Keep Calm and Carry On

I've been seeing a lot of these posters lately and I must admit, for someone whose life is rarely calm, the phrase intrigued and appealed to me.  I did a quick search to find the origin of this phrase.   Apparently it was intended for use in England in the event that there was a German invasion during World War II.  There never was and the posters were mostly destroyed or left to rot.  It was discovered again more recently and has been becoming increasingly popular in the last decade.

I feel like this mantra is so applicable for me right now...I mean what mother of young children doesn't need to be reminded to...Keep Calm and Carry On?  Especially in the morning, when I wake up to a quiet and hopefully clean house, it is as if I am awaiting the onslaught of two wild children.  As soon as they awaken, I know that the next 12-14 hours will be non-stop craziness, messes, potty emergencies, eating, cleaning up toys, refereeing and breaking up fights and the subsequent time-outs.  There are plenty of good things that happen throughout the day too....don't get me wrong.  It's just hard to keep things in perspective sometimes.  So I think I'll keep this phrase in the back of my mind...or perhaps one day you'll see it hanging somewhere in my house...reminding me.....

When I have made breakfast for both kids and neither one wants what I prepared by the time I get it on the table...

When I just cleaned a room, turn my back for 2 minutes and it's trashed again...

When the shoes are off 1 minute after I've put them on...

When a diaper needs changed right after I just put a new one on...

When they seem to fight more than they seem to get along

...Keep Calm and Carry On

Carrots, Eggs and Coffee Beans

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”
– James 1:2

   When Paul, Peter and James all emphasize a point, you know it must be important.  One point they all make is that hardship and trouble is not always bad.  Blessed results, precious lessons, powerful testimonies are often the result.  The following story demonstrates this point very well.

    A young girl was complaining to her mother about some of the troubles she was having at school and with her friends.  Her mother then asked her to get three pans of water, put a carrot in one, an egg in another, and ground coffee beans in the third.  Then she was to put these on the stove and boil all three for at least 5 minutes.  After they cooled, mother asked daughter to feel the carrot and note that it had gotten soft.  Then she told her to break the eggshell and she found that the egg had become hard-boiled.  And finally she smelled the coffee and found it giving off a rich aroma.

     “What’s the point, mother?” the girl asked.

   The point is: all three items face the same adversity – hot boiling water.  But their reactions were very different.  The carrot had been strong and tough, but came out of the boiling water softened and weak.   The egg had been delicate and fragile, but sitting in the boiling water it had become hardened.  The ground coffee was different.  It now gave off a pleasing aroma and had changed the water around it.

      Which am I?  A carrot – seeming strong but when faced with adversity do I wilt and become weak.  An egg – hardened and stiffened by adversity.  Does a death, breakup, financial reverse, or other disappointment make me bitter and harden my heart against God and man?  Or am I like the coffee beans – testing and trouble simply help me to give off a pleasing odor of increased faith and love and change the environment around me for the better.

      Listen to Peter on the subject:  “…rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  I Peter 1:8  

   And then hear the Apostle Paul:  “ we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character hope.”  Romans 5:3 

   And finally in the words of our Savior, - “ blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Matthew 5:11

   A Prayer:  Father help us to see Your hand in even the trying things of this life and to learn thereby.  Prepare us to glorify Your name by our reactions to trials and the temptation of this life.  May we in all things glorify your Son.  In His Name, Amen.

A Hymn:

Though trouble assail us and dangers afright,

Though friends should all fail us and foes all unite,

Yet one thing secures us whatever betide,

The promise assures us, “The Lord will provide.”

Healthy Muffins

Vegan Banana Muffins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
1 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 cup skim milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar **
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup applesauce

1/2 cup chopped walnuts and/or chocolate chips (optional)
** I used skim milk but obviously if you want 100% vegan you have to use almond or soy milk which is what the recipe originally called for.  I just didn't have any on hand.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 8×4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or lightly coat with margarine.   For muffins: Place paper liners in muffin pan and fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

Cream together the oil, applesauce sugar and maple syrup. Add bananas, milk and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes.  If baking muffins, bake for approximately 30 minutes, 15-20 for mini muffins.

The kids helped me make these today.  They really had fun with it and LOVED eating the mini-muffins afterwards.  They are really good.  I just hand-dropped in 3 or 4 chocolate chips into each muffin to make them a tad sweet but not entirely unhealthy.

