What Time Does the Day Begin?

Well I can say that mine officially began at about 4:20am. And it has been drama all day long. One of the parents that I do childcare for goes in to work especially early. She texted me & requested that I call & leave her a message saying that I was sick so that she could get off from work. So I thought, well I am sick. I've been sick for 4 days now. Plus who wouldn't love a day off? Still, at 5:25am, there was a knock on the door. It was the father, dropping the baby off. Oh, okay... I'm confused. I thought I called your command so you could have the day off & spend some time with your child. Maybe not. I cuddled the baby until he fell asleep around 6:10am. Then at 6:30am, there is another knock on the door. WHAT IN THE WORLD? Yes, the mother had arrived to pick the baby up.

And the whole situation came back to bite the mother anyway because her 1st class started calling around to find her a back up provider. This is basically a tactic used by those high in the chain of command that says "don't try to miss work for no reason" and so the mother ended up calling her 1st class and telling her she'd be there in a little bit. So I have the baby anyway. My kids are napping. I wish I was.

And so, if I am snappy today, please excuse me. Each time I attempted to go back to sleep, someone interrupted the my bliss 5 minutes after I closed my eyes. Sleep has been teasing me all day long.

Indoor Jumping Jacks

Whoever heard of indoor jumping jacks? Well I'm a slave driver I suppose. It's been raining for over a week and these boys have been cooped up in the house that entire time. They were fighting, bouncing off the walls, and general being altogether too rough with one another from all the energy that needed to be expelled. So we had an indoor exercise program. I made them do all kinds of strengthening exercises. Everything from squats to jumping jacks. By the end, Kaleo was saying that he couldn't walk. GOTTA LOVE IT!!

Sharpening Fingers

It has never occurred to me that small fingers could be cut by a pencil sharpener. I mean, it's a very small hole and most children wouldn't dare put their fingers into the sharpener. However, Samson is one of those children that has no fear. He sharpened his pointer finger on Saturday. I'm sure it hurt and Kaleo screamed, "Samson, don't sharpen your finger!!" which made the incident stand out all the more. The finger has been bleeding a little bit, but mostly, he's just missing the top layer of his finger nail. Luckily, there's only a tiny bit of skin missing... enough to make a hang nail. Boys do some crazy stuff!

This weekend was a bit on the boring side. Davin is so handy so we ended up spending the day helping two of our friends with some of their to-do list. I spent the majority of the day cleaning up the house & catching up on schoolwork. Or rather, getting ahead on schoolwork. Sunday, my mom & sister came to visit and we spent the afternoon eating & walking around Target. I didn't even buy a single item. Amazing, I know. I totally forgot that Kaleo had homework this weekend, so I felt like an incredibly bad mom this morning rushing him to get ready so that he could do his two worksheets!

Which brings up the point... why don't kids have any sense of time? I mean, Kaleo is 5 and has absolutely no sense or respect for time. I tell him to get himself dressed and when I check on him 10 minutes later, he hasn't even started the process of dressing himself. If I ask him what he's been doing... he says he doesn't know. What do you mean you don't know? It's so strange.

We spent the afternoon today planting 2 dozen yellow squash plants and 3 dozen zinnea plants. Hopefully a few of those will survive. We have green squash & daisies to plant later on in the week. I absolutely love the idea of growing your own food to use. Usually I'm too overwhelmed with school work but I believe that this year, I'll be able to grow something. Or at least I'm hoping I will.

I must get to work. Premartial counseling text is calling me!

Big Poopy Mess!

It really warmed up outside today. And now that Samson is 2, he has really turned into a youngster that wants to be independent. So with 70 degree weather, comes naked babies. And he did strip himself throughout the day. I re-applied his clothing several times. The last time, which was obviously the most interesting, it was bad - to say the least.

He pooped in his diaper and then pulled his pants and diaper off. The doo doo was everywhere. His hands, butt, legs, and oh it was so yucky! So Davin told me I was supposed to take care of it. All I can remember is screaming "Don't touch me" over and over, and Samson crying. We paid it to the bathtub, where he was scrubbed down.

And then, he promptly fell asleep on the couch.

Monsters Mommy!

