So it wasn't the best start to my week and I blew it. I was frustrated, tired and whiny. Once I finally made it out for a walk last night, my friend asked about my week and I confessed that I actually screamed at my daughter. At the top of my lungs. And used a swear word. Me. The mom who would be fighting every ounce of my being to take a child home with me that I heard being spoken to that way (and the reason I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart). I was horrified and even more so once I realized my windows were open and new neighbors were in their driveway! Welcome to the hood folks! Anyway, my friend patted my back and said, "praise God you ARE normal"! What? Holy cow. I felt anything but normal but her response made me laugh at myself which I probably needed to do more than I realized. The walk was great as we then went on to discuss our relationship with God, the need for accountability and how easily we slip away from much needed down time with the Lord so we can remain sane in the moments of motherhood that are anything but sane. Today is a better day.
Ty has a cold. It is minor and with a little Tylenol, he is human again! WOW! I am so grateful his behavior appears to have been linked to how he was feeling more so than the date on the calendar. Hallelujah! He missed his paci the first night but has stopped asking for it and went to bed last night after a few escape attempts. I have had to resort to using a gate in his doorway to keep him in his room. Given how easily he used to go to bed, this is a little frustrating but he will soon learn that leaving his bed is not an option. Anyway, just to make his point, Ty was throwing toys over the gate and out into the hallway saying, "uh-oh, what happened?". It took everything in me to refrain from laughing. After a few minutes, he found his way back into his bed where he slept all night.
Kate has asked to paint lately and I finally found the courage to drag out the supplies. Paint and play dough are not my favorite things as they are so messy. She spent over an hour on her little creation. She dabbed paint and then used a wet wipe to blend the colors.
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| Love the concentration tongue! |
I had the opportunity to sit and enjoy some beautiful weather today with my older girls as the little ones played in the needed sunshine. Lauren shared with me that she was listening to the radio in the truck on the way home from church Saturday night with Greg. Greg flipped the radio off and noted that any song that had to have that many lyrics bleeped out was not music she should be listening to. Lauren accused him of being jealous that he couldn't rap. She says Greg promptly started a "Lil Wayne needs his mouth washed out with soap" rap! I would give about anything to hear that one first hand! What a riot! My husband is really quite funny and the things he comes up with to make his point impresses me (and his girls too even if they aren't ready to admit it).
The cups on my counter at the end of any typical day because the kids have so many friends floating in and out. I have gone to disposable cups with a sharpie for writing names on each one because I was running my dishwasher twice a day just to keep up with them. Everyone would use a cup and forget which one they had and get another each time they wanted a sip of water. Being that we live in the town where water costs about the same as gold, something had to give. This was my solution and we do recycle the cups. But, this is also part of the reason we take two vehicles to church every week. We bring so many kids from the neighborhood and beyond that we need two sets of wheels. I tease the kids that we are one step away from driving a church bus.
Colby loves Brutus. He uses his new found mobility to try and catch the dog any opportunity Brutus allows. Today, Colby seated himself like this and Brutus stuck around this time!
Well, for a few minutes anyway! But, Colby also used his crawling skills to score Ty's half eaten peanut butter sandwich today! He had both fists wrapped firmly around that sandwich absolutely determined to eat it as I pried it out of his hands! Colby was not pleased with me and I had to call his dad to laugh. Brian wanted to know if I took a photo. I answered that I was a little busy preventing his son from choking! As Brian pointed out, there are a lot of differences between Moms and Dads because he would have gotten the shot! I prefer choking to occur on his watch, not mine.
Makenna has been a huge help lately. She is the one I can count on to pick up a fussy baby or stick with a project for hours around the house. The teenagers are a little too self absorbed to do anything that doesn't have a direct benefit for them. Anyway, Makenna's willingness to work hard has stood out for several months and the back breaking landscape work proved she will stick to it. We felt she'd earned a reward and surprised her with that news on Sunday. She chose a barbie house that arrived yesterday. Much to her dismay, Ty was immediately excited by the toy and both boys descended upon it like ants on a picnic!
And just for fun....a shot of our favorite toy in use