Berry Pickin'

 There is nothing in this world quite like a fresh-picked blueberry.  Well, at least for me.  I think they have always been my favorite food.  I was so jealous of all my NJ friends and relatives talking about their amazing blueberries, so I decided to go find some for myself today.  No, they are nothing like the Jersey ones, but this farm was close to home and we managed to pick 3 pints of the blues and 1 of raspberries.




Those were some hard-earned berries, let me tell you.  I think it took 1 1/2 hours to pick that many with how many times they were spilled and how many the kids were eating.  They must have each eaten a pound of berries while we were there.  :)  Reese was really into the raspberry picking and did actually contribute a few raspberries to the stash before she decided to only pick green ones.

I think I was a little bit overly optimistic about how many we could pick in an hour.  I picked blueberries back in the day for my first job and could pick 10 lbs in one hour.  I made a whopping $2.50 for that 10 lb.s by the way...there's big money in berry picking when you are 12 years old.  hahaha

Carter's silly phrase for the day was, "I wish Dadda could get a BIG cape...then we could both fly!"  (Carter got a little superhero cape for his last birthday.)

Chocolate...oh how sweet...

 Perhaps in retrospect it was not a good idea to let the kids lick the spoon, spatula and beater after making a chocolate pie last night.  Perhaps....but boy did they enjoy watching me make it, knowing they'd get a little taste.  And if you could  have seen how they savored every little bite...well you would have let yours do the same thing.  The aftermath was indeed a sticky, chocolaty mess...but how else do you involve children in early cooking lessons?

It is the priceless smiles they flash me sometimes that keep me going during the times that are really tough.  We had a difficult day yesterday with moodiness, hitting, biting...pretty much you name it on the attitude list.  But at least we were able to end the day on a sweet note.

These 4 Walls

As a parent of little kids, I find myself spending a lot of time in the house.  I was thinking of this as I was driving to a friend's home today...how much of my world revolves around my home, cleaning it, decorating it, buying toys for the kids to put inside it, furnishing it, and then the inevitable de-cluttering which must frequently occur to make room for more stuff.  It is easy to let your identity get wrapped up in your home.  Heck, it's easy as a stay-at-home-mom to just stay inside all the time and never leave but to get groceries and other essentials.


I may be getting WAY too deep here on a Thursday afternoon, but I think it's good to take a step back from time to time (or a step outside) and remember that there is so much more to life and living than your home.  Yes, we all need shelter, a place to relax together, to sleep, to play...but I find it easy to forget that there is so much more to this world and this life than how much we can accumulate in our homes and how nice they look inside.


This is going to sound totally weird and cheesy, but I remembered a scene from the movie The Labyrinth when I was driving and pondering on all of this...there is a scene where the main female character is trying to find her baby brother and find her way home.  She is lured into this seemingly comfortable and familiar place where all of her favorite toys and things are...it looks just like her home and it is wonderful and she is SO tempted just to stay there.  But when she questions it, when she wonders if it is even really real, she breaks out to find out she is really living in an enormous trash heap.  There is nothing comfortable or beautiful about it at all.  Ok if you've never seen it, just keep reading...


I also recall from time to time C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce in trying to grasp Heaven and reality.   When this man first gets off the bus transporting him from earth to Heaven, he is shocked by how bright the light is there and how sharp every blade of grass feels on his feet.  It's as if his former reality was only a shadow compared to the reality that is Heaven.


We tend to gravitate toward the things that make us comfortable and happy, the things that are familiar and safe.  Our homes can do all of that for us...but sometimes we need to get outside...to nurture relationships, to challenge ourselves in our faith, in our generosity, in so many ways.


Our pastor has referenced this section from C.S. Lewis's Narnia several times in sermons:

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Chapter 8, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia

I read these verses today:

2 Peter 1: 5-8  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to possess these qualities in increasing measure.  There should be no status quo in the Christian life...we are to daily be striving to be more like Christ.  We are to challenge the norms, we need to be more willing to get outside our safety nets and get into the world....  All the beauty I can accumulate while here on earth is really about as attractive as a trash heap compared with the awesome splendor of Heaven.

