My thoughts on GOMI

I trolled GOMI for the first time last night. I have to admit it was surprising. There are people talking about me on the internet. I suppose I always assumed that if you read this blog or if you follow me on IG you are a friend. I honestly didn't presume people followed me and went somewhere else with the info they collected and bagged on me or my kids. It's bizarre and makes me suddenly question who is friend or foe. It feels pretty gross.

The basics were: I am sad, I am clearly overwhelmed, my house is gross, my kids are "bedraggled" and overlooked, I'm doing some sponsored posts now so I'm sure to get fake any second and I'm dumb, etc. OH and Kirby is hot. HASHTAG TRUTH, BITCHES!! The thing is, for the most part, it was all so wrong. I showed Kirby and he busted up laughing at what had been said. It can be funny to us because it isn't a reflection of our lives. Yes, my kids are scraggly little monkeys, but I like them that way. I let them dress themselves as soon as they can get dressed but that's the way I want it. I want them to be kids as long as they can be. I want them to not care about what they look like to the world as long as they get to. If they spend half the day in a tree and show up for dinner with sticks on their hair and dirt under their nails, I think that's good. It won't always be that way. They slowly grow into their self-awareness and they will make adjustments. And I'll support them as they come to it. Hero brushes her hair twice a day, Mary still shrieks when I untangle her knots. It's ok though. They are cool, thoughtful people and the universe is lucky to have them. If you met them, you would know.

And we are happy. Happier, in fact, than when we just had one kid. It seems most of the craziness of life gets attributed to having many young kids. But the truth is life was way harder, and I was much more overwhelmed with one. I didn't know what I was doing. I felt alone. I have learned to laugh about life as a mother of 6. I have learned to roll with punches. I have learned to hire a babysitter and go on dates with Kirby and not rapid fire text all night to see if everyone is ok. I have learned to chuckle at my kids and not have conniption fits when they do normal kid stuff. I am very much not alone. I have met some of my best friends in the past 8 years and they are all around me. I am a happier woman now.

The thing is you could run into us on an off day in Trader Joe's and think we are insane. In fact, I'm sure there is always someone that does. Maybe they go home and talk to their friends about this crazy exhausted mom they saw with her "feral hipster children" (I liked that, actually) and they'd probably be right. Maybe it was a shitty day. We all have them, you know? But it wouldn't reflect the whole of our lives or our home. It would just be a window. Kinda like this blog. It's just a window.

I actually thought one commenter in particular was really funny. She is quick and witty. She says she lives near me, too. Maybe we will run into each other someday. It would be awkward but also kind of awesome. Maybe she would realize my eyebrows are terribly unkempt, but my six kids didn't do that to me. I'm didn't pluck them then and I don't pluck them now.

Anyway, I'm ok with it. You can keep on, GOMI. I'm not going to tell you you're a meanie and you suck. Maybe I'll troll from time to time, maybe I won't. But we are ok over here, despite the dirty baseboards and my messy desk. Tonight I'm gonna put my feet up with my babe of a husband and we are gonna laugh about our day and I'll tell him weird stuff the kids did and we will go to bed happy. Even if there are dishes in the sink. It's just life, homie. It's not that scary.

Boom chicka bow wow

I felt that title appropriate given the note we ended on last post. (smirky face)

I have a little story for you. Once upon a time there was a pregnant girl named myself, who would go to the grocery store at night to buy snacks that she could devour after her children had gone to bed. And these snacks were mostly always Twix or BOOMCHICKAPOP popcorn. See even though she was eating crap she still was kinda a label/health snob (except for the Twix part) and she was impressed with BOOMCHICKAPOP bc they were non-GMO and they used real-life ingredients and they were audacious enough to mix flavors like Caramel and Cheddar and they had good branding, because she was superficial like that. And she loves this zany popcorn. She felt as if it were even good for her. In fact, she still does. Who knows if that's true. One time, on her very pregnant way to Las Vegas with her husband, she ate an entire bag of Caramel & Cheddar all by herself. She was not sorry.

