Archive for the ‘Kids’ Category

I LOVE the Olympics!!

We happily haven’t had any TV reception since the summer Olympics and, Kirk, knowing how I enjoy them went and got an antenna just so we could watch the 2010 Winter Games. (I so appreciate him). I have my favorite events, but I will watch almost any of it. To give you an idea of how bad it has been around here, yesterday I walked into Walmart with three kids in tow, and we passed the Subway that is inside of Walmart. Cade and Ella immediately started singing, “Five…five dollars…five dollar footlong…”! I was almost sure I heard Addie humming along.

So, what have we been doing during those off times when no Olympic coverage is on our local station? We have been sleeping, eating, going grocery shopping and making salt dough ice skates. Cade got the idea that he wanted to make ski poles from pipe cleaners. After we thought about it for awhile, we decided that wooden dowels might be better. So, we picked up dowels and paint, and first thing this morning he got to painting his ski poles.

I questioned my sanity while I was explaining to Cade that the poles can’t be used as swords or lightsabers. Was there even a chance that this wouldn’t happen??? Well, after waiting way longer than Cade would have liked for the paint to dry, I have been pleasantly surprised.

The kids have been taking turns skiing through the kitchen. There are necklaces for the medals. The timer is set and one cheers while the other skis. Russia is usually trailing “American”. The black paint scuffs on the floor are well worth the entertainment!

Addie just passed her 5 month mark, and I was just noticing how long her hair is getting.  You’ll also notice that lovely baby bald spot.

Cade was as bald as a cue ball for a long time after birth and went through a phase of being deathly afraid of haircuts once he did have hair.  Ella had a moderate amount of hair and currently is waiting for her hair to get long enough for braids.  Thus far Addie is known for her red hair:).

We did have a hair cutting episode last summer that you can see all about below.

While Ella was getting her hair cut professionally after this incident, the lady said that she had seen moms cry because their girl’s hair had been cut.  Call me crazy but all I could think was, “It’s only hair!”

Today I was renewed in my appreciation for God’s perfection.

While I was nannying yesterday, I went downstairs and found open packaging from a toy camera.  After asking the boys if they knew anything about it I was able to conclude that the culprit of opening the package was Ella.  I quickly went upstairs to find the hooligan and promptly brought her downstairs.

Now, pause for a second and understand that we have recently had several incidents of Ella not telling us the truth.  At this point, we can pretty much bank on what Cade says, but with Ella it is iffy.  (ie eating a Triscuit and having the remains in her mouth while straight faced saying that she did not take a cracker and eat it.)

So, back to bringing the hooligan downstairs.  I was expecting denial from her, but I was pleasantly surprised when she admitted to opening the package immediately.  Then I asked her where she got the package.  She pointed to the nearest shelf.  Now, I happen to know that Melissa (the mom of the kids I nanny) has a dresser with toys in their packages in another room.  I asked Ella again and she stuck to her story.  After several rounds of this and various discipline techniques I finally left Ella in a back room by herself to think things through and hopefully tell me the truth when I came back.  I was praying for her little heart to be convicted as she bawled in the other room.  I came back numerous times and she would tell me she forgot where she got the toy camera from.

After way too much drama I finally told Ella that I knew she got it from the dresser.  She agreed, and we hugged.  Once again we discussed the importance of honesty, and I told Ella that she would need to inform Melissa when she got home what she had done.  Then we went along with the rest of our day.

Fast forward to the time that Melissa gets home.  Ella was off playing so I told Melissa that I was going to have Ella confess to her.  Then Melissa proceeds to tell me that the toy camera was in fact on the shelf that Ella had ORIGINALLY told me and NOT in the dresser…

WONDERFUL!! Now, I had disciplined my daughter for lying, when she had not, and she even confessed to something that she, in fact, did NOT do!  I immediately felt AWFUL!!

I later pulled Ella aside, and asked her where she really got the camera toy.  The hooligan poor child was probably so confused at that point.  When reassured that she could really tell me, she again told me about the shelf that she actually found it on.  I apologized and told her that I had made a mistake (I had been so sure!).  She was so gracious and forgiving (I have found that kids at this age usually are).

As we were leaving to go home, Ella by her own initiative, whispered to Melissa that she had taken the camera and opened it.  Evidently, it had been a left over Christmas gift that just had yet to be opened.  I was very wrong in my assumptions yesterday.  I was very blessed though by Ella’s forthright confession on her own.