Potty Humor

It's been another whirlwind of a week so far for the kiddos and I.  It seems like once summer hits, we just go and go and go till the sun goes down (LITERALLY)...every single day.  Not complaining...not complaining at all!  But it does have a way of making the days just FLY by and leave me wondering, where did all the time go??

Reese is really starting to get into the groove with potty training now.  So much that whenever she sees anyone going to use the restroom, she has to go too.  She really gets a kick out of going in the little potty and then emptying the bowl into the big toilet and flushing it.  (A little scary)  And she always wants a "special treat" when she's done.  We still have Easter candy left in the pantry so that is the treat of choice right now.  Don't know what we'll do when that runs out.  Reese has some other interesting potty training tricks.  For a while, she wanted to be completely undressed whenever she sat on the potty...I'm talking buck naked.  Not sure what gave her that idea.  Now, once she finishes, she wants to run around without a diaper and make me chase her down to get it back on.  That's a real blast too...

Reese has skipped her nap three days in a row now...hence my lack of time to write on my blog or do anything productive for that matter.  Carter stopped napping right after 2...I think she is trying to break his record or something.  I think I might just go and cry now...

And to finish off this totally nonsensical post of random bits of information...I will share my amazing thrift store finds from yesterday.  I was looking for a life jacket for Reese because she's graduating from the baby tube I have (plus it has a hole in it!).  Target had them but they were all like $30 bucks!  So I went to the thrift store in search of one yesterday...I found a life vest for $4, knee pads for Carter for $3 for when he's biking, summer sandals for Reese for $2, two pairs of shorts for me for $10, and a huge bag of superhero action figures for Carter for $3.  He's been begging me for new superheros ever since we found this Batman book at the library last week...so I figure I get some amazing points for scoring all those bargains for less then I would have spent on one new life jacket.

Underage driving

 Whoever thought that shrinking a life-like car down to a kid-size car was a good idea?  And what right-minded parents then get such a car for their kids to drive around the yard?  Ok, in our defense we picked this out of our neighbor's trash last year, so no money was spent on it...but still.

 It's always a hold-your-breath, white knuckled experience when one of your kids first gets behind the wheel...especially when he is only 3 years old!  Carter and his friend had fun today...don't they look cute??

This is how we roll

Homemade pizzas today, a la Berad Kitchen.  The kids love to "help" make it.  AKA, eat the dough and roll it with their toy rolling pin....very effective!

It is nice to spend a quiet Father's Day here together, just doing little projects around the house and yard.  Some quotable quotes for this Father's day:

Carter to Derrick: "Dadda can you hold my pizza for me because it's too hot for my fingers?"

Reese kneads the dough with her feet.  JUST KIDDING!!!!

Reese to Derrick:  "Poop, Dadda!"  Reese pooped on the potty for the first time.  I gave Derrick a pass since it's his special day and I cleaned it up.  (training potty = more of a hassle than the diaper in my opinion!!)

Seafood Feast

 The Berads visited us today for some fun in Sewickley followed by a Seafood Feast.  We had fresh lobster, scallops, and crab legs.  It was delicious.  The kids enjoyed seeing the lobsters!

 But the highlight of their day was a bag full of Toy Story figurines from their Aunt Jen.  You can see from the smiles, they were truly overjoyed.  They could have cared less about the lobster once we were ready to eat.  All they wanted was to play with their new toys.  Oh well, more for the rest of us.

We made this Fresh Squeezed Limeade to go with our meal and it was Gooooood!

Search me and know my heart...

I was trying to make lunch for 5 kids and 2 adults today and Carter just ran up to me and said, "I'm gonna trade you in for a new Momma because you are so mean to me."  Have no idea where that came from...there were 9 kids here playing together all morning...everyone having fun...and then I get hit with this comment.  You really have to have a tough skin as a parent or you can become depressed so easily!  The other day he told me I am a terrible driver....

Reese ripped all the stickers off of her Sticker/Reward Chart for the second time this week.  I guess she's not ready for a sticker chart yet??  I have one for Carter too because he's been behaving so poorly some (most) days.   I thought it would be a little extra motivation for him to "earn" his way to a new toy he really wants by behaving nicely.  But he's been in such a bad mood some days, he's earned a sticker and then by the time we get a chance to put it on the chart, he's moody again and doesn't even want the sticker anymore.  Back to the drawing board...