And this is why I actually *love* sponsored posts. I'm sure they are you're favorite, too (WINKY WINK WINK). I love them because I've solemnly sworn to be honest with what I blog about. And I've turned down a good deal of stuff that would honestly just make ZERO sense for me to write about because I don't want this blog to be dumb. But if you wanna come at me with some bomb ass popcorn and give it to me for free and ask if I want to write about it you better know I will. Because maybe you don't even know about this bomb ass popcorn. And I want you to know, my friend. Someday you might be large and pregnant, scarfing down a whole bag of BOOMCHICKAPOP on the way to Vegas. And I'll want you to think of me in that moment. Promise me you will.

The nice thing about this post is it isn't just free shizzle for me and a lame post for you, it's free shizzle for BOTH of us! BOOMCHICKAPOP (IT'S ALWAYS CAPITALIZED THAT'S JUST HOW IT IS) is giving away a Halloween kit ("everything" you need for Halloween? Not sure if this counts for families with 67 thousand children but you can try!) free BOOMCHICKAPOP and a $50 Target gift card which you know you want and need. Don't front. All you've got to do is share the hashie #bringtheboom on your social media outlet of choice. #bringtheboom #bringtheboom #bringtheboom easy.

And now for photos of my kids devouring my blessed secret snacks bc photos of me eating popcorn would be weird AF. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

*****into it*****

Linkovich Chomofsky

Heyyyyyyyyyy.

What's up.

My life feels very 50 mil parts right now and so my blogspirations feel very 50 million parts, too. I'm teaching both the girls (one of which "quit" school today, so...). I am semi-parenting Clem and Peter (Daniel Tiger does the other portion, just like at Jenna's house.) Speaking of Jenna, did you see Prim's birthday video she made? I only wish I had the desire to devote time to making sweet videos my whole family will cherish forever. Instead I devote time to thrifting. How many times can I beat a dead horse? A lot.

I'm not sorry.

Since you were all sooooooooo interested in my secret coffee table desires, I'm gonna just put it out there and assume you all want to know about my secret mirror desires so, maybe I present to youuuuuu....

****this****

Isn't it so pretty? I've been scoping it for a year now. And I'm still scopin'.

I really like all your breakfast ideas! So thanks for that. I really like all your comments always. The ones re: my mom were especially beautiful. The emails, too. It made me realize how much we all really suffer in this world, and how much strength and bravery come out of these circumstances. You all kinda blow me away and I'm inspired by you.

(are we all crying yet?)

I know I gave you the rundown of all my favorite school things but it was before I dusted off The Story of the World and popped it in our car to listen to while we drive to and fro. And I knoooowwww everyone already said they love it and it is great but it turns out that's TRUE. Verified by yours truly. The kids are totally into it, I am totally into it, and we are collectively learning about a billion new things. I feel like if we listened to it on repeat forever we would be expert world historians (cliff notes version). I also adore the narrator. He reminds me of the guy that narrated those cool 60's Disney nature documentaries.

Last week I decided to make ourselves a little family schedule. Something to keep me motivated and the kids motivated and a way to answer the "cannnnn weee dooo _____  (watch a movie, bake destroy the kitchen and pantry, etc) question." I figure if there are certain times for things not only would we get all the stuff done, but the kids can look at the sched and gain a little understanding of where we are at in the day. Well, today is our first implementation of "DO SOMETHING QUIET AND RESTFUL BETWEEN 1-2" and Johnny just saddled up to me like this...

And then Clemmy was processed into my room under a shower of rose petals...

And then I found Johnny in the sink scrubbing his legs with a nail brush so...

IT'S OBVIOUSLY GOING GREAT.

I watched this today and loved it. Kids know how awesome life is. We could all learn a thing or two from them.

I feel like fall always calls for boots and sneaks. I've been in want of these Sam Edelman booties since the dawn of time (in Putty, mind you.) Is this year the year??

