.
I've been putting the girl's hair in various types of braids a lot over the summer. It's been quite fun and I am surprised by how good I've done. Yesterday we had planned to go to the library, so I sat down to put Honor's hair in a french braid.
"How did you do my hair?" Honor asked as I finished up.
"I put it in a french braid," I replied, tying the last turn of the hair band.
"No! I don't want a french braid! I want a ponytail!"
"Oh, but it looks so pretty! Go look at it in the mirror."
Honor went to the bathroom, took one look and came screaming back in. "No, Mommy! I don't like this! It's too fancy!"
So I took it out and put it in a ponytail.
-------------------------------------------------
Daddy occasionally grills chicken breasts for dinner. They are delicious. Really juicy. Everyone loves them. I wish I could get him to do it every night!
As usual, as I tucked Ariana in at naptime, she asked me what we were having for dinner.
"I don't know, probably chicken."
"Chicken! I hate chicken!"
Honor jumped in. "Mom, will Daddy be using the barbecue?"
"I don't know...may be," I replied.
"Don't worry, Ariana, it will be yummy chicken!" Honor said soothingly to her sister.
Ariana looked up at me with her big, brown eyes and asked, "Are we going to have yummy chicken, or are we going to have your chicken?"
Bye, bye ego...
.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Doctor's In
.
We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner and a bit of swimming this evening. As always, we had a great time, but fun comes with a price. You see, we leave our dogs out of their kennel most of the time when we are gone. They are generally good dogs and we usually don't have any problems, but sometimes we do. Today was a sometime day.
The damage wasn't noticeable at first. Most of the toys in the basement had been put away properly earlier in the day and were left alone, but there were a few stuffed animals lying face down on the carpet downstairs--one of which was Ariana's "Pink Teddy"--the special care bear that Daddy got her when Samuel was born and which quickly became her most beloved stuffed animal that she can't sleep without. It seemed innocent enough, except I knew that those toys had not been there before we left.
I slowly approached Pink Teddy...and found her snout was ripped open and she had a hole in her rear. Ariana was inconsolable. "PINK TEDDY!!!!" she cried, hugging the stuffing out of the open holes. This prompted Honor to sagely reply, "well, it looks like we are going to have to send Maggie back."
I used that opportunity to explain to the kids that we need to be good stewards of the animals God has given us to care for and that, no, we are not going to get rid of an animal unless the animal is attacking us or causing some other threat. And besides, it is not Maggie's fault that they were irresponsible and left their bedroom door open. What do they expect? It's a room full of dog treats...
Ariana decided that she still loved Maggie once I informed her that I thought I could repair her beloved bear. And so, that's what I did this evening. I spent nearly an hour in surgery, but Pink Teddy now has her face back, complete with a hot glued on nose. I even recolored the black parts of her eye with a sharpie. I would like to think that the blanket stitching on her rear gives her a bit of an antique look...
Daddy thinks that the bear looks like she's smirking now. Hardly my fault.
At least she has a face...
.
We went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner and a bit of swimming this evening. As always, we had a great time, but fun comes with a price. You see, we leave our dogs out of their kennel most of the time when we are gone. They are generally good dogs and we usually don't have any problems, but sometimes we do. Today was a sometime day.
The damage wasn't noticeable at first. Most of the toys in the basement had been put away properly earlier in the day and were left alone, but there were a few stuffed animals lying face down on the carpet downstairs--one of which was Ariana's "Pink Teddy"--the special care bear that Daddy got her when Samuel was born and which quickly became her most beloved stuffed animal that she can't sleep without. It seemed innocent enough, except I knew that those toys had not been there before we left.
I slowly approached Pink Teddy...and found her snout was ripped open and she had a hole in her rear. Ariana was inconsolable. "PINK TEDDY!!!!" she cried, hugging the stuffing out of the open holes. This prompted Honor to sagely reply, "well, it looks like we are going to have to send Maggie back."
I used that opportunity to explain to the kids that we need to be good stewards of the animals God has given us to care for and that, no, we are not going to get rid of an animal unless the animal is attacking us or causing some other threat. And besides, it is not Maggie's fault that they were irresponsible and left their bedroom door open. What do they expect? It's a room full of dog treats...
