Welcome Aboard

I don't know how old I was the first time I flew on an airplane. I must have been young though, because I don't remember it. Samuel and Avery have never been on an airplane, and trust me when I tell you that they reminded me of this fact several times! But Isaac is just 20 months old, and already he's been on his first flight!

We've probably all heard horror stories from people who were stuck aboard an airplane with a screaming child. And last week, as Isaac and I prepared to leave Dallas on our flight to Corpus, I had visions swarming around my head of just how horrible everything could truly turn out. I was anxious about other passengers leaving the aircraft after the flight was over, only to tell everyone they knew about the horrible child on their flight who screamed the entire time. But, I had my "emergency backpack" ready to go. I filled it with special treats and toys that Isaac rarely gets access to when he's at home. Thankfully, we got a window seat, which really helped. And the man sitting next to me was very nice, which also really helped. And well, those chocolate Teddy Grahams and travel size Magna Doodle from the backpack were a big help too. It was about 20 minutes into the flight before I started to relax. Isaac was doing great and he was actually enjoying himself. He kept laughing and recreating the take off, which was really amusing. "Whoa, Mama! Bumpy, bumpy, bumpy." And then he'd bounce up and down in my lap while bobbing his head back and forth. Everyone around us seemed to be enjoying the re-enactment just as much as I was. Isaac played with the window shade - up, down, up, down - about 1,000 times. Then he moved on to playing with the air vents overhead that you can turn to change the amount of air flow that comes out. Oh yeah, big airplane fun! Isaac thought it was pretty cool that we got a drink on the plane, in an OPEN CUP! He dug out all of the ice from my drink and finished it all right before one of the flight attendants came over the loud speaker and announced that it was time to "stop enjoying our beverages" because it was almost time to land. I got a chuckle out of that comment... The total flight took over 2 hours, but we arrived in Corpus safe and sound, and Isaac was still happy. Several people on the flight told me how impressed they were with my child's behavior. And several of them also told me what a beautiful and delightful little girl I have. I guess it's time to go get my SON a haircut...

We had a really nice time in Corpus and it was good to see so many family members. Isaac and I both enjoyed my cousin Ashley's wedding. And Isaac really did great the entire trip, and I must admit that it was really nice getting to spend time with just him. He truly is a delightful child.

The flight back home got off to somewhat of a rocky start. We arrived at the Corpus airport a bit late, and I was reprimanded by 7, yes 7, airport employees all along my route from the ticket counter to the place where I actually handed the man my boarding pass to get on the flight. Once Isaac and I got on the plane itself, the flight attendant greeted us with a cheerful "Welcome aboard!" And some really nice man (NOT!) sitting in the first row added "Yeah, welcome aboard late!" Seriously, I wasn't technically late. I just got on the plane right at the very minute the plane was supposed to be taking off. :-) But I found that I was more nervous about this flight than the first flight because I didn't have time to go to the bathroom before getting on board, I didn't have time to change Isaac's diaper, I didn't have time to give him his decongestant, and I didn't have time to prepare a bottle for him to drink on the flight home. I wasn't even sure if I had replenished the supplies in the "emergency backpack." I grabbed the last open seat on the plane, sat down, strapped myself and Isaac in, and let out a big sigh of relief. Whew, we made it! As I held Isaac in my arms, the flight took off and Isaac laid his head on my shoulder. Within about 2 minutes of taking off, I looked down and realized that Isaac was asleep. It's been a long time since my baby boy has fallen asleep in my arms, and I reveled in the moment. I held him tighter and loved every minute of it. It is pure joy watching your child sleep in your arms.

Isaac stayed asleep for about 3/4 of the flight home, even through the landing in Houston, me having to get up out of the seat to let 2 people off the plane, and the take off again from Houston to Dallas. He slept through it all. He didn't need a bottle, or a decongestant, or anything out of the emergency backpack. All he needed was a good nap in his Mommy's arms, and I was more than happy to oblige his unspoken request! Isaac may never remember his first flight, but I always will.

One last little note... One of the flight attendants on the flight home was quite the little comedian/songbird. As we landed in Dallas, she sang a little number about the high gas prices that are forcing SWA to cut costs on in-flight accommodations in an effort to keep their fares low. And at the end of her little song she said "Southwest Airlines... Low fares and cheap entertainment." Ah, you've just got to love it!