Being around other moms is encouraging to me though because it does help me to keep things in perspective, to realize that kids will be kids, and to remember that we will survive all these phases one way or another!

I was reading the other day and praying for wisdom regarding so many of the situations I struggle with as a parent and wife.  I opened up my Bible with no intention of reading anything specific, and opened to Psalm 139.  As I began to read, I felt a calm come over me...that this was a message, directly for me...a promise...a hope for my future.

"(1) O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
(2)You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
(3) You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
(4) Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.....

...(23) Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
(24) See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."

The same night I was reading a book and wouldn't you know, it referenced Psalm 139:23-24!!  Some may see this as no big deal, but I never see these kinds of things as "just a coincidence."  I obviously have a few anxious thoughts from time to time...no ALL the time to be quite honest.  It's so easy to be consumed with all the what-if's, the guilt trips of being a parent and trying to find the right balance for everything.  It seems like I'm constantly second-guessing myself sometimes.  God knows our fears, and our concerns, and our anxieties before we even open our mouths to express them to Him and there is something so very comforting about that!

My crazy ones...

Derrick to Carter tonight..."Why did you spit out your food?"  Carter: "It just fell out of my mouth."

Reese to Carter tonight, "Don't hug me!"  His hugs tend to be a little on the rough, cutting-off-your-oxygen-supply level.  Poor Reese.  At least she's able to verbalize now to somewhat defend herself from the crazy-hugger!

We took the kids to the library tonight and I swear we are always the loudest family there.  As soon as we go in, they start SCREAMING.  "THE FISH!!!!"  "THE HAMSTER!!!"  "BOOOOOOKSSSSS!"  And then they start ripping things off the shelves left and right.  It is a heart-pumping ordeal the whole time we are there but it's free and they love it...what else can I say.

Caught Red-Handed

 No, we are not practicing for some gruesome Halloween costume...that is finger paint Reese smeared all over her arms, hands, face and even hair.  I know it looks a little scary, but she's all cleaned up now...thank goodness!  Carter chose to go with a darker pallet and didn't get nearly as messy this time. But both kids still were thrown straight into the bath when we were all finished.

Finger paints are one of those sadistic "toys" you want for your kids but you never want to actually use.  As soon as

 Carter asked me today, "Can we do finger paints?" I hedged.  But you have to let kids be kids once in a while, right???

I made these two recipes for dinner tonight...probably not super healthy but the kids liked the macaroni, so the fact that they ate it makes it a 5-star on my list.  I cut back on the butter and cheese and it was still very good.  The pork chops went untouched by the kids, but we liked them a lot.  Derrick also made this dressing to go with the lettuce we've been eating every night from our garden...yay!!!

Kids eating raw veggies??

Yes, carrots and celery to be precise...they are eating them like they're candy and here's how.  I made hummus yesterday and they LOVE to dip things so I gave them each a little bowl of the hummus to dip their veggies in and they really like it.  Here's the recipe:  (I doubled it...we are big hummus eaters I guess!)

1 15 oz. can chick peas
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 TBS tahini
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt

Drain the peas, reserving 1/4 cup liquid.  Rinse and drain.  In a blender combine the liquid, peas, lemon, tahini, garlic and salt.

Serve with toasted pita bread or fresh veggies!

A Keeper

I tried these Creamy Mashed Potatoes out on the kids last night and it went pretty well so I'll share:

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 3 pounds potatoes, cubed
• 1/3 cup butter
• 3 ounces light cream cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 cup skim milk

Directions

1. Place the potatoes into a large pot and fill with enough lightly salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash partially, then add the butter and milk. Continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the cream cheese, chives and dill.

Fun in the Sun

 We had a BUSY day today.  We started off by driving out to the country to get our 1/2 cow for the next year+ hopefully.  The kids really enjoyed visiting the farm and Carter got a special ride to go call the cows to a new pasture.  He told us he wants a "go-cart" now.   Haha! 

The herd...Belted Galloways

 

Too big...

From there we went to Moraine State Park and it happened to be a freebie day.  So the kids got to try out kayaking with us for a few minutes.  Carter really got a kick out of it.  Reese on the other hand had to be forced into it and was not thrilled in any way to be in that boat.  The only thing that made her slightly happy was the fact that we got the pink boat.  Well at least there was that!  :)

While kayaking, Carter pointed to an orange kayak and said, "Look it's a Home Depot boat!"  Yea we don't spend TOO much time in that store, do we!?

