From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.
If you haven't seen it already, click here check out our Christmas 2008 Letter.
With love and best wishes...
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Memories
I got this from my cousin-in-law.
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Opposite day to the MAX!
I feel like I am going CRAZY today! It is to bitterly cold to send the little peoples out to play, and they have decided to make it a blasted opposite day!
I am Ms. Grouch-a-saurus!
We were going to go out to Wal-Mart just to get out of the house, but I got to frustrated and felt so angry inside from the seeming relentless selective hearing that I opted to make everyone take a nap, including myself. I summoned myself to a time out hoping this would cure my grumpy attitude. I threatened the children that it would be in their best interest to not make any noise at all if they wanted to survive the rest of the day.
Apparently they unintentionally wanted to be entertained because they invited TIHOE to join in at nap time.
Once they realized this was serious business they changed the course of the day and all took blessed naps and we are all awake and happy once again. Needless to say I have some major repenting to do from the damage I caused to their kind souls.
I am Ms. Grouch-a-saurus!
We were going to go out to Wal-Mart just to get out of the house, but I got to frustrated and felt so angry inside from the seeming relentless selective hearing that I opted to make everyone take a nap, including myself. I summoned myself to a time out hoping this would cure my grumpy attitude. I threatened the children that it would be in their best interest to not make any noise at all if they wanted to survive the rest of the day.
Apparently they unintentionally wanted to be entertained because they invited TIHOE to join in at nap time.
Once they realized this was serious business they changed the course of the day and all took blessed naps and we are all awake and happy once again. Needless to say I have some major repenting to do from the damage I caused to their kind souls.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Sneezing and other random thoughts
Have you ever noticed that when you are about to sneeze and someone says "Bless you" before you have done the sneeze that for some reason or another your sneeze has been scared away? I do not know what causes this phenomenon, but it really intrigues me.
I am also intrigued at how many days children have, as I call them, opposite days. These are days where they choose to do everything opposite to what you have asked them to do. Frankly I do not like opposite days. They really do make my head feel like it is ready to explode or that "TIHOE" will emerge. I have a couple of theories about this though.
The first being this: God has sent these children to us to help refine us and help us become like Him. By having "opposite days" it helps me to hone my abilities to be more patient and kind in very difficult situations. In essences, these days refine me. Despite the feelings of complete and utter frustration in these moments, I know with a surety that "tomorrow" will be better.
I hope that one day I will be able to respond to my children in the same kind loving ways He does for me. I have got a llllooooonnnnngggg road ahead, but it is a road worth traveling.
The last two weeks Lucy has been going through this interesting phase. First of all she learned the word "meanie" a while back and uses it quite frequently in the situations she is in. At an attempt to help her understand that it is important to speak kindly of others, I have been trying to reinforce when she says "meanie" to her sisters or others, that we need to remember to say nice words about others especially our family members. So she will promptly say "oooh shoorreeyy!"
The second part of this phase is that she has learned how to kick objects, so she had been testing her kicking skills on, well, us! So the first couple of times she kicked us she was sent to time out, which seemed to help her to stop kicking human beings. But now she will be walking around and will kick the air and then quickly say "oooh shoorreey!" I guess she is teaching herself self discipline or something.
I would venture to guess that we are all a little like Lucy. We have been taught a correct principle and then we mess up and say "oooh shoorreeyy!"
I am also intrigued at how many days children have, as I call them, opposite days. These are days where they choose to do everything opposite to what you have asked them to do. Frankly I do not like opposite days. They really do make my head feel like it is ready to explode or that "TIHOE" will emerge. I have a couple of theories about this though.
The first being this: God has sent these children to us to help refine us and help us become like Him. By having "opposite days" it helps me to hone my abilities to be more patient and kind in very difficult situations. In essences, these days refine me. Despite the feelings of complete and utter frustration in these moments, I know with a surety that "tomorrow" will be better.
I hope that one day I will be able to respond to my children in the same kind loving ways He does for me. I have got a llllooooonnnnngggg road ahead, but it is a road worth traveling.
The last two weeks Lucy has been going through this interesting phase. First of all she learned the word "meanie" a while back and uses it quite frequently in the situations she is in. At an attempt to help her understand that it is important to speak kindly of others, I have been trying to reinforce when she says "meanie" to her sisters or others, that we need to remember to say nice words about others especially our family members. So she will promptly say "oooh shoorreeyy!"
The second part of this phase is that she has learned how to kick objects, so she had been testing her kicking skills on, well, us! So the first couple of times she kicked us she was sent to time out, which seemed to help her to stop kicking human beings. But now she will be walking around and will kick the air and then quickly say "oooh shoorreey!" I guess she is teaching herself self discipline or something.
I would venture to guess that we are all a little like Lucy. We have been taught a correct principle and then we mess up and say "oooh shoorreeyy!"
Sunday, December 7, 2008
My favorite time of the day
My favorite time of the day is when the girls and I have story time right before bedtime. They each pick a story and then we read the 3 stories. We usually sit in our special reading area. (It use to be a closet, but the renters we had in here broke the door, so we converted it into our special reading area.) The 2 older girls sit on either side of me, and then Lucy sits in my lap.
For me, this is a sacred time. It is the time where we can go anywhere or be anyone. I love looking at the girls faces as I read and make different voices for different characters. I love seeing their imaginations run wild as they try to put themselves in those "mystical" places. I love leaning forward and smelling Lucy's hair and then she will typically raise her cute little head up and I will kiss her forehead and then her eyes will light up as she gives a beaming smile. This time is sacred because I know that in a blink of an eye they will all be grown up and being all sorts of independent on their own.