And sneaks. I love the Brooks Vanguard but waffled too long last spring when Anthro had the Peach colored ones and now they are no where to be found (whyyyyyyyy?!). And there are just no color combos quite as cute rn! These are realllllllly bomb but we all know I will be spending $120 on sneakers approx never. I used to have good old Nike Air Force 1's back in my pop group days. Maybe I return to my white-chick-trying-to-be-a-smidgen-gangster old ways.

Ah, Blythe, always so complex and meaningful.

I try, I really do.

In other news, I have never read this but everyone awesome tells me I must. and so I must, right? Is now the time? Seems perfect for longer fall days at a crisp 82 degrees.

In other news again, I have been semi-faithfully exercising and I've been loving this 30 day yoga challenge by rec of a fellow Huset Fitnesser. I did the first video after a looong day and my back felt tight and awful. After the 30ish minutes it took to complete the first session I felt incredible. I'm a believer, Adriene! Take me where you will!

And in the most other news of all with sprinkle of tmi, I am back in the fertility business after a whopping 3 months and 2 days post-Joe. And I'm in the market for some sort of NFP device to help me/tell me what to do/require the least amount of effort on my part/lead me to purchase the least amount of these. I have some friends that use Lady-Comp and some that use the Clearblue Fertility Monitor and I've been wondering about this Ovulation Microscope. But I want to hear from ((((you))). Divulge all your secrets to my com box. Let's just get all the embarrassing stuff out of the way now MUCUS CERVIX CONSISTENCY CHECKING EGGWHITES BLAH BLAH.

We are women, hear us roar.

(roar)

Secret

Remember how I told you I had a secret?

Well, if you follow me on IG then you know and it's not a secret anymore BUT maybe for 3 of you it is so....

MY FRIEND AND I OPENED A VINTAGE SHOP ON IG.

Are you shocked?
I'll bet.

Because the thing is I already spent a lot of time either hunting for treasure in antique shops or thrift stores. And because I actually can't fill my 1,377 sq ft house up with any more things. And because not everyone likes to pick through racks and racks of junk to find the good stuff.

So, we went ahead and did that for you. And we kept the good stuff.

I hope you really love it. I hope if you ever snag something from the shop it will brighten up your home and inspire you because that's basically the whole point.

One of the reasons I wanted to do this is because it's what I wish I could have! A consolidated location filled with amazing vintage pieces, on Instagram where I already am half of my life, without having to go somewhere or involve my children in any way!

I have a habit of buying cute, unique things like this or this or this off of cute, unique places like... Amazon... or Urban Outfitters. -__-. But what I really, really love are one-of-a-kind pieces that have a story and that I can't just find anywhere. Each item we list is something we totally fell in love with on our own, something well made, something we would buy, and something that will be painful to sell! But, I think that's the point. It should be good. It should be freaking G O O D.

So, if you haven't already, come follow us and let us give you something to swoon over! Our shop name is The Haul. And we promise to keep filling it with really beautiful things for you and your home. If you want to share an image of ours on your own Instagram, just tag us and use #sharethehaul and we will give you free shipping on your first order (even the big, heavy stuff!). Our first sale ends Saturday so vamos!

I'm having so much fun doing this. I hope you love it!

Tragedy by way of a lucite coffee table

Welp, the first week of school is behind us. It went really well and Johnny-in-school made alllllll the possible sense it could make while I was juggling math, phonics, spelling, reading, Latin, poetry, science and geography between the hours of 9 and noon. Most days I sent the littles off to play (and by play I mean watch Peppa Pig), got the girls started on their subjects, finished, looked up, realized it was 5 minutes to 12 and walked to go grab Johnny. Boom! It is really such a short window of time now that we are busy with school, too. He has a bud at now and they even have a secret handshake so everything is much, much smoother than it was then, and it's all working. So, bien.