Before bed tonight, Carter told me, "I'm really sad for Reese because I keep hitting her."  So stop then already!!!!  Gaaaaaa!



Derrick told Carter tonight that he'd be home again all day tomorrow.  Whenever Carter asks why he has to go to work, we tell him it's so we can pay for our house and our food.  So when he heard Derrick would be here, he asked him, "How are we going to eat tomorrow then?"

Big Boo Boo

We took the kids down to the community park tonight.  It was a gorgeous night...just the right temperature, a nice breeze, the sun shining.  Carter rode his bike with Derrick by his side and I brought Reese's little car so I could push her along behind them.  Well she wanted none of that...she started off by running along the path, actually faster than Carter could even bike.  When she got tired from the running she dropped back to walk by me with the car but instead of riding in the car, she wanted to push the car herself.  My little ball of energy.  The kids both stopped to play on the playground for awhile.  Carter tripped while chasing Derrick and scuffed his knee just a tiny bit.  Most of the mark that was there came off with a little rubbing.  When we continued walking/biking to get back to the car Reese was again refusing to ride in her car and she too fell and cut both of her knees.  It wasn't anything terrible, but more significant than Carter's little scrape.

Apparently the wound grew exponentially worse when we got home though because the tears really started to roll and Carter just kept freaking out about his "Big Boo Boo."  Derrick finally gave up on trying to console him and took him up for a bath....and then it was "Don't get water on my boo boo.  NOOOOO WATER!!!!!"  Yea, ok...  I got him out of the bath and he was practically hyperventilating.  The ONLY way I got him to stop crying for even a second was to say I'd get him a band aid after he got dressed.  "I want a Lightning McQueen band aid."  Apparently those have special powers or something but I did get him one.  For the rest of the night, he was walking around holding up his shorts leg all the way up to his hip so the material didn't get anywhere near his "big boo boo."  Oh the drama.  Reese never once mentioned or cried about her boo boos....funny how that works!

Lots of Firsts

Reese has been on a role the last few days.  She went pee pee on the potty three times in the last couple days, all for Derrick...of course!  She won't go for me...I've tried.  But today she wouldn't go for either of us.  Derrick asked her after dinner why she wouldn't go on the potty and without hesitation she looked right at him and said, "Not today, Dadda!"  I laughed and laughed...

Carter has been going for short bike rides almost every day and doing better each time.  Progress...AT LAST!

Derrick made popcorn for a before-bed snack tonight.  The kids were just scarfing it down.  When I took Reese up to brush her teeth about 10 minutes later, she was saying "Popcorn in mouth" so I figured she had some stuck in her teeth.  Then I saw a kernel in her mouth and asked her to spit it out.  She brushed her teeth a little then spit another out....and another...and another...and another....  Guess we need to work on eating the popped popcorn, not the kernels!

Laughables

Here's a first...we were our running errands on Saturday and happened to drive through a nicer neighborhood that was having a huge garage sale.  One house had a casket sitting out in the driveway, for sale!  We were pretty shocked to see an item like that...I mean who goes to a garage sale looking for a casket and how would you get it back home?  Anyway, we didn't stop there, but another neighbor who did said the people must have quite a sense of humor.  She also had out an expensive looking elliptical machine that she was trying to sell for $700.  She had a sign on it that read, "Barely used...look at husband."  Hilarious!

One of Carter's latest silly comments has been popping up every couple of days, "Someone wrote me a bad letter."  I have no idea what this means...he's said it at bedtime...last night at dinner he said it, "Someone wrote me a bad letter.  It's killing me."  Ok then...

His new nickname for Reese is, "Bad Lady."  He's always calling her Bad Lady...again I have no idea why...poor Reese.

Reese's latest obsession is playing with Mr. Potato Head, or "Tato Head" as she calls it.  Only somehow, we've managed to keep all the parts together but lose the potato.  So I've got a big bucket full of eyes, ears, noses and mouths...but no potato to stick them on.  How does this happen, I will never understand.

Then and Now

 I was hit again today, ever so intensely, how different things are now than they were before we had kids.  My to-do list continues to grow and time to get anything done seems to grow more and more evasive.  Plus the things I do accomplish take me twice as long due to interruptions and the "help" I'm now receiving.

