The Williams Six

In 22 minutes, my 31 day writing challenge ends. I've already written a recap of what it has meant to me , but to finish up, I just want to thank everyone who has followed along. While it probably doesn't seem like it to anyone else, it took a lot for me to write for 31 days straight.  I enjoy writing, but it does not come naturally.  It was a worthwhile journey to really explore some topics that have been on my mind for awhile. But the absolute BEST part of this whole thing (once again, I act like I am Michael Jordan retiring from basketball.....this is just not even this serious) is interacting with you.  I realllllly appreciate the comments, feedback, camaraderie, and shares/retweets.  It has meant SO much to me. Something I already knew but has majorly been confirmed through this challenge is that I prefer life to take place in my everyday context.  Sitting at my computer to write was a good discipline for me, but it definitely did not bring me the same joy as the i

I have to finish this month of blogging strong. I have seven minutes until the day is over. It's been a really fun day. My dad had an eye surgery today in Miami (they're a renowned eye surgeon place, so he flew down here for it), so I met my mom in Fort Lauderdale for the day to shop and hang out. Since I am in a minimizing mode, I didn't get as much as usual (I am sure my mom's credit card was thankful, haha)....and having all four kids doesn't make for fun shopping (though they did great). Caleb asked for something, and I said no.  My mom said, "Caleb, I will get it for you." To which he replied, "Mimi always saves me." Aren't grandparents the best????? Both Brett's parents and my parents are just the greatest.  My kids are so fortunate to have two awesome set of grandparents (and two sets of great grandparents, on Brett's side).  Our parents have been married 35 and 39 years.  I can't even explain how grateful I am

The 31 Day blogging challenge ends in two days. The next two days are particularly busy for me.  So, while I will still post (I am determined to complete this challenge), it might be quick. This challenge has been very different than I imagined. I've never written for 31 straight days.  My previous record was probably more like 2 days, so it was much more challenging than I anticipated. I originally planned to write mostly informational posts (like the ones about homeschooling , traditions , etc.).  When I first started reading blogs, I was a newlywed and then shortly thereafter, pregnant with my first child.  I really had no idea how to keep a home or raise children.  I gleaned SO MUCH wisdom and ideas from blogs....without them, I think my life would be really different.  The writers of those blogs fueled the passion I had for creating a home I love. I married young and had children quick, so a lot of my friends are just starting their families.  I planned to use these 31

Your son asked to play Legos with you, but you were too tired and watched an episode of Modern Family instead. You said that you would get back to exercising this week.  But you obviously haven't.  Just ask your love handles. You bought tons of fruits and vegetables this week, but you made mac n cheese for dinner instead.  Have you read the research on processed foods? You keep meaning to call the babysitter to schedule a date with your husband, but the weeks keep slipping by.  When is the last time you had a quality conversation? You are not enough.   You hogged the conversation at the playdate today.  You didn't give anyone else a chance to talk. You laughed too loudly at an inappropriate time.  Everyone noticed. You are too much. I can't be the only woman with this dialogue playing on loop in my head. Over and over and over and over. Being a woman in 2014 is not easy. We are too much.  We are not enough. We need to lose weight.  But still be happy

My best friend's very close friend lost her battle to cancer today. She is healed and in the sweet presence of Jesus. But she leaves behind her husband and four precious little boys.  It makes no sense. My close friend's best friend lost her 2-year old baby girl to leukemia today.  Her sweet red headed baby girl.  A pain too deep to comprehend. The world is unfair. My heart hurts so badly. I cannot process such profound loss. There are more questions than answers. I cannot fathom the grief of those closest to them. This I know: God is still good. He is faithful. And life is just really hard sometimes.

Friends keep me sane. On this incredibly challenging  and crazy fun journey of life, friends are just the best. Throughout all of the different places I've lived and in all my different seasons of life, I've been fortunate to have so many great friends. One of the perks of getting older is that most of my closest friends I've known for over a decade.  And there is just nothing greater than those who know the real you.....the good, bad, and ugly.  Any friend that endured through my four pregnancies deserves all of the treasures because those were some rough years ifyouknowwhatimean.  Let's just say I don't do pregnancy well. There are so many friends I could write about.... - my precious childhood friends, who made growing up the best - my best friends from college, with whom I spent countless hours dreaming about our futures and boys - my friends from Kanakuk, who are some of my most treasured peeps (and where I met my mentor and one of my most favorite fri

You know how when something comes naturally to you, you think everyone is good at it?? Or is that just me?? I have been organized since I was born, I am pretty sure. I cannot remember a time when I didn't love order, tidiness, and cute organizers. I've literally owned (and actually used) a day planner since elementary school. In college, I cleaned out and washed my car every week.  It didn't even need it, but I just love(d) a clean car. My dad joked about this recently when he saw my car and said, "wow, you've really let yourself go."  Because he knows who I once was. Four kids has relaxed me a ton.  My house definitely isn't as tidy as I would prefer.  If you came over in the middle of the day, you would never guess I love a clean home.  I actually don't mind my kids and their friends destroying my house.  Messy is more fun, but I still get annoyed when it's too unkempt for too long. Even though my house is often in disarray, I sti

