Your Weekend Update

**Disclaimer: I am not a person who finds it funny to pick on others. And the reason I am committing this to the blog, is only to record the innocence of children.**

Griffin doesn't always know that sometimes when he says things they can be taken poorly by the other person. He just thinks he is being matter of fact and telling me how it is. You know, it's the truth.! But, sometimes pointing out the truth can hurt the other person's feelings. And we have had this talk before but, in this instance, I know that it was not hurtful. It was a sweet interaction that was also quite hilarious to this adult on-looker!

There is this little 3 year old boy at our church, Jon. Who has had to have several surgeries on his hands and feet because he has that Lobster Claw syndrome. Anyway, his hands and feet look much better, now, and he is the cutest boy on the planet (next to mine, of course!)

So, Saturday was the Fall Festival at our church and the boys had a big time! It was all child centered so how could they go away not having a good time, eh?!?

We were winding down the day when we finally went into the church hall where they were having a Cup-Cake Walk. I'm not going to explain what this is, I didn't know what one was before this weekend myself. But, I found a blog that explains a Cake Walk, so if you want to read about what a Cake Walk is go here. Our church did this a little different from the traditional. They asked people to donate cupcakes, and asked for no money from anyone who wanted to do the walk. But, the winners did win a cupcake of their choosing, yum!

Well, Griffin had Cup-Cake-Walked a couple of times and I was just in the hall gabbing with some of the other folks. Grant and Dan went to the bathroom and we were waiting for them to come back. Wyatt was just hanging out in his stroller when Jon came up to him.

It seems Jon loves babies because he was sweetly patting Wyatt and saying things to Wyatt like, "Sweet baby. Hi Baby. Oh, he's cute." And just smiling and cooing at him. It was adorable!

Griffin came over to where we were and says, "Isn't our baby cute? His name is Wy Wy."

Me: "That's right."

Jon: "Oh Hi, Wy Wy!"

Griffin: "Mom, did you know he only has like two toes?"

Me mouth gaping, "Oh please God do not let Jon's mother hear Griffin!!!"

Me: "Well..... Griffin....stumbling for words....That's okay.......It is okay....We're diff..."
Griffin cuts me off

Griffin: "Yeah, it's okay buddy" patting Jon's shoulder "You're gonna get some some day. I have like 10! You'll get some too."

Oh, if I would have had anything in my mouth it would have been spewed everywhere on everyone around me! I just burst-out with a laugh, and then contained the chuckles that wanted to follow because I didn't want to make the scenario funny to the two of them, I wanted them to just see it as a moment of friendship. Sweet boy interaction.

But, oh man! That brought tears to my eyes when I replayed the scene in my head later!

Griffin had no idea what he was saying could have hurt Jon's feelings. And I was trying to get him to understand that having two toes doesn't make him less of a fun boy to be around. But, I guess I really didn't have to do that, he realized it on his own. Griffin didn't shy away from him, he embraced knowing someone with only two toes! And so much so that he wanted me to know about it! And who knows, according to Griffin, Jon could maybe get more when he gets bigger! What a sweet boy I have. I love that little man.

And I can't tell a sweet funny story about Griffin without adding how sweet Grant is too (of course Wy Wy is as well, but he doesn't talk much at 7 and a half months, so not so much to share on his utterances!)

Grant woke up from his nap on Sunday and like a ninja, came walking into the kitchen and scared the poop out of me!

Me: "Oh hey buddy! You scared me. Are you awake now?"

Grant: "Mummmmhppppfffh"

Me: "Are you hungry? Where are you going? Are you still tired?"

Grant: "Mummmmhppppfffh"

He just glided through the kitchen in his little socked feet, rubbing his eyes, his nose, his hair, and said practically nothing.
I stood in the kitchen waiting for him to come back around, and soon, he came back through.

Me: "Hey buddy, do you want something to drink? What's the matter?"

He looks over and just glares at me, as if to say, "You're not making things any better!"

I watch as he moves from the kitchen through the living room and out the door to the garage.

After a second, I realize he's not coming back, and walk outside to be with him.

I find him standing up against the bathtub we have in our driveway, don't ask. But, seriously, we do live in Mississippi so this is perfectly normal, you do realize this, right?!?

