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!)

Vacation's Over...Back to Reality (This is a long one!)

Well, we’re back. Vacation’s over and it’s back to the regular life. We came back to cool (but not cold – Yay!) weather which I was expecting cold, so that was a major plus. Thought you might enjoy some highlights of our trip:

We left on Good Friday. We made great time (left about 7:00am) arriving just north of Atlanta about 2:00pm. We felt good about where we were and what time we were going to make it in to Macon…until…due to some accidents and a lot of construction we were still in Atlanta at 4:00pm, so we decided to pull off and get some early supper/late lunch. We pulled back onto the highway about 7:00 or so after going some back roads to try to avoid traffic (MISTAKE!) and got into Macon at 8:00pm. Needless to say, we were exhausted! LOL It was an experience, but as I kept telling Joel that it’s better that it happened at the beginning of the trip than at the end.

Saturday morning we got up and went out to Joel’s parents’ church where they had an Easter egg hunt at their lake property. It was a gorgeous day and I even got a little sunburn. The kids got to jump in the Moonwalk, draw with chalk; they got to dig in the sand, we had a picnic lunch and then sang songs with all the other kids while the adults hid the Easter eggs. Benjamin got a lot of eggs, but Rachel won the huge inflatable rabbit, which we promptly deflated about 2 hours after we got back to Joel’s parents’ house. It is cruel to give a traveling family such a big creature. LOL Rachel keeps asking me when we’re going to inflate it again. Hmmmm…we’ll see.

Sunday was Easter and we had a relaxing day.

Tuesday we took the kids to the Atlanta Zoo. It was a beautiful but chilly morning when we went and we ended up getting half price tickets because they told us that some of the animals weren’t out due to the cold. However, we ended up seeing all the animals because it warmed up considerably. This was our first experience with the kids at a zoo. They were fascinated by the elephants and loved watching them get fed. They also enjoyed seeing the momma gorilla with the two little gorillas on her or under her. But when we got to see the big male gorilla, we all watched him quietly until my son said, “His bottom is NOT pretty!” And my daughter nodded her head and said, “His bottom is not handsome either!” That got several chuckles from around us.

They got to ride on the train that goes around the Petting Zoo portion of the zoo. Rachel wasn’t too enthusiastic about the smells! We went through a barn to get to the Petting Zoo area. Rachel made a face and said, “EEeeww! Somebody went in here!” Yes, well, that’s farm freshness for ya!

They enjoyed riding on the merry-go-round and when they saw the rock climbing wall, they just had to do it! Benjamin was having a hard time figuring out where to put his feet and hands without seeing everything when he discovered falling – that was his favorite part! He loved twisting and turning on that rope all the way to the ground. Rachel just sort of hung there looking around. I was proud of them just for trying and they seemed enthusiastic to do it again.

The rest of the week we just enjoyed the sites around town.

Friday morning we left for Orlando and got into the hotel shortly after 3:30pm. We were glad for the chance to rest before the rehearsal at 6:00pm. We got to FBC Sweetwater right at 6:00pm and watched as they went through the rehearsal. I learned that night that I was actually singing a solo with the choir (no problem! I knew the song), so I had to rehearse with the music minister without the choir briefly for that. We then enjoyed the rehearsal dinner and fellowship with the family and friends we hadn’t seen in so long. I was able to give Chuck and Kathy their wedding gift which they loved along with a card explaining how and what I had prayed for them and what the different colors in the afghan represented.

That was the first time I had ever met Chuck and he is just as wonderful as Kathy described. I am so thankful that the Lord provided him for her – how faithful God is!

Saturday, the wedding day, we got up early and hurried to the store to get a dress for me and one for Rachel. Yes, we had accidentally left dresses in Macon. But I really would’ve had to get a dress for me because I needed something pink and I didn’t have anything with me. I found the most beautiful dress on a clearance rack in the back corner of the store. It had been bought on the internet and returned and it was the only one like it. It fit perfectly! God was truly watching out for me and providing what I needed!

