Ms Smith

I recently made a new friend who has a son that is near my DH's age. Since then, we have been having so much fun together. On Saturday night, my DF and her DS stayed the night. We had the hardest time getting the boys to go to sleep. Of course, they were sleeping in the same bed, which I'm sure didn't help. After almost an hour of trying to get them to sleep, my DF says to the both of them:
"There is a lady named Ms. Smith who will come to visit you in your dreams and take you anywhere you want to go, but you have to be asleep in 10 minutes!"
My DS "Will she take me to get a Nintendo DS?", "Will she take me on a roller coaster?"
My DF "She will take you anywhere you want to go and then she leaves a piece of candy underneath your pillow so that you remember your adventures!"
After much discussion she leaves the room only to return moments later to find both of them fast asleep. She actually thought they were playing possum but found that they weren't.
Now, I'm told that Ms. Smith will only work for certain situations and some children will get too old. Just remember, Don't forget the candy. They boys woke up to find bubble gum tape under their pillows. Children. They're great!
I can't wait to try this with my chatter-box of a niece.

Bike riding

My kids love to bike ride and recently my DM had given me a bike. So, lately they kids have been dying to ride. One day, while we were out riding my DS would get tired and need a break. So, we'd take lil short breaks. He aslo like to ride last. I guess the fear of someone running over him is just too much. Anyhow, we were on our way home and were coming up an incline that was a lil too much for his little legs and he stalled. I was about 20 feet in front of him when I hear "D**m it!" I immediately stopped my bike and turned around to respond, "What did you just say?" "D**m it." "Well, honey little people don't use that word, just big people."
He responded with a whiny "well....I couldn't get up that hill."

Lost but Found

In 1999, when my DH was to leave for field training, he gave a Gund monkey to our DD. She soon named him, KiKi, and they were inseparable. KiKi went everywhere she did and was her constant companion. He moved from St. Louis to Florida to Oklahoma with us and never skipped a beat. When my DD was in pre-k she met Heath. She and Heath remains friends after all these years even tho they do not attend the same school. Two years ago, my DD was spending the night with Heath and had forgotten her dear KiKi. So, being the Mother of the Year that I am, loaded Kiki in the car and hauled him over to Heath's. In the craziness of picking my DD up the next day, we forgot KiKi. We phoned Heath's, but to no avail, he was lost. Just the other day Heath spent the night with us and my DD asked Heath if she'd found KiKi. Much to our surprise, she had!
After 2 years of separation my DD was reunited with her lovable monkey, KiKi, on June 15, 2007.

God is healing me!

BLAINE
Yesterday the dog got out of the house twice. Now, this has happened several times before and I have learned that chasing him only adds to the fun of being out. So, the kids run in the house to get the leash and a treat. When they catch the dog, the leash goes on and he gets the treat. All went according to plan yesterday until, Blaine decided he wanted to walk the dog back to the house on the leash. (Marley, our dog, isn't obedient and usually ends up walking the walker.)
Marley takes off running, throwing Blaine to the ground. (Blaine was wearing only swim trunks)
Blaine immediately let go of the leash but not before scrapping his chest, hip bone, elbow and hand on the concrete. Oh! He also hit his lip on the concrete. What a mess! He was hurt and upset but not injured and out of control. He asked me last night, "Is God gonna heal me?" Of course, my response was that he would but that it would take a couple of days. He woke up today and had to show me how much his chest had healed. "God is healing me!"

Funny Girl

My DD told me this story the other day:
"Mom, did I ever tell you about the time, when (DS) was trying to get into the bathroom when I was still in there?"
"No, sweetie, you haven't."
"Well, this one time when he wanted to use the bathroom and I was in there using it, he wouldn't stop knocking on the door, so I told him to wait and I put liquid soap on the toilet and toilet handle flushy thing and on the faucet knobs and when he went in there and sat on the toilet he said, "ewwww!"...I just stood outside laughing."
"When did you pull this practical joke on your brother?"
"Oh, it's been about a year ago?"
"Where did you learn that joke?"
"Oh, I don't know?"

So, If you're the joker who taught my DD that practical joke.....it was really funny!!!!....but don't ever do it again!

Trophy Time

My DH and I have been having the hardest time getting our DS to want to go play his t-ball games. He cries and whines that he doesn't want to play or practice but doesn't tell us why. So, being the good parents we are, we told him that he has to play out the season and if he doesn't want to play next year then he doesn't have to. This was not a satisfactory answer to my DS current issue. He doesn't want to play, now! As a parent who was an athlete and whose oldest child loves sports, I can honestly say, I don't know how to deal with a child who doesn't wanna play. It's frustrating but I'm willing to keep an open mind. Anyway, as I've been looking for ways to get him to the yard, I've sunken to bribery. Yes, you read right. Bribery. One dollar for every time he hits the ball hard. Somehow, this doesn't seem to curtail the crying fits he has when it's time to put on his uniform and go to the yard. As I rack my brain trying to figure out a way to combat this situation, it hits me! Like a bolt of lighting! "You'll get a trophy at the end of the season, if you continue to play in the games." Works like a charm. So, when he begins to whine and cry, I just remind him of that trophy he'll get at the end of the season. This parenting thing is hard!