Me: "Grant, what's the matter? Do you want me to hold you?"

Grant: "Dahh-dee. Dahhhhh-deeeeeee!"

Me: "Oh sweetie, Daddy had to go to work. He'll be home in a little bit. Do you want some juice?"

Grant: "No, don't wan-it. Dahh-dee!"
I'm feeling so bad. Poor guy. Then, I remember that I have baked cookies while he was asleep (and Wy Wy was napping as well! Amazing what can get done when the little ones are snoozing!!)

I run inside, and get a cookie for Grant, thinking that maybe he would follow me in.
Fat chance.
Now, when I return to the garage there's no Grant!

I begin yelling, "Grant......Grant, Where are you? Graaaaaaannnntttt! You want a cookie?"

Off in the distance, I hear, a little voice whining and crying, "Dahhhhhhdeeee.......Dahhhhhhhdeeee"

I can tell from where his voice is coming from that he has gone into the back yard looking for his Daddy.

When I walk around the outside of the house, and into the backyard, I see him walking towards the other gate of the fence, crying "Dahhhhhhdeeeee, I wan my Dahhhhhhdeeee!!!"

It was such a sweet display. Grant searching for Daddy. Where could Daddy be? And he didn't care that all he had on was a shirt. He had no pants, no shoes, just a diaper, socks, and a shirt, perfectly fine attire when looking for your Dahhhhhdeeee!

Me: "Grant. I'm sorry, Daddy is working. He'll be home in just a little bit. You want a cookie?"

Grant: "I wan my Dahhhhhdeeee!"

I go over to him and scoop him up in my arms.

"I'm sorry little guy, Daddy will be home in a little bit. You wanna cookie?"

Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle......

Grant: "Mmmhhmm, Googie."

He took the cookie from my hand and sank into my arms. My sad little explorer, off to find his Dahhhhhdeee. Heartsick that Daddy wasn't there when he wanted him to be. How dare he!

When Dan got home, Grant was fresh out of the bath, when I saw him pulling up. So, I said, "Grant, come here, look out the door, who is that?"

Grant: "Ohkaaaay. Hhhmmm, ahhhhhh, Dahhhhdeee!!!"

And he jumped and pranced with delight!

All was back right with the world when that little naked boy finally felt the arms of his Dahhdeee holding him tight!
What a wonderful life I have!

Boys, I Have a Definite Lack of Understanding!

So, I was walking towards our hallway from the kitchen when I hear that sound everyone can recognize, the sound of a liquid streaming out onto a surface. I'm looking around, "Where's that coming from, what's leaking????" I push the bathroom door open and no one was in there. 'Course, it was a liquid being poured onto a surface sound, not into the toilet. So, I knew before looking that I wouldn't find the culprit there.

As I round the corner, I see Griffin in the doorway of his room in the "Peeing Position" and I scream, "What are you doing?????"

He turns around, and says, "I just couldn't make it to the bathroom, Mom!!!"

What?!?!? You couldn't make it the 6 paces from your bedroom door to the bathroom?

"Griffin, you know that isn't true! You just decided you wanted to pee on that towel, for some reason, and so you did. It had nothing to do with not being able to make it!!!!"

"Mom, I couldn't make it! I just couldn't make it!"

I will never understand boys. Never. Not going to ever understand how peeing on a towel in your bedroom, just feet from the bathroom is an option over going in the toilet!!!

Maybe I should should just squat down on his pillow and say, "Oh, sorry, I just couldn't make it, Griffin!"

Of course we made him pick up the towel and put it in the dirty laundry pile, but what else could we do? Rub his nose in it?

I tell you, one of the hardest things about parenting is knowing how to punish your child fairly. You know the punishment should befit the crime, but what do you do when they've run into your car with their bicycle for the 8th time knowing they were to stay away from it, or when they have marked all over some important papers but YOU were the one who left the pen there for them to mark with?!? It's hard I tell you. Because sometimes you have to hold the mirror back on yourself. You have to think, "Well, I guess he didn't know it would make me mad if he got into the pantry and pulled out the cereal box upside down, draining it of its contents, he thought he was HELPING!"