It has taken me a few years to figure out the whole night time routine . In the beginning there was the first child. Let's just say I was a freak when it came to sleep and the child. I had her on a very rigid schedule. Nap time was not to be messed with, and if it was, you had to deal with me. It was not pretty.
With the second child, I was still rigid in the schedule, but was not as much of a freak. For the third child, I had learned that it is not the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it if a child does not get a nap or does not get to bed at precisely 7 o'clock p.m. I became a new person. I believe I started becoming someone that people wanted to actually hang around again. It only took me till the third child to figure this out, but it is better late than never.
I look forward when Kady can be a more active participant in our nighttime ritual. Now, she literally begs to go to bed no later than 6:30 p.m. Frankly, that is too early to gather the chicks around to start doing our story time. She will be ready by the end of spring, when she will get transplanted in the "big girl" room with her sisters before the new baby arrives.
When I was a child, my fondest memory of bedtime is my Father sitting outside of our bedroom in the hallway with his guitar and he would sing to us. He would sing songs he had made up or some of my favorites were Love Potion #9, Rainbow Connection, It only takes a spark.... His voice was so soothing to me. Those songs took me to "mystical" places. In a way it was his way of reading to us but in a different form.
What kind of rituals do you do with your children, or if you may not have any, what kind of good memories do you have of when you were a child?
For me, this is a sacred time. It is the time where we can go anywhere or be anyone. I love looking at the girls faces as I read and make different voices for different characters. I love seeing their imaginations run wild as they try to put themselves in those "mystical" places. I love leaning forward and smelling Lucy's hair and then she will typically raise her cute little head up and I will kiss her forehead and then her eyes will light up as she gives a beaming smile. This time is sacred because I know that in a blink of an eye they will all be grown up and being all sorts of independent on their own.
It has taken me a few years to figure out the whole night time routine . In the beginning there was the first child. Let's just say I was a freak when it came to sleep and the child. I had her on a very rigid schedule. Nap time was not to be messed with, and if it was, you had to deal with me. It was not pretty.
With the second child, I was still rigid in the schedule, but was not as much of a freak. For the third child, I had learned that it is not the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it if a child does not get a nap or does not get to bed at precisely 7 o'clock p.m. I became a new person. I believe I started becoming someone that people wanted to actually hang around again. It only took me till the third child to figure this out, but it is better late than never.
I look forward when Kady can be a more active participant in our nighttime ritual. Now, she literally begs to go to bed no later than 6:30 p.m. Frankly, that is too early to gather the chicks around to start doing our story time. She will be ready by the end of spring, when she will get transplanted in the "big girl" room with her sisters before the new baby arrives.
When I was a child, my fondest memory of bedtime is my Father sitting outside of our bedroom in the hallway with his guitar and he would sing to us. He would sing songs he had made up or some of my favorites were Love Potion #9, Rainbow Connection, It only takes a spark.... His voice was so soothing to me. Those songs took me to "mystical" places. In a way it was his way of reading to us but in a different form.
"The most beautiful and the most profound emotion that we can experience is the sensation of the mystical." --Albert Einstein
What kind of rituals do you do with your children, or if you may not have any, what kind of good memories do you have of when you were a child?
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Now if only...
I could remember at the beginning of the day to say my specific prayer, I could get in the habit of starting my day off on the right foot. So my goal for the coming week is to remember. We shall see how I do! Maybe I will be like Sister Hinckley when she made a goal to read all of the standard works each night and after the 4th or 5th(because I don't have the book handy to confirm specifics) night she said I am only 3 or 4 days behind. I guess it is all about intentions right?
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wonderful
On Sunday our lesson in Relief Society was superbly wonderful! A part of the lesson really gave me a different perspective on how to better my life. I had never thought of before to start my day off with a prayer that basically outlined to the Lord what I wanted to accomplish or get done, but that is what Elder Bednar talked about in his conference talk.
So I thought I would try this out. At first I felt panicked because I try to be a person who keeps their word. But I got over the feeling and, I tell you what, it sure made a difference in me being more conscientious of the choices I make throughout my day. I felt more of an accountability to the things I told the Lord I wanted to get done or help guide me in. He even guided me to help someone who needed help, which I prayed for.
I am grateful for the lesson that gave me a new perspective on how I can be a better instrument in the Lords hands. I gained a testimony of the importance of being specific with the Lord and to remember to include Him in my daily grind however small it may be. He truly does want to bless us with the desires of our hearts and He IS there to bless and guide us in our lives. We just have to do our part, and sometimes it can be as simple as starting our day off with a prayer.
So I thought I would try this out. At first I felt panicked because I try to be a person who keeps their word. But I got over the feeling and, I tell you what, it sure made a difference in me being more conscientious of the choices I make throughout my day. I felt more of an accountability to the things I told the Lord I wanted to get done or help guide me in. He even guided me to help someone who needed help, which I prayed for.
I am grateful for the lesson that gave me a new perspective on how I can be a better instrument in the Lords hands. I gained a testimony of the importance of being specific with the Lord and to remember to include Him in my daily grind however small it may be. He truly does want to bless us with the desires of our hearts and He IS there to bless and guide us in our lives. We just have to do our part, and sometimes it can be as simple as starting our day off with a prayer.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Beefy
Last night as we were getting ready for bed, my husband was trying to get a nostril hair out. As I watched him try to maneuver his thick fingers up his nose as if they were tweezers, I said "I don't think your beefy tweezers will get the job done" My husband then proceeded to laugh so hard he turned purple. I love making him laugh, it makes me happy!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
The disclaimer
Due to my husband not acknowledging he has a curse he has asked me to put a disclaimer stating that he does not recollect our conversations happening the way I stated them in my previous post "The curse". Which I think makes him so cute. We have to stand for something right? He believes the post is not completely accurate, which is fine with me. We are all entitled to our opinions. What I heard and said is different than what he recollects. I am aware that this is something all of us in relationships get to deal with. Because I love him so much I will put the disclaimer to my truthful accounts. :)
I didn't realize how much my husband cared what I wrote about but apparently he does. Like my post about how our bodies are so weird, he thought wasn't a good idea, or the schizophrenic one. Oh well, I am what I am and my life is not glamorous and so I will not portray it to be anything it is not. What you get is what it is.