The Bandit Strikes Again

I have a very large wicker basket by the back door of our house. Whenever we come home, everyone puts their shoes in that basket. This way, we always know where our shoes are, and hopefully we save the floors from getting too dirty from whatever we're tracking in on our shoes. It's worked really well over the years. But when Isaac first learned how to walk, he would take all of the shoes out of the basket. He'd try on some of them, and he'd spread them all over the house where I couldn't find them. In fact, he still loves doing this! We affectionately gave him the nickname "The Shoe Bandit." But it didn't stop at just shoes... From there, Isaac moved on to the kitchen cabinets and drawers. He'd take out everything he could get his hands on. I'd find my spatula in the potted tree in the living room, and my measuring cups under his crib. So, we dropped the "shoe" part and started calling him just "The Bandit." From there he moved on to purses. If any unsuspecting guest came into our house and placed her purse on the floor, The Bandit would strike.


A few days ago, I was starting a load of laundry when my Mommy Radar went off... Isaac was being way too quiet. As I was leaving the laundry room to go search for him, I heard the beeping noise that our refrigerator makes when the door has been left open for too long. There was Isaac, standing in the door of the freezer (our refrigerator has the freezer on the bottom), sucking on a piece of ice. And since I wasn't sure if he'd sucked on any of the other pieces of ice, I dumped it all out. Later in the day, as I was getting ready to go pick up the big kids from school, I heard the beeping again. But this time, Isaac wasn't standing in the door of the freezer, but the door was open. I found Isaac sitting in the living room with a piece of ice in each hand. This has been going on for 4 days now, and by now he has caught on to the fact that he needs to get in and get out of the freezer quickly. He's figured out that he needs to close the door. He's figured out how to be even more sneaky! And even though I am reprimanding him every time he does it, he finds it all to be very funny that he can go get ice whenever he feels like it. And seriously, I have to applaud the kid for being so industrious and downright amusing at the same time.


OKAY, the really funny part of this is that while I am typing this, Isaac just walked up to me and handed me a block of 3 ice cubes stuck together!!!!! The Bandit strikes again!

A Few Random Pictures

Just thought I'd share these random pictures with everyone.

Here's Isaac "helping" me pack for our trip.

The kids are wearing t-shirts from their Papa and Granny from their vacation to Costa Rica.

I managed to snap this picture of Avery and Isaac saying goodbye and giving kisses to each other, when Samuel and Avery were leaving for school.

Waving goodbye... "Bye A-E."

And last but certainly not least... I've never envisioned myself owning a minivan. But that changed last night. I saw a commercial for this minivan, made by Chrysler, and it was love at first sight. I think they've included just about everything imaginable in a vehicle to make a parent's life easier!

Yes, it's still a minivan, but I think now I can better understand why minivan owners simply love their vehicle. This minivan has a remote control door opener for all of the side doors and the back door, a remote control to start the ignition and the a.c. or heater from outside the minivan, a remote control that folds the 3rd row seat under the floor (just push a button and the 3rd row seat is gone!), the 2nd row bucket seats can turn completely around and face the back (how cool is that?), and there's a table that can be assembled in between the 2nd and 3rd row seats. All of the seats have seat warmers. And every window has a sun shade that you can leave down or pull up whenever you want to that provide 50 SPF protection, filtering out 95% of the sun's UV rays.

There's an extra rear view mirror so that the driver can see the 3rd row seats.

Each seat has it's own nightlight (which I know from traveling with my kids at night that this would be a huge hit!).

The 3rd row seat can turn around and face the outside (it's called tailgate seating).This minivan comes with a rear view camera that lets you know if you're about to hit something behind you when you're backing up, and a "hands free" GPS navigation system. It also comes with 2 DVD screens (one for the 2nd row and one for the 3rd row) which can play 2 different movies at the same time, and each seat has headphones so that the parents don't have to listen to Elmo play over and over again on a 7 hour trip. It comes with supplemental side air bags for every seat, and a gauge that let's you know when the air pressure in the tires is getting low. And the best part, you can get all of this for around $30,000!

Impressed? Because I am!!! Don't be surprised if within the next couple of years this little gem is parked in my driveway. :-)

The 3rd Child

It's the funniest thing...