But it's ok...I wouldn't change things for a second.  It just helps me to keep everything in perspective and not be too hard on myself when the house isn't as clean as I'd like or I have papers sitting on my dresser for months at a time.

These thoughts were rolling around in my head as I went for a 1/2 hr. jog this morning, while pushing Reese in her jogging stroller.  Yes pushing that heavy stroller with my 27 pound baby in it up the rolling Pittsburgh hills is AMAZING!!  (note sarcasm)

And it got me to thinking how many other things are different now that we have the kids.

* Vacuuming the floor this morning meant I had to evenly divide the vacuum attachments between the kids so they could play with them (I mean help me clean.)

* Doing laundry usually involves both kids throwing clothes all over the house and Reese having her own little dirty laundry fashion show...trying things on as I try to sort. Gross, I know.

* Unpacking groceries involves both kids removing the items from the plastic bags and spreading them out all over the floor.

* Getting dinner ready today, both kids wanted to help me scrub the potatoes and carrots.  This quickly became eating the carrots.  Reese also tried to eat the potato peels out of the sink...yuck!

* As I've mentioned before, talking on the phone is like all-out war these days.  So if I haven't called you lately to say hello, please don't be offended.  As soon as I pick up the phone, something in the kids' brains kicks in, telling them to scream as loudly as possible, AND to be sure they are always screaming in the same room I am trying to talk in, even if it involves chasing me around the house.  The other day I had to go out on the deck just to hear someone I was speaking to.

* And no, there is nothing sacred once you have kids.  Even using the bathroom changes.  The other day I bought both kids these water pumper/launcher guns at Target.  While indoors, they get a kick out of shooting air at each other or any other victims they can find.  While trying to us the bathroom the other day, both of them came in and put the guns just inches from my face and were shooting me in the face the entire time....sigh....


BUT....the joy of seeing the kids learn new things, even though it may cause me some extra inconvenience, is priceless.

Grace

I started reading a book called "Grace Based Parenting" while on vacation.  My dear friend Mama K shared this with me and it's been on my shelf to read for years..so finally, I cracked it open and there are some great truths I wanted to share.

"Grace sounds like a great tool to have in a parent's toolbox.  It's hard bringing out the best in children when they seem committed to bringing out the worst in us.  We need something that can slip through the creases of their tough facades.  God's grace has a way of melting itself in to the hardest of hearts.
  Grace can also help you know what matters and what doesn't.  It helps you give kids a lot of freedom to simply be "kids" and keeps you from living in a reactive mode as they go through certain stages.  Without grace, you can turn high standards and strong moral convictions into knives that cut deeply into the inner recesses of your children's hearts."

Lines and Wrinkles

Carter asked at dinner tonight, "Mama, what are those lines on your face."  Derrick, of course ready with a smart answer, laughed, "Carter those are wrinkles."  Thanks Derrick!  Wonder why I have so many wrinkles anyway??

New things...

Reese is whipping out the four-syllable words lately.  It's crazy how quickly her vocabulary has expanded from just a few simple words to things like: quesadilla, watermelon, and motorcycle.

Exhibit A

I discovered two new things today:

1. Painting outdoors at night = not a good idea.  I mean it wasn't like the dead of night or anything...I was out painting the deck till about 9:15 the other night.  But upon inspecting my work today...well it was less than satisfactory, let me say that much.  Lesson learned.  Painting in daylight does work out better in the end.

2.  Carter is suddenly pointing at EVERYTHING with his middle finger.  (See exhibit A above)  This came out of nowhere and I don't really know what to do about it so anyone with more experience than me can feel free to offer their words of wisdom.  I need to put the kibosh on it ASAP!!

First time on a bike...

Carter and Reese were sitting on the couch together this morning, eating M&M's.  (their reward for helping me collect all the laundry).  Reese jumped off the couch and ran into the kitchen and Carter started yelling, "Reese!  Reese, don't leave me here!"

We hit a HUGE landmark tonight.  Carter finally decided to ride his bike...hooray!!!!  It's been months and months of prodding him to do it and many tears shed in protest, but tonight he just decided he wanted to go out and ride and he did for almost an hour.  So proud of my little guy right now.