G Wishes You....

....A Happy Old Year's Eve! (Celebrated yearly on Dec. 30th!)

More Potty Humor

We were at Target again this evening (I know, we're ALWAYS at Target!), and I took K to the restroom just before we left. She again went into the stall by herself, as I held her coat. I said, "I don't have to go, so I'll wait right here." She said, "OK, then you can just hold it." I said, "Do you mean the door or my pee?"....again we get snickers from other stalls....I don't think K got it.

Princess Wannabe

This morning at breakfast, I offered K a cereal bar and asked her to pick something else: yogurt, string cheese, fruit, etc. She thought for a moment, leaned over and whispered to Daddy, "What did Cinerella eat at the ball?" She ended up with string cheese.

More of K's Christmas Music

We all know "Feliz Navidad", well K has made some changes of her own to this Christmas classic. "I wanna wish you a merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a merry Christmas.....(changing tunes now!) and a happy new year!

She Makes a Good Point!

You may notice most of my posts are about K....it's probably partly because she's still home most of the time, so I have more to comment on about her....but it's definitely because I think she's FUNNY!

We had our dress rehearsal for the Children's Christmas program today...K is a cute lamb and G (appropriate for his name!) is an angel. They tried on their costumes and were showing off a bit when K said (very matter-of-fact), "I don't think angels wear hearing aids." I suppose that's probably true!

ECHO....ECHo...ECho...Echo...echo....

We had our final rehearsal today for the Children's Christmas program which will be held Christms Eve. Everyone looked great in his/her costume and the set decorations were fantastic! K was singing the closing song later in the van...."Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere, go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere, go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere, go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere..." (I think you get the point!)

There's a time and a place....

Yesterday, K and I were at Target, doing one of our regular errand days. We stopped to use the bathroom at the entrance, so we could shop without interruption. It was a little crowded, so I let K go in a stall (she wanted to do it "by herself") while I waited. Another stall opened up, so I went in, and still finished before her. I called through the door, "K, are you alright?" "Yes mommy, I just pooped." I heard giggles from at least 2 other stalls. My response was something like, "Thanks, but I don't need details, and I'm sure all these other ladies enjoyed hearing about your potty habits." One lady called out, "At least you know she's healthy." K finished and flushed and came out to wash her hands....we got lots of "awww, isn't she cute" looks as we left.

The Glory of Christmas

We were out for a drive this evening, dropped a movie off at the video store, grabbed some McDonald's and decided to look at Christmas lights. We passed several houses, with varying degrees of skill used in the decorating. After my MANY year of experienced Christmas light observations (note sarcasm!), I was not truly floored by any of the displays, although there were a few quite nice and simple ones. I had just muttered in the front seat about a particular house we passed which was, to me, unimpressive. It had a few strands of blue lights haphazardly thrown on the bushes, a white twinkle-light outdoor tree and a few lighted ball ornaments hanging from another tree. As I finished muttering, I heard both kids from the back seat (looking at the same house): G, "Wow, look at that one....." and K, in a very soft voice, "It's beautiful....". I always thought I had a bit of Christmas spirit, but apparently I'm more like Scrooge than I realized.

Good to the Last Drop

We tried a yummy Mexican restaurant tonight....had a fantastic coupon, but had a minimum of $35 to spend before we could use the coupon. Anyone who eats Mexican food with any regularity can tell you how CHEAP it is. So, since it was just the 4 of us, we ordered an appetizer, 2 entrees, 2 kids' meals and 2 desserts and just BARELY got to the $35. K and I were stuffed and quit, meanwhile Daddy and G were making good headway on their fried ice cream. Daddy said to G, "If you're full, please stop, you've had a lot of food. Do you know when to quit?" G replied, "I know when to quit Daddy....when it's all gone." At least we know he'll follow through on a task until it's finished, right?

Christmas Letter Quandry

It's that time of year.....time to decide: 1) Are we sending a Christmas letter this year? (opted not to last year, but it's a yes now); 2) Who are we sending the letter to?(list is already made); and 3) What do I chose to include in the letter?

One of my biggest concerns about the holiday letter is that we'll be one of "those" families. You know, the ones that drone on and on about what they've done, how much they've accomplished, where they've vacationed, how perfect their children are. So I am very cautious when penning our own Christmas tidings to try to make it short and sweet, without the least bit of bragging. Even worse, I don't want to be the family that sends the dullest, most uninteresting piece of drivel ever written. Is this piece of paper supposed to inform, entertain, serve as a progress report?

