Its a WALL-E day

The kids are on spring break right now. Which means four kids home alllllllllllllllllllll daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay loooooooooooooong. Im determined that they wont spend their vacation in front of the TV- so Ive tried to be "productive" everyday. Yesterday we went to the zoo for four hours (which I think I deserve a medal for. 4 kids under 8. by myself. in less then perfect weather.) Today was cleaning the Toy room (basement family room) and it ended up being quite the project. With 4 kids in a -+1500 sqft house I HAVE to have things kind of tidy or I go nuts. So the main floor of the house is cleaned of all kid things every night at 7 and usually Im so worn out by then that all the cars and plastic colorful stuff just all ends up tossed in the toy room. I will admit that it turns into the pit of despair before I get around to getting the kids to clean it. Today was the day and it was like pulling teeth. It literally took all morning.(and there was more then a little steam coming out my ears by the end of it.)

Once it was clean they got mad that I said no TV and sent them packing to the backyard to enjoy the brief respite from the rain. They love playing out there, but sometimes you would think that I was sending them to the torture chamber when I suggest it. Anyway, I sent them out there and after getting shooed back out a few times they got into playing and they happily played out there until I called them in for dinner.

Shakes brought home WALL-E to surprise the kids and we watched it after dinner. Some people get annoyed at the "political message" that is in it. However, I back it whole-heartedly. I would MUCH rather have my children hear about how harmful it is to be slothful, lazy and subsequently fat, then some of the messages they are getting from other movies. It was the perfect ending to today. The kids and I made friends again while snuggling on the couch, (I actually made myself sit down and relax and watch it!) and we had a talk after wards about WHY we clean, and WHY we run and play in the backyard. They know that mom wants them to clean and wants them to run and use their bodies- but I think they often miss the WHY we do it. With all the other things that I am in charge of teaching them I sometimes forget to have longer conversations about stuff like this. Sure we talk about keeping our bodies strong and how it is good to pick up our toys everyday, but we never get beyond that. So tonight was the perfect setup to have a warm and fuzzy talk about the below the surface "why".

I cant take all the credit for that brilliant move though. I had shakes bring home the movie as a simple reward. We had been meaning to buy it and I wanted the kids to have a happy ending to the day. It wasn't a premeditated lecture. Im usually not super vocal about my relationship with God. I know that not everyone feels the same way I do, and I tend to keep that kind of stuff personal. But I have to admit that tonight was one of those calm moments when I heard that voice* whisper into my ear that NOW was the perfect time. I realized it for what it was and charged forward with what I think was the perfect teaching opportunity. I don't endorse using TV to teach kids life lessons, but tonight it was the perfect way to back up what I had been trying to drill into their heads all day. Those are the type of moments that keep me going when Ive got a baby whining at my pant leg, the boys loudly wrestling, and Kate crying because of some random injustice.Those calm teaching moments when you know they are "getting" what you are telling them. Im still feeling all warm and fuzzy about it. lol

and because they are so cute, here are the kids chilling on the couch on Saint Patricks Day. Today looked similar, it just had me and the baby snuggled in the middle.

*some people call it mothers intuition, I give the credit to a Being who is MUCH smarter then me lol