I am going to be traveling with Isaac to Corpus Christi this coming weekend. We are flying down there, and this is the first time I have ever flown with one of my children. This evening, in an effort to avoid any potential airport drama because I was simply uninformed of certain policies, I sat down on the sofa and started reading through the 4 pages of information from the SWA website that was under the heading "Baby On Board: Information You Should Know When Flying With Your Infant or Toddler." On the 3rd line down I read "Proof of Age Policy: A birth certificate is required to validate age of all infants under age two." So, I went to the fire proof box, opened it, and started pulling out documents. I found Samuel's birth certificate, and then I found Avery's, but Isaac's wasn't in there. I pulled everything out, and it really wasn't in there. Hmmmmm. So, I went into his room and found his baby book and I flipped through all the pages. Hmmmmm. No birth certificate in there either. So, I got his keepsake box down from the top of his closet, and I looked through everything. But still, no birth certificate. So, I decided to dig a little deeper. I opened up every envelope from all of the cards that have ever been given to Isaac. I looked through every drawer in the house, and I even looked through every file in the filing cabinet. It was at this point that I started to get worried. And then, as I was putting Isaac's keepsake box back in the top of his closet, the box hit something. A big, pretty, white envelope!!! And it was from the hospital Isaac was born at!!! Oh, thank goodness, I found it. Whew, I can breathe a sigh of.... wait a minute... what's this.... you've got to be kidding me!!! Right there, in that big, pretty, white envelope were all of the papers that I was sent home from the hospital with after Isaac was born. It would seem that I never got around to opening that big, pretty, white envelope, because in that big, pretty, white envelope was a nicely typed letter from the Bureau of Vital Statistics congratulating me on the birth of my new Little Texan (yes, it actually says that). And underneath that cute little line, it listed the instructions on how to go about ordering my child's birth certificate. Uh huh.....

And there you have it! It would seem that I never ordered a birth certificate for my 3rd child, and he's 20 months old now! Feel free to laugh. It is quite funny.

Yesterday, I had a pretty bad day. I started to write something on here telling everyone what had happened, but I never got around to completing the story. Needless to say, what it all boils down to is that I had very good intentions to do something nice for my children, and my plans blew up in my face. And as if that wasn't bad enough, I got told by my oldest child that I had disappointed him. Ouch! That hurt... But today, I think this might just take the cake.... Sorry Samuel, I know that Mommy disappointed you yesterday in the school cafeteria, but at least I didn't forget to order your birth certificate when you were born. So take heart, oh thou first born child of mine. At least you are not the 3rd child.

I never ordered a birth certificate for my 3rd child!!!!!!!!!! AND, it took me 20 months to realize it!

I suppose I can take comfort in the fact that my oldest child is in touch with his feelings and he is able to express himself emotionally. He knows that he can be honest with me about his feelings. That's good, right? And I also suppose I can take comfort in the fact that my youngest child won't remember any of this. That is, if no one ever tells him. Yeah, I'm talking to you. :-) And by the way, I called the airline, and it seems that I can also use Isaac's shot record as proof of his age. Thank goodness the airline isn't as tough on me as my children are! I'll bet you anything that the person who came up with the "proof of age" policy for SWA is a 1st born child, and the person who added the part about being able to use a child's shot record instead of a birth certificate is a 3rd born child!!!

3 Little Sponges

Have you ever said something in front of a child, only to hear them repeat it? And you wished that you could go back in time or somehow erase it from his or her memory? We've probably all had those moments. Sometimes it's funny, and sometimes it's not so funny..... A few days ago, Isaac asked me for a cookie, and when I told him that we didn't have anymore he said "Oh, man." Hmmm, wonder who he heard that from? And today, I was going to take a picture of him sitting in this adorable rocking chair that was given to him by his Aunt Becky, but the batteries were dead in the camera. So, I told Isaac that I couldn't take a picture of him because the camera was not working, and he said "Bummer." I will take full responsibility for that one. It's interesting to think about kids being like little sponges, soaking up everything around them. I will skip over the "not-so-funny" things my children have repeated over the years. But here are some of the more funny things that Samuel, Avery and Isaac have said, more than likely because they heard Hector or I say it first:

