carefree

I used to look at kids with food all over there faces and think “what is wrong with that child, or what is wrong with that parent to let them look like that.” Now that I have more pressing issues most of the time then wiping my kids faces (Owen is especially messy) I have gained some perspective. I am in fact jealous of that child to be so carefree and unbothered by such trivial things. They don’t worry about their looks or what other people think of them. They are still very innocent. They only need to worry about having fun. It is a very sad thing to me to see a child who is afraid to get dirty. Fortunately my kids don’t have that problem.

Spring Has Sprung (I hope)

Warmth, ahh. My bones are finally thawing out after this cold winter. It is wonderful. I literally went outside and shouted “whahoo!” on Sunday(65 degrees). I only hope we are not being teased by Mother Nature. We broke Callie in on her first hike. She slept the whole 3 hours in her moby wrap. I even tried to nurse her on the trail but she wasn’t too interested. Perrie is an awesome hiker. We call her “Soaring Eagle” because she likes to run up ahead then back and forth. She is tireless. Owen on the other hand we call “Grazing Buffalo.” He enjoys wondering off the path looking for dinosaur fossils, running back down the hill we just climbed or sitting down and resting- anything but FORWARD. In theory this is great for him. He goes his own way, does not give into pressure and enjoys the journey not so much the destination. In reality this can be very frustrating for us. We did not make a lot of progress unless Owen was carried or enticed by a sweetie. Last summer we were able to carry him in the pack a lot and it was great. He is too big for that now I’m afraid. Our dreams of adventurous hiking all summer long just went up in smoke.

How sweet it is to be loved by you!

playtime

When I get frustrated being a parents I will often grab a new parenting book at the library for one or two new ideas. I am loving my latest discovery called Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen. His approach is to use humor & games to lighten up a tense situation, (and we have had our share here lately.)When kids are acting out, they are really looking for some attention. Kids love it when you play dumb, fall down, be super silly and exaggerated. Really play on their level. I have already used many of his ideas to turn a certain 3 year old from yelling at me to belly laughing on the floor in seconds.

Perrie loves it when I put on my witch hat from Halloween and pretend she a princess locked in the tower and must do all the chores. Owen loves it when we pretend a doll or stuffed animal is him and talk to it. We were having problems with name calling and I said “Well, whatever you do, don’t call me my secret name, Rice Crispy Princess. And especially don’t tell the birds.” Owen went from being mad to giggling and yelling my secret name out the window. The author has a whole chapter on the importance of wrestling. I am still reading it, but just loving all his advice. Do you have any fun games you play with your kids?

Dear Blogspot,
I have a confession to make. Ive been cheating on you. Your rival is facebook. I caved into peer preesure and gave it a try. Everyone is doing it. FB is so easy and fast. I know you and I have a history here so I am going to try to make it work with you. Are you open to sharing me? Sometimes when I only have 1 minute, or 1 hand, facebook does the job. I know I have let you down but life is about change right. (Just don’t tell my husband, he will really start to wonder what I do at home all day.)

Love T

God's Hands

Our baby girl was a sweet surprise to us But we are not exactly rolling in the money these days and there are things babies need to make life go smoothly. I had a list of wants. Friends started saying to me, “Do you need this? I have one you can have” It would be exactly what I needed, without even telling them. It really has been a miracle. I havnt had to buy a thing, (of course I wanted to buy a few cute clothes, and diapers don’t count.) Also we have received so many dinners from good people. We are so grateful. People I don’t even know very well have given us very generous gifts. I really feel like God is taking care of us thru others love and kindness. Being on the receiving end of a kind deed is overwhelming. People are so good and full of love. I think sometimes they are just waiting for a way to show this. Thank you so much.

Owen is loving baby Callie so much he is willing to share his dinosaur toys with her. This is what I saw in her crib today. She is going to have to be a tough one.