About my husband. I got him on camera this morning. He is so adorable. He is truly the best husband and Father ever. About this morning. The girls have been wanting their toe nails and fingernails painted. Emma especially has been wanting them done. Wednesday, Emma and I went to the dollar tree to get Sera a present, and while there, she asked if she could get her some nail polish because, as she said, "I am such a kind person." Of course, I said yes.
So she asked Jared if he would paint her toenails for her. He said yes. Well this morning, she reminded him how patiently she has been waiting and he agreed so he painted them, and then Lucy's and Sera. So I got him on camera painting Sera's. He is the best Dad ever. I don't think the girls will not realize how amazing of a father they have until they are older.
Thanks Jared for giving me a good laugh and the banter of our disagreements of how our conversations go. I guess we will see who does more push-ups in heaven :)
(push-ups in heaven is something we incorporated early on in our marriage when neither of us would give in to the others persuasion of how a situation took place or how conversations went so we would say "If I am right then you will have to do a push-up in heaven!" or "If I am wrong I will have to do a push-up in heaven!" It works for us)
I didn't realize how much my husband cared what I wrote about but apparently he does. Like my post about how our bodies are so weird, he thought wasn't a good idea, or the schizophrenic one. Oh well, I am what I am and my life is not glamorous and so I will not portray it to be anything it is not. What you get is what it is.
About my husband. I got him on camera this morning. He is so adorable. He is truly the best husband and Father ever. About this morning. The girls have been wanting their toe nails and fingernails painted. Emma especially has been wanting them done. Wednesday, Emma and I went to the dollar tree to get Sera a present, and while there, she asked if she could get her some nail polish because, as she said, "I am such a kind person." Of course, I said yes.
So she asked Jared if he would paint her toenails for her. He said yes. Well this morning, she reminded him how patiently she has been waiting and he agreed so he painted them, and then Lucy's and Sera. So I got him on camera painting Sera's. He is the best Dad ever. I don't think the girls will not realize how amazing of a father they have until they are older.
Thanks Jared for giving me a good laugh and the banter of our disagreements of how our conversations go. I guess we will see who does more push-ups in heaven :)
(push-ups in heaven is something we incorporated early on in our marriage when neither of us would give in to the others persuasion of how a situation took place or how conversations went so we would say "If I am right then you will have to do a push-up in heaven!" or "If I am wrong I will have to do a push-up in heaven!" It works for us)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The curse!
My husband has a curse. I am not sure if he even acknowledges this curse. I certainly do!
My first recollection of this curse was when we were at a auto auction(about 7 years ago) at a impound lot for a police department.
I would say that there was at least 100 cars there in various conditions. Jared and I walked naively around for a good 45 minutes before the auction started. We had our eyes on a few cars that seemed like they were in good condition and agreed that we would only make bids on those ones.
The end of the auction was coming near. For some reason or another I can't remember why, Jared and I got separated. When we reunited he had this sheepish grin on his face.
I said "What did you do?"
He then exclaimed "I won a bid on a car!"
Me- "Okay, which one?"
J- "The Chrysler Sebring!"
Me- "Um! I thought we weren't going to bid on that one."
J- "Well we got it for cheap."
Me- "No! YOU got it for cheap!"
Well it turned out to be a crappy car it finally died about 6 months later in the middle of the road.
Thus began "The curse of Jared"
The most recent incident was his purchase of a great camera from eBay. My dream camera to be exact. A cannon 5sIS (I think that is what it is called). Anyway, I started using the camera Sunday night and I wanted to zoom in and out on the girls. I had used my sisters same camera before and so I remembered the buttons. But when I went to zoom it wasn't working. HMMMMMM!
Me- "Something is not right with this camera!"
J- "What do you mean?"
Me- "Well the zoom doesn't work"
J- "Oh!"
"HUH! I should have expected this!" I thought.
I asked Jared where he got the camera from, his reply "I got it off of eBay from a guy who sells refurbished cameras for a living."
Me -"How much did you get this camera for?"
J-"$242 He had the best prices"
This is a great price if it worked since I think you can get them normally in the $400's
Me- "Weeellllll, he probably has the best prices because he sells pieces of crap!"
Luckily we have learned from this curse, and Jared bought the "refurbished" camera with all sorts of protection in case of frequent situations like ours. So the camera is on its way back to the "dealer" as we speak and our money will be refunded fully. Wahoo for that!
My first recollection of this curse was when we were at a auto auction(about 7 years ago) at a impound lot for a police department.
I would say that there was at least 100 cars there in various conditions. Jared and I walked naively around for a good 45 minutes before the auction started. We had our eyes on a few cars that seemed like they were in good condition and agreed that we would only make bids on those ones.
The end of the auction was coming near. For some reason or another I can't remember why, Jared and I got separated. When we reunited he had this sheepish grin on his face.
I said "What did you do?"
He then exclaimed "I won a bid on a car!"
Me- "Okay, which one?"
J- "The Chrysler Sebring!"
Me- "Um! I thought we weren't going to bid on that one."