But, you don't want them to do it again! So, what's the right way to handle it? Put a padlock on the pantry door? Tell him only Mommy is allowed to pull the boxes down from the shelf? Have him make sure he is asking BEFORE he is getting what he thinks he needs? Choices, choices!

I usually go with the latter since I can't be in three places at once! I've found that one of them is always going to need me and, inevitably, it will be at the same time the other two need me as well! So, I have to encourage them to be independent. Their Independence equals more time for me to see a task through from beginning to end (or at least that is my hope, my prayer, the result I wish to someday attain!!!)

But, punishments are hard, or at least it seems they can be. And, especially when you are seeing this latest transgression as something that needs to be punished while your spouse is laughing his head off because, "C'mon! You KNOW that's funny!" Well, of course its funny! But we can't let him think that! Then he'll do it again!

So, my whole philosophy on punishment has become this, tell him it's wrong. Let him know you expected a better choice, and if he does it again, he will have to be punished. But, let the punishment be something he conjures up. Just say something like, "If you do that again, we are going to have a SERIOUS punishment for you. So do it again, c'mon, do it, and see what the punishment will be!" Oh if he doesn't know what it could be his little mind will go wild!! It could be ANYTHING!!!!

I think the more varied the punishments, the better chance you have of your child heeding your word. He'll think, "My misbehavior could warrant anything!!!" He doesn't know what could be coming at him! He can't pinpoint what punishment will be bestowed upon him, therefore he cannot pre-identify the pro's and con's of his behavior.

If he were to know that every time I do X my Mom gives me a spanking, well, he might determine that a little bit of pain is worth the pleasure he feels while doing X. But, if he has NO IDEA what the punishment could be, there can be no scientific analysis. It's more, "She might kill me this time! She looked really mad the last time. Yep, she could kill me, she probably wants to!"

I had these same thoughts go through my head growing up. I'm sure we all did! As a child, you think it is entirely possible that your parents could kill you, and maybe even sometimes want to! Man, making them mad was taking your life into your own hands!!!!

I always wondered why some of my friends growing up, didn't have this fear? Now, as a parent, I think it is because of two things. One, their parents threatened but never followed through (BIG NO NO, in my book!) Or, two, they gave the same punishments no matter the crime. So, getting spanked was no big deal, you'd had a million before, they're not so bad. Or you've been grounded from the TV before, you survived, it wasn't THAT awful.

So, a lesson for sure, that I will someday pass on to my boys is to be a varied punisher. Think about punishments, get creative with them because punishing can be a difficult task, and you want to make sure that you're choosing well. And then, let your child stew. Tell him he IS going to be punished, just do it again and SEE what happens! And that's when your child will contemplate death.....theirs.....at your hands.....Oh you gotta love the active imagination of a child!!!!

Now, here are some cute pics from the weekend. Rebellious, but Adorable!

Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Me Fat WY WY!!!

Oh, but you gotta admit, he is one precious little chunk!!

And here they all are playing nicely with their blocks.

Had to commit this one to record, playing nicely, a sometimes rare occurrence for us!!

Thought I Didn't Have Much to Say....

Haven't felt very inspired to write lately. Guess that means things have slowed down a little or something. Not sure. But, I did find a couple of good recipes the other day that were quick and delicious. So, I thought I would share.

This Cookie Brittle recipe was TERRIFIC!! The kids enjoyed them enormously!

And these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies were simple (made with mixes I had on-hand) and everyone in our Financial Class loved them!

I guess I was in the baking mood since it was my birthday last week. Yay me! I had a birthday! It's funny about birthdays, or maybe it's just funny to me, but Birthdays are not what you have them built up to be, are they?!? Or maybe you don't have a pre-conceived notion of what they should be like. But, I guess I do.

I kept telling Dan that Thursday was "My Special Day". And on, "My Special Day" I should be able to do whatever I wanted! He agreed, but I guess he didn't quite realize that what I wanted was for him to treat me like a Queen and jump at my every request! ha! Bad servant boy! Off with his head!

No, not really. He brought me flowers and gave me a nice card, and that was sweet and those were definitely not expected, but MUCH appreciated! But, what this Queen really wanted was a MAID!

