Boys

What is it that makes boys boys? Cars, trains, boats, dirt all seem to grab their attention. You would think with an older, very girly sister that Wyatt would want to play dolls or barbies. Now granted he has worn his share of crowns and played with plenty a baby doll and wand (that's another post). However - he throws the baby and runs around hitting with the wand. And he can't get enough of his "vvvrrrmm vvvrrrmmms" as he likes to call his cars. Here he is racing which eventually turns into throwing the cars, which leads to immediate clean up. God has blessed us with our boy - raising him is going to be an interesting journey.

My Little Princess

Payton as The Little Mermaid:Take One

I finally received all the components for Payton's halloween costume and laid them out on my bed for her to find after school. I was a little concerned because she is very particular about how things feel on her. She took one look at the ensemble and fell in love! She donned tights and a tshirt to avoid the itchies. The one part of the costume I was really worried about was the wig - it was her favorite! She put that on and seemed to transform. She couldn't stop looking at herself, she loved how it made her look different. "I can't even see my blonde hair!" She wore that costume for the rest of the night. I believe I have a budding thespian. I definately made the right decision in sending her to acting class.

Wish List

Payton created her own wish list this year. So grown........

Hands

"What feeling is so nice as a child's hand in yours? So small, so soft and warm, like a kitten huddling in the shelter of your clasp." Marjorie Holmes

Fostering Creativity

I know - it's just play dough. But there are times when I like to toot my own mothering horn if you will. Like the other day when I took Payton to a local moms club event at the pottery place down the street. I was there to meet other moms with children, and Payton got to paint Great Grammi a bird for Christmas. I noticed one mom helping her son paint a Santa bowl (to also be used a gift) - only allowing the appropriate "Santa" colors - even asking each of us exactly what color his gloves were supposed to be. And another mom forbidding her 3 year old to paint the eyes (and other too small parts) of the kitty she picked out, pointing out that they were too small and mommy should do it. And then there was my daughter, happily painting her pirate parrot pink, green and blue - each and every nook and cranny. All the while singing a little song. I would like to think I was instrumental in creating that happy little girl.

So on to the playdough. I broke it out this afternoon for the kids. Payton put her artist hat on and created a pizza and a carrot. While brother, well I just tried to keep it out of his mouth! Ya gotta start somewhere!

I have been going through some emotions lately. At first I thought I might have the baby itch. That would be a hard itch to scratch (no need to get into that). As I thought about my situation and my family and whether baby #3 was what I was looking for I realized what I was feeling. I miss MY babies - my two precious babies that aren't so baby anymore. What I am really having a hard time with is letting go, specifically with Payton. I miss that little girl, I remember when it was just the two of us. She was such a nice, sweet, big hearted little girl (she still is). While she has always been on the emotional side she never went through the "terrible twos". Playdates and outings for the most part were always enjoyable. Sending her off to school each morning has been hard. Even harder is listening to her talk about her struggles at school. I don't think she views it as struggling but I do. She told me this morning about getting picked on by the boys, getting called a loser at PE. This is what I am not ready for. I am not ready for her to be bullied, have her heart broken, be called names....the list goes on. I explained to her she is not a loser, God doesn't make losers. And of course called my good friend Jennifer for advice (thanks Jenn!). So begins my quest to instill a sense of confidence, a sense of self and value to my little girl when the world (and some mean boys!) wants to break her down when she has barely begun her journey. I wish so much that her world would be filled with happiness, peace and love and all things pretty her entire life. Unfortunately she has to leave home at some point! So I have begun my next job as a parent - making sure she is armed with God's love and grace (and that she is confident in that fact) so she can conquer the world (or at least the boys at PE!) Go get em!

A Mother Who Prays

I am reading the book "being a Great Mom raising Great Kids" by Sharon Jaynes. I absolutely love it. My good friend Ashley Maple read a passage once during a MOPS meeting. So I bought the book about a year (i think?) ago and am finally getting down to reading it. It is truly inspiring, and at times convicting. It gives me that extra encouragement to make it through the challenging days. Here is a poem from a unknown author about the praying mother. I love it!

Some have had kings in their lineage,
Some to whom honor was paid.
I don't have those as my ancestors
But I have a mother who prays.
I have a mother who prays for me

And pleads with the Lord every day for me.
Oh what a difference it makes for me
I have a mother who prays.
My mother's prayers cannot save me,
Only mine can avail;
But Mother introduced me to someone,
someone who never could fail.

Oh yes, I have a mother who prays for me
And pleads with the Lord every day for me.
O what a difference it makes for me
I have a mother who prays.

Crocs

Y dug these out of a bin. He LOVES crocs. That little boy would wear shoes 24/7 if you let him!

Fashion Shoot

Payton had a sleepover with her friend Jordan. They got all dolled up for dinner (much to my husbands dismay I did take them to dinner like that). We were having a "fashion shoot" before hand. During the picture taking little brother decided he wanted in on the action. I think he is trying to figure out how to pose!

FIRE!