J- "Well we got it for cheap."
Me- "No! YOU got it for cheap!"
Well it turned out to be a crappy car it finally died about 6 months later in the middle of the road.
Thus began "The curse of Jared"
The most recent incident was his purchase of a great camera from eBay. My dream camera to be exact. A cannon 5sIS (I think that is what it is called). Anyway, I started using the camera Sunday night and I wanted to zoom in and out on the girls. I had used my sisters same camera before and so I remembered the buttons. But when I went to zoom it wasn't working. HMMMMMM!
Me- "Something is not right with this camera!"
J- "What do you mean?"
Me- "Well the zoom doesn't work"
J- "Oh!"
"HUH! I should have expected this!" I thought.
I asked Jared where he got the camera from, his reply "I got it off of eBay from a guy who sells refurbished cameras for a living."
Me -"How much did you get this camera for?"
J-"$242 He had the best prices"
This is a great price if it worked since I think you can get them normally in the $400's
Me- "Weeellllll, he probably has the best prices because he sells pieces of crap!"
Luckily we have learned from this curse, and Jared bought the "refurbished" camera with all sorts of protection in case of frequent situations like ours. So the camera is on its way back to the "dealer" as we speak and our money will be refunded fully. Wahoo for that!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Overcome
I have a problem!
Anytime I have gone to the girls school for events (Kindergarten graduation, Mother's day tea, Fun Run, Halloween parades) I am overcome with emotion. As I walk up to the doors of the school I realize that our children will be all grown up before I know it, and for some reason I feel like I am going to bawl.
For several minutes I have an internal dialogue that goes something like this
" Pam you are not going to start crying! Kids growing up is apart of life! People will wonder if something is wrong with you, and maybe there is, but not in the way that it would be portrayed by you crying at a Halloween parade! Snap out of it sister, you can cry once you get home!" etc.
This last time at the Halloween parade, party thing, my husband was able to come for the parade part. My eyes were a little wet when I saw him. Instead of telling him the real reason I lied! It was a windy day and so I said "Man that wind sure made my eyes water a lot!"
Later that evening I told him the real reason my eyes were wet and the reason I lied. Because I knew if I told him there at the school the way I was really feeling I would start to cry, the "ugly cry". You know where your face is stuck in that awkward position, and I didn't want to make a scene.
We won't talk about Emma's Kindergarten graduation or the Mother's Day tea her class did for the Moms.
I am not really sure if these feelings will subside as they get older and more teenagish.
They sure are wonderful people though.
Even if they occasionally tell people "You know, my Mom gets angry sometimes!?!?"
This is the way I feel about our children as the words stated in the book "Love you forever"(Which by the way makes me cry when I read)--
"I like you for always.
I love you forever.
As long as I'm living,
my baby you'll be!"
Anytime I have gone to the girls school for events (Kindergarten graduation, Mother's day tea, Fun Run, Halloween parades) I am overcome with emotion. As I walk up to the doors of the school I realize that our children will be all grown up before I know it, and for some reason I feel like I am going to bawl.
For several minutes I have an internal dialogue that goes something like this
" Pam you are not going to start crying! Kids growing up is apart of life! People will wonder if something is wrong with you, and maybe there is, but not in the way that it would be portrayed by you crying at a Halloween parade! Snap out of it sister, you can cry once you get home!" etc.
This last time at the Halloween parade, party thing, my husband was able to come for the parade part. My eyes were a little wet when I saw him. Instead of telling him the real reason I lied! It was a windy day and so I said "Man that wind sure made my eyes water a lot!"
Later that evening I told him the real reason my eyes were wet and the reason I lied. Because I knew if I told him there at the school the way I was really feeling I would start to cry, the "ugly cry". You know where your face is stuck in that awkward position, and I didn't want to make a scene.
We won't talk about Emma's Kindergarten graduation or the Mother's Day tea her class did for the Moms.
I am not really sure if these feelings will subside as they get older and more teenagish.
They sure are wonderful people though.
Even if they occasionally tell people "You know, my Mom gets angry sometimes!?!?"
This is the way I feel about our children as the words stated in the book "Love you forever"(Which by the way makes me cry when I read)--
"I like you for always.
I love you forever.
As long as I'm living,
my baby you'll be!"
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Why so weird?
Why do our bodies do such weird things? For instance, when I work out or am cleaning, my nose will start to leak. Why? I have no idea!
Some people produce more plaque on their teeth than others. Why? I have no idea!
I sweat more in my right arm pit than in my left. Why? I have no idea!
Before I had any children we went out to eat with my Dad's side of the family. My Grandma and I needed to use the facilities. While we were in the facilities my Grandma proceeded to aggressively pass gas. I didn't know if I should laugh or be concerned.
My Grandma yells from the stall, "Any of you out there, I just want you to know that when you get older you have no control of what your body does! Especially if you have had children!"
I have children now and I have a firm testimony of the truthfulness of her message.
This post may be disgusting to you but the truth is we all have bodies and like it or not they all do disgusting things.
The list could go on and on of the weird things our bodies do, but I will cease from furthering the list.
I just wanted to make it known that I think our bodies do weird things!
Some people produce more plaque on their teeth than others. Why? I have no idea!
I sweat more in my right arm pit than in my left. Why? I have no idea!
Before I had any children we went out to eat with my Dad's side of the family. My Grandma and I needed to use the facilities. While we were in the facilities my Grandma proceeded to aggressively pass gas. I didn't know if I should laugh or be concerned.
My Grandma yells from the stall, "Any of you out there, I just want you to know that when you get older you have no control of what your body does! Especially if you have had children!"
