Happy Halloween!!

From your Oz-y friends Glinda, Scarecrow, and Dorothy.

Briggs Says...

When he's not throwing a fit about something ridiculous, Briggs is busy keeping me amused with all the cute little things he says and does.  Here a few recent gems:

The other morning I was changing the sheets.  I had taken Adelie's pillow out of her Ariel pillowcase.  Briggs picked up the empty pillowcase off the floor and exclaimed in alarm, "You popped it!"

We are still trying to get Briggs to stop sucking his thumb.  A few weeks ago I tried the bitter tasting polish on his right thumb.  Although he didn't care for it, the taste wasn't enough to deter him.  The other morning he kept putting his thumb in his mouth.  I said, "Do you want me to put the yucky stuff back on your thumb?"  Briggs said, "No thanks.  You can put some yummy stuff on my thumb."

The other night we were reading a bedtime book about police officers.  It said that police officers catch people who don't follow the rules.  Briggs knowingly told me, "People who don't follow the rules don't get cookies."

This morning Briggs woke up first while the girls were still sleeping.  We went downstairs, and I kept reminding Briggs that we didn't want to be too loud so we wouldn't wake up his sisters.  I poured Briggs some cereal for breakfast and before he took his first bite, he looked at me seriously and asked, "Is crunching too loud?"

We were reading a book the other day about three little owl babies named Sarah, Percy, and Bill.  When the babies were introduced by name, Briggs emphatically said, "No!  Percy isn't an owl.  Percy is a train."

I sure do love this boy and all the amusing things he says.

Full of Love

Yesterday I wrote a post.  When I reread it, I can hear the frustration in my words.  I know that it is an honest depiction of the crazy that I sometimes feel, but I also need to clarify:  most of the time my kids are not driving me that crazy.  Most of the time I can deal with tantrums and arguments and attitude and boundary pushing in a calm and rational way.  Most of the time my kids play nicely together and listen and are thoughtful and sweet and polite and fun to be around.  But we have those other moments, sometimes hours, occasionally days that make me the crazy Mama that wrote yesterday's post. 

Someday in the future my kids may read this blog.  What will they think?  Will they laugh about the funny things they said?  Will they recall favorite trips or activities or moments that they had long since forgotten about?  Will they enjoy seeing all the pictures of themselves growing up page by page in front of them?  I hope so.  But more than that, I hope that they will be able to see in my writing how much they are loved.  Even in my moments of frustration, my love is constant.  Even when I am disappointed in their words or their actions, my love for them never wavers.  My posts about the hard parts of parenting are truth.  But the bigger truth is that every single one of those hard parts about parenting are totally worth it.  My life is full because of Staley and Adelie and Briggs.  My heart is full.  My love for them is fierce and unending and no amount of crazy will ever change that.

Driving Me Crazy

I love my kids.  I love my kids more than anything.  And maybe I'm not supposed to admit this, but my kids also drive me crazy.  Absolutely crazy.  They make me tired.  They make me frustrated.  They push me to the brink.  I lose my patience.  I threaten things that I'll never follow through on, like canceling our trip to Disney or throwing away all their toys.  I yell.  Sometimes I lock myself in the bathroom and pretend that I can't hear them crying and screaming and arguing right outside the door.  Most of the time I can blog about the sweet and wonderful things my kids do or the fun times we have together or the amusing things they say or the joy that they bring to my life.  All truth.  But I also want this blog to honestly depict our life, and today I just need to blog about the things my kids do that drive me crazy.

Staley is growing up fast.  She is so smart and sweet and independent and helpful.  She has her big imagination and her big ideas.  But she drives me crazy with her attitude, especially towards her little sister.  Adelie ADORES Staley, and Staley knows it.  She will generally only play with Adelie when it's on her terms.  If Adelie does something really sweet, like color her a picture or give her something or share something, Staley will often brush it off or make a back-handed comment about it.  If we compliment Adelie for something, Staley is usually there with a snide remark.  I don't know why she treats her sister this way, but it's infuriating to me!  Staley is also strong-minded and stubborn, and will bust out her attitude when she is made to do something she doesn't want to do or if others aren't doing things the way she wants.  Sulking, pouting, refusing the participate, and being rude are all things I have little tolerance for.  I love my eldest, but her attitude can make me crazy.