Avery:
You've got to be kidding me!
Are you 100% sure?
I can't make up my mind.
I'm all sweaty.
That's so cute! We should buy it.
What do you think we should do today?
This tastes SOOOO good.
I need ketchup.
Does my hair look crazy?
Is there something in my teeth?
Is there something in my nose?
How do we look?
Is that what you're wearing?
I'm so proud of you.
There's no such thing as monsters, right? And dinosaurs aren't alive anymore, right? And if a big bear comes into my room tonight and wakes me up, I should come tell you, right?
I'm just really tired and I need to be by myself for a minute.
That kid is acting crazy. He needs to get his body calm.
Have you ever tried it before? Then how do you know you don't like it?
We're all different. That's why!


Samuel:
Would you please respect my words?
Hey, guess what?
Okay, so you're never going to believe this!
I don't understand what you're saying to me.
Cool!
I don't appreciate that.
Share, or go to time out... What's your choice?
I need privacy.
It's not a race.
I hope you have a good sleep.
Did you do your best? Then, that's all that matters.
Just 5 more minutes, okay?
I knew you could do it!
You're never going to leave, right?
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the pizza. Now let's eat. Oh wait! I mean, Amen.


Isaac:
Uh oh.
Throw!
There it is.
I don't know.
Stinky!
No no no.
Bummer.
Oh, man.


Hope you had a good laugh!

No Slight Thing

It was June of 2003, and I was at Samuel's 2 year old well child check-up at our pediatrician's office. I was given a form to fill out, asking me where Samuel was at developmentally. He was right on track when it came to his physical development, but when it came to filling in the language and social areas, I started to struggle. I realized that something was not right. I remember thinking at the time that surely a 2 year old was not supposed to be speaking in 3 - 4 word sentences. Surely not! Samuel only had around a 10 word vocabulary, and he had never even put 2 words together, let alone 3 or 4. I left that appointment and immediately started making calls to find a speech therapist.

The first time the speech therapist (Kathy) came to our home, she asked me dozens and dozens of questions about what Samuel liked, and what he didn't like. The second time Kathy came to our home, she brought with her some of the things I mentioned that were Samuel's favorites things to play with. One by one, Kathy pulled Barney puzzles and Elmo books out of a big bag. She also pulled out bubbles. She placed all of the new toys on the floor in front of Samuel, and asked him which toy he wanted to play with. Samuel did not respond. Kathy pushed the items very close to Samuel and she moved to the other side of the room, turned her back to Samuel, and told him to pick 1 toy. He grabbed the bubbles. Kathy tried and tried over the course of 30 minutes to get Samuel to engage in some type of conversation with her about the bubbles. He never spoke a word. She left, with the bubbles, and I was left with a screaming 2 year old. The third time Kathy came to our home, she only pulled out the bubbles from her bag, and she sat on the floor directly across from Samuel. She told him that if he wanted to play with the bubbles, he needed to ask her for them first. As Samuel reached for the bubbles, Kathy pulled them back and told Samuel, you need to say "bubble." Over and over and over again, Kathy tried to get Samuel to say that one little word "bubble." Now, as a parent, I thought there surely had to be an easier way to get my child to speak. Watching your child scream for 30 minutes straight, only to have the therapist get up and leave with the bubbles, was exhausting. That same exact scenario happened for 2 more sessions. But at the next session, when Samuel saw Kathy come in and sit down on the carpet, he watched her pull out the bubbles. He walked straight over to her, sat down on the carpet, pointed and said "bu bu." Kathy looked up at me, and smiled at me. And then she went straight back to Samuel, giving him her full attention, and rewarded him by handing him the bubbles.

Week after week, I heard Samuel's language skills and vocabulary become bigger and stronger. And then one night, something amazing happened as Hector and I were putting Samuel to bed. We tucked him in, read him a story, sang him a song, and then as we were leaving the room, I bent over to kiss him, and I said "I love you." Now, this was nothing new, because from the time Samuel was a newborn, I'd been saying "I love you" to him every single time I put him to bed. But this time, Samuel said "I love you" back! He was almost 3 years old, and that was the first time he'd ever told me he loved me! That was his first sentence! And as Hector and I left the room, we embraced each other right there in the hallway outside of Samuel's bedroom. We didn't need to utter a single word to each other. We stood there, and both wept in each other's arms.