I have children now and I have a firm testimony of the truthfulness of her message.
This post may be disgusting to you but the truth is we all have bodies and like it or not they all do disgusting things.
The list could go on and on of the weird things our bodies do, but I will cease from furthering the list.
I just wanted to make it known that I think our bodies do weird things!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Ding dong, anybody home?
Have you ever noticed children have really short-term memories? It is like they put themselves in situations that screams to us "normal" people, "Ding dong, anybody home?"
I figure we all are like this at some point of our mortal life, it just seems to me to be more evident in children.
Example: As mentioned in an earlier post, I watch the neighbor boys after school. I have learned a lot about the difference in how boys and girls play. Regardless of the differences Emma seems to think that she can be just as tough as "The Boys" , but always falls short of being tough.
So in the last week Emma has been trying to do the same tricks as the boys on the tire swing. They will twist that doggone tire swing so tight that I think one of these days it will literally shoot someone off of it.
So this particular day as I was outside observing the children at play, the 3 boys were all attempting to go faster than the other one. I thought for sure one of them was going to lose their snacks they had just ate.
As I watched I noticed Emma carefully watching them. I can just imagine Emma's thought process : "Huh, that doesn't look that scary, maybe I will try it."
She then mustered up the courage to announce to the boys, "I want to try that!"
So they gladly made the swing available to her. They let her settle in before they start twisting.
As they are twisting her and the rope is starting to slow down from being so tight I can see the bubble above Emma's head screaming : "ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!" But being true to form of a child she ignores the shouts of her internal danger warning system and hunkers down on the swing with this look of horror that could be easily described as "I really do not know if I am going to survive this! Please Lord help me live through this! I promise I will never do anything stupid like this ever again!"
As the boys release the human grenade, she starts screaming this most hideous scream only a mother can detect as true and utter fear from a child. The boys then decided to sway Emma as she is swirling around and she is banged into the tree. They then realize they have crossed the line, as Emma changes into TIHOE (The Incredible Hulk On Estrogen), and they immediately stop the swing and help her get off.(this all happened in about 45 seconds)
After she got off of the swing she obviously was crying and ran to me all upset and stuff. Anyway Emma tried to make it sound like the boys had tricked her into hopping onto the swing. I reminded her that she very gladly and willingly got on that swing.
(Remember I had watched the whole thing) I told her that I was sorry that she got hurt, and that she needed to remember that boys play differently than girls! (And then gave her hugs and kisses, because that is what we do to make things better) "Okay Mom" was her reply.
So I went inside to finish dinner up. 2 minutes later I hear a scream and a cry again. So I go to the door and it is Emma again.
"Moooom (sob, sob, sob, sup, sup,) the boys hurt me again!"
ME: "How did they hurt you?"
Emma: "I was swinging on the tire swing again and they started to twist me again and (sup, sup,) I said stop and they didn't and so (sup, sup,) I started to get off the swing but they didn't stop (sup, sup,) the swing, and so my foot got stuck while (sup, sup,) I was trying to get out(soooobbbbinnngg)!"
Now I am thinking at this point "Are you serious, you are telling me that your reasoning thought that it was safer to jump out of the perpetually moving swing then to stay put until it came to a stop?"
Obviously that is not what a nice mom would say out loud. We only think these things and hope that they never come out of our mouths.
So I said "Emma, I am sorry you got hurt again. Next time just stay away from the boys when they are near the swing(hug and kiss)" Emma: "Okay Mom, I think you are right."
So it is with our life journey. We ignore the promptings we get that warn us of danger and we get hurt over and over, and still we have a loving God who gently reminds us "Ding dong anybody home?"
I figure we all are like this at some point of our mortal life, it just seems to me to be more evident in children.
Example: As mentioned in an earlier post, I watch the neighbor boys after school. I have learned a lot about the difference in how boys and girls play. Regardless of the differences Emma seems to think that she can be just as tough as "The Boys" , but always falls short of being tough.
So in the last week Emma has been trying to do the same tricks as the boys on the tire swing. They will twist that doggone tire swing so tight that I think one of these days it will literally shoot someone off of it.
So this particular day as I was outside observing the children at play, the 3 boys were all attempting to go faster than the other one. I thought for sure one of them was going to lose their snacks they had just ate.
As I watched I noticed Emma carefully watching them. I can just imagine Emma's thought process : "Huh, that doesn't look that scary, maybe I will try it."
She then mustered up the courage to announce to the boys, "I want to try that!"
So they gladly made the swing available to her. They let her settle in before they start twisting.
As they are twisting her and the rope is starting to slow down from being so tight I can see the bubble above Emma's head screaming : "ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!" But being true to form of a child she ignores the shouts of her internal danger warning system and hunkers down on the swing with this look of horror that could be easily described as "I really do not know if I am going to survive this! Please Lord help me live through this! I promise I will never do anything stupid like this ever again!"
As the boys release the human grenade, she starts screaming this most hideous scream only a mother can detect as true and utter fear from a child. The boys then decided to sway Emma as she is swirling around and she is banged into the tree. They then realize they have crossed the line, as Emma changes into TIHOE (The Incredible Hulk On Estrogen), and they immediately stop the swing and help her get off.(this all happened in about 45 seconds)
After she got off of the swing she obviously was crying and ran to me all upset and stuff. Anyway Emma tried to make it sound like the boys had tricked her into hopping onto the swing. I reminded her that she very gladly and willingly got on that swing.
(Remember I had watched the whole thing) I told her that I was sorry that she got hurt, and that she needed to remember that boys play differently than girls! (And then gave her hugs and kisses, because that is what we do to make things better) "Okay Mom" was her reply.