As I've continually bragged about, I went to see The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last week.  I've been a fan since I was a kid (when it was Jay Leno), so seeing it live was beyond cool for me.  I liked Jay, but I loooooooove Jimmy. At the risk of sounding dramatic (when do I not?), it was a really sacred moment for me. The Tonight Show has been a part of my life for so long, and seeing it in real time was just awesome. I loved it for a million reasons, but one of my favorite parts about it was there were absolutely no cell phones allowed.  This is for obvious reasons.  It would hugely interfere with taping. While I enjoy what I can access from my phone, I also can easily live without it.  I keep it on silent most days and sometimes intentionally leave it at home when I go out with my kids. Yet I find that I still feel the need to photograph every happening in my life. Not being able to photograph or video any happenings of The Tonight Show enabled me to fully soak

Pumpkin patches in Florida are humorous to me.  They're mostly in parking lots, without the attempt to make it look patchy.  I grew up in Missouri, and the Midwest knows how to do Fall.  The weather is perfect.  The pumpkin patches are amazing. Fall is my most favorite time of the year, but it just doesn't have the same feel in FL. We went to the pumpkin patch this week.  I think we were all still in trip recovery mode (my kids were at their grandparents while I was in NYC), because everyone was super grumpy and uncooperative. I tried to get some pictures.  Somewhat of a fail. Levi was there, just not cooperating. Playing games Carving pumpkins at home.  I did not help them at all, which horrified Brett when he came home and they were all using knives.  But whatevs. I love South Florida, but I definitely miss the Fall in MO.

During my summer of weird , one thing I realized is that I hadn't had a break from my kids in a realllllly long time.  In June 2013, we opened a business , and it has been AWESOME but a TON of work.  My portion of the business work is small, but my home responsibilities increased significantly because of Brett's workload.  He works 6 days a week, so it has left little time for a break (for either of us). About late August, I was just extremely burned out.  I 100% love our business venture (as does Brett), so I wasn't mad, frustrated, or wishing things were any different.....I was just tired. I called my sister to ask if I could come visit her for a weekend (I was hoping it would be THAT weekend, but tickets were too expensive).  I love my sister, and I love New York City (where she lives).....so I knew it would be super fun.  When I called her, she said, "I was just going to call you to ask if you could come up and help me organize my apartment a little."  (Or

As I am closing the Having Babies chapter of my life, many of my childhood friends are just beginning their parenting journey.  While I think there is nothing more precious on the planet than their little baby bumps, newborn pics, and monthly infant updates...I also know there is nothing harder than that first year. Behind the sweet smiles and glassy, sleep-deprived eyes, in the depths of their souls, lies the question, " Am I doing ok at this parenting gig? " In a culture obsessed with grades, performance reviews, and feedback, it's tough to adapt to a role with none of the above.  No one is rating the quality of your diaper changes (approximately 15,000 diapers later, I would assume I'm a perfect 10 by now).  No one is thanking you for waking up 42 times a night.  There are no talks around the water cooler (is that still a thing?  I've never actually had a career) about how great you're performing in your new endeavor. The hardest part is that there

This pas summer was.....weird. I can't really explain it, but I had a very weird summer (from an emotional/mental standpoint).  I just wasn't myself and felt down a lot.  This is unusual for me, but I could tell there was something good happening on the inside.  By good, I knew it would turn out for good.  But it felt weird at the time.  I was overly emotional and just sort of blah. Fortunately, I finally came out of the funk about a month ago.  I still look and seem the same from the outside, but I can tell I am different.  If that makes sense. One of the things I did during that time was purge a lot of the excess stuff in my home.  Not to be overly dramatic, but as my insides were getting some pruning, I felt it necessary to prune my environment, as well. It is well documented on social media that I love to clean and organize.  So at the start of this purging time, I did not really have that much extra stuff.  I had given away everything we don't really use (or use

I love photography (but have no training whatsoever). I am the third child and have about 17 pictures from my childhood. Because I love pictures (I always have....beginning in middle school, I carried a camera in my purse everyday) and I am overcompensating for the lack of pictures (in fairness, my parents aren't photo people; my oldest brother probably has 26 photos total), I am overly obsessive about my photos. This month of consistent blogging has certainly given you a glimpse into my neurosis, and this will certainly confirm my issues. To prove my point, I have monthly photos from each of my four children's first years of life.  NO ONE keeps up with those past 2 children.  Except me.  And maybe, like, six other moms. Once my kids turn one year old, I take yearly photo shoots (obviously with tons of everyday pics throughout the year).  I used to get these "professionally" taken [by a 16 year old] at JC Penney's until one year Brett's aunt Judy said

As I have already written, I am a strong advocate of family traditions. The sense of identity it gives a family is immeasurable.   Traditions can change and adapt throughout the years, but just doing fun things on a consistent basis is what's important.   If you're in a place of wanting to start family traditions of your own, I will give some ideas of what we do.....just to get you thinking..... - We celebrate half birthdays.  Nothing extravagant....usually just some cupcakes and the acknowledgement of it.  I would love to go all out for half birthdays (because I think they're so fun), but the way they fall in the year (one close to Christmas and two close to two real birthdays)....we keep it simple.   - Pizza and movie night on Friday.  Brett coaches high school football, so this one isn't consistent.  But we try to do it as often as we can.  Pizza is an easy (and cheaper) way to feed my crew.  I don't actually watch the movie because I don't li