Also, this week out of the clearest blue I started dreaming of having a lucite coffee table instead of the one we have now and spent a few days conspiring how to get my greedy little hands on one. I thought- I'll sell the one we have now and then save for a month or two? Maybe? We could go without food for a week, right? Maybe? For fun I decided to do a quick Craigslist check (expecting nothing) and do you know what I found??? THE CB2 ACRYLIC COFFEE TABLE. The very same one of my dreams. For $80. Posted under an hour ago. I emailed the seller immediately and said yes, sign me up and when can I come get it? I thought FOR SURE this was God basically giving me the coffee table of my (current) dreams bc why else would I randomly search CL and happen to find the very same exactly one well within my budget? Why else if not because God??

Well, don't get too excited because some other needy soul snatched that table right up from under me. Back to the plan A. I suppose. -___ - I can almost hear the voice of the soup nazi in Heaven saying no acrylic coffee table for you! (assuming there is a soup nazi in heaven)

If you follow me on my new most favorite form of social media (snapchat) you would know that I've been improving on waking up before my kids and failing at getting Johnny up in time for school. I'm assuming this is 98% because when you're up before all your kids and you have to wake one up it's like a direct assault on your precious all-alone time. I wait until the lasssst minute and then it's a major scramble. He usually always makes it within the "only 5 minutes late" window and it seems like class doesn't really get kicking until 10 after plus it's only Kindergarten so who cares plus his teacher doesn't seem to hate me... yet. High standards!! My middle name!

So for the time being, I continue to choose quiet over Johnny getting to school on time but I realize that's probably not the best way to parent and plan to get better at it soon. Breakfast has been a real pain! I am used to not-quick breakfasting and Johnny is getting the shortest end of the stick these days. On Friday I heard Kirby say "Take three bites of your oatmeal and then we gotta go." 3 bites doesn't equal adequate breakfast, right? Improve, self, improve! Anyway I need to get more creative for quick breakies! I feel like I'm in a serious egg/oats rotation rut. What are your go-to quick breakfasts? (Don't say cereal, I already know cereal!) In terms of turning to the internet for advice, I didn't think I was a "breakfast hack" kind of girl but I super loved this breakfast hack article (minus microwaved eggs... BECAUSE!). Baked eggs for breakfast sandies, omelet muffins and individual smoothie packs seem awesome for weekday breakfasts. DUH! So smart! Chocolate croissants, biscuit donuts and waffle-iron cinnamon rolls seem obviously the best for.... me (#husetfitness). Have you seen this list before?? Am I the only one that didn't know biscuit donuts existed?? Are there other breakfast hacks that might blow my mind? Is the clearest answer just wake your kid up early to eat breakfast, dummy!? OR is the answer make yourself cinnamon rolls in a waffle iron before everyone is awake and then make oatmeal 4 out of 5 days like usual?? 3 BITES!! Tell, do tell.

I also have a top top exciting secret for you...
...
.....
....

But that's all I am saying for now.

(not pregnant)

Have a happy and loooooong long weekend!

For the sake of continuity- here are some photos of my two Netflix-schooled kids having smoothies in the sunshine.

(And thank you ALL for you love and kindness and prayers. They really mean so, so much.)

Right where you are

Part 1.

Probably none of you know this but my mom has been sick for months. She was hospitalized back in May after a mysterious spell of being extremely disoriented. They discovered her kidneys were failing but after a day of intense hydration she was back in the clear. An x-ray of her lungs showed some cloudiness that the doctors interpreted as Pneumonia. They put her on new antibiotics and sent her home. After a week or two an intense cough and fever started. This lasted for weeks with no sign of her recovering. Sometimes she was in bed with a fever for days. I was about to have the baby and had a hard time processing just how sick she was.

After Joe was born, her health declined again. She would sleep almost the entire day, too weak to come down the stairs, too weak to answer texts or phone calls. My dad took her back to the doctor. Her white blood cell count was through the roof, they said. New images of her lungs showed a "mass," they said. The coughing had not gone away. This must be lung cancer, they said.