So I went inside to finish dinner up. 2 minutes later I hear a scream and a cry again. So I go to the door and it is Emma again.
"Moooom (sob, sob, sob, sup, sup,) the boys hurt me again!"
ME: "How did they hurt you?"
Emma: "I was swinging on the tire swing again and they started to twist me again and (sup, sup,) I said stop and they didn't and so (sup, sup,) I started to get off the swing but they didn't stop (sup, sup,) the swing, and so my foot got stuck while (sup, sup,) I was trying to get out(soooobbbbinnngg)!"
Now I am thinking at this point "Are you serious, you are telling me that your reasoning thought that it was safer to jump out of the perpetually moving swing then to stay put until it came to a stop?"
Obviously that is not what a nice mom would say out loud. We only think these things and hope that they never come out of our mouths.
So I said "Emma, I am sorry you got hurt again. Next time just stay away from the boys when they are near the swing(hug and kiss)" Emma: "Okay Mom, I think you are right."
So it is with our life journey. We ignore the promptings we get that warn us of danger and we get hurt over and over, and still we have a loving God who gently reminds us "Ding dong anybody home?"
Unintentional Blaspheme
Tonight during FHE (family home evening) Sera was examining the statue of the Christus we have on our piano mantle. After a few minutes she rather abruptly asked "How come Jesus's boobs are showing?"
I have the hardest times when our children ask these kind of questions. I mean how can you not laugh out loud or giggle when such questions are posed.
So my husband who is better equipped at answering these types of questions said "because He didn't have any shirts."
Which of course made me laugh even harder.
So Sera then said as she pulls up her shirt "I'm gonna dress like Jesus then, because I want to be like Him!"
Never a dull moment! At least in our home, and that is the way I like it.
I have the hardest times when our children ask these kind of questions. I mean how can you not laugh out loud or giggle when such questions are posed.
So my husband who is better equipped at answering these types of questions said "because He didn't have any shirts."
Which of course made me laugh even harder.
So Sera then said as she pulls up her shirt "I'm gonna dress like Jesus then, because I want to be like Him!"
Never a dull moment! At least in our home, and that is the way I like it.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Watch your mouth
I noticed recently that Sera had been using the term "What the" all the time. So I asked her where she learned this from. She said, "I don't know."
After thinking about where she possibly could have gotten this term from, I realized something...
I am always editing myself!
History lesson. In 6th grade I made a pack with myself to not swear ever again, and I did pretty good for the most part, until I had children.
Let me correct myself, I started swearing in my head once I started having children. That is different to me.
There is something that is evoked in me that goes to this place of foul language when it comes to helping my children do what they are suppose to do.
So I found myself saying a lot of "what the .....pause ... are you doing?"(hence where Sera got the term), "Get your .... pause... shoes on!" You get the point.
My husband says "Pam you might as well say it there is no difference."
I am sure he is right.
Nonetheless I can not bring myself to saying the "obscenities" out loud.
I would say about a month ago, I decided that I needed to say something to help ease the dramatic pauses in my sentences to my children. So I determined that "doggone" was an appropriate alternate to the pauses. "Get you doggone shoes on", "How many doggone times..!" "What the doggone are you doing?"
I have found that the swearing in my head has been subdued in a way.
For me this is as good as it gets,(at least for now) and I am sticking to it! I feel I have found a very happy medium! I mean really, have you ever tried this parenting thing out? It is not easy!
Unfortunately for me, Sera has not stopped using the term mentioned previously completely. I am sure eventually it will wear off, and when it does you will start hearing her use the term "doggone.....!"
After thinking about where she possibly could have gotten this term from, I realized something...
I am always editing myself!
History lesson. In 6th grade I made a pack with myself to not swear ever again, and I did pretty good for the most part, until I had children.
Let me correct myself, I started swearing in my head once I started having children. That is different to me.
There is something that is evoked in me that goes to this place of foul language when it comes to helping my children do what they are suppose to do.
So I found myself saying a lot of "what the .....pause ... are you doing?"(hence where Sera got the term), "Get your .... pause... shoes on!" You get the point.
My husband says "Pam you might as well say it there is no difference."
I am sure he is right.
Nonetheless I can not bring myself to saying the "obscenities" out loud.
I would say about a month ago, I decided that I needed to say something to help ease the dramatic pauses in my sentences to my children. So I determined that "doggone" was an appropriate alternate to the pauses. "Get you doggone shoes on", "How many doggone times..!" "What the doggone are you doing?"
I have found that the swearing in my head has been subdued in a way.
For me this is as good as it gets,(at least for now) and I am sticking to it! I feel I have found a very happy medium! I mean really, have you ever tried this parenting thing out? It is not easy!
Unfortunately for me, Sera has not stopped using the term mentioned previously completely. I am sure eventually it will wear off, and when it does you will start hearing her use the term "doggone.....!"
How easy we really have it!
Yesterday when I was changing a very fragrant diaper courtesy of the little one, I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude of all those Mothers who came before us. I am pretty sure that I would probably only have one child if I had to clean poop and pee from cloth diapers all day, and do laundry by hand. I tell ya what, those mothers and women are my hero's. I know, I know, that that is all they knew, but if that is all I knew you can bet your bottom dollar(no pun intended) I would have been the genius who invented the disposable stuff. This got me thinking of how easy we really have it. I am grateful for fast running moto vehicles with heaters and A/C. We don't need to stop on the side of the road and fill some kind of component with water to cool the car off. We just go to the gas station fill 'er up and go. Grocery stores! How blessed we are to have grocery stores with shelves filled with food and paper products, baby products, bandaids, shampoo, women products (heaven be praised), medicines and ice cream. These are just a few things that make me think "How easy we really have it!"