So here we go with another tale of the children! For the past several nights in a row, Samson has been crying before he goes to sleep. It's unusual because he's used to his "big boy" bed now, so I haven't been able to figure out what the problem is. I check on him and ask him why he's crying and he says "scared, Mommy" but when I asked him what he's scared of, he just points to the toybox. I have resorted to leaving the hallway light on and leaving the bedroom door open. That seems to satisfy him.

At naptime, however, we had the same struggle. It was pretty light in the room, and he was still crying about being scared. He went so far as to pull the covers back and clearly order me into his bed with the words, "Mommy, snuggle". I did as I was told for a few minutes. Then I asked him to show me what he was scared of.

The short little man got out of his bed and went over to the remote controlled robots and said "monster scared monster scared". The top of the robot did look like it had a face. And because I cleaned out the boys' room last week, it was was facing his bed and appeared to be looking right at my little Sammy with it's silver windshield (looked like eyes I suppose).

These are the realities that make us realize that our kids aren't lying or trying to stay awake late or just be spiteful by making us run to them. They may really fear something, they may really be in need of something, as Samson was.

~Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever. ~Psalm 107:1

Confiscating Snickers Bars

It seems that there is always something going on in our household! Since it has been raining for about a week straight, we have gone through the rooms, thoroughly cleaning anything & everything. The boys have not had fun. There were toys that were given away, and anything broken made it's way into the trash.

However, there were some odd finds. Mainly, the full size Snickers bar hidden in Kaleo's desk drawer. He has a sweet tooth like someone I've never seen (and if you've met my mother, you wouldn't think anyone could love sugar more). So it's typical that I find bits and pieces of fun-size, individually wrapped candy, gum, and other novelties. But a full size Snickers bar? I don't think any normal 5 year old could consume a full size Snickers bar in one sitting.

So Davin asked Kaleo where he'd gotten the Snickers bar. Kaleo answered, "the big cabinet" which is the cabinet beside the refridgerator. It's much too high for him to reach, though, so he had to climb up on top of the countertop to get to the candy that I purchase to pack in Davin's lunch everyday. And then he took it to his room and hid it in the desk drawer.

I know he's 5, but I'm confused. If he went through all that trouble to steal the candy... why didn't he just eat it right then? Or at least open it and attempt to eat as much as he could consume?

Needless to say, Davin confiscated the Snickers from him. He also gave him the "no food in your room" talk. Kaleo gets this talk often, but he forgets it soon after. Hopefully we can get this lion of a sweet tooth tame sooner than later!

Answer to Bad Breath Question

I was concerned about Kaleo suggesting his breath was so bad I could smell it in my bedroom. I mentioned to my husband that Kaleo asked this question, and he began laughing uncontrollably. I knew that there was something that I was not aware of about this situation!

When Davin got up this morning and got himself ready for work, he did the norm. He got himself together and right before leaving, he checks on the boys in their beds. At around 4:50am, he found Kaleo practically sleeping with his face on the baby monitor. He told Kaleo not to put his face on the baby monitor because his breath was coming through it into our room and stinking up our room. Kaleo moved himself over so that his head was not near the monitor.

And so, the odd question actually has a reason behind it. And I thought kids just came up with these crazy ideas on their own. No, creative parents are behind these wild, whacky thoughts. :)

Can you Smell my Breath, mom?

It was the usual Monday morning routine for me and the kids. I tried to pry their tired bodies out of their beds at about 6:50am to get ready for the day. When I had woken Kaleo, finally, after much singing and discussion about the fact that school was going to be in session today, he jumped down from the top bunk. He asked me very frankly if I had been able to smell his breath from my bedroom. I said "no" and he said, "well mom, it's real stinky this morning, I thought you could smell it from your bedroom".

So that's the start of my day, and it had me cracking up from the beginning!

Rise & Shine.... It's Saturday!

Sure, normal people sleep in on Saturdays. Every other day of the week, I have to go into my kids' bedroom and sing and make all sorts of noise to wake them up. But when Saturday rolls around, they are up at... literally... the crack of dawn. Since we are military, our day starts off very early. The hubby leaves the house just after 4am and I usually get up around 6am to have some reading & treadmill time to myself. I wake the children at 7am to get ready for school.

