Full of Laughs

My children make me laugh. A lot. I mean, the great big full belly laughs one gets from the most amusing incidents that happen in life. Of course, there are also the silly giggles that I get just watching them play. They make up the most interesting stories and songs I've ever heard. In fact, I don't even have to know what they are talking about, just watching them giggle is enough to make me laugh. It's true, we have a lot of fun around here.

One of the things my son thinks is great fun is to pull the lever on my computer desk chair while I'm typing away only to have it lowered quickly and startle me. I always jump and he just rolls on the floor with laughter. He keeps giggling as I continue to type from nearer the floor. I'm sure I look like a gremlin. LOL :) He's a hoot!

Benjamin is constantly saying and doing things to make us laugh. He's my clown. Rachel is no stranger to clown antics herself. She is a master at inventing silly stories and songs to make us laugh. She even makes up little plays and skits to display her silliness. I am truly blessed with wonderfully inventive and creative children. And they make me laugh!

Parenting

Sometimes after listening to my children tell me, "Mommy, you need to still wear a jacket. It's cold outside!" (from my almost-5-year-old daughter) or "Don't do that! I do it myself!" (from my almost-4-year-old son), I start to wonder who the parent really is...not that I'm really questioning this, but Good Grief! I don't know why it didn't occur to me that my children would "mother" me, but it really didn't.

My husband gets it even worse, I think. Only because my daughter thinks it is hilarious to put her fingerprints on Daddy's glasses and then tell him that he really needs to clean them. LOL Where does she get this impish behavior? I have no idea...it can't possibly be from my side of the family! And, oh yes, my son now thinks that he should shave his whiskers "like Daddy does". What?! You're not even 4 yet!

My son has taken to laughing what I have dubbed his ornery/evil laugh. It's truly hilarious! He likes to ride with his Grammie on the electric carts at Wal-mart (she broke her leg almost 6 years ago and after 8 surgeries on it, she still can't walk for any length of time) so he can "drive". He actually pushes her hands away with his elbows while "speeding" down the aisles. It's a wonder we haven't been throw out of our local Wal-mart, banned from ever coming back. I guess they know how often we go and how much we spend. I should buy stock!!!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I was in front of them at the store (mistake!) when I heard this sinister chuckling behind me. I turned around just in time to see my mother's worried face and my son's intense stare and slight smile as he was preparing to run in to me. At the last moment, he turned slightly, just enough to miss me. As he was going by me, he threw his head back and laughed his ornery/evil laugh. Such a character! I love it!

I actually prayed for an ornery, tender-hearted boy. God gave me EXACTLY what I prayed for (I'm sure He did so with a big smile on His face too!)

Snow Daze

It's a nice frigid 22 degrees here in snowy Georgetown. We have reached 5 inches of snow since last night and we are supposed to get some more. Yay!

The kids went out to play and ended up "shoveling" snow. They came back in with their cheeks all nice and rosy. We stuck them in the bathtub to get them all warm. Tragedy struck though when Joel accidentally used Benjamin's shampoo to wash Rachel's hair. She's still lamenting over it - sobbing at the injustice! It's so unfair! And yes, her shampoo is pink and, of course, Benjamin's is not. Oh, the horror!

My Sweet Daughter

Just a quick blog about how absolutely sweet my daughter can be! I asked her if she was done playing with her playdough (the foam kind that is non-staining) and if she needed help putting it away. She said that she needed some help and brought it to me to put on the lids. So, I watched her put it away on the hutch where we've been keeping it. A little while later I noticed that two of the six containers (3 of her's and 3 of Benjamin's make up the six total) were gone. I asked Rachel where they were and she held up her hands and said in her sweet little voice, "Well, David didn't have any so I took some up and put it in his room for him so he would have some to play with. I was just sharing, Momma." (David is my brother who is 35 and mentally handicapped) Now, isn't that just the sweetest?!!!

Laughing at Myself

Funny Pictures

Do you ever listen to yourself while you are saying something to your children or just after you've said something to your children? I did that the other day. I was trying to get my kids herded into the car and into their car seats and also get my mother's wheelchair in the car as well. Normally they are very good about holding on to my hands and watching where we are going. We look both ways...that whole bit, but not this day. They were so hyper and we were in a busy parking lot. They were skipping, jumping and singing at the top of their lungs. I was walking with them hand in hand out to the car (it's amazing that you can be sweating in 20 degree weather when you have to deal with your children). We got to the car and Benjamin rips his hand out of mine and starts twirling around in the next parking space. I was afraid that he was going to dart out in front of a car, so I urgently told him to come over to the car.

"Weeellll, I have to be Superman right now." he stated without looking at me and continuing his twirling and running around in circles.