We arrived early for choir practice at 12:30pm and went over our songs. The whole service was just gorgeous! The choir actually sang as Kathy came down the aisle. It was the most worshipful wedding I have ever been to in my life aside from my own. We sang some really beautiful songs one of them, Thou, O Lord, (a Brooklyn Tabernacle song) I have not been able to get out of my mind. Here is a link Song if you want to hear it on YouTube actually being sung by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. Kathy had 4 Bridesmaids, 4 Groomsmen, 4 Bride attendants and 4 Groom attendants. All the attendants were children and when we sang that song, they came down the aisle waving banners. It was really neat!

Sunday morning we left a beautiful, sunny and 85 degrees, Orlando, FL to travel back to Macon which was a rainy, cold 52 degrees. Yes, it was a slight shock to our system!

Monday we crashed and slept and then traveled home on Tuesday and then crashed again and slept. LOL We really had a great time and loved every minute of it.

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!

Some funnies

My kids are so funny and very competitive! They want so much to have what the other one has or they feel left out. Often times when we are riding in the car, one of them will point out something that is from looking out the window on their side of the car, so then we have to look for the same thing out the window on the other side of the car so that the other one sees some of the same things on their side. It can be exhausting! LOL Today it was horses. Rachel saw horses on her side and Benjamin was so upset because he didn't see any horses on his side. His lower lip was all stuck out and pouty. Just pitiful! LOL Well, I had to come up with something fast, so I spotted a really big and very elaborate stable out his window and pointed it out to him, "Look Benjamin! You have a pretty stable on your side." He was pleased.

Rachel scouted out her window for something that she could find to point out to trump his find. The only thing there was this spot where this old crumbly barn had been torn down and partially burned. She took a deep breath and stated, "Well, I have a big, uh...a big, uh...a big mess on my side." LOL!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Funny thing happened on the way home from Bible study:
Due to the storms and cloudy, windy weather early in the morning, I was still expecting some more bad weather. We were driving slowly on a back road and I had just gotten done telling my mother what an overactive imagination my daughter has when I noticed how gray the clouds were.

Since my mother was driving, I was looking to my left. I suddenly noticed the sound of a train, so I start freaking out (just a little bit) and looking over my left shoulder, out the back window and the driver's side front. My mom was looking at me like I had lost my mind. I was just in the process of saying, "Mom, we should find a ditch to get in." because I could hear the train and it was getting louder. Because...

it was right next to my side of the car! DUH! Boy, did I feel silly. LOL I started laughing and turned to my mom and said, "What was I just telling you about my daughter's overactive imagination? I guess she comes by it naturally."

We had a good laugh!

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!

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!

My Preschool Teenager

My 4-year-old daughter acts like a little teenager. She is always telling us what we should and should not do, what makes her happy and unhappy, and is starting to slam doors for emphasis. She has learned recently that slamming doors will not be tolerated and she will have to close any door she slams quietly 5 times for emphasis. Ha! But then she is sure to tell me that she is "very not happy with me!". *Sigh*

I wasn't really prepared for a teenager so quickly in my life. We spend our children's first years trying to get them to say words and express themselves and then, WHAM!, they start smarting off. Ugh!

Rachel has also learned that smarting off can get her a mouthful of soap. She also expresses that she is "very not happy" with me after she spits the soap out and stops crying enough to tell me. It's pitiful, I know, but necessary. This, I seem to explain to her often through our days.

You know, when I was a child, I can remember thinking how glad I would be to have kids so that I could discipline them instead of having to be the one being disciplined. As an adult and a mother, I now realize how silly this notion was. It's often exasperating and exhausting to discipline my children. I hate having to tell them over and over the same things. I know they can't forget that quickly. And I can't help thinking to myself, "Is this what God feels when I do the same sins over and over again? Does He feel like He's banging His head against a brick wall?" Of course not, I know, but it does make me realize my need for a Savior and for my Heavenly Father. I just hope that I can get that realization through to my children as they get older.

The Ballerina and Superman

Last night was Trick-or-Treat. We had such fun!

Rachel decided that she would be a ballerina WITHOUT wings. She had wings last year and would have nothing to do with them this year. And being a girly girl, she always wants make-up. It's, in her opinion, one of the best things about playing dress up. I agree. I messed up some of her eye make-up though and it smeared a little, so I painted on a red lipstick heart with glitter right under her right eye to cover the spot I couldn't seem to correct.