What makes your life easier?
What makes your life easier?
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tree Jumping Follow-up
Last Thursday, Emma wanted to show her dad her jumping-out-of-tree skills I mentioned in a previous post.
Her dad videotaped her jump this time. Although she doesn't land as gracefully as she did the first time, I think this video sums up the oldest two girls really well.
(It's about 15 minutes edited into 2 to give you a taste of how blessed we are to have these girls in our lives.)
Her dad videotaped her jump this time. Although she doesn't land as gracefully as she did the first time, I think this video sums up the oldest two girls really well.
(It's about 15 minutes edited into 2 to give you a taste of how blessed we are to have these girls in our lives.)
schizophrenic
So have any of you ever felt like you were two different people when it comes to being a parent? I do all the time.
I used to call her in my earlier Mommy Journal "The Incredible Hulk On Estrogen." I think she first arrived when Emma (our oldest) turned 2 and started having her own opinion, wanting to do things her own way. And I am not kidding you, it really happened over night, and I was like, "Wait a minute, no one warned me of the suddenness of this. I have no more control!!!!!!"
And thus began my split personality.
Let me tell you a little bit more about this beast. She only comes out when the kind nice person we all know as "Pam" has very gently and patiently asked her children too many times to admit to do their responsibilities, but they have, for one reason or another, decided to be entertained, because that is when "TIHOE" (The Incredible Hulk on Estrogen) comes out. It is almost like it says, "Move over, you are to calm. Let me take care of this for you."
Initially, the kids think it is funny, but then they realize they are not dealing with their Mommy. "Oh no, it isn't?!? It is....TIHOE!"
So TIHOE is an odd thing, really. Most of the time it sings opera and then other times it forgets to sing opera and freaks out. I have often pondered the affects of this personality disorder, and at present, think that it is most important for children to see how their parents deal with stressful situations. I think being calm all the time would stunt the children's emotional growth. Having more than one emotion helps children understand that, as humans, we have emotions, and if we channel them properly, at least most of the time, we will have healthy productive lives.
Being angry is a real scary emotion, but not knowing how to deal with it would be even scarier. Once in a while, I like asking our girls to role play situations we go through as a family. "Okay, Emma, you be Mom. Sera, you be Emma and role play what happend last night at bed time."
We get ourselves laughing so hard because Emma's face will be all crazy and stuff trying to get it to look as crazy as mine did the night before. I guess my whole point in this post is this: Look, it is okay to get upset with your kids. It really is normal. It is what you do after the fact is what I think will make the lasting effect. I do not know about my other siblings, but for me growing up, I remember often, after I had gotten disciplined, having my Mother or Father coming in and saying sorry and making sure I understood what just happend. For me this made a world of a difference.
I know very well that every child is sooooo very different. That is why I think it is even more important to have a relationship with Him who knows all, because He is the only one who knows that child better and knows how to help that child.
As for the split personality, I have a feeling that she helps get things done. All I know is that, despite how frustrating it can be as a parent, the joy and happiness of being a mom far outweighs the frustration (by about a bagillion times!). You gotta love the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to parenting!
I used to call her in my earlier Mommy Journal "The Incredible Hulk On Estrogen." I think she first arrived when Emma (our oldest) turned 2 and started having her own opinion, wanting to do things her own way. And I am not kidding you, it really happened over night, and I was like, "Wait a minute, no one warned me of the suddenness of this. I have no more control!!!!!!"
And thus began my split personality.
Let me tell you a little bit more about this beast. She only comes out when the kind nice person we all know as "Pam" has very gently and patiently asked her children too many times to admit to do their responsibilities, but they have, for one reason or another, decided to be entertained, because that is when "TIHOE" (The Incredible Hulk on Estrogen) comes out. It is almost like it says, "Move over, you are to calm. Let me take care of this for you."
Initially, the kids think it is funny, but then they realize they are not dealing with their Mommy. "Oh no, it isn't?!? It is....TIHOE!"
So TIHOE is an odd thing, really. Most of the time it sings opera and then other times it forgets to sing opera and freaks out. I have often pondered the affects of this personality disorder, and at present, think that it is most important for children to see how their parents deal with stressful situations. I think being calm all the time would stunt the children's emotional growth. Having more than one emotion helps children understand that, as humans, we have emotions, and if we channel them properly, at least most of the time, we will have healthy productive lives.
Being angry is a real scary emotion, but not knowing how to deal with it would be even scarier. Once in a while, I like asking our girls to role play situations we go through as a family. "Okay, Emma, you be Mom. Sera, you be Emma and role play what happend last night at bed time."
We get ourselves laughing so hard because Emma's face will be all crazy and stuff trying to get it to look as crazy as mine did the night before. I guess my whole point in this post is this: Look, it is okay to get upset with your kids. It really is normal. It is what you do after the fact is what I think will make the lasting effect. I do not know about my other siblings, but for me growing up, I remember often, after I had gotten disciplined, having my Mother or Father coming in and saying sorry and making sure I understood what just happend. For me this made a world of a difference.
I know very well that every child is sooooo very different. That is why I think it is even more important to have a relationship with Him who knows all, because He is the only one who knows that child better and knows how to help that child.
As for the split personality, I have a feeling that she helps get things done. All I know is that, despite how frustrating it can be as a parent, the joy and happiness of being a mom far outweighs the frustration (by about a bagillion times!). You gotta love the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to parenting!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
SHOUT OUT!