This past Friday, I attended my first Mothers of Preschoolers meeting for the year. I had the pleasure of meeting several new ladies. And after our group's guest speaker gave a speech on the legacy that we as Christian mothers should leave behind for our children, we were given some discussion questions. Our group leader read the first question aloud. "What has been the biggest surprise for you as a mother (something that perhaps before you had children, you thought would be one way, but since having children you have discovered is different than you thought it would be)?" One by one, the women in my group who were sitting around the table started telling about surprising experiences they've had as mommies. It was so amazing listening to all of them speak. Let's face it, motherhood is full of surprises. And as I tried to wrap my mind around all of the many surprises I've had as a mother, and as I tried to decide which surprise I wanted to share with the other ladies, it came to me......

The biggest surprise for me as a mother was that night, that night my son told me he loved me for the first time. It suprised me just how deeply it affected me as a mother to hear my child say those 3 little words. It surpised me at how hearing those words somehow gave me the strength to keep going, to keep fighthing, to keep pushing, not only for my son's benefit, but for mine as well. It was like he was trapped in a shell, just waiting to come out, but he wasn't strong enough to do it on his own! He needed help. And Praise God, he got the help he needed to finally be able to push his way out of his shell!

I never thought I would be the mommy of a child with a Sensory Processing Disorder. I never thought that I would see my child struggle with such simple, every day tasks. I never thought that activities geared specifically towards children would frighten my child. I never thought that having my child make eye contact would be such a big deal. I never thought I would need to explain so much to so many people about why my child is the way he is. I never thought that seeing my child give a family member a hug would become a life-altering event. I never thought I would have been able to help my child come through it all by seeking the help of a few great therapists who taught him valuable skills that have made him into the child he is today. I never thought I'd know so much information on Sensory Processing Disorders, and Autism Spectrum Disorders, and the social interactions of children, and language development, and the list goes on and on. I never thought I could have ever felt so supported by a group of mothers of preschoolers that I had just met.

Last week, as Hector, Samuel and Avery were leaving to go to work and school, Isaac said "I love you" to them. That was the first time he'd ever said that. And today, as I was putting Isaac down for his nap, I kissed him on the cheek, hugged him, and started to leave the room. And as I was walking out of his room, I turned back to him and said "I love you" and Isaac said "I love you" back to me. And the memories from the first time that Samuel said those 3 little words to me, all came rushing back. A flood of emotions consumed me. I stood there, and began to weep.

I think Charles Dickens said it best when he said "It is no slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us."

And so, what is the legacy that I would like to leave behind for my children? I would love for the legacy I leave behind for my children to be that even though I didn't do things perfectly, I did my best; that I was there for them when they needed me, and even when they thought they didn't need me; and above anything else, that I loved them deeply, with all my heart.

Tell your children that you love them. Tell your parents that you love them too. For it is no slight thing.

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-processing-disorder-checklist.html

Procrastinators of the world unite! Meeting to be held either tomorrow or the next day, or maybe this coming weekend.

Ever have something that you really need to get done, and yet you never seem to be able to get around to doing it? Procrastination is a funny thing. It's funny how time can get away from you, and before you know it, months or even years have gone by and you still have not accomplished a specific task. Did you know there is a Procrastinators Club? Their motto is "Productivity is Overrated." There's also a Procrastinators Anonymous, a Procrastinators SOS Planning Guide, and a Procrastinators Clock. This is quite an amusing little item that goes off 15 minutes before the procrastinator actually sets the alarm to go off, and then it moves at a faster speed than a normal clock, in an effort to get the procrastinator out the door and on their way, hopefully on time. I'm thinking this would make a great Christmas gift!!!