"You just can't be Superman in a parking lot!" I laughed about this later thinking that if anyone had heard just that line, like walking into the middle of a conversation, it would've struck them funny, at least, it would've me! :)

The Little Nasty

After we got home from church this morning, we had lunch and then put the kids down for a nap. I always make them take a nap on Sundays because they are cranky if they don't! :) Well, Rachel wanted me to tell her a story about the little nasty named Benjamin (my son's name!). I had told her a story a couple nights ago about a little girl who meets a troll who is a troll because he's mean and nasty which evidentially she equates with her brother. LOL So I did tell her about the mean and nasty troll whose name is Troll, not Benjamin, but he gets a new name when he becomes nice and kind - yes, you guessed it, Benjamin! Kids are so funny!

Christmas 2007

In the midst of a fog...Parenting is like Psychological Warfare

So last night my daughter, Rachel, woke me up about 2:00am telling me she was scared. I let her get inside the bed with me and snuggle. Normally she goes to sleep right away, but not last night.

Mental note to self: no more afternoon naps for Rachel!

After struggling to get comfortable, she finally settles in between Joel and me. Several minutes passed and she started to try to kick the covers down. She was apparently getting too warm for her taste. Joel prevented her from kicking the covers down stating that he was cold. "But Daddy! My feet are sweaty!" She started crying in frustration.

I moved her over on the other side of me, so that I was in the middle. We settled down to what I thought would be a quiet rest of the night. I don't know how much time had passed because I'd actually fallen asleep when I heard this small voice say, "Momma, my fingers aren't bony." The fact that I was asleep hindered me from replying right away. So she stated it again, more loudly this time, "Momma, my fingers aren't bony."

Through the fuzz of sleep in my mind came a thought, "You're right. They're perfect the way they are."

Satisfied with my answer, Rachel quieted down for minute. Enough time had passed for me to be on the edge of sleep once again, "No, they're not!" As if this thought needed more assurance in her mind.

My right eye popped open, startled. "You have beautiful little hands and fingers, Rachel."

"Yea, I do." Came her reply with a matter a fact sigh.

I heard a grunt, a snort and a chuckle from my husband beside me. I thought he'd been asleep, but he had quietly been listening to our conversation. "Deep ponderings for the middle of the night." He stated quietly, a smile in his voice and with that he rolled over. Within minutes he was asleep, softly snoring.

I waited expecting some sort of follow-up with this line of thought from my daughter. Hearing nothing, I began to drift into sleep once again. Again, I don't know exactly how much time had passed when I heard, "It looks like a horse."

"What?" I couldn't think. I was sure I hadn't heard correctly. Was she talking about her fingers again? I hoped not.

My daughter sighed impatiently, "The thing on the floor. It looks like a horse."

"Oh, okay." I replied. Good! It's not her fingers. Then a question formed in my mind, "What thing on the floor?" It might be a bug!

"That thing!" She replied, as if no other explanation was needed.

I couldn't stand it. I had to take a look. I got my glasses on and turned on the light, squinting at the general area of where her non-bony finger was pointing. I tried to focus on the small object. Relief flooded me when I realized it was a small part to one of her toys. I flipped off the light and tried to get comfortable.

A minute later Rachel said, "I have to go to the bathroom!"

I tried not to be irritated, but I was getting there quickly, "Okay, go ahead and go."

"I can't! I need the light on."

I reached up and turned on the light I had moments before flipped off. "There, now, please hurry!"

Happily scampering toward the bathroom, she cheerfully said, "Okay!"

I switched the light off once again and rolled over. Once my eyes adjusted to the dark, I realized my husband had a smile on his face. I sighed and asked him, "Are we being trained for the military or perhaps the CIA?"

He laughed, "You mean like training for psychological warfare?"

"Yes."

He laughed harder. "It feels like it, doesn't it?"

Maybe I should stop watching 'The Unit' or reruns of 'Alias' before bed.

Not a Morning Person!

My daughter, Rachel, is NOT a morning person. It doesn't matter what time I wake her up or how I wake her up, unless she just wakes up herself, she is not ready so I have to decide whether it's worth it before waking her. She didn't use to be like this. When she was younger, you could wake her up however and whenever you wanted and she was always smiling. What happened? Sometimes I think we have skipped over childhood and gone directly to teenage years (as I stated in an earlier post).

Benjamin, my son, on the other hand, is as cheerful in the morning as he could be! It's freaky friday at my house everyday when morning comes around because my son used to be the opposite! He was the one who was grumpy and nothing could go right. *Sigh*

Anyway, I was dressing Rachel this morning. This is something that she knows how to do and usually does, but I woke her up and she was, "Too tired right now!" Everything I did was wrong and she was rubber baby which made it very hard to dress her. She wanted to be held but then I accidentally pulled her hair, setting her "off". It should have set her "on" because she was already "off" to begin with, but what do I know?!

I was trying to hurry and still have patience (hard for me!) at the same time. I finished dressing her and then dealt with her hair for a moment. I HATE that part in the morning (no pun intended)! She was crying and fussing and flopping down on the bed, so I thought I'd try to calm her down by holding her. I held her in my arms and looked down into her little face which had stopped crying. She was just looking at me with a slight scowl on her face as I talked quietly to her, telling her the things we were going to do today when all of the sudden she asked a question, "What color is your nose?"