Adelie is my generous and loving girl.  She is so sweet and funny and kind and sensitive.  But she drives me crazy with her endless need to move and touch.  I know all about sensory processing and have worked with so many kids with sensory processing difficulties.  I fully understand that some of Adelie's sensory needs are met by hanging upside down and touching things and climbing on things and jumping off of things.  In my mind, I know her body needs this input.  My understanding of this doesn't always help in the moment when she's kicking me in the face as she's hanging upside down off the couch or when she's knocking the fluoride all over the floor because she can't keep still when I'm trying to brush her teeth.  Adelie also pushes the boundaries.  She is my child who will insist on doing it one more time after I've said stop or will deliberately do/say things she knows that she's not supposed to.  She knows how to push her siblings' buttons too, and seems to get pleasure from doing it.  She still cries easily over many things, including the many times she gets in trouble for the things I've mentioned above.  I love my middle, but the tears, the boundary pushing, and the never-ending need for movement can make me crazy.

Briggs is still my baby.  He's snuggly and sweet and adorable.  But he drives me crazy with his short temper and even shorter patience.  Briggs is in the throes of two.  He can scream and cry and tantrum with the best of them.  Unfortunately, these come on all too often because he has zero patience.  If his needs or wants aren't met immediately when he requests them, he will scream, cry, throw himself on the floor, and hit.  Constant requests these days are "carry me", "play trains/cars and trucks with me", and "blow on my food."  Of course, there are many other demands and requests throughout the day as well.  If these requests aren't met immediately or if he's told no, then let the fall-out ensue.  It's highly unpleasant.  I love my baby, but the lack of patience and the tantrums can make me crazy.

I love my kids.  But there are days that they just drive me crazy.  I know that many of these things are phases that they will outgrow or characteristics that we are working on changing, and that gives me hope.  Until then, I'll just take a deep breath, say another prayer, and lock myself in the bathroom from time to time.

Hmmmm....

Tonight at dinner, we had this conversation:

Me to Adelie:  "What did you learn about in pre-school today?"
Adelie:  "Nothing."
Me:  "Really?  I took a letter sheet out of your backpack.  Do you remember what letter you learned about today?"
Adelie:  "Six."
Me:  "Six is a number."
Adelie:  "No.  We're learning letters this year."
Me:  "I know.  What letter did you learn about today?"
Adelie:  "Six.

We've got some work to do before Kindergarten.

.

They Say...

I was talking about being tired.  Staley joined in, saying that she was tired too.  Adelie piped in and said, "I'm not tired.  I save all my tired for bed-night."
#savingitup
#nevertired

We were having pizza for dinner.  I asked Briggs what kind he wanted.  He said sausage.  I put a piece of sausage pizza on his plate and he said, "Can you take off the sausage?"
#couldhaveaskedforcheese

Adelie never says "today" or  "tomorrow."  She calls it "this day" or "next day."  As in, "The pumpkin patch party is next day."  or "Is this day Grammie day?"

This morning Staley told me that she wants to be a farmer when she grows up so she can have lots and lots of pigs.  I asked her why she wanted to be a pig farmer, and she replied, "Because I love bacon and sausage."
#notavegetarian
#easierwaystogetit

Today during lunch at church, I looked over to see Adelie pick up her cookie off the (church gym) floor and eat it.  I said, "Adelie, that's so yucky!!"  Adelie replied, "It's okay.  I like yucky things."
#whatdoyousaytothat

We went to pick out our pumpkins at the pumpkin farm this afternoon even though it was overcast and rainy.  The girls wore their rain boots.  Briggs asked if he could wear rain boots, and I informed him that he doesn't have rain boots.  Unfazed, he asked, "Can I call my blue and green shoes my rain boots?"
#surebuddy
#easytoplease

My 3 little loves in their rain boots who always amuse me.