Benjamin has been waiting to be Superman for a very long time. He is fully convinced that he can fly (it's more like jumping, but we're not supposed to notice that) as long as he has that suit on. He has built up his endurance and pain tolerance by running around the house watching his cape flying behind him and running into walls, door jams, etc.

We saw kids with a variety of costumes, of course, and Rachel, being the social butterfly that she is, would call out to them and say, "Hi, _____!" We met Cinderella, Jasmine, Thomas the Train, Kitty Cat, Scary Boy, Super Lady, Monster Thing and Sparkly Girl, among others.

Benjamin thought it would be fun to blow out candles wherever it was applicable. Why is it that wherever we go, there are always apologies on my part necessary?

We also went over to our friends, Greg and Deanna's, house. Their dog, RJ, was dressed up as a spider. A very relaxed spider. A glow-in-the-dark very relaxed spider.

By the time we started for home, Rachel and Benjamin were moving like zombies. They were weaving about with a glazed look in their eyes and tripping over their own feet. I have to admit that I was pretty tired myself. But they perked up once they got a bath and then crashed once we snuggled on our bed to watch a show. So Joel carried our ballerina and I carried our superman and we put them soundly in their beds.

Blowed Up

As we do every year, my family has started fighting the seasonal allergies. It's come a little late this year because of the warm weather that hung on until just recently. My son seems to suffer more with allergies (congestion, sinus drainage, etc.) than his sister, but they both have their share of "burgers" (what they so delicately call the crusties in their noses).

Saturday morning I heard my son getting out of bed sniffling and snorting. He turned to me and hoarsely stated, "I got burgers in my nose again, Mom."

"So I hear," I replied. "Let's blow your nose."

In the 2 seconds it took me to respond to him, he had gotten enveloped in cartoons. Getting anything done at this point takes a lot of fast maneuvering and prayer. He's very good at dodging me as he has incredible peripheral vision!

With a sigh I started toward him with a kleenex. I sat quietly down beside him as if interested in the cartoon and whipped out my kleenex. Swiftly positioning the kleenex over his nose, he slid deftly from it, his eyes not leaving the television. With a small grunt of frustration, I started positioning the kleenex again, this time from the opposite side. I noticed Benjamin glimpse at me from the corner of his eye and move away. So, of course, I had no other choice but to grab him by the back of the head and position the kleenex. "Aaahhh!" he yelled, "I can't see the TV!"

Ignoring that statement, I said firmly, "Blow!" (Fortunately for me this time the task turned out to be relatively easy.)

Gathering up all the wind from inside of him, he blew. Man, can that kid blow! I'm surprised that he hasn't popped a blood vessel in his eye yet. Anyway, we continued with the other side and got that over with. Then, I told him to look up so I could check the inside of his nose. I guess I took too long because with his little face turned up toward the ceiling he said, "Mom! It's all blowed up!"

Hmmph! Go figure!

Whoever said that two's are the terrible years?

Terrible Two's - I don't think so! Anyone who says that two's are terrible, hasn't lived with my sweet, precious, ornery, defiant children. I'll admit that the defiance starts around that age, although I think with my daughter the word "no" came out much earlier. But my three year old son looked at me the other day and screamed, "No, I don't want to!" at the top of his lungs. I'm concerned that he may get nodules on his vocal chords before I can "cure" him of his screaming.

The last couple of days have been dubbed (by me) "The Testing of Mommy". I've never had part of me that just wanted to sit down on the floor and throw a temper tantrum myself until just recently and have the other part of me just shake my head in disbelief with mouth wide open, jaw to the floor, that these are my two children who are acting like this. Tuesday, as I was getting ready to leave for Bible study, my son dumped coffee grounds and salt on the kitchen floor. Fortunately my husband had just walked through the door, so he got to deal with it - I'm not sure that I could've constructively dealt with that at that moment.

Anyway, before I left, I called my children into the kitchen and asked them if they had made this mess. Rachel just forlornly looked at the floor knowing that she was about to be in trouble, AGAIN, and Benjamin, just nodded his head and said, "Yep! I did this!", looking at me straight in the eye. At least he was honest this time, most of the time he tries to cover it up. So I turned to my husband and suggested that he deal with their punishment since I neither had the strength nor the time to deal with them (picture the back of my hand laying against my forehead just for dramatic effect). He nodded with a grim look on his face as I started putting away dishes from the children's dinner. Benjamin just looked up at me with a small smile on his face and said, "You hafta say Fo' Cwyin' Out Woud, Mommy!" Sighing in exasperation and amusement I just nodded my head and said, "Yes, for crying out loud, Benjamin." (I apparently say this more than I thought) He proudly smiled, nodded his head and said, "Yep, that's it!"