I spent the early part of My Special Day (I took the day off of work) getting my lesson ready for our Live BIG class on Sunday, that's the class I teach at church on Sunday's for our 4 and 5 year old kids. Our Sunday lesson was on Noah, and there were a LOT of animals to punch out for the kids' take home envelopes and lots of other things to do in preparation. And I wanted to make sure I had everything planned out really well since this was such a big lesson!

Then, it was on to cleaning and preparing a crock pot meal for our dinner. But, the cleaning got as far as vacuuming and sweeping the kitchen floor and that's where it ended. I did get to fold some laundry, but it didn't even look like I made a dent in it! And that's what upsets me and makes me wish I had a maid. The unfinishedness of everything. It feels like just when I get started on something, something else comes up and I have to stop that and move on to the other. Stop and Go, Stop and Go! Ugh! That really gets under my skin!!! Well, at least it really did on My Special Day!

I just wanted to be able to fully clean the house. If I could have fully cleaned the house, I would have felt such a weight lifted off of my shoulders and that would have been such a gift!

The reason I had to stop my cleaning and laundry folding was because I had to take Grant and Wyatt to their 2 year and 6 month check-ups. And, although, I was the one who scheduled the appointment, it just irritated me to have to leave my work in the midst of getting something accomplished! FRUSTRATING!

And, you know how it goes, once you get 'em home, there is no going back to cleaning, their needs need to be tended to. And there is no going back to folding laundry because the laundry pile is a Big, Exciting, Pile of Softness that is TOO Fun to jump into and frolic around in!

Maybe they should start making clothes with sandpaper exteriors, that would definitely diminish the excitement, wouldn't it?!? Ooooh, that is one scratchy pile of clothes, no thanks, I'll go jump off the couch onto a huge pile of pillows, each time narrowly missing the fireplace bricks and sending my Mom's heart into tachycardia! Now that's what I call FUN!

Oh, if only Mom's ran the world. So many things would be different!

Fireplace Hearths would be installed with custom removable cushions that specifically fit your hearth and would leave no sticky residue from trying to use those after-market foam bumper pads.

All Moms (and maybe Dads if that's how your house works) would be enrolled in a Handy Helper Club where one day a week your kids went to another Handy Helper's house for three or four hours, while you ran around your house cleaning pop tarts out of the carpet and marker off the walls and pureed squash from the ceiling! At no cost to you because you would be swapping out time! Ahhhhh, what a relief that would be!

Emergency Feminine Products would come standard in First Aid kits, because when you're wearing light colored pants, the need to avoid an embarrassing scene feels like an emergency! And you wouldn't have to find a woman, exclusively, to help a sister out!!

An alarm would go off anytime someone got into the "off limits" snack items of your pantry. Thus, avoiding the, "I'm sorry sweetie there aren't any more fruit roll-ups left for your lunch. Who ate them all? Well, I don't know. But it wasn't me." Though, I have a pretty darn good idea who did and He pays to put a roof over our heads, so I guess we can't cut-off his hands like they do in Arab countries. But, an alarm blaring would surely signal he was flying in a no-eat zone, wouldn't it?!?

And lastly, Mom's would make sure that all sippy cups were truly "leak-free" and not just a cup with a lid! This is why my carpet looks like I am a HUGE fan of brown polka dots!!!

Oh, My Special Day didn't turn out quite as I had expected, no maid, and I definitely retired the crown. Back to life as usual. Though, I will have to throw something out there to you all. When someone asks you what you want for your birthday or anniversary, and you respond, "oh nothing really," never overlook the inexpensive gift of time, help, and a little elbow grease!

WASH YOUR HANDS!

Griffin: "Mom, smell my hand."

Me: "NO WAY!"

Griffin: "How'd you know it was in my butt?"

I'm a genius, honey.

Me: "Go wash your hands, with SOAP! And don't touch anything on your way to the bathroom Mr Poop Fingers!"

Sappy Day

Some days are just meant to be reflective. I think that's true. I think some days we are meant to just be sort of weepy and sentimental and grateful. That's what pulls us back onto the road when we've ended up in the ditch from filling our trucks up too full! We drive around with these cargo loads full of things we've got going on, speeding down the road because there is no time to waste! We have appointments we need to make, and cards we should get in the mail, and emails we need to send, and schedules that have to be kept, and sometimes, it just all dumps over. It all just "doesn't go as planned".

