.

Since becoming a hermit isn’t a viable option and since I am an extrovert and staying at home forever doesn’t sound doable, we will settle for taking trying to tame the beast that is end of the summer-ness. It always happens. Always.

BUT HALLELUJAH SCHOOL IS STARTING!!!!!!! I love the structure our school day brings us. I love that the afternoons at home are generally filled with quietness instead of constant nagging for food or something to do. I love that my very, very social kids get to hang out with little people their age and make friends. I love that the space we get seems to be the space we need to make home time that much more sweeter.

Anyway, I need to go label about a bajillion and one crayons and markers. But I will leave you with a picture of my favoritest lamp as it was the first real piece of decor that I truly loved and was able to purchase that made our old house feel more homey.

This is what happens when you have kids. Things get broken. And all I have left are memories. Oh and kids. The kids are what matter anyway, right??? But my poor beautiful bird lamp!!!!!!!

 

You don’t go unnoticed

Our church is renovating a building. It’s a very exciting time for our church family! Our church is saving money by having our peeps lend a helping hand to get stuff done. It’s a wonderful opportunity of service and sacrifice.

My awesome husband has been spending as much time as possible there helping do whatever needs to be done. It’s great! I mentioned to him the other day how it kind of stinks that I never really get to do any of the “fun and exciting” stuff because I’m at home doing the “necessary and ordinary” stuff. Finding a babysitter and then shelling out the cold hard cash isn’t easy or doable most of the time just so I can partake and feel like I’ve done something to help.

BUT, since my husband is so awesome and wise, he said the exact words I needed to hear…that my time at home doing the “necessary and ordinary” was more important than doing the “fun and exciting” stuff (and that stuff is important too, so don’t get me wrong).

I’m sure I’m not alone in this longing to go and do the things that I see all over instagram or Facebook but can’t because of little people needing to be watched and cared for.

So (and it’s a big SO) if you are a mama out there wishing she could do more than just the “necessary and ordinary” stuff, know that it’s more important to be home doing the nitty gritty every day stuff than it is helping out with a new building (you can insert just about anything in its place). Because I will stand by this: raising children has more eternal value (and is seen by our Heavenly Father as something far more valuable and of great importance) than any building a church can build. Buildings will fade and need repair but children are a one shot deal.

You may never be on a recap video or in a picture montage of the people who helped make the building what it is today BUT I see you when I see your husband’s picture. I see your hard and tiresome work alone so he can help. I see you doing something more amazing than painting walls or hanging lights. I see your sacrifice of his help at home.

So thank you workers for all you have done and thank you mamas for all you are doing.

REAL mom Wednesday

You know you are a REAL mom when…

*You finally start feeling live you’ve got your groove back.

Whether it’s after a baby or when your kids go to school or you are finally able to sit upright while being pregnant, it feels good to feel normal. And today was the day! After months of hiring a babysitter so I could go to the store alone (the thought of hauling extra bodies while nauseated sounded like torture) and barely being able to just do the minimal housework required to keep up with six kids, I am feeling back to normal. Woohoo! I assembled a changing table for church then loaded up all the kids and took them for an hour long school shopping session and ran errands and then came home and cleaned. Seriously guys. This is the woman I am use to. Not the couch loving, show watching, blob I am during those weeks of morning sickness. Hooray!!!!!!

These past few months

I said there was a reason for my departure from this neck of the woods and if you follow me on instagram then you know the surprise (and subsequently the reason for me being silent).

If you can’t guess from this photo, I’ll just tell you. I am pregnant! Woot! We are expecting our seventh child and I just couldn’t muster up the strength to get on the computer because I was using all my energy not to puke on my kids (and remember to feed them and take them to swim lessons and wash their mounds of laundry). It was touch and go during the first trimester but we made it!

Because I know you are wondering – baby (we are positive there is only one in there) is due middle of January. So I have an excuse to gain plenty of weight during the holidays.

I also have been asked if this is a “surprise” baby (because after six kids, people are positive you would never want more). I’m not sure how to answer that. It’s a surprise because we never set out to have another but we never prevented anything and knew it was a possibility. It is not like we did anything to try and permanently stop having children either and were in utter shock or disbelief when we found out we were expecting. Like most of our kids, we felt that God could choose to give us one more or not and He did. And we are so glad that He did!

Anyway, I am happy to be back to the land of the living!