Sunday, December 28, 2008

I Always Need My Family

Since we are trying to fix up our house a bit (without spending too much money), Nana took the girls with her when she went back home. That means H is an only child until Friday! We've gotten a lot done since the girls left yesterday morning, including preparing our room for a fresh coat of paint. Gran has agreed to keep H tomorrow so I can paint and S can get other work done without worrying about what H is getting into.

So here's where the family comes into play. Since L is with K at Nana's house (they're also spending time with Papa and PJ), they aren't in their normal routine. The girls got to have their own rooms last night at Nana's house. At breakfast, L told Nana that she missed her family. She said, "I always need my family." Sometimes that little girl really surprises me with her sayings. Usually they are funny (like last week at church when she was sitting in my lap and tooted just as the pastor said that Jesus' love had a very distinct sweet aroma. It's really hard to stifle laughter in the middle of a sermon) but this one truly touched me. My daughter, who is usually the independent one, absolutely wants and needs to be with her Mama, Daddy, sister and brother.

And that's the way I always want it to be.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Crime and Punishment

Sunday afternoon was perfect nap weather: cool, rainy, dreary, gray. Since I got up with H at 6:20, I got to take a wonderful, long nap. I think I woke up around 4pm and then S came in our room at 4:30 just to make sure I was awake. I was but barely.

He came in to inform me of a situation involving the girls. It seems as though K got the idea that she would do some "cleaning" in her room. She has done this before with bathroom cleaner (complete with bleach), attempting to "clean" her bear. The bear got thrown in the trash and the child was put in time out while Mama took a time out herself. The bleach incident happened when she was three so we didn't do much else to punish her.

Fast forward to Sunday and she's a whole three years older and wiser. Or so I thought. She used detangling spray as a cleaning solution to clean her and L's beds (just the wood part, not the quilts she assured me) and L used it to wash the walls, with toilet paper as a cleaning rag. This is something that they know better than to do. S was annoyed and made them clean up the mess while he came to me to discuss punishment.

When they finished cleaning, K and L asked what their punishment was going to be. S and I got the bright idea to let the girls pick their own punishment. They came up with no snacks, no sweets and no TV for two days. That started at 5pm Sunday and will end today at 5pm. Believe me, they are counting down the minutes.

The thing I've already noticed, though, is that they are finding ways to entertain themselves without bugging me. They have played well together and have gotten along without much fighting. They haven't once asked to watch TV and keep reminding me that they can have dessert tonight. I really thought this punishment was going to drive me bonkers but they've been quite good. And their imaginations have been running wild.

There have been plenty of tempting situations for them and I know there will be at least one more today. But I must say that I am so proud of them!

Monday, December 22, 2008

And Now the Madness Really Begins

So. How was your weekend? Ours went by way too fast but we got lots done and I finally got to take a nap. Mod Girl commented that I made her sleepy just reading my last post. Well, I was definitely feeling the sleepy, too!

The class parties went well on Friday and I ate way too much (how can you resist a nugget tray from Chick-fil-A?). At least I didn't eat the cakes, cupcakes and chips that were also available. The girls both got really cute books and we've been reading through K's since she got a Max Lucado children's treasury book that has 4 of his books in it. L got a puzzle book and H has had fun trying to figure out how the pieces fit.

I ran between both parties Friday morning seeing just enough of each one to please both L and K. I came home with feet aching, arms loaded with gifts and goodies from various friends, and two wound-up little girls. I told them to run around outside for a bit to calm down. It sort of helped.

Saturday went by faster than any Saturday has in recent memory. That morning I realized that I had never taken a shower on Friday. Now not getting a shower is something to which I've become accustomed since becoming a mother. But this was the first time I actually forgot to take one. Needless to say, that was priority one on my agenda for Saturday morning.

We were busy cleaning out closets, doing laundry, cleaning the house, and running errands. S's parents made it into town that afternoon and we spent time with them playing dominoes and eating dinner. Again, I was exhausted by the end of the day.

I thought I was all done with shopping and wrapping but remembered that I didn't have anything for stockings and must get that done, including wrapping all of those gifts. That's a tradition in S's family that I still don't understand but I'll wrap all the items, even if it's a little pack of gum.

So that's what's been happening around here. I'm hoping to post more this week and will upload some pictures of the kids. I wish I knew how to get pictures off my phone and onto the computer so you could see H's face last night when he ate an Oreo. Just use your imagination.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Catching Up

I have approximately 3 minutes to give you a quick update on all our business here over the last week or so. Sorry for not posting but I honestly don't have time!

We're trying to fix up the house and I've been busy cleaning out closets, painting my bathroom, painting in the girls' room from the "raining in my room" episode, and getting rid of unwanted furniture. It hasn't been easy and it's moving along slowly but it's getting done.

We have two class Christmas parties tomorrow and I forgot that both girls have to bring a book for the gift exchange. I guess I'll do that on the way to get K from school. I also have to bring two different food items to their respective parties and help with both of them. At least I'm not in charge.

The house is decorated but not all presents are wrapped. I'm lucky that my head is attached at this point! I promise to write more in the coming days as we'll be done with school and I'll be looking for stuff to get me away from children who keep telling me they are bored.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

It's Been Awhile...

Sorry for not posting more but it's just been busy and I don't have time! Oh, how I wish I did. For now, here's a picture of our family taken at K's Thanksgiving Feast. Hope y'all are well!