Ariana decided that she still loved Maggie once I informed her that I thought I could repair her beloved bear. And so, that's what I did this evening. I spent nearly an hour in surgery, but Pink Teddy now has her face back, complete with a hot glued on nose. I even recolored the black parts of her eye with a sharpie. I would like to think that the blanket stitching on her rear gives her a bit of an antique look...
Daddy thinks that the bear looks like she's smirking now. Hardly my fault.
At least she has a face...
.
Monday, July 26, 2010
You Win
.
My bedroom was a mess. REALLY. The basement was a mess. REALLY. I had an idea.
"Let's have a race. I'll clean my bedroom; you guys clean the basement. If you get the basement clean before I vacuum my room, you win a prize."
Ooh...I said the magic words: "race" and "prize"...even Samuel joined in the "fun". An hour later, it was neck in neck. Finally Honor ran upstairs. "We're done! What do we get?"
Greedy, much?
Well, I long ago decided that they don't get anything extraordinary for doing the chores they are supposed to be doing anyway--prizes are simple things like choosing a movie to watch, or choosing what they get to eat for lunch. Today's prize was something special.
"You each get to have 15 minutes of 1 on 1 time with Mommy before you go down for your nap. Whatever you want to do. Honor gets 20 minutes though because she did the most work."
After lunch, however, I modified the prize. "You can either have your 15 minutes with Mommy and then go down for a nap, OR, Honor can choose a movie (since she did the most work) and Mommy will cuddle with you on the couch instead of taking a nap. Your choice."
Their choice was unanimous.
So...this afternoon I got to blow bubbles with Samuel, practice picking up chickens with Connor, play Alphabet Express with Ariana, and dress paper princesses with Honor.
It was a special day.
.
My bedroom was a mess. REALLY. The basement was a mess. REALLY. I had an idea.
"Let's have a race. I'll clean my bedroom; you guys clean the basement. If you get the basement clean before I vacuum my room, you win a prize."
Ooh...I said the magic words: "race" and "prize"...even Samuel joined in the "fun". An hour later, it was neck in neck. Finally Honor ran upstairs. "We're done! What do we get?"
Greedy, much?
Well, I long ago decided that they don't get anything extraordinary for doing the chores they are supposed to be doing anyway--prizes are simple things like choosing a movie to watch, or choosing what they get to eat for lunch. Today's prize was something special.
"You each get to have 15 minutes of 1 on 1 time with Mommy before you go down for your nap. Whatever you want to do. Honor gets 20 minutes though because she did the most work."
After lunch, however, I modified the prize. "You can either have your 15 minutes with Mommy and then go down for a nap, OR, Honor can choose a movie (since she did the most work) and Mommy will cuddle with you on the couch instead of taking a nap. Your choice."
Their choice was unanimous.
So...this afternoon I got to blow bubbles with Samuel, practice picking up chickens with Connor, play Alphabet Express with Ariana, and dress paper princesses with Honor.
It was a special day.
.
Friday, July 16, 2010
You Missed a Spot
.
I am fairly lucky...the hair on my legs tends to grow in blond. This is both a blessing and a curse. The hair is generally not obvious to the rest of the world (unless I am in the sun), but it is also hard for me to see in the shower--occasionally I miss patches--especially on my knees. Thankfully I have Honor. She invariably finds the spots on my legs that have not been shaved and pets me. Like a dog.
Children are very humbling.
.
I am fairly lucky...the hair on my legs tends to grow in blond. This is both a blessing and a curse. The hair is generally not obvious to the rest of the world (unless I am in the sun), but it is also hard for me to see in the shower--occasionally I miss patches--especially on my knees. Thankfully I have Honor. She invariably finds the spots on my legs that have not been shaved and pets me. Like a dog.
Children are very humbling.
.
I Love to Spell
.
Ariana Singing:
(This is the song if you are curious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRMcd1-K6Jw)
I Love to spell!
S-O-E-L-O
I love to spell!
S-O-E-L-OOOO
Connor:
No, it's S-P-E-L-L!
Ariana:
I love to Spell!
S-B-E-L-O
Connor:
NO! It's S...P...E...L...L!
Ariana:
I love to Spell!
S-P-E-L-L
See, I'm a good speller!
.
Ariana Singing:
(This is the song if you are curious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRMcd1-K6Jw)
I Love to spell!
S-O-E-L-O
I love to spell!