Good grief!

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!

My Explorers of All Things Sticky, Gooey and Slimy

For any of those who have children or pets for that matter, you know that it is instinctively part of not just human nature but also animal nature to be curious. My children love to watch Curious George and I’m fully aware it’s because they completely relate to his curiosity! I feel like Hunley, the Doorman’s dog, who always tries to protect the hotel from George.

While a Curious George episode ends in about 15-30 minutes, my children’s “episodes” of curiosity can last much longer than that, at least the clean-up does. Again I was downstairs trying to multi-task, when I realized how very quiet my children had become. When I went in Rachel’s room to see what they were doing, I just about keeled over from apoplexy! My children, who I thought were playing with stuffed animals and other harmless toys, were getting into some items on the dresser. Now, I realize that I really only have myself to blame for all of this because I’m the one that left the make-up in there. I understand that this is really my fault which is why I’m writing (or in this case, typing) it down so that 1) I will hold myself accountable to find things and remove them before my children use them and 2) as a warning for other parents.

They had located a bottle of liquid foundation that I'd forgotten I had and a bottle of lotion that had come in a gift bag for going to a women's function at church. All I can say is, thank goodness the lotion bottle was a very small one!

I came in to find that they had coated some of the wood (again, I say thank goodness - it could've been all fabric) furniture with the mixture they had created using the lotion and foundation along with Rachel's pillowcase and bedsheet, and some spots on the floor. My guess is that Rachel knew it was foundation and lotion and that she was trying to "make-up" the three princesses on her bed (Cinderella, Snow White and Belle).

What's a parent to do when he/she finds the children making a mess such as this? Well, I did the only thing I knew to do; sucking up a wad of tears that was threatening to choke me, I told them that they are always to ask Mommy if they can play with things that weren't given to them to play with. Then, I proceeded to start cleaning up the mess.

In all of this, they were very sweet and tried to help me clean up, which I politely asked them not to. My oldest, Rachel, simply stood there watching me for awhile. She picked up the lotion bottle from the floor and went over and threw it in the trash, "We better put this away, Mommy." Good idea (now she decides to put it away)! She then told me solemnly, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to." Of course, my son, Benjamin, had to follow suite and express his regret in equal manner. How precious are my children!?! Along with their father, they are the most precious gifts in my life.

As I cleaned up that mess and as I'm reminded of it when I see the sheets I'm still trying to remove stains out of, I'm finding gratitude in each day as I watch my husband play with our children, listen to my daughter articulate almost everything quite well and watch my son as he "plays" music on every piece of furniture and toy imaginable. My children astound me with their learning and growing, their creativity and their sensitivity. It gives me new perspective on each day and though I have times of feeling frustrated, exasperated or even overwhelmed, I'm so grateful that God has given me these - has entrusted them to me. I am indeed blessed!

The Blame Game

There comes a day in every mother’s life that she realizes her children are not just being disobedient as little individuals but are striving to work together as a team to be disobedient (and I thought it would be so much fun to have children so close together!). As I look at my little angels, I can look back at circumstances and situations and see who is the instigator and who is the willing participant of the disobedience. Rachel, my firstborn angel, little princess that she is, can smile sweetly at her little brother and tell him, “Go ahead, Benjamin!” And whatever it is she is enticing him to do, he is her willing servant. He adores his older sister wanting to do everything just like her.

It has come to this: if I know that Rachel is doing something I’ve asked her not to do and I say to her, “Rachel, please don’t do that.” She will look at me and say, “No, it’s not Rachel, it’s Benjamin.” As if I don’t know who is doing what! Did we really think our parents were that stupid? *Sigh* I already know the answer; I just don’t want to admit it!

The blame game sure does start early! It is so much easier to blame someone else, anyone else, than to blame ourselves, as is evident in my precious darlings. I can’t help but smile with pride though because they are so creative and very imaginative. They have learned to build things just to get to the highest point of anything – frightening!

