AHHHHH!!!

Okay, now that I have calmed down, I will share with you this little trial I experienced.
The past few months we have been putting all the markers up, high. Even the Crayola ones. Delta and Emma have taken to coloring on everything. The walls, floors, all papers, even their clothes.
Well, with Christmas, the kids have been coloring, wrapping, making, and writing on tags. This was what happened. Jayden was using the permanent markers to draw a picture.
Then he used the markers to make the tag. The rest of us were of course busy with our own projects. The markers didn't get put away.
In walk Delta and Emma.
"Look there! It's an orange marker. Let's do our own project. Hmmmm..... What should we write on? Our hands! Okay, now what? Our stomachs! Now what? Our shirts! Look how bright it looks on our white shirts. So pretty. Look Daddy. See our pretty shirts!"
Well, luckily it came off of their skin easily.
So, how do you get permanent marker off of white shirts? I did some google searching.
Here is what we tried:
WD40. We sprayed on of the shirts with WD40. The other we sprayed with Zout pre-treat stuff. Then we soaked them over night in the washer with laundry soap and an additive.
Here is the result:



I was amazed!! And happy.
I had worried about getting them white shirts anyway. I will think twice as long next time. But I love the saying on them. So what do you do?!? Well, first of all, keep an eye on the markers. Second, don't freak out like I did. Then grab the WD40, spray it on the marker, then wash (maybe even soak over night). And lo and behold, it will come out. Now to go do the other shirt. Pin It

So I am going to take a while to write to write this post, as there are so many thoughts and feelings I am dealing with that go along with it. Plus I also want to be getting the experiences down that have occurred over the past few months. So, where to begin...
Well, I guess that I need to start with what happened 8 and a half years ago. I use to be married to someone else. Someone who has some of the same qualities as Tony does. Someone who was kind to me and good to our children. Someone who didn't share my same religious views, but that is another story for another time.
He came home one night and just didn't seem the same. I knew something was up, but put my rose colored glasses back on and tried my best to get on with things. Then after being like this for a week, he dropped the bomb. He didn't want to be married any more. He didn't see himself almost 30 and married with kids. He wanted his freedom back and the pressure gone. We lived in a small, predominately LDS community. He had joined the church 6 month prior, thinking that it would help his feelings on the matter. But it hadn't been in his heart.
Jump forward one year when I married Tony, the love of my life, my knight in shining armor. Someone who would help me move through this life and into the eternities. We moved 12 hours away from where the oldest three were born. We added the remaining 4 in the next 6 years.
Well, about 2 years ago, the kids came home after spending the summer with their dad having a different perspective on things and a new way of expressing themselves. It wasn't what I would call uplifting. In fact the opposite. Emo just focuses on the negative in life and how horrible things are. The started wearing dark clothes and makeup. Listening to darker music. Reading darker books. I didn't know what to do. After counseling with our bishop, he said that we should keep an eye on things, especially negative actions that go with this lifestyle, such as cutting. Then he said to love them. That was easy. But the hard part has been watching them make some of the choices I didn't agree with.
The music I mainly like. It is kind of like the music I listened to in high school. But some of it wasn't. I didn't want it in my house. I wanted to ban it. But after praying about it, I felt that they could decide what they listened to, but I got to control what the rest of the family listened to. This translated into "you can listen to what you wantif it's in your ear, but if I hear something I don't approve of, I will ask you to turn it off."
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Amazed

I have been amazed at how mature Ari has been. While the teenage years (he's 11 and a half) bring selfishness, he has been thinking of his siblings and what they would love for Christmas. He talked about what to get Elyse for 3 weeks. Then he was so excited Christmas Eve about presents. Because he wanted to see how excited everyone would be to open what he got them. He told me, "I can't wait until tomorrow. You are going to love what I got you!"
Then he also wanted to get something for his friend. So after getting some gift cards, he used some of the money to buy a gift for him. Then couldn't wait to give it to him.
He has also been so loving and helpful with the twins. Holding Emma for over an hour when she woke up early from her nap. That way I could keep sewing. He will even play Barbies with them, and push them in their car. He'll make sure that they don't get picked on. He also gets them drink and snacks to help with their happiness level.
I am so grateful for him and hope that he continues to be this way, making sure that others are taken care of. Pin It

A Wonderful Christmas Season

I enjoyed watching the Christmas devotional tonight. The music was great as always. The talks were uplifting. The words from President Monson were great too. It amazed me that the words of our Bishop during tithing settlement were so close to his.
This year we decided to tone it down for Christmas. We feel that our children have so much. The house is also over flowing. So It was great to hear that we need to think about what we are spending our money on. And then how much is it needed. We have also been taking a bunch to DI. (I love DI. The dress that Delta wore today came from there. It still had the original tags on it!) The main expenditure is the plane ticket for Julia to come home for the holiday. We just don't need to go over board. It won't fit in the front room anyway. Can you imagine? 9 peoples presents in the front room?? It will be packed. Then where does it go after being opened?
I remember one mom who use to tell the kids that they needed to count the presents, and that is how many things they need to get rid of. Elyse has done great at this. She has sent more to DI than the rest of us, except Tony. (Yes, I did say Tony was the winner!) I am going through toys, and what hasn't been seen all year can go away. What have the kids outgrown? What do we not have room for? What clothes do we not fit in or wear? It needs to go away.
I want to get back to the fun Christmas things. Reading stories. Making goodies. Singing songs. Doing kind acts for others. We are decorating, but we just do a bit each day. And it is mainly the kids doing it. They love it, so why not? (We have lots of paper chains and pipe cleaner decorations.)
Tonight we made some goodies, and everyone helped. Delta and Emma got to add the chips to the cookie bars. Elyse made the fudge (her first time) with a little help. The rest of us made the 7 minute pile-ups. (graham cracker crust, coconut, choco chips, butterscotch chips, nuts, then pour sweetened condensed milk on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.) It was fun. Little stress. I loved it. I think the kids did too.
Then we read our Christmas story for the night. The Last Straw by Paula McDonald. Now we can start our yearly tradition of copying the McDonalds', and doing acts of kindness for each other. Pin It