While waiting for new images and scans, the doctors put her on a new antibiotic and suddenly she improved. Her fevers stopped and her cough abated. It must not be cancer, then! It must be that she really did have pneumonia way back then, and it just got really, really bad. Maybe the "mass" the doctors saw was just what was left of the "cloudiness" seen at her fist hospital stint back in May. Yes, that has to be it! they said.

Two weeks ago she went in for the result of a follow up x-ray when the doctor told her he now sees something new. A nodule, near the "mass" in her lung. "A nodule typically indicates cancer" he said. Back to cancer.

But just today my father picked up and read the results of the high-contrast CT scan she had done last week to explore the new nodule. No mass is identified, no lesion is identified, likely resolving pneumonia. 

Sooooo... not cancer, then?

This has all been so exhausting and all over the place. I feel happily relieved but also sort of unemotional and foggy. I look back at the past few months and remember I had a baby in the middle of this. The kids have had to try and absorb the shock of a sick grandma. My dad has had to sort through the stacks of test results and things doctors said and when. It's been a very strange few months-filled with beautiful new things (JOE!). But along it there has been a thread of fear, sadness, and worry. But also, hope- hope for wellness, yes, but also the reminder that this isn't our home and that death is real and that it's coming and that is oddly, strangely comforting, too. And it makes me hopeful for Heaven.

Will you guys pray for my mom?? Will you pray that we would get a clear picture of what's going on and that she would get better? I love her so much.

Part 2.

In the midst of all the diagnosing and undiagnosing there was a day where things looked pretty bad, and the week had been pretty bad. She was sleeping most of the day and honestly, I could imagine her just slipping away. It was a Saturday and I was looking forward to a night out with Kirby and friends to just get my mind somewhere else. Midday, Hero came down with a mystery stomach bug and became instantly, excessively needy. I couldn't walk into another room without her crying for me to come lay with her. I can't lay with you! I thought. I have a newborn, and all these other kids, and a dirty house, and a dying mother. You are the last on my list, I thought. I wanted my brain free to worry and fret. I wanted to be able to ignore them all and text my brother and eat ice cream out of the freezer and feel sorry for myself. But she wouldn't stop pestering me. It got so bad and she got so weepy that we ended up canceling our plans for the night. It sounds so stupid but I was crushed. I got so angry. I was so mad that in the midst of being postpartum with a sixth baby, my mom was getting diagnosed with lung cancer, my kid was getting sick, and I couldn't even catch a break for 3 hours to open a bottle of wine with friends. It seems so trite and silly now for cancelled plans to have been the impetus for my rage but I wanted to run from my life that afternoon. I don't think I'll ever forget it.

Later that night, as Kirby and I sat on the couch it struck me how obviously on-purpose the day had really been. It became so clear to me that Hero's obnoxious sickie behavior was God shoving my reality in my face and trying to snap me back to it. I had spent the majority of the week in a haze of emotion and worry. I had done my best to ignore my children and ignore my life so that I could wallow as deep as I wanted. And all it did was make me more worried and more sad and more out of touch with reality. I think the day Hero got sick was God shaking my shoulders. This is your life, He said. It doesn't exist in hypotheticals or possible test results or what the doctor might say next Tuesday.

It's right here.
You have to live it.

Motherhood is never, ever easy. It's either hard-hard or good-hard, but not easy. In those days I learned a new lesson- I've got to just keep being good to my family all the time. I've got to shake off selfishness when I feel it and stop feeling sorry for myself when I do- even in the midst of sadness or worry or grief. I've got to be good to them, I've got to love them and give myself to them and give myself up for them. And just like that, peace grows.

I'm trying hard to remember that lesson these days as we hear more results and experience more rollercoasters. If there is anything simple about this job it's that the job description is a basic, one-liner that never, ever changes. Love them all the time.

Ok.