It's a hard job but it's the best job

I've been feeling like a pretty rotten mom lately. Nothing from my old bag-o-tricks is working. My kids are fighting and screaming and being especially naughty, selfish, and disobedient. Grr. Our punishments, discipline and rewards just aren't cutting it. I had a major mommy meltdown last night. Sobbing and blubbering. It's so hard to be a parent. I was at my wits end last night and ready to apply for jobs in the morning. Maybe I'm not cut out for this stay at home mom thing, I thought. Maybe daycare can do a better job?! Yes, I was pretty pitiful.
But this morning I woke up determined. This is the only job I've ever wanted and I am good at it. Sometimes I yell too much and give in too easily but I can do better. I must do better. So first things first, no yelling! From anyone. Mama and daddy have to be calm and talk the littles through it all. No yelling anymore. Today I haven't raised my voice once and it feels so so so good. I don't feel like a meany.
This is not to say that the children have been angels. They have not. Which brings me to my next change. Be consistent. Always. No matter what. Sometimes when the offense is small and no one's bleeding I skip the time out. No more. My kids have made lots of trips to the stairs. They get a warning, of course. They no the rules. I remind them of the rules. If they break them again... Stairs.
We used to say/yell "go to the stairs!" but that always got us a "NO!!!!" in return. Frustrating, maddening and unnecessary. From now on we'll walk them to the stairs and then sit and work it out immediately. Ive made a lot of trips to the stairs today. A lot. But it's been totally worth it. I've handled everything right away and had a great chance to work out problems with each child the way they understand best.
It's only 12:30 and it's been a ton of work to discipline the 3 big kids all day but I feel like I can do it. I can be the mom I want to be and in a couple days/weeks my kids will get with the new routine.
I want to raise good, obedient, happy, giving children. I've been trying to explain how to live with a happy, giving, loving heart. To everyone. Not just mommy and daddy but everyone you meet. We're working on saying "yes, mommy" in a happy voice and leaving their super whiny voices behind. I remind them that when they ask me to fill their sippy cups, or fix a toy, or get them a snack I do not whine, cry or throw myself on the floor. I expect the same from my kiddos. I've said " remember your happy heart and voice when you talk to mommy" a lot.
So I think we're off to a good start and I feel good about being a mama again. I love my rascals.

6 months

Dear Collin,
Happy 1/2 birthday little man! How in the world have 6 months gone by?! This time last year I had morning sickness, just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, and completely exhausted. Today I am so blessed to have a happy, snuggly baby to hold. However, I am still completely exhausted. You are such a sweet, smiley baby. You are addicted to your mama. I cannot leave you with grandma or Phee Phee for very long before you are loudly requesting that I return. You are still wearing 6 month clothes but are starting fit in a few 6-9 month sleepers. You wear a size 3 diaper. You love your baby food. You've tried sweet potato, pumpkin, avocado, banana, corn, carrots, squash, spinach, apples and prunes. Spinach is your favorite. You are getting so good at using your arms to prop yourself up on your tummy. You try to roll onto your back as soon as I lay you down on your belly. You've recently found your voice. You love to talk and sing but you're so loud. You are a Rodriguez, after all. You live your jumperoo and bouncy chair. You are liking toys more and more and you're getting pretty good with your cute pudgy hands. You are still eating 6oz of formula every 4.5 hours. You are eating solids 1-2 a day and have tried a sippy cup a few times. You are sleeping in mamas bed most of the night but now sleep a good 7 hour stretch between feedings. Collin, you are such a sweet blessing. We all love you so much.

Baby food

I've decided to make all of Collin's food. Store bought baby food is expensive and kinda gross. I made some of Logan's food in the beginning but he moved to table foods really quickly. He had a full set of chompers by 9 months. I just didn't have the time or energy to do it for the twins. I was all about surviving their first year. But this time I have the time, the knowledge and the desire to do it all myself. I'll probably still use the store bought organic veggie jars when we travel since storing homemade baby food on the go seems daunting.
Last night was my third baby food cooking day. The first was just to get my feet wet. I made sweet potato, avocado and banana purées. Collin loved them. The next time I made a banana, sweet potato, pumpkin combo. Collin's fave so far. Last night was my biggest cooking day. I steamed corn, carrots, spinach and squash. I also stewed apples and prunes. Then I puréed everything separately and froze them in iced cube trays. Oh how i love my silicone ice cube trays! I spent about an hour cooking and have about a month of meals for him. I still need to make broccoli, green beans, peaches, tomatoes, quinoa and brown rice but I need to hit Trader Joes first. Auntie Amy was nice enough to let me borrow her baby food cook books and now I have lots of good/yummy ideas. I can't believe how big Collin is getting. Wasn't he born just yesterday? Isn't he still my tiny 7lb bundle?! Time is a meany.
In other news, Mama needs a new food processor. My blender is dumb and lazy and hard to clean. Maybe I'll get a shiny new food processor for Ell for his birthday? Just kidding. Kinda.