WHAT?!!! How do you respond to that question? And not to mention that it completely breaks your train of thought! So I asked her, "What do you mean, what color is my nose?"

She heaved a big sigh, still scowling, "I mean, what color is your nose?" as she poked me on the tip of my nose with her little finger.

Puzzled, I replied, "Skin color."

"Oh."

And with that, she got up, smiled and went upstairs happily. Do you think that's her way of distracting me so I'll stop talking? Hmmmm...

November 2007 - Fall Family Fun

We took a trip just down the road to the Cardome Center yesterday. We did this last year about this time and got some really nice pictures of the kids. This year was the same and I thought I'd share some of the pictures with you all.

I entitled this one "Best Friends".

This next one I just love! Joel had knelt down to fix Benjamin's jacket and I got the picture of them once he was done - giving Benjamin a hug. I just love seeing Benjamin's little eye peeking from Joel's arm. You can see he has a smile on his face.

I got a couple of cute pictures of Rachel and Benjamin walking and running together down a path to the trail where we went walking.

We also went into the Japanese Garden area of the park and got some cute pictures there.

They had so much fun playing the rock garden and walking past the water fall. They enjoyed just running along the path. Kids are so easily amused sometimes. Although, put a camera in my hand and give me some time with my kids and I'm amused and just lovin' it!

Hope you've enjoyed seeing some of our Fall Fun!

Bitter Enemies / Fast Friends

Well, I've been kicked in the face, had my leg peed on and the bridge of my nose still hurts where my son cracked me with the corner of his magnadoodle yesterday. Yes, today has been a good day. Of course all of the abuse was an accident. I was watching TV with my daughter and she switched positions (lying on the floor) and her foot caught the side of my face. It's a little sore, but not too bad. And it was an accident that she peed on my leg - I was reading one last book before nap time and it was right before we went potty, of course. Her response was shock, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to!" She's so sweet! And yesterday, my son just wanted to show me his artwork. He just swung the magnadoodle a little too hard toward me. I was still very proud of his picture. He kissed it for me, leaving a nice juicy lip print on my nose. He's adorable!

My children are so much fun! I do love spending time with them!

Their favorite new thing to do is to tease each other by holding their faces as close to the other's while they smile and clack their teeth together. Great fun! And, of course, the tattling on each other is so much fun too! I can't believe how young that all starts. They run around the house taking turns chasing each other - tormenting each other - and running to me, yelling, "Mommy!" When I've had enough of the screaming and crying, I separate them to their corners to give them a break from the chaos. I guess all I'm doing is letting them rejuvenate their engines to go longer at it, but I can only handle so much! :)

But no matter how much they torture each other, they always want to play together. They always look for each other when they aren't together. They are bitter enemies one minute and fast friends the next. Oh, the joys of childhood!

The Digger and His Softer Side

Well, it has happened. My son has learned a new trick - digging. I don't mean his nose - he already had that mastered a long time ago - I mean digging his chin into his sister when he doesn't get what he wants. I thought biting would come next, which thankfully, it hasn't. When he wants something she has, he will lift his little chin, plant it firmly in one of her appendages or in her back or sometimes her head, and bear down with all his might. It hurts, believe me! He's done it to me just on a trial basis only. See above, I have proof. In this instance he wanted to climb over her and she wouldn't let him. Imagine that! So of course she just sat on him, which makes perfect sense.

He's all things little boy, but he also has a tender, sweet side too. The other day I was lying on the bed waiting for my husband to finish dressing Rachel for bed - Benjamin was already finished - and he body-slammed me. As I was not expecting it, it did not feel good. When he saw that it had hurt me, Benjamin said, "Oooh! Oooh! I sorry!" He then bent his little head to give me a kiss to make it feel better. Now, how sweet is that?!

All the things he does to Rachel, while yes, he wants his own way, he does most generally so that he can be just like her. He adores her! He loves to dance with her - and I have proof! (Where would I be without my trusty camera. I have great blackmail shots for later!) His little eyes light up when she comes into the room. And when Joel, Rachel and I were gone the other day when he woke up from a nap, my mother informed me that he went around the house looking and then came back to her asking, "Where's Rachel?" I don't think he even noticed that Joel and I weren't there.

He has a softer side with his parents too. He LOVES his daddy! His little eyes light up when Joel comes home and he runs to where his father is to hug and kiss him. He gently pulls at Joel's whiskers and whispers, "Whiskers!" as if they are magical in some way. He also LOVES his mommy! He freely gives me kisses all the time and will at times even cup my face in his little hands while he tells me that he loves me and then kisses me. He's utterly precious!

The other day we were taking a walk along a path at a local park. He and Rachel were in front of me holding hands as they walked along the path. He turned his head and called, "Mommy!" just to make sure I was coming with them. He's just so sweet at times! My digger, my bopper, my son!