These are our "Heaven Sent Moments For Reflection"

Last night we had class til 8:30, didn't leave the church til almost 9:00. Got home and gave the boys a snack then off to bed by 9:20 for Grant, 9:30 for Griffin, and almost 10:00 for Wy Wy (he's a night owl!)

So, needless to say, I was not in bed til 10:00. And Dan later than I.
It was then about 1:45 when Wy Wy woke up to have his nightly bottle. I gave him his drink and went back to bed, only to be awoken at 4:20 by Grant who slammed our bedroom door shut. He proceed to whine and cry trying to get into bed with me, but not wanting my help. And then, when help was allowed I was arranging his blankie wrong and he was yelling, "Noooooo!"
It wasn't much longer, after this, that Wy Wy woke up, imagine that!
Then, I tried to get the two of them back to sleep with a diaper change for Wy Wy and a "go nigh-nigh!" for Grant.
But, no such luck.
And, I'll admit it. I was upset. I am TIRED kids! I am sleepy! You are not supposed to wake before my alarm goes off, you AREN'T!
And, so, I went to the living room with Wy Wy, sternly telling Grant to go to sleep with Daddy it was too early to be up!
I rocked Wy Wy hoping he would fall back into a slumber and listened to Grant crying, "MaaaMaaa!" from our bedroom.
Less than a minute later, Grant was in the living room dragging his blankie behind him with a sad face that said, "Thanks a lot for leaving me!"

Ugh! I'm tried kids! Tired. And my thoughts went to God, "God, what are you trying to say here? What are you saying? I only need 6 hours of sleep. 6 hours of sleep that is inevitably interrupted at least once by a small infant?! What am I supposed to be learning from this?"
I was frustrated. "Why can't I ever get any rest?!!??!"

And it was on the way to work that I heard what He was saying.

I turned on the Christian Radio Station, and I was moved to tears.

My Heaven Sent Moment For Reflection is this, God lives in me. God believes in me so, and loves me so, that he has graced me with this busy life. With THREE BEAUTIFUL BOYS, and a WONDERFUL and TALENTED husband (whom I take for granted!), and a great job, and a house to call a home, and a neighborhood to be proud of, and friends who could never be replaced. I am blessed! My gifts are HUGE! I am living the dream!

So, sometimes things are not going to go as planned. Sometimes my days are going to be fueled by the ever-blessed coffee in my cup. But even when I'm running on empty His spirit lives inside of me, and that is all I need to go on. All I need to talk down that negativity, and all I need to remind me of my blessings. I have been renewed, even without the 8 hours of sleep I so desperately wish for. It's coming Carrie, and until then, be rejuvenated in your blessings and in the positivity that surrounds you!
Can anyone tell I'm crying?!? I am such a Sap!

When it Rains it Pours!

Let's get right to it. There's a lot to see here!!

Devilishly handsome, isn't he?!?!
Wy Wy loves bouncing in his Jumperoo! And that fly he's stuffing in his mouth is becoming intimately familiar with Mr. Wy Wy's tonsils!




Grant loved the new Cars movie cars he got from the Heaths (our neighbors and friends). I layed in bed with him this day trying to get him to settle down and take a nap. Well, he stuck the Ramone car in his mouth like it was a kazoo and blew into it while humming for a good three minutes, before easing off to sleep. I couldn't resist getting a photo of poor Ramone hanging out of Grant's mouth! "No please, don't eat me!!!"

Wyatt trying Mashed Potatoes for the first time. He wanted to kiss me for giving him this heaven sent delicacy!

I took these pictures Saturday. My boys. Precious!

These are the "milestone" 6 month photos I took of Wyatt. Doesn't he look handsome in his little sweater vest? The shirt has a flaming heart on it and says, "I Love Mom" guess you're wondering who bought him that one, huh?!





And, last, I had to include this photo of Wy Wy puttering his lips. He does it all the time, and looks so adorable! Those cheeks look even chubbier when he does this! Mommie's little sweetie! I love you!

Grant is 2!!!

Okay, finally getting posted the pictures of Grant on his 2nd birthday. He had a good day. I'm pretty sure he had no idea why we were singing to him or why he got to open some presents, but there was no complaining from him about eating cake and getting gifts!

So, here are some photos to amuse you.