When all was said and done I was still feeling badly about the whole incident and told Kirk that I have learned that I will not discipline for lying unless I have evidence.  I also was extremely thankful that God is always PERFECT and ALL-KNOWING. We are never held accountable for something we didn’t do, and He always knows exactly what we need in discipline and provision.

Inevitably after a baby is born everyone asks, “Who does she/he look like?”  Call me a bad mom, but I usually don’t see anyone in particular in a newborn.  They just look like newborns…

Anyway, here is all three of the kiddos at the exer-saucer stage…I’ll leave it up to you to decide!

Go ahead and leave a comment and let us know who you think the kids look like most.

We have been going through the Biblical story of Joseph using a great curriculum called Bible Study Guide For All Ages. The kids really enjoy it as they get to color as the story progresses and they are really retaining the material because of the pictures and review.

As we have been going through the story I have been thinking about how Jacob’s favoritism of certain sons (ie Joseph & Benjamin) really caused so much hurt between them, not to mention his multiple wives!!  (Kirk always says he couldn’t handle more than one wife, so I guess I don’t have to worry about that:)).  So, knowing that favoritism is wrong how do we go about loving our children equally?

I once met a mom who calculated to the penny how much she spent on Christmas gifts for each child and would give them money to compensate for any difference.  Now I don’t know about you, but I think I would be crazy putting all that effort into being “equal”.  I’m also not organized enough to do such things.

I did hear a quote awhile ago that has helped me think through how I do treat my children:

If you love your children equally, you will treat them uniquely.

I LOVE what that conveys!!  Cade and Ella are SO different.  Ella can try as hard as ever to be neat while she eats, and she will still have a complete disaster when she is done.  Cade, on the other hand, has been a neat eater from the very beginning.  He doesn’t like being messy, and he has even refused to finger paint and do paper mache because he might get dirty.  All of our pictures of Cade in the high chair are of him falling asleep.  All of the ones of Ella are of the mess she made!  I’m just waiting to see what Addie will do!!

At a New Year’s party the kids played limbo.  Ella jumped right in and couldn’t care less that she was doing it “incorrectly”.  Cade sat on the floor and watched because he wasn’t sure if he could do it “right”.

So, with Cade we encourage him to try many things, and he needs a lot of encouragement and affirmation that it’s okay if it isn’t done perfectly.  Ella, in contrast, needs encouragement at times to work to perfect things or take them more seriously.  We love them both, but wouldn’t it be a travesty to treat them the same???

Which, as a side note, you may want to give yourself a break (as a mom, wife, daughter etc) and realize that you aren’t meant to be the same as anyone else.  God loves us equally, but created us (and treats us) uniquely as well.

The other day I purchased Babycubes with my order of diapers on www.diapers.com.  (I have recently fallen in love with ordering diapers online as it is cheaper AND I don’t have to lug a big box home from the store…just fyi some diapers are actually cheaper on www.amazon.com, but I had a coupon for diapers.com at the time).

So, what are Babycubes?  They are this great little invention that make making your own baby food simpler.  I used to filled ice cube trays with pureed food and then pop them out and put them in freezer bags.  This works great until you want to bring it somewhere.  I love Babycubes because they can be frozen, microwaved and then put in the dishwasher and you never lose the lid!

Anyway, the other day I was being a superb mother and was pureeing green beans from our garden (yes, it is 20 degrees below zero here…they were beans that had been previously frozen and were in our freezer).  There I was, feeling awfully good about my diligence when I hear Ella whisper to Cade, “That looks disgusting!!” Keep in mind that Ella is not yet 4, but she definitely has her own opinions!  Cade instantly replies in a whisper (in a whisper because they know they aren’t allowed to say negative things about food being prepared), “Yeah, it totally does to me too!!” Well, so much for my moment (instant?) of goodness.  I think it was easier to hang onto those moments with only one child:).

Our house was on the market and we haven’t had a showing since August.  Now, we have a showing tomorrow…and yes, technically our house is off the market.

So, needless to say, we have been busy cleaning around here.  Making our house look like no one lives in it with 2 pre-schoolers and an infant is somewhat of a feat in and of itself.  Ella, as usual, has been an eager helper.  We have been cleaning bathtubs, washing mirrors and windows, the fridge, and her favorite, the toilet.

What could be better than such a happy, cute helper!  It makes even cleaning the toilet fun!  The ballerina swimsuit is also a must for a wonderful toilet cleaning experience.