So why, I ask, do they feel it necessary to roll out of bed before 6am on Saturday? We decided to try something new. We told them that they could just play & watch tv Saturday morning, and let mommy & daddy sleep in. Oh that worked wonderfully. Of course that is sarcasm.

At about 7:30, there is crashing and banging. When I walk out into the living room, there is sweet tea everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. They have cut themselves banana bread, so that is also scattered throughout the kitchen and dining area, but the iced tea is the problem for me. Crumbs, I can deal with... sticky liquid all over the place urks me.

Let the cleaning begin! We sprayed the floors & made the children scoot around on towels to help get the stickiness off the floors. That lasted about 5 minutes. I ended up spending nearly 2 hours scrubbing the two rugs covered in iced tea. There is so much up for debate about child abuse... isn't this mom abuse, though? The floor is still sticky in some places. Our feet make that lovely sticky floor noise when we walk over those spots.

It's been a very fun start to a rainy Saturday!

Eat Eat NOW!

I don't think I have ever had anyone yell at me in such a fashion. But, being that the young man is only two years of age, he is somehow permitted to get away with speaking to those surrounding him this way. He climbs up onto one of the dining room chairs and screams at the top of his lungs: "MOMMY EAT EAT NOW".

My best guess is that the little chubba chubba of a boy is hungry. Oddly enough, it seems that his hunger pangs hit nearly every hour, on the hour. I remind him politely that he should ask nicely when he is hungry. He looks at me with that sweet little innocent face and says "peas mommy".

Once your heart is melted, you give him the fruit or the cracker or pretzel or whatever it may be. He really is a sweetie, but he comes across so obnoxious sometimes.

Yesterday it was warm, and we couldn't seem to keep his clothes on him. He kept stripping himself naked. My husband thought it would be great for potty training since they were outside, but lo & behold, he held the pee pee until I put the diaper back on him.

However, while he was still running around buck naked, he decided to take the power wheel for a spin. We have two power wheels. One of them is larger for our eldest son, and the other is small, for him to ride. He took his older brother's tractor. His older brother did not like that too much, because his bare butt was on the tractor's seat. He cried the entire 3 minutes until the tractor made it's way back to the front of the yard and the naked one decidedly forfeited ownership of the toy.

It's Friday and my hubby will soon be home. We're going to watch Fireproof while the kids are taking their afternoon nap. The rain is causing it to be a stay-inside & get cozy kind of a day. I suppose a walk on the treadmill will have to suffice instead of our usual family walk around the neighborhood. And my favorite, oh so yummy mexican food is awaiting!

The Last Class

My excitement has risen to the point above any appropriate description. I am currently about to start on my very last class to finish the sought-after Master's degree. I'm not sure where that will lead me, but right now, I'm hoping that with the completion of my educational goals behind me, I can breathe easier! Or maybe just get some time to do whatever I feel like doing.

My husband and I have worked through our odd scheduling. He was working from noon to nine, but I was working the usual 6am to 6pm. So now we've straightened that mess out for the good of our family. It seemed like an uphill battle working such a strange shift between the two of us.

My oldest son is doing extremely well in school. He is excelling in so many areas for a 5 year old. I'm so proud of him. He has such a wonderful demeanor for a 5 year old child. He is giving, and just as sweet as he could be. And I'm not just saying that because he's my child (or maybe I am... I don't know).

He started asking me some really funny questions a few days ago. I have some scar tissue on my stomach from a surgery I had when I was 9 years old. I suppose he assumed that was where he and his brother came out when they were born. He asked me to show him where the baby came out. I told him that I could not. He asked me "why mom?" and I just told him, "Really, it's a long story". I figured... he's 5 years old and he'll drop the subject.

Much to my suprise, he looked at me with all seriousness on his face and said, "Mom, just tell me, we aren't in a rush or anything". So my husband looked at him and said, "Babies come out of a mommy's vagina". And my son's response was something I will cherish forever! He said, "Dad, no really, tell me the truth".

And with that, my friends, I must get to cooking dinner for the family. It's steaks & hot dogs on the grill tonight! A side of rice and baked beans are also in the making. I must say, life is great. Even with the current economic situation, we certainly must remember to cherish the times together, friends & family, and to remember what's truly important!