A trip to the movies

Today I took all 4 of my wonderful children to the movies, by myself. I am proud. It took some serious planning for me to ensure that I could manage without feeling completely overwhelmed. We saw The Lorax because it's Dr. Seuss' birthday and because it was the only kids' movie playing. I'm not a huge Seuss fan but the movie was cute. I made sure that I had a warm bottle all ready for Colly to drink as soon as we were settled in our seats. We usually smuggle our own snacks in to the theater but I actually shelled out the bazillion dollars it costs for 3 kids popcorn packs. Goodbye $15. I had Collin in the Moby, carried the popcorns in one hand, and had 2 booster seats in the other. I made Logan carry his own booster and the twins managed to carry the drinks without spilling. Once in the dark theater the twins, especially Natey, we're terrified. It took them a good 10-15 minutes before they could mellow out and enjoy themselves. When we sat down I fed Collin and he went right to sleep. About an hour into the movie Logan said he had to go potty. Translation- everyone has to go potty. Bummer. The bathroom is always chaotic but especially with a cute baby strapped to my front. We lost a paci in the toilet but otherwise we made it out fairly quickly and in time to see the final few minutes of the movie. After the movie we headed to the car. I got lots of "you sure have your hands full" and "wow, you're brave" and "are they twins?" and "are they all your's?" on the way to the car. It's annoying. I only have 4 kids not 14.
My kids love Target. Really love it. Every morning when I ask the twins "Good morning babies! What should we do today?!" Nathan always say "go to Target." Then he asks me if I'll buy him a toy. So after the movies we went to Target. I fully intended to buy stuff I didn't need but after loading the kids in the cart and wrapping Collin in the Moby and getting to the dollar spot, I realized my wallet was in the car. It was for the best. We went straight to the toy section and walked every aisle. My kids love this. After about an hour mama was tired and so we ended our day and headed home. Daddy got Panda Express for dinner. Yum.
I love my kids so much. It's hard having so many little ones but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are so sweet and even at their naughtiest, they are still the light of my life. I'm so blessed to be able to stay home with them and have special movie days and take trips to Target. I hope they enjoyed the day as much as I did.

Relaxing weekend

This weekend has been so nice. Restful, fun and productive. Saturday, we had a nice lazy day. The kids played with Legos and magnatiles. We read books and took a family nature walk. The kids love collecting treasures. Rocks, leaves, sticks, dirt, buttons, trash, etc. Collin rode in the jogging stroller without the infant seat.


He lasted about 10 minutes before he wanted out. We had a yummy dinner together, even Colly. The kids gobble up taco salad. Collin had a sweet potato-pumpkin-banana combo.
Today, I made blueberry pancakes and we watched Disney's Oceans. We went to church. The kids were happy to play with Margarita and even the band was on point. After church we ate lunch at Top Hat Burgers. Yum. It's fast becoming a tradition to eat there after church because it's so yummy. While the kids napped Ell and I folded a mountain of laundry. I love when Daddy is home even if it just for the mundane boring, everyday stuff. We soak up every minute because tomorrow it's back to the grind.

Kindergarten visit

We applied to 3 progressive education schools, The Open Classroom, Ventura Charter, and CAPE. It's so important to us that Logan is in a good school that will foster a lifetime love of learning. As kindergarten approaches the thought of sticking my little boy in a desk for 5 hours made me sad. Thankfully there are 3 schools in Ventura county who feel the same way. Learning is all about experiencing the world around you. Doing more and sitting less.
The application process has been tedious. Lots of tours, meetings and paperwork. The deal with these schools is that admission is 100% lottery based for incoming students. so we applied and waited. Mama is not patient so this was/is hard.
Two days ago, we got a call that Logan had received a spot at The Open Classroom in their lottery. Phew. I was worried we wouldn't get into any of the schools. So yesterday, Logan had his visit at the school to meet his potential teacher and classmates. Overall the visit went smoothly. Logan was glued to me for the first hour. He was so nervous.
He isn't sure he wants to leave the YMCA or not have his grandma as his teacher or have new friends. I'm not so sure either. I'm sad that my little boy is leaving the security and comfort of preschool and moving into the big, scary, impersonal public school system. I feel guilty that we cannot afford private school and more specifically Catholic school. My husband is my living proof that the public school system can be good. I have friends who are public school teachers and they are good, caring women. I pray logan gets teachers like that. Im scared of the many kids my baby boy will meet. I want him to make good, true, friends (with good manners and angelic behavior, pretty please!). I feel thankful that we have alternatives to traditional education available to our children. I also feel proud that my boy is growing up, that he's smart, and that he is good.
Anyway, back to the visit. After about an hour, Logan started to perk up. He enjoyed watching the kids. At center time he was put into a group and rotated through the 4 centers. He did great, as long as mommy was near. I was proud. He watercolored a tree. He heard a story about sharing written by a queen. He drew a robot and then wrote some words. He drew some fruits and vegetables and joined in on a discussion about nutrition. I couldn't help but think how teeny tiny he looked in comparison to the other kids. Logan is a dinkbot but throw him in a k1 combo and he looks like a baby. Teacher Scott buddied him up with a kindergartener named Truman. Truman took Logan to play at recess after they had some popcorn for snack. Towards the end of the day, Logan was comfortable. He was laughing, joking and chatting with the other kids.


We're still waiting to hear from the other 2 schools on whether or not he got a spot. We'll make our decision once we hear.
It seems like just the other day we were anticipating preschool and now we're almost finished. I cannot believe it.

Welcome to God's family

Yesterday, Collin was baptized in our church. It was such a sweet service. Pastor Mary is so kind to our family and loves our children so much. The band learned and sang a cute song with Collin's name in it. Esther brought a cake and flowers for his special day. I'm so happy to be part of such a loving church family.
After church we went to Topper's Pizza for lunch with our families. It was so nice to relax and enjoy each other and eat yummy pizza too. It was truly a beautiful and special day.
Collin,
I'm so proud of you. Congratulations on your baptism. You were such a good boy during the service. So smiley and you wanted to snuggle mama and hold my hair. Collin, I hope that you always know how much God loves you. I pray that you love God and feel blessed and thankful for the life he has given you. Always remember that God made you special and perfect. I love you, Colly boy.