I have to laugh A LOT to get through some days and pray OFTEN for wisdom and patience in disciplining them. And I have to remember that just like I am human, they are little humans (cute ones too!) who are just learning and it is my job, my honor, to teach them right from wrong – and I am truly blessed!

The Battle Between Princess Grumpy and Princess Happy (hint: Princess Happy wins!)

I like to try the art of distraction for as long as it will work. That’s my motto, “Distract them well and distract them often!” Sometimes, however, distraction just doesn’t work. My children can often be distracted into obedience. Somehow I’m able to distract them into thinking that whatever I’m asking them to do is their idea or a game or some such. As they are getting older and more often than not these days though, it doesn’t work.

When my 3-year-old decides that she will not be obedient no matter what I say, I have no choice but to take action. This morning after one long continuous tantrum of which I was not able to bring her out of with my usual routine, I told her to go to her room. Princess Grumpy’s eyes widened and she threw her head back and screamed, “I don’t want to go to my room!” So, of course, I opened her door and helped her start walking toward it. She promptly sat down on her bed and with red-rimmed eyes she turned to me and said, “I calmed down now.” How convenient!

Not giving into the manipulation of a 3-year-old, I sat down across from her and explained to her that she would need to sit on her bed and decide if she wanted to be obedient to mommy and be in a better mood. She also had the choice of being disobedient and grumpy, in that case I explained, she could just sit in her room by herself. I told her that when and if she decided to be in a better mood and be obedient that I would love to have her come upstairs and join her brother and me.

Well, she was down there for about 25 minutes crying off and on when I heard these footsteps in the hallway. She came over to me smiling and said, “I’m in a better mood now!”

“I’m so glad!” as I gave her a hug and watched her dance off down the hallway and around the corner to the living room.

The next thing I asked her to do was to help me pick up some toys, she jumped at the chance to “help” Mommy! Amazing what a little reflective time alone can do – even for a 3-year-old. My Princess Happy has returned!

The Bopper and the Princess

There he goes again! My son, sparkling eyes, mouth set in a determined grin and giggles staggering out of him as he pushes his sister's baby stroller through the hall. She trails behind screaming at him to let go of her stroller.

He just enjoys terrorizing her! Overnight he has become this maniacal, giggling thief of all things pretty and princess. I truly believe that he has decided that his purpose in life is to completely invade her territory and pillage all of her stuffed animals/blankets/books/baby dolls. This beautiful, angelic, cherubic child can turn into a beast at a blink of an eye.

But then, my little princess is no angel at times herself! She is truly one of the sweetest children I know on the planet. Giving, loving, sharing, caring - all of those wonderful qualities are hers until her brother bops her on the head, which unfortunately happens more often than it should. True, I would not be very sweet if someone bopped me on the head, but I am trying to get her to use words (Don't hit me!) instead of action (bopping her brother on the head right back). She's actually doing quite well at it. It is obvious that girls are much more into verbal communication than physical communication. Where as my son is all about the tantrums and hitting, pushing (we, thankfully, have not gotten into biting or kicking yet), my daughter is all about the screaming. In fact, I asked her to stop screaming in the car on the way home from church yesterday and she very sternly corrected me, "I'm NOT screaming, I'm YELLing!" And yes, I did have to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

*Sigh!* I hear a screaming princess...yes, she's all right, just got a bopping on the head from the bopper. It's time-out for that one as he sits looking at me with his lower lip sticking so far out you could trip over it. Too cute! I just keep telling myself that it won't be so cute when he's 16 and he's bopping people over the head.

The two minutes are up and he's released from his prison. :) I make him tell his sister that he's sorry for hitting her and then give her a kiss and a hug. Too precious! All is well between the bopper and the princess once more. He graciously shares a fruitsnack with her as she sweetly tells him, "Thank you!" They run off giggling to play in the other room. The laugh and dance around the room together. Harmony, at last!

Oh, the joys of raising children! Despite my exasperation with them at times, they are absolutely the joy of my life! They are learning all the time, every day and all day long. And while they learn, along the way I learn from them too. I'm so thankful for my little blessings!

Oh no, what's that I hear? Screaming again?! Here we go! The bopper is on the loose!