Long day

Today was a long one. The niece and nephew are back. I provide daycare for them for my sister. Of course, many would say that it is a fairly easy and desirable job. In some ways it is. I am paid to care for them in the morning before the bus arrives, and after school until their Mom retrieves them. I also keep them when school is not in session while their Moms is. Not a bad deal, really. However, the effect they have on our household and the influence they have over my 2 yr and 4 yr old is overwhelming at times.

Currently, I am so tired of the tattling and the constant refrain of "You're lying!" It has to stop! My four yr old has started saying it to every one...all the time! ...and then there is the lying...about the littlest, most insignificant things, as well as the bigger things. I have been so fortunate to not have to deal with this sort of behavior on any kind of larger scale with my own children, only to have these two around to teach it to my youngest two children. I have tried so many different approaches to deal with it, and am at a loss. Nothing seems to work on these kids.

They are exhausting! Yes, my own four kids can be exhausting, but it is somehow on a different level. In a matter of just a few hours time, I find myself spent and out of energy and the enthusiasm that my own children deserve once the niece and nephew have left. Something has to give...probably me, as I have put up with so much for so long. I hate to do it, on one hand, but my children deserve better. The niece and nephew may have to go elsewhere for daycare....

The Daddy told me not to work for family.........I hate to admit it, but he is right!

The kids are finally all sleeping! I don't know how he does it, but D will keep himself awake by talking and singing. He will be really quiet for so long, and then you hear him talking again...eyes closed and still seemingly asleep. C fought it pretty hard tonight too. He needed a drink, lost his blankie, needed to tell me what D was doing, and wanted to talk about all of the songs they sing at school. B doesn't want to sleep in her own bed as of late...Mommy and Daddy's bed, C's bed, D's bed,...anywhere but her own. Of course, she is still very tired when it is time to get up and ready for school as a result. Then again, she never has been a morning person. Who am I to say anything...she gets it from me! A is about the only one sticking to her bedtime time and routine. We are going to have to tweak the system a bit...the bedtime battles are tiring me out!

Of course, it might be nice for the Daddy to pitch in a bit more in this area...when he is home. He was home tonight, but when he goes to bed and his head hits the pillow, he.is.out! I don't know how he sleeps through the chaos of the back and forth, out of bed traffic...the fighting...crying...begging...excuses.........
I shouldn't complain, though. Before you know it, they will be older and I will wish for some of the chaos back....Hard to believe, but probably true! And I must admit, the Daddy does work some long and tiring hours for us to enjoy this chaos! Thank you, Dear Husband!

As C says, "Mommy, tomorrow is a brand new day!"
Yes it is, little man...yes it is!

Belated, but Thankful, none the less

I realize that I am a bit late, as Thanksgiving was four days ago. I am thankful still. Besides, shouldn't we try to keep Thanksgiving in every day? I am thankful.
I am thankful for a loving and wonderful husband. We are so very different, and yet, we are so very much alike. We work together. We balance each other. Some days the balancing is difficult, but we balance in the end.
I am thankful that my husband is such a good Daddy. He is strict, but also carefree. He is serious, but fun loving and playful. He is helpful, and honest, and reliable and true. He is those things as both a partner and a Daddy.
I am thankful for A. She is sincere and gentle, loving, introspective, fun, thoughtful, kind, and a good friend and sister. She is a wonderful daughter. She is full of dreams and hopes.
I am thankful for B. She is sensitive and sweet. She too is a dreamer. She is fun and spunky and full of life. She is caring and intense and beautiful. She is a blessing.
I am thankful for C. He is exhausting and fun, sweet and loving, tough and sensitive. He makes me smile. He keeps me on my toes and thinking, as he is always thinking and some days, I need to try to stay a step ahead of him. He is bright and handsome.
I am thankful for D. He is cuddly and sweet, bright and busy, loving and silly. He is delightful. He is a cute little bundle of joy and happiness.
Actually, they all are wonderful kids. They are all bright, creative, loving, and intense. They are also laid back, fun-loving, imaginative, stubborn, silly, and sweet. They make me smile, cry, and laugh. They are sunshine and joy...with an occasional downpour from time to time. How fortunate am I???
I am thankful for my wonderful and exasperating family...they drive me nuts, but I do love them.
I am thankful for my friends...which I really think of like family. Thick and thin, tried and true, always there for you friends!
I am thankful for our health, our home, our jobs, our community, our faith, and our lives. We are so very truly blessed!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving and sincerely hope that all of you did too!

a good family show, right?

You would think that having over 100 channels, and pretty close to the same number of acceptable movies to choose from, one could find appropriate and acceptable viewing choices for the entire family. Of course not!

Either the kids don't want to watch it, or the Daddy doesn't want to watch it. Of course!

Maybe we could all work on a puzzle, or play a board game. We have plenty of both. Of course not!

Maybe we could turn on some music, read a book, color, do a small craft project, legos....I'll even get out the play-doh. Of course not!

What was I thinking? Apparantly I wasn't. You would think I would know these things by now.

I left the room. From the kitchen, I hear the discussion between C and the Daddy.

"What about this movie, Daddy?"

"What else do you have?"

"How about this one Daddy?"

"No, not now. Let's keep looking."

"It needs to be a good family show. Right, Daddy?"

"That's right, Buddy"

"Can we watch Ninja Turtles, Daddy?"

"No, Daddy doesn't want to watch that today."

"Can we watch cartoons?"