A little over a year ago, I found myself at a turning point in my life. Samuel was starting Kindergarten, and I looked back and thought about all of the things that I never got around to doing with him. And while I felt extremely fortunate to have been able to have stayed at home with him (for the most part) during the first few years of his life because there were so many things that we got to do together, there was also a part of me that truly felt like I could have done a few things differently. And I think I kind of made an unconscious decision to let go of some of the more trivial things in my life, in an effort to focus more on what really matters. Specifically, I decided to start spending more quality time with my kids and let go of some of my household chores. I've always been somewhat of a clean freak. And letting go of some of the household chores was, well, liberating in a way. I no longer cared about what my house looked like because I was spending quality time with my kids! It was strange for me, but comforting too. Hector told me one day that it was like I'd "lost that lovin' feelin' for cleanin'." And maybe that's true, because the house kept getting dirtier and dirtier, and things kept getting put off, and then put off some more. And even though when it came time for Avery to start Kindergarten I experienced some of the same feelings that I had when Samuel was starting Kindergarten, I knew in my heart that I had nothing to regret. Because over the past year, instead of cleaning the baseboards, Avery and I painted our toe nails together. Instead of cleaning the ceiling fans, we gave ourselves pedicures. Instead of washing the dishes, we baked cookies and dirtied up more dishes. Instead of scouring the bathtubs, we went shopping together and laughed at ourselves in the mirrors of the dressing room as we tried on silly clothes. Instead of keeping my backyard grass looking good, we dug up some of the grass and made mud pies with Isaac. Instead of organizing Avery's room (again!) we turned up the music and danced, and laughed and laughed and laughed. And instead of holding on to some of my more expensive lotions and perfumes, we used up all of my smelly lotions, and we sprayed ourselves with the really expensive perfumes whenever we felt like it (the same lotions and perfumes that I'd always told myself I'd get around to using another day, and have been sitting on top of my dresser for years)...

Now, please don't get me wrong. I still find time to clean. I mean, I've not gone completely off the deep end here. Now that Samuel and Avery are in school, there are times throughout the day like when Isaac is napping, when I have a little free time and I do, in fact, clean the house. We've still got to live in this house! Earlier this past week, as Hurricane Ike was making it's way to the Texas Gulf Coast, I found myself looking for ways to distract my attention away from the weather channel. And so, I cleaned. I finally got around to cleaning the dining room blinds that Avery squirted tomato seeds on several months ago. Those tomato seeds sat on those blinds for months, but I never got around to cleaning them off until this past week. It felt good to finally get it done. And as Ike got closer and closer, and we realized that it would be hitting the Houston area, my mother and step father prepared themselves to possibly evacuate the area and leave their home. My mom told me that she had taken their important papers and most beloved belongings out of their home to take with them. And as I looked around my own home, I wondered what I would take with me if I were in the same situation. Would I take my purses and jewelry? Would I take my perfumes and lotions? Would I take the numerous knick-knacks I've collected over the years? Would I take all of my kids' toys? I seriously doubt it.

When it comes right down to it, those things are not really important, and they certainly are not my most beloved belongings. If you had to leave your home, if you had to gather up your most important and beloved belongings, and take with you only the things that could fit into your car, what would you take with you? Oddly enough, as I looked around my home, there really was not a lot of things that I felt like I absolutely would need to take with me if I were in that situation. I might grab my photo albums and camera. I might grab the kids' baby books and important documents from the filing cabinet. I might grab my wedding dress and wedding album. I have no doubt that I would grab my husband, our 3 children, and our pets.

Sometimes in life, it's okay to put aside the things that don't really matter so much, especially when it means that you get to focus on other, much more important things. So, I'll take on my new title as a house cleaning procrastinator, and I'll wear it with great pride. After all, those cob webs I see in the corners can wait to be cleaned another day. Right now, I've got a box full of crayons, some construction paper, and a very excited 1 year old waiting for me at the dining room table.

Uv Ooo, Uh Oh, and Throw!

The 3rd week of school has started for Samuel and Avery. They seem to be getting into a really good morning routine. Things are running smoothly in the afternoons too. Hector's been taking Samuel and Avery to school in the mornings. Every morning, as Hector, Samuel and Avery are heading out the back door, I always seem to say the same thing to them: "Bye Daddy. Bye Samuel. Bye Avery. I love you." And then Isaac usually follows with a short and sweet "Bye." But today, I said my goodbyes, and Isaac followed with his "Bye" and then said "Uv ooo (Love you)." Avery ran back and hugged him and said that she loved him too. Ah, it just melts my heart.