Fall Fun

I've said it before.  I'll say it again.  I love fall!!!   The changing colors, the cooler weather, football games, pumpkin farms, sweaters, boots, hayrack rides, chili...  Except for the fact that it means winter is coming and the endless raking of leaves, I love fall.  We've had beautiful (and warm) fall weather, which has been perfect for getting out and doing the things we most like to do.

There has been fishing...

basketball camp...

raking leaves...

watching the homecoming parade...

painting pumpkins...

riding bikes...

playing at playgrounds...

pumpkin farm fun...

on multiple occasions...

to various pumpkin farms...

my cousin's beautiful wedding...

and a first grade field trip...

to the zoo, children's museum, and playground.

And October isn't even over yet.

Looking forward to enjoying the rest of our fall fun!!

Did I Really Just Have to Say That??

"Don't put your foot in your sister's cereal."

(And yes, the cereal was in a bowl on the table being eaten at the time.)

Life is never dull with this one!

This Just Made Me Smile

The other night as the kids were drying off after showers, Adelie looked up and said, "Briggs looks like Jesus."

And he kind of did.

Adelie's Perspective

 As we were driving by the arch in St. Louis this past week-end, Adelie looked out the window and said contemplatively to herself, "I don't think I could climb that."

That statement provided some interesting insight into how Adelie views the world.  We assume she must look at most things in the world and ask herself, "Could I climb that?"  And for most things, I think her answer is yes.

St. Louis

Last week-end was our annual fall trip to St. Louis with Zach's parents.  We always try to mix in some new activities with some old favorites each time we visit.  We kicked off our trip with one of our new activities:  a trip to the top of the arch!

The kids were all excited about the prospect of going up in the arch since it's the iconic landmark that always lets them know when we have made it to St. Louis.

Staley was a little nervous about the tiny elevator and being up in the arch.  She took a few glances out the windows, but was ready to head back to ground level within a few minutes of getting to the top.

It definitely provided a new view of the city, although I wasn't crazy about riding in the tiny elevator either.

We followed up our first new activity of the trip with another one the very next day.  We headed out to visit Purina Farms.  What a fun way to spend a morning!!

There were games and hands-on learning activities to explore, farm animals to pet, dogs and cats to visit, and a barn to play in.

The highlight for Briggs was the corn tables filled with tractors and trailers to play with.

The girls loved the rope swing in the hay loft.

We all enjoyed the dog show, where dogs showed off skills by catching Frisbees, completing agility courses, and jumping into a pool.

After our fun morning, the girls enjoyed an afternoon swim while Briggs napped.  We topped off our fun day with a scrumptious dinner and a trip to the Disney store.

We finished our little get-away on the last day with my all-time favorite:  the St. Louis zoo!!

Briggs was so excited about riding the train.  It is always a favorite, so we made sure to ride it as soon as we got to the zoo.

And even though we enjoyed seeing the polar bear and the grizzly cubs and the penguins and the baby rhino, the girls couldn't wait to ride the carousel...again and again and again.

We fit in some new activities along with some old favorites and ended up with another fun St. Louis get-away.  

Bedtime Prayer

This was Adelie's bedtime prayer tonight:

"Dear Jesus.  Please help me to have no bad dreams.  Help there to be no tornadoes.  Help there to be no bugs in my room and help there be nothing with lots of legs or wings or things that can be squished in the whole house.  And please help there not to be monsters anywhere in the world.  Amen."

"Let's Just Not" Day

I declared today "Let's Just Not" Day.

As in...
let's just not cry
let's just not argue
let's just not whine
let's just not throw fits
let's just not tattle
let's just not yell
let's just not complain
let's just not!

Unfortunately, my kids are not embracing it like I had hoped they would.  But happy "Let's Just Not" Day to the rest of you.