Meanwhile, the Daddy is channel surfing. Do you know where he landed? Speed Vision, or Speed TV, or something like that. It was a Monster Truck Jam. And as C, my wonderful little four year old says, "oooooh, this is AWESOME, Daddy!"

Monster Trucks it is. Viewing pleasure had by all...except the Mommy.

It's back!

My poor little B. The pneumonia is back...the same as it was! She took all of the yucky medicine and did all that was asked of her. Eight days later, and she is back to square one. Now she is on even yuckier medicine! It just really needs to go away! So...looks like we are back to humidifiers, lotsa liquids, DVDs and books in the Mommy and Daddy bed. ...not that she is complaining about that part.

D threw an absolute fit today because the Mommy wouldn't let him take a full, open can of soda in the van to pick up C from school. OH THE HORROR!!!!!! He screamed all the way there and all the way back! All in all, about 30 minutes. On the up side, he did take a good, long, very needed, NAP!

Picking up on words and phrases is big for C right now...he is four. He talks to D and tries to help him:
"Dude, come here Buddy. I will help you"
"NO"
"Dude, it's O.K. You need to do it this way"
"NO, NO"
Of course, you can see that regardless of what it is, D is going through an independent streak and has his own agenda...and wants to do it his own way...right or wrong. And, of course, it usually has to do with connecting trailers to trucks, loading trucks, or hauling cars, blocks, or animals...or shoes...or whatever strikes his fancy at any given moment. ...and C has two years more experience under his belt. Just what is D thinking?

C has also taken to telling everyone that "You're fired!", any time some one disagrees with him or his assessment of a situation. I have to say, it is getting a bit annoying. But, then again, this is the same little guy that looks in to your eyes and says "I love you, Mommy"!...or "Mommy, can I have some chocolate milk? Mommy, you have to say 'give me a kiss first' then get it for me, O.K.?" What's not to love??!!!!

I went to conferences last night. No surprises. Both A and B are doing very well, and I am so very proud of them! They both are even doing better than I had anticipated in their respective weaker subjects! ...and both are on the Honor Roll again!

Even on the crazy days.........MY CUP RUNNETH OVER!

...gotta go give out some meds and good night kisses!

Nothin' better to do....

The Daddy had CMT on last night. Just like LeAnn Rimes, our four year old has "...nothin' better to do, got nothin' better to do...". Just another reminder that they pick up waaay more than they get credit for. There was my four year old, super hero, truck driving, tough guy...playing on the floor with an assortment of trucks and construction equipment...just singing away. Oh, how he makes me smile!

...what did I say?

I've have been working all day on a long list of things I need to accomplish. While working on this HUGE to do list, I've been forming my post in my head...talking to myself. (I've found this to be a hazard of my job as a stay-at-home-mom...I've got to talk to another adult you know.) Anyway, now that I've wrapped things up for the day and have a moment to type, I just can't pull my post out of my head! I guess this MAJOR headache I've been fighting for the last two days isn't helping though. It has decided that it deserves my full attention now that the four kids and husband are all sleeping. I am trying to ignore it...it isn't working. Maybe I will just call it a day and try again later....without the MAJOR pain-in-the-head.

Good Night....

LOVE 'EM

My how I LOVE these kids! I am so very proud of each and every one of them! I am so very blessed to be the Mommy of these wonderful little people!

Some days I seem to get plenty of reminders of how AWESOME these kids are. Although I try to recognize it most of the time, I am human and sometimes I let the fog of stuff cloud my vision. I guess the thing for me is to not let that fog settle in. I see it happen to others all around me. I so don't want to go there.

I so very much appreciate having the opportunity to be home for them when they arrive from school. Because I am here, I get: "Mom, look at this really cool thing that our sub showed us.", "Hi, Mommy, I had lots of fun at school today...My teacher let us do this.", "Mommy, we learned J, J, jam. I wuv you.", "Mommy, toooo." You probably have to be here to see it to understand the tone and emotion. Regardless, life is good! No matter the other "stuff" that Mommy worries about and has to handle, this is what it is all about.

Later........

"Dat was POOKY"

We had the BEST kind of "POOKY" evening last night. What C thought was spooky makes others smile, but he hears others talk of Halloween being spooky, therefore, it was. I love the way he sees things from his four year old point of view. It was a GREAT day around here. All the kids were so excited about their school parties. I was able to make an appearance at each of them, THANKS to Grandpa hanging out with D for the day! I love doing that! Luckily, my kids still like me doing that! I am sure it won't last forever, so I am feeling incredibly blessed to share these moments with each of them now.
All of the kids felt really good about their costumes too, A was a 50's Sock Hopper, B was a "grease monkey" (her chosen title), C was a scarecrow, and D was a Farmer. We were able to put together each costume with "stuff" we had...thank goodness!
Sometimes I think it would be nice to dress them with a theme, such as: a farmer, scarecrow, sack of potatoes, and carrot...or red riding hood, granny, wolf, and woodsman...or Shaggy or Fred, Velma, Daphne, and Scooby. You get the idea. Instead, since they were old enough to express an opinion, they have gotten to choose their own costume. Thus far, it has worked out pretty well...and they are happier for it. It warms my heart to see the pride beaming from their smiling faces as they share their vision with the world around them...even if it is "just" a Halloween costume.
I hope I am able, as their very proud Mommy, to teach them to hold on to and continue to find that kind of joy in the simple things throughout their lives.
....and here's to hoping that this is as "pooky" as it gets.