S-O-E-L-OOOO
Connor:
No, it's S-P-E-L-L!
Ariana:
I love to Spell!
S-B-E-L-O
Connor:
NO! It's S...P...E...L...L!
Ariana:
I love to Spell!
S-P-E-L-L
See, I'm a good speller!
.
3rd Person
.
From under Samuel's door this morning I heard this:
Mommy can you get Samuel up? He's hungry.
I started laughing at my son's use of the 3rd person until I realized that the voice was actually a higher pitched "cute" version. He wasn't talking in 3rd person...BearBear was talking.
Silly Mommy
.
From under Samuel's door this morning I heard this:
Mommy can you get Samuel up? He's hungry.
I started laughing at my son's use of the 3rd person until I realized that the voice was actually a higher pitched "cute" version. He wasn't talking in 3rd person...BearBear was talking.
Silly Mommy
.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Check Out Line
.
I try not to comment on other people's parenting skills often--mostly because I have found that "what goes around, comes around" applies anytime I feel "superior"-- but today I have to make an exception. It took all my willpower today to keep from educating a woman today on teaching her children morals.
Normally I'm focused on loading the conveyor belt and don't notice the people around me in the checkout line, but this woman's pre-teen son caught my attention by commanding his mom (who was walking towards the customer service area) to get him some scratch lottery tickets. My eyebrows rose in surprise, but I figured to each their own. A minute or two later, the woman returned with two of her other children, the youngest was a girl around the age of 4 or 5. I watched from the corner of my eye as she picked up one of the trash tabloids sporting a picture of Janet Jackson "before and after plastic surgery". "[expletive]! Look at that! She looks horrible!" and her 5 year old joined her in the criticism! They then went around and talked about every single headline on those trash magazines as if they were the best source of news around. My head almost exploded.
Now, admittedly I try my best to shield my children from the negative aspects of the world--I would like to keep them as innocent as possible as long as possible--but come on! Even someone who thinks I am too strict has to think that what that woman was teaching her children was wrong. She is practically feeding poor self-image to her daughter--you might as well start taking bets now as to whether she will become bulimic or anorexic in five years.
I just wanted to grab that little girl and tell her that those magazines are nothing but gossip and garbage and the people on them don't really look like that in real life so don't pay attention to them at all. I wanted to tell her that she was beautiful, that the women on the magazines were beautiful, that we were all created by a loving God for a purpose. I wanted to tell the son about self control and wise use of money. I wanted to tell the mom that she needs to teach her children respect for themselves and for others if she wants them to have any hope of succeeding in life.
But then it was my turn to pay.
.
I try not to comment on other people's parenting skills often--mostly because I have found that "what goes around, comes around" applies anytime I feel "superior"-- but today I have to make an exception. It took all my willpower today to keep from educating a woman today on teaching her children morals.
Normally I'm focused on loading the conveyor belt and don't notice the people around me in the checkout line, but this woman's pre-teen son caught my attention by commanding his mom (who was walking towards the customer service area) to get him some scratch lottery tickets. My eyebrows rose in surprise, but I figured to each their own. A minute or two later, the woman returned with two of her other children, the youngest was a girl around the age of 4 or 5. I watched from the corner of my eye as she picked up one of the trash tabloids sporting a picture of Janet Jackson "before and after plastic surgery". "[expletive]! Look at that! She looks horrible!" and her 5 year old joined her in the criticism! They then went around and talked about every single headline on those trash magazines as if they were the best source of news around. My head almost exploded.
Now, admittedly I try my best to shield my children from the negative aspects of the world--I would like to keep them as innocent as possible as long as possible--but come on! Even someone who thinks I am too strict has to think that what that woman was teaching her children was wrong. She is practically feeding poor self-image to her daughter--you might as well start taking bets now as to whether she will become bulimic or anorexic in five years.
I just wanted to grab that little girl and tell her that those magazines are nothing but gossip and garbage and the people on them don't really look like that in real life so don't pay attention to them at all. I wanted to tell her that she was beautiful, that the women on the magazines were beautiful, that we were all created by a loving God for a purpose. I wanted to tell the son about self control and wise use of money. I wanted to tell the mom that she needs to teach her children respect for themselves and for others if she wants them to have any hope of succeeding in life.
But then it was my turn to pay.
.
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