And speaking of Isaac... From about the time he figured out how to grasp an object in his hand, he has also demonstrated the ability (and desire) to throw those objects. If he could pick it up, he'd throw it. And if he couldn't pick it up, he'd kick it. And if he couldn't kick it, he'd try hitting it with something like a stick or a bat or a plastic shovel. At first, I thought this was cute. And so I would say "One, two, three, throw!" Mistake! I think I might need to file this under the "Things I wish I'd never taught my child" category. In addition to listing the "counting to 3 and then throwing it" game in this category, I would also like to add the "uh oh" game. This is the game I started playing with Isaac every time he would drop something from his high chair. It quickly became a game that I wanted to stop almost immediately after I started it. It just kept going, and going, and going. But at least the "uh oh" game has never really caused any problems. The "counting to 3 and then throwing it" game, on the other hand, has caused many problems and there has been more than one object that has fallen victim.


There was the time I was in Walmart and Isaac was sitting in the shopping cart, and I pulled up to the apples and was picking out a few. Before I could even realize what was happening, I saw something red and shiny fly by the side of my head. Isaac was yelling "Throw!" Victim #1 = the Red Delicious apples at Walmart...


Then there was the time when Hector came home from the store with oranges, and sat the bag down on the kitchen floor. Isaac started grabbing them out of the bag and tossing them all over the house. Just a few things got knocked over. Victims #2 and #3 = the oranges for Daddy's lunch, and the living room lamp...


There was also the time when Isaac thought it was a good idea to throw his toy hammer at Lid'l Lee, who was resting peacefully in the window at the time. Victim #4 = Lid'l Lee (the toy hammer seemed fine)...


And here is the most recent victim...

My kitchen timer!

Isaac knew what he had done..........

It's just too difficult for me to get upset with him. Especially when he looks up at me with those big, brown, puppy dog eyes, and reaches out for a hug, and says with a quiver in his soft, sweet voice "Uh oh, throw." As I picked him up and hugged him, I said "That's right Isaac, uh oh, throw. It's okay though, Mommy still uvs ooo."

This Old Chair

For anyone who's ever visited any place I've ever lived in over the past 20 years or so, you will more than likely recognize this chair. I've had this chair for a long time. I've had it since I was a child. I'm not really sure exactly how long I've had it, but I would venture to say that if this chair could talk, it would have a lot of tales to tell. The chair has lived in many different homes, in many different cities. There were times when the chair lived with different family members, but it always seemed to make it's way back into my life. I actually have 2 of these chairs, but I'm only talking about 1 chair in particular here, because the 2 chairs are definitely different. See, this chair has been broken for a while now. The top part that you sit on has been missing the screws that hold it down for more years than I care to think about. And to anyone who has ever had the misfortune of sitting in this chair, only to feel like the minute you sat down on it you were going to fall off because of the loose top, I offer my sincere apology.

Well folks, for my first "the big kids are in school now and I'm trying to find lots of creative ways to keep myself busy" project (whew, that was a mouthful), I fixed the chair!!! Yes, indeed! I finally found some screws that were long enough and skinny enough to hold down the top. I got out the electric screwdriver and it took me all of about 30 seconds to fix it. And then, because I felt like I owed it to the chair for all of the years I neglected it, I gave it a new paint job. It's going into Samuel's room at his desk. So, what do you think?


When Hector saw it, he said "It's blue." Yep, it sure is blue, Hec. Thanks for noticing. :-) But I like it, and so does Samuel. I painted it light blue, and then put a coat of darker blue over the top, and rubbed it off a little bit to give it a distressed look. And just so the other chair in this pair wouldn't get jealous (the chair that's never been broken... the chair that I'm sitting on right now while I'm typing this), I gave it a nice cleaning with some lemon scented Pledge. Are you thinking about the smell of the Pledge right now??? Well, let me just tell you, it smells really nice.

I'm not sure why I've held onto this chair for as long as I have. But when I found this quote, I felt like it put it into better perspective for me. It is from one of my favorite authors of all times; Author Unknown. :-) "A house that does not have one old worn chair in it is just a house. But a house that does have one old worn chair in it is a home. It has a soul."

I like it! This old chair has served my family well for many years in the past, and it's kind of neat to think about the fact that it will serve my family well for many more years to come.

