Sometimes I give myself High-5s

Yesterday, I broke it down with 10 confessions of a SAHM.

It was real.

A lot of people related.

And many laughed.

Laughter is good, and kind of the point.

Sometimes we are gross around here. And sometimes the struggle is real. Like, really real.

But, also, sometimes I'm like, 'Hey, I'm not totally screwing this up'.

So, as a companion to yesterday, I'm going to give you a list of ten moments I high-five myself for in this world of SAHMommying. I bet some of you can give yourselves big ol' high fives for this stuff too.

one. 

We pray. Everyday with our kids.

Sometimes it's a cluster.  But every night we gather together and our prayer looks like this.

We pray the 'Angel of God'

And then, just like my childhood say...

"I love you baby Jesus, Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, all you Holy Angels and Saints, watch me while I sleep"

"God bless mommy, daddy, aaron, joseph, john paul, malia paul, all my aunts and uncles, all my cousins, and everybody in the whole wide world"

We don't miss a night. And it's good, and I am glad it's part of our routine.

HIGH-FIVE

two.

Every night, after I turn off the ipad (so real bedtime) I go into the boy's room and each of them answers the following questions...

"what was the best part of your day?"

"what was the hardest part of your day"

John Paul, every night mumbles something about McDonalds for both questions, but the big boys answer. And it's a nice way to end the day.

HIGH-FIVE

three.

Since Malia Paul joined our family, I make my bed every day.  It makes a difference in my mental sanity. And I am proud that I have gone eight months strong making my bed.  It's the little things people.

HIGH-FIVE

four.

We clean and vacuum our playroom once a month. 

It used to be every six months.

I've come a long way.

HIGH-FIVE

five.

By 10:00 am most days, including on the weekends, the entire family is dressed, all the way down to socks. Now, you might not be impressed with this, but if you've ever had 4 kids in 5.5 years... you know what a huge accomplishment that is.

HIGH-FIVE

six.

I toy cleanse once a month.  I donate or chuck out broken ones.  Once a month might seem extreme to you, but it is necessary for my sanity. I think, for the first four years of my marriage, I couldn't get a handle on housework because we had way too much junk. I am in a constant process of making sure junk does not rule our lives.

HIGH-FIVE

seven.

I have blogged THREE TIMES this week. And I have a fourth one planned.

HIGH-FIVE

eight.

My children love each other, a lot. They give each other hugs and kisses. They say sorry when they've done something wrong.

Two nights ago, little Aaron asked to sleep in Joey's bed.

Around 3:30 am, Joey couldn't find his blanket.

He got up and turned on the light and started looking for the blanket.

Aaron got up too.

Aaron told him to turn off the light, but not before he helped him find his blanket.

They are taking care of one another. 

It's a great comfort to my mom's heart.

HIGH-FIVE

nine.

We totaled one car and one van in April.

It was stressful.

We bought two 'new to us' vans without a shred of debt.

It's because we've learned to manage our money and adult-well when it comes to finances.

That was a huge paradigm shift for me- to spend only what I have. 

We live within our means, and that's awesome.

HIGH-FIVE

ten.

Three days ago Aaron was mowing the lawn.  Lil' A and Joey trailed behind him with their lawn mowers, and then rode their bikes in the front of the house while he finished up. I was inside with John Paul, who is not afraid of anything, with the exception of lawn-mowers. We were watching Aaron through the window with Malia on my lap. I thought to myself, 'my gosh, I am living the dream, I am really and truly living everything I've ever wanted'.

HIGH-FREAKING-FIVE