Worn Out Body

My DS wrote a blog the other day about how many bodily injuries she had sustained in one week. This gave me the idea of doing a self injury count. So here goes:
1. I bruised the bottom outside of my right foot and it's been hurting for a week.
2. While camping this weekend, my dad and I were moving around the bunk beds and, I sat the foot of one of the beds down on my left pinkie toe.
3. My hips are still sore from sleeping on an air mattress that deflated in the night and left me sleeping on concrete. (Special thanks for the deflated mattress goes out to Mom and Don)
4. My shoulders are also sore but that is from the slight sun burn.
5. I must have hyper-extended my left elbow at some point because, when Rebekah and I were playing volleyball, it keep hurting every time I passed the ball.
6. My right elbow has been injured for some time. I heard it pop one day when I was lifting weights.
7. My right index finger has been injured the longest. It's been almost 3 years since I was diagnosed with trigger finger.

With all these injuries/aches, it's a wonder how I'm still walking around. But I must suffer through. Why would I want to go into heaven with an unused body when I know I'm gonna get a perfect one when I get there? I'm gonna use up this one and wear it out.

Weekend Fun

We traveled to Turner Falls this weekend and spent some quality time with my dad and brother. What an adventure! Packing for camping is an adventure in itself cause you know you're gonna forget something. And forget we did! The best thing we forgot was all of our worries!!! The kids have so much fun together (my dear friend brought her boys) and how much they can bug each other. Even tho their bickering and tattle-telling irritates, it's well worth it! Children really are magical. They just know how to have fun. Pure. Innocent. Laughter. Adventure. Imagination. They really do teach us adults how to enjoy the moment.
Short Funny:
It began to sprinkle with only a few clouds in the sky and I thought someone had spit on me. I asked my dd if she spit on me and she replied, "No, would you like for me to?"! Needless to say I couldn't stop laughing.

Be Positive Anyway

A good friend of mine sent this to me and I just had to post it. Let this be the first day of the rest of your life.

When you experience a setback, it may seem natural to respond by lowering your expectations. Yet that is not the only choice you have.
Just imagine what would happen if you did exactly the opposite. Just imagine what would happen if you decided to raise your expectations in response to each setback.
With such a strategy, negative momentum never has a chance to take hold. For even the disappointments serve to push you forward.
Your current expectations have much more power and influence than anything that has occurred in your past. For it is your current expectations that give direction to your energy and your actions.
Choose to make that direction a positive, valuable, creative one. From even the most burdensome difficulty, you can begin to move forward immediately.
Base your expectations on your most treasured dreams and your most profound purpose, rather than on life's random events or circumstances. And nothing will be able to hold you back for long.
-- Ralph Marston

Cricket

So, I was talking with my ds on the phone this morning and of course my dd had to be listening to our conversation. Now, this can sometimes be annoying but, this morning, my dd made a funny. (Back story: I am taking the kiddos camping this weekend.) I was telling my ds how tired I was and wished I could get some good sleep. My dd pipes up and says "You're not gonna get any sleep tonight....cricket, cricket, cricket." How true? How true. My dd has been camping enough to know that there are too many night creatures that will keep you awake. I'm so excited! We are gonna have so much fun!

Bra Shopping

As most women know, bra shopping can be daunting. If you're like me, you put it off until the last possible moment, cuz you know you're gonna have to try on every bra in the place to find the exact fit. This was the case with me this morning. What an ordeal. Take the bra off the hanger, adjust the straps, try it on, get the feel of it, take it off, and the put it back on the hanger. Well, this is just too much! I need a personal shopper. I went in with 6 bras to try on and it took me almost 40 minutes. Are you kidding me? Ridiculous. At least I found 2 that I liked. Now we'll have to see, after wearing them, if I love them. Only time will tell. You would think that I would have some sense of satisifaction and be really excited about my bra purchases but you never know how those things are gonna be once you wear them for a while. I was actually more excited about the new tires I got for my vehicle. Wooo Hooo!!! Silly, I know. But I really can tell the difference in the ride. And not only did I get new tires, they didn't cost as much as I thought they would!!!! Double Wooo Hooo!!!! So if you see me ridin' down the road just shout out "Cool tires and nice rack!".

Friends

I'm learning more and more each day. This day brings me to the realization that it is good to have friends. Especially those with whom you haven't spoken to in a while but can pick up right where you left off. I don't know if everyone feels this way but what a comfort it is to know that when you initially connect with certain people nothing in the world can keep you from staying friends. In this cinical world of selfishessness and "you done me wrong", true friends know your faults (even when they are on the receiving end) and love you because of them. For all those people whose family has disappointed, rejected, or scarred them....find a friend & keep that friend! To all my friends: Thanks for all you do and are!

Realization

You know sometimes in life when, life hits you and, hits you hard? Why is it that our expectations rarely match our reality? Or is it the other way around? In any case, sometimes life just kicks you when you're down. I am the eternal optimist and at the same time can't help but feel that somethings will never change. Recently, our family had an experience that I knew would change everyone, forever. It didn't. The change was temporary and a farse. Only for show. Most people who say they care, actually do care somewhere deep inside. For others, it's only for show. This is the case for those who don't change when they should. Enough of my ranting. Just a bit of advice before I go....make a change where change is needed.