So today the 3 younger ones and I went to the doctors. The office building we went to is new and the ceilings are high in the foyer area and a lot of empty space still. Well Sera, the child that makes me go "huh" the most t, immediately realized her opportunity to shine. She really liked the echo this building created, so she began to shout as she talked, "MOM, HOW ARE YOU. MOM THIS IS A NICE BUILDING, HEY WHO ARE YOU,(to a stranger), MOM WHAT BUTTON SHOULD I PRESS FOR THE ELEVATOR" etc. I thought whatever, this is totally expected of this child. I used to think it was rather odd, until I watched a bio on Carol Burnett and said, "oh my goodness that is totally how Sera acts." Well anyway, we got to the doctors office area and I thought surely Sera would stop shouting, since we were not in an echoey area anymore. I was wrong! When asked what her name was, she shouted rather loudly " MY NAME IS SERA PALMA AND I GO TO KINDERGARTEN AND THIS IS MY BABY SISTA KADY AND SHE REALLY IS THE CUTEST BABY EVA". The nurse was taken by surprise and then started to chuckle nervously. That's our Sera. Neva a dull moment with her.
Maybe one day I will be crazy enough to reply to people in a shout just cause I want to. "WHAT I CANNOT HEAR YOU, DID YOU JUST ASK IF ALL THESE CHILDREN ARE MINE, WHY YES THEY ARE, AREN'T THEY SO BEAUTIFUL, WHAT DID YOU SAY, YES WE ARE PLANNING ON HAVING MORE, WHAT OTHER PERSONAL QUESTIONS DID YOU WANT TO ASK?"
Maybe one day I will be crazy enough to reply to people in a shout just cause I want to. "WHAT I CANNOT HEAR YOU, DID YOU JUST ASK IF ALL THESE CHILDREN ARE MINE, WHY YES THEY ARE, AREN'T THEY SO BEAUTIFUL, WHAT DID YOU SAY, YES WE ARE PLANNING ON HAVING MORE, WHAT OTHER PERSONAL QUESTIONS DID YOU WANT TO ASK?"
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Grammatically challenged
So have you ever thought when you are talking with people, "did I just make sense" ? I think I have a serious mental problem because I ask myself that question all the time when conversing with others. :) I think it is quite funny personally. It might be early stages of dementia for all I know, or it is a thing I call "children induced insanity, causes me to be grammatically challenged". Now some might think that having this is a serious issue but for me I know that it is only a stage in life and that one day I will no longer have this challenge,and quite possibly forget about it! But until then you get to be apart of this fun journey with me.
So a funny story that happened today. As a preface we have 4 children 2 in school 2 not, and I watch the 3 brothers from next door after school . Anyway, after homework was done and snacks the kids went outside to play. We have this huge maple tree out back and we have 2 tire swings and 1 rope swing attached to it. For the last 3 weeks the kids have figured out how to climb the tree and swing down from the top. Really cool to watch them maneuver themselves up the tree and then Tarzan jump out of. Well Emma has been able to climb up the tree but has not mustered up the courage to be able to swing down yet, that is til today. Lets talk about some good bribery techniques. SO she was sitting up in the tree and I needed her to come in because it was dinner time and the boyz parents had gotten home from work. So I said Emma just swing down from the rope, of course she started to panic and was like heck no, so I said I'll give you $2 if you do it, uh no from her, so then I said what would make it worth it for you, she said, if you get me a horse, I said I can get you a plastic horse, she said, no thank you, so then I remembered she has been wanting her own room for a while now, so I said, if you swing down from that tree you can have your own room. Wow something snapped in that child and she suddenly became brave, held on tight to the rope jumped, she got so excited that she actually jumped that she let go of the rope in mid air, did this amazingly graceful fall to the ground where she proceeded to do 3 very fast rolls on the ground, got up from the ground just as fast and stated "I am Okay" and ran to the door where I was standing laughing so hard, and said I can have my own room now." So Emma is sleeping very peacefully, and happily in her new room tonight and is equally glad she did not have to listen to her 2 younger sisters chit chat when she wanted to go to sleep. So we have the oldest with her own room and youngest with her own room and the middles sharing. Life is good! That is all for today.
So a funny story that happened today. As a preface we have 4 children 2 in school 2 not, and I watch the 3 brothers from next door after school . Anyway, after homework was done and snacks the kids went outside to play. We have this huge maple tree out back and we have 2 tire swings and 1 rope swing attached to it. For the last 3 weeks the kids have figured out how to climb the tree and swing down from the top. Really cool to watch them maneuver themselves up the tree and then Tarzan jump out of. Well Emma has been able to climb up the tree but has not mustered up the courage to be able to swing down yet, that is til today. Lets talk about some good bribery techniques. SO she was sitting up in the tree and I needed her to come in because it was dinner time and the boyz parents had gotten home from work. So I said Emma just swing down from the rope, of course she started to panic and was like heck no, so I said I'll give you $2 if you do it, uh no from her, so then I said what would make it worth it for you, she said, if you get me a horse, I said I can get you a plastic horse, she said, no thank you, so then I remembered she has been wanting her own room for a while now, so I said, if you swing down from that tree you can have your own room. Wow something snapped in that child and she suddenly became brave, held on tight to the rope jumped, she got so excited that she actually jumped that she let go of the rope in mid air, did this amazingly graceful fall to the ground where she proceeded to do 3 very fast rolls on the ground, got up from the ground just as fast and stated "I am Okay" and ran to the door where I was standing laughing so hard, and said I can have my own room now." So Emma is sleeping very peacefully, and happily in her new room tonight and is equally glad she did not have to listen to her 2 younger sisters chit chat when she wanted to go to sleep. So we have the oldest with her own room and youngest with her own room and the middles sharing. Life is good! That is all for today.
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