My sweet friend, Kelley, has a little boy Caleb (who is beyond cute). This is his first year he will know what's going on during Christmas, so she is interested in  starting new traditions with her family. Traditions are SO important to family life.  They create unity in a family, and as my kids grow up, I want them to long for home during the holidays because of the memories that were created during their childhood. While I definitely want my kids to grow up into responsible and "cut the apron strings" at the appropriate time, I want my kids to love coming home....and traditions are a great way to help that happen. Leading up to Christmas...... - I buy chocolate Advent calendars for each of my kids.  They get a piece per day.  This is very effortless, but they love it. - I do the Elf on a Shelf (though I started doing it when the Happy Home Fairy shared about it at a mom's group, before it got popular...so my elf is not the elf they sell....not that it mat

I 100% do not think homeschooling is the right choice for everyone. While I love that our family has the privilege of teaching our children at home, I know it is not the only way (nor necessarily the best way).  I obviously think it's best for MY family (which is why I choose to do it), but I know it's not best for everyone.  I went to public school from Kindergarten through college and had a wonderful experience.  I had amazing teachers, awesome friends, and a great education.  I am definitely not anti-school. Homeschoolers, typically, have a reputation for being weird (a generalization not that far off, if I am being honest....there are LOTS of not weird homeschoolers, though), so I usually only tell people I homeschool if they ask. When people find out I homeschool, a typical response is, "Oh, I could never do that." Though I am not trying to make any homeschool converts, if you're thinking about homeschooling but unsure if you can do it, let me reassure

Tonight, I am departing for my trip to NYC!!!  I am soooooo excited to visit my sister and enjoy our time together in the greatest city in the world.  I am looking forward to some kid-free time. I love New York City.  The feel of the city energizes me.  I love the food.  The quirky people.  I love it all. I am super excited to be going to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.  I am a HUGE fan, so this is like winning the lottery.  I've even had 2-3 dreams where Jimmy and I are friends....that's how excited I am. If I had to list other NYC things I would love to experience (that are so far fetched), these would top the list: - see Brandon taking pictures of HONY - take a behind the scenes tour of The Tonight Show - see a movie being filmed - land a ride in the Cash Cab (my sister would SO win this) - see someone famous, in a fun context One time, my mom was in NYC.  Dick Clark ran into her (on accident).  She was pregnant, at the time.  He put his hands on her bel

Chloe turned 7 last month , and I finally got her updated pictures.  She is so beautiful.  And her heart is even more precious. Chloe being her silly self...... What boys do while the girls take photos :)

Electronic devices are a part of our lives, whether you like it or not.  As a parent, it is very important to manage them within your family. I actually like electronics, so we are pretty lax on our use of them.  We have firm-ish rules with them, but we stay flexible. Every morning, my kids watch a cartoon (or recently, The Cosby Show).  I am not a morning person, so this gives me time to wake up. Through the years, we've had different rules for electronics (hand helds and computer), but where we've landed (for now, at least) is letting our kids play unlimited electronics after school on Friday. Sometimes, they can play on Saturdays, if our Friday was busy.  Or if we have friends over and want to have adult time.  Friends are important to us, so we are willing to sacrifice ideals for relationships. There have been seasons of life where we allowed one hour a day.  But the unlimited Friday electronics day is so much easier to manage.  It builds anticipation throughout t

(Warning: this is more than you would ever want to know about the way I prepare for a trip)   I am traveling to visit my older sister in New York City this weekend.  While I am gone, my kids are going to their grandparents.  Brett will stay home and work.   Traveling with a family of six (well, five, this time) takes a lot of preparation.  Some is necessary, some is because I am neurotic.  This will actually be an easy trip on my kids end, because they aren't doing anything requiring special clothes or shoes.  Trips that include weddings, parties, etc are much more stressful....because my two boys who can talk only ever wear "sports clothes" (as Luke calls them)...they don't have much dress clothes.  This visit is just for fun, so it's easier to pack.   While I usually wait until the last minute to pack suitcases, this time, I packed their suitcase after I finished laundry on Sunday.  This is something I will definitely do again because I am complet

I never expected my blog about my  four c-sections  would garner as much feedback as it did.  When I blog, I write what I feel needs to be said.  If one person breathes a little easier that day because of something I write, that is enough for me.  I so appreciated the sweet feedback from you all.  And I am so grateful for those mamas working through c-section shame to feel validated in their decision.  I cherish your comments, so thank you for interacting with me. As I read through Facebook comments and private messages, a desire of my heart was rekindled.  It's an issue that's been burning in my soul for years but I haven't the courage to address.  But it's time. It's time to declare war on the mommy wars . But first, I must disclaim this: I am most guilty of all.  I have judged.  I have criticized.  I have questioned others' decisions. The reason I hesitated to address the mommy wars is for fear that those who know me best would know my hypocrisy. M