What do you include in holiday tidings? Our day-to-day activities are not particularly exciting, but we find a joy in living. We don't have a stack of money at our disposal, but we are not lacking for anything. We have an abundance of friends and family, albeit many are more than a short drive away. Our family is far from perfect, but we are certainly blessed.

I think I know what I'll write; blessings.

Christmas Decorating

While at church this afternoon decorating for Christmas (yes, they put up no less than 14 trees!), my son saw some other kids running through the hall. They weren't up to anything, just being boys....and running. He turned to the lady he was helping and said, "That's not very mature of them." She later told me about it and I had a chuckle, because literally the moment before leaving our house, we had a talk with both kids about not running at church (because they have an inclination to), not being to loud (same inclination), and be helpful (inclination NOT to). We never said a word about mature behavior, but we did say we expect them to behave appropriately. Thankfully, they did.

The horror of Alvin & the Chipmunks

My kids are highly entertained by the Alvin & the Chipmunks movie. They first saw it this summer at a kids movie series at a local theater and hooted and hollered in the aisles (especially my son, G). We found it shortly thereafter on DVD and bought it 'cause they enjoyed it so much and it was on sale. We thought it to be a harmless, entertaining, cute little flick for practically all ages; if not a bit silly and over the top. I was fondly reminded of my youth and time spent watching the Alvin & the Chipmunks cartoon.

Since then, they've watched it several times, always laughing, sometimes dancing, but recently quoting. "I'm waiting for the rinse cycle," is of course, a much-used Alvin quote. K's most recent choice of fine movie dialogue is: as she runs into the bathroom, slams the door, opens the door, sticks her head out and shouts, "Kiss my furry cheeks!".....now at first listen, I found it hilarious to hear those words coming from a 3 1/2 year old girl, and obviously she doesn't really get it. Upon hearing it a second, third and then fourth time, the humor was reduced significantly, followed quickly by the realization that she might someday say those words in public, or heaven help us at my husband's church! Now we talk about "appropriate" things to say, and the fact that those choice words are not "appropriate"....EVER!

The Power of Mommy

I realized today just how much influence I have on my children. I know they both talk like me, use the same catch phrases, intonation, etc. I'm with them practically all the time, so they are bound to pick up some of my habits and idiosyncracies and imitate them. However, I was alerted to how even silent behaviors can be passed on with nary a thought.

I've always sorted my M&Ms by color before eating. Then I proceed to eat them color group by color group, starting with the group which has the fewest number and progressing upward. I don't know why, I just do. It's hardly even a conscious choice whether to sort or not....I just sort. I so rarely eat M&Ms I hadn't even thought of this in years. Today after lunch, I suggested to K that we have a little something sweet. The Halloween chocolate is hanging out in the fridge, begging to be eaten, so we both decide to have M&Ms. I start mine immediately, but she's still finishing her lunch, so her fun size bag has to wait.

I finish my M&Ms without a word, enjoying the sweet joy of candy-coated chocolate. K asks me to open her bag. I do and she pours them out on the table. Without a second thought, she starts sorting them....by color, and then, when she's finished sorting asks me which group is the smallest. I answer "blue" and she eats the blue. She again asks which group is the smallest. I suggest she try to figure it out, so she counts. "Red," she says, and eats them. This continues until the last M&M is gone.

Whether it is some sort of genetic quirk that she would have "inherited" this behavior or some sign of the non-stop "together time" we share, I came to have a greater understanding of the true power and influence there is in being a mommy. Of course we don't want our children repeating foul language or talking negatively about someone. Of course we want them to behave properly at all times (or at least when they are in public!). But do we comprehend the full scope of the influence we as parents have on our children? Do we react with too much anger? Do we shower them with enough hugs and kisses? Do we set the example by which we want them to live in every day-to-day interaction? It is an awesome responsibility, and one I hope I am reminded of every day.

Barbie blues

K, my soon to be 4 year old, was playing with a "fashion model" Barbie in the van today. "Mommy, I wish I had brown eyes." I replied with, "K, God gave you beautiful blue eyes." "Mommy, I wish I had brown hair." I replied with, "K, God gave you beautiful blond hair." "Mommy, I wish I was as pretty as Barbie." I replied with, "K, you don't need to look like Barbie to be pretty, you are a beautiful little girl." I returned my focus to my driving and heard K say softly, "I want to look just like Barbie when I grow up." It made me a little sad to realize that at even such a young age, how quickly the innocence of simply wanting to play with dolls can morph into trying to measure up.