Nightmare On Ridge Way

I was yelling at Zachary for something the other day, right before his nap.

He got into bed and I tucked him in, still acting highly irritated at him.

As I walked out, he said in his pretending-to-be-sad-so-that-it-pushes-your-sympathy-button voice..."Mom, I will go to sleep, and when I sleep I will have a dream about you not being mad at me anymore..."

My Carnivore

There is a house around the corner from us, on Wasser Road, where East Greenville's version of the Clampetts live. Driving past, you always have to wait for a plethora of chickens, or geese, or an occasional peacock to pass by. The other day, the kids noticed the chickens as we passed by...


Colson: "Awww, look at all those cute chickens crossing the road!!"

Ava: "You mean YUMMY chickens!"

I Am A Muse(d)

Zach's first non-scribble picture...


Zach: "Mom! This is you with a big fat head!"

20 Questions With Zach

Zachary had his three year checkup last week. During checkups, the doctors ask "developmental" questions. For this appointment, one of the sections was questions that the child had to give an answer to. For instance "What do you do when you're cold?" "What do you do when you're hungry?".

Well, Zachary LOVED this concept. He made me continue the "game" long after the doctor's appointment was over. In the car on the way home, he would ask "do another one, Mom!". After he would answer, he would ask "Is that the correct answer, Mom?".

So I was making up questions for him. Here are some of my favorite responses:


Me: "What do you do when there is no food in your house?" (assuming he'd say go to the grocery store)

Zach: "DIE!"


Me: "What do you do when you don't have any money?"

Zach: "Steal some!"


Me: "What do you do if Mommy and Daddy fall down and die?"

Zach: "Play football on the playstation all by myself for awhile, and then you will come alive later!"


I love that kid.............

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

I have a friend who made a comment at the pool the other day that struck me as so demonstrative of how so many people in this world think.

She was complaining about how hard it is to teach your kids lessons, when so many of the other kids "out there" don't adhere to those same lessons. So when your kids go out there in the world, they are hearing all of these words, and seeing kids do all of these things, that they are not allowed to say and do.

She said "I just wish all of the kids in the world had to adhere to the same rules. That would make my life so much easier and my kids would be so much less confused."

I felt so badly for her, because I see her frustration all the time. She wants so badly to teach her kids the right thing, and in her mind, sees all of her hard work being picked apart. And it's true, it is hard for kids these days, especially kids who have parents who try to enforce some rules. So many parents don't anymore, so kids who live with rules are a rarity. But I wish that I could help her see this from a different perspective...

I have such a different view of the same situation. For instance, neither my nor her kids are allowed to say the word "stupid". When she hears other kids at the pool using the word stupid in conversation with her children, it makes her very frustrated. When I hear other kids at the pool using the word stupid in conversation with my kids, I secretly love it. I sit back and listen, to see if my kids will stick to what they know, or if they will succumb to the pressure and join in.

If every kid in the world had to live by the same rules, they would grow up ever really believing in anything. If you don't say stupid just because no one in the world is allowed to say it, then you haven't learned the lesson. You're just a robot blindly following rules.

For me, character is built in those situations. If my kids can "keep their heads when all around them are losing theirs", then they have really become SOMETHING. The more often your beliefs are tested, the more chances you have to strengthen your character.

And nothing is more important to me as a parent than raising my kids to be people of character.



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The Way They Make Me Feel

I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude at having been given children who understand and appreciate the undeniable raw emotion of Barbara Streisand's voice as Yentyl. I mean, those of you who can sit through Yentyl and NOT feel like your heart is being yanked from your chest, YOU people are cold and dead inside, but I wasn't expecting it from children under the age of 6.

That when I brought up "Papa, Can You Hear Me" on my iPod in the car, and immediately saw all 3 of them sit still as statues and gaze off into the distance, warmed my very soul. When my youngest, Zach (2 1/2) said "Mom...hers Papa be dead??", I could have stopped the car and thrown my arms around him and cried "Yes Zach, her Papa be dead, doesn't that just KILL you?!?!?????". When Ava (5) and Cole (6) asked me to play it again 5 times in a row, and Ava said "I like it when she says ".....papa......", I could have bawled.

Thank you Lord for children who can "get it" with me.



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