Won't You Please Consider Donating Towards "The Cause"

Yesterday, I was reading through my email and came across an email from someone I have not heard from in over 2 years. The purpose of the email was not for "catching up" with one another. Instead, it was to inform me that her child was participating in a school fundraiser, and I was being asked to consider donating towards "the cause." What's "the cause," you ask? Well, to help pay for private school tuition. Hmmm..... I guess it never hurts to ask, right? I'm sure that private school is very expensive, because I know how much public school is costing us! And since I'm not quite sure how I feel about donating towards the cost of private education for her child, for now I have chosen to take the cowardly approach, and simply not respond! :-) But, I have decided to start my own fundraiser on behalf of Samuel and Avery. I am currently accepting donations of small bottles of water, juice boxes, Goldfish crackers, pretzels, raisins, mandarin oranges, chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, Cheetos, Doritos, Little Debbie snack cakes and muffins, apple cereal bars, Cheerios, Snack Pack pudding, Snack Pack applesauce, and crackers (saltine, graham, and animal). And what is "the cause" that you will be making a donation towards, you ask? Well, for your generous donation, you won't get a tax right off, sorry! But you will get the satisfaction of knowing that Samuel and Avery truly won't eat us out of house and home. :-)

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Keeping Up With Our Work

This past summer, I implemented a chores system for Samuel and Avery. Part of their new chores included cleaning their rooms. I didn't care how they cleaned it, just as long as they did it. Samuel would go into his room, and would take 1 toy at a time, and would put it away in it's proper place. It never would take him very long though, because his room always pretty much stays fairly clean, because that's how Samuel likes it. Avery, on the other hand, would go into her room, walk right down the middle, and would push the toys off to the side using her feet. She would "make a path" and announce that she was done cleaning her room. And although the point of this was to allow them some independence when it came to their own room, as well as teaching them to take responsibility for their own things, Avery's room gradually became more and more unorganized and cluttered. I finally broke down yesterday and cleaned it. I couldn't take it anymore! Isaac and I stayed in her room for around an hour, getting things back to a state of cleanliness that I could be content with. Isaac was sitting in a chair at Avery's table in her room. I watched him get on the chair, and then off again. On, off, on, off... He would pretend to type something on her computer and then he would get off the chair and go to her kitchen set and would start to move things around. He'd go back and sit in the chair and would type some more on the computer. Then he'd get down again and go to her bookshelf and move some things around. And then it dawned on me. This is a game that Isaac and Avery would play together. She would pretend that she was the Mommy, and Isaac was her son. She would type on the computer the list of chores that needed to be done that day, and then Isaac would need to go clean it. I know! Poor 3rd child... But Isaac never complained about it. In fact, he always seemed to like it. And so Isaac was playing this little "game" all by himself yesterday. And when I caught onto it, I started playing with him, and it seemed to make him really happy. For all of the times I've had to tell Avery to be nice to her baby brother, and to put him down, and to give him back that toy, and to play with him softly, and to stop making him do her chores, the bottom line is that she really does love her baby brother and he really misses her. I can tell. So, yesterday afternoon when Avery got home from school and went into her room, she of course noticed immediately that her room had been cleaned. I told her that Isaac had played their "chores game" while she was at school. Avery got a huge grin on her face and said to Isaac "Oh, Bubba! I am so happy to see that you are thinking about me while I'm at school, and that you are keeping up with our work." She gave him a big hug, and I left the room while they played the "chores game" together. That's okay, really. I don't need to get credit for being the one who cleaned her room. Just seeing the look in Avery's eyes, and hearing her tell Isaac that she was thinking about him too during the day, was all that I needed at that moment. I'll let Bubba get all the credit for "keeping up with our work."

Counting Down The Days

Last night, as I was getting Samuel and Avery ready to go to bed, I told them that they had school again the next day. "Woo Hoo, it's your 2nd week of school!" They were not excited about that news at all, despite my enthusiastic tone. And then Avery asked me how many more weeks she has left of Kindergarten. Good question... Let's find out. I got out the calendar and we counted 36 1/2 more weeks of school, or 172 actual days left of school. Man, that made me feel a little less excited too! So, we decided to focus on a closer date, Christmas! Did you know there's only 16 1/2 more weeks, or 113 days before Christmas? Now, that's a date we can all get excited about!