My husband was so nice to assist me in the preparations for Payton's sleepover with her friend Jordan. As some people know he takes on another personality by the name of "Jeeps", servant extraordinaire. And a lovely job he does! This evening he was getting the fire party portion of the sleepover ready, complete with smores. He is the best husband in the world, I am so lucky!(ok while I agree with that statement my husband snuck that one in while I had to take a break and eat the smores with the girls. I was instructed I had to leave it in so I am) One small problem. He had closed the flue to protect us from the incoming stream of love bugs and had neglected to open it back up before starting our fire. So...........fast forward to the cozy fire burning in our living room, Mike prepping the smores, the girls playing mermaids in the tub and Wyatt fast asleep in his room. Then comes the BLARING sound of all the smoke detectors in the house! Mike runs from the kitchen yelling "What's on fire?!" It dawns on me that he has forgotten to open the flue. So we know the problem but it takes what seems like hours to get it back open and attempt to shut off the annoying noise. So we have learned some lessons this evening : Our smoke detectors are indeed functioning properly, and our son will sleep through a fire!

Animal Sightings

We have seen many an animal at the house we are currently renting. Some wanted, some not. A fox has trotted through our front yard (as the kids and I watched from the playroom), Mike found (and killed thank God) a snake and a snake skin. Last night we rescued (and already found a new home for) a stray dog and found deer droppings in our front yard. Apparently there has also been a bear sighting! I am not too sure how I feel about being so close to nature. But here is an animal I caught on film. This little snail was found making its way on our back porch. The first thing Payton asked was where was his trail of slime. Only my daughter would remember something like that. Anyway, sure enough once the slowly moving creature got going that trail appeared!

Definately Still My Little Boy

I titled the two previous posts Big Boy? It seems as Wyatt gets closer and closer to 2 he is becoming increasingly independent. Or at least he is trying his best. Sitting at a big chair, brushing just like "Tayton" (he finally said sissy's name!) and nearing potty training time I was beginning to miss my little boy. As if he sensed it - for the last couple of days he has been waking up an hour into his nap. I snuggle him up in the rocker and he slips off into dream land, usually for at least another hour! Thank you for still needing me.

Big Boy?

I made Y a sandwich and instructed him to go to his seat (meaning his highchair seat at the table). He decided to go to the big boy seat. After all it is a skill he has mastered. So here he is. I still have the highchair seat strapped to a chair. I'm holding on as long as I can.......

Big Boy?

Wyatt is enjoying growing into a big boy. He now brushes teeth like sissy. He loves to get the stool out for the occasion!

And he spits like sissy too! I am pretty sure that is his all time favorite part.

Motherhood

The other day I was listening to a song on the radio (another great thing about Pensacola is there is a decent Christian radio station). I think it is called the song is called Blessed be your Name. As I was singing along (trying to drown out my screaming toddler in the back) I began to contemplate the song. After all, what else do you have to do in the car rider pick up lane? There is a verse at the end that says "you give and take away, you give and take away - my heart will choose to say blessed be Your name". I couldn't help but think that in my case lately it is my MIND that chooses to say. Sometimes during the mundane daily activities of being mom you have to persevere. Mind over matter if you will. There are days where I just have to will myself to press on. The most challenging thing for me lately (and my husband I think as well) is the relentless screams we hear from our son. Daily I wonder to myself "Lord, when will he stop doing this?". Unfortunately neither of my children have a volume control so I am afraid that even when the screaming stops I will still be left with one loud little boy! But that's ok, that makes him who he is I guess. The point is that as moms I think sometimes it just comes down to sheer determination somedays. And a battle of wills with our children. I know that deep in my heart God is there rooting me on and I have to remind myself of that. I was reading one of my MOPS emails (that I just started looking at after getting them for 4 years). It echoed just what I was thinking in my car the other day:

Motherhood is hard. It takes resources, strength, time and commitment I never thought I could summon. And then, when I've lost it and just can't take another whine, another "mom, can you..." I remind myself that motherhood is my job right now. I am a mom. While I hold many subtitles; personal shopper, dietician, chef, maid, chauffer; first and foremost, I am a mom. And I am proud to be a mom. Sometimes I have to say it out loud, "this is my job!" When I embrace the fact that motherhood requires my involvement - that I cannot parent from the couch or the computer chair - I am much better at it.

I have printed that email and will be pasting it to my fridge to remind myself of "my job". Especially on those days when I want to call in sick!

Where is my video camera?

The funniest thing happened today. Upon arriving home from picking Payton up from school she requested a snack. She wanted stick cheese and suggested that she pretend to be a dog and that the cheese would be her bone. Not unusual - she has an incredible imagination that goes all day long. So I got the cheese out while she started to pant like a dog. Then she got on all fours and started barking. So I handed my pretend puppy her bone. Wyatt of course seeing food tries to take the cheese from sissy. So I say to him "would you like some? - say please". He looks at me, starts panting and gets down on all fours and starts barking and crawling towards me! Hilarious..............

Sleepover

Payton attended her first florida sleepover last night. (she is the only blonde in the picture) She was so excited. I was nervous. Happy for her that she was invited, but worried how she would get along with the other girls. The "host" little girl also invited little girls from her neighborhood (our soon to be neighborhood once the house is complete). This would be Payti's first time meeting the other girls. I didn't want her to feel left out being the "new girl". I think I was putting my own worries on her. I am the new girl at the moment. I am used to being the "veteran". I'm the new one at the squadron functions, the new MOPS mom, etc. However, I had nothing to fear. She had a fabulous time. She made me proud - the host parents commented on how well she behaved. Mike and I must be doing something right! They played games, ate pizza and candy and didn't go to sleep until midnight! That's my girl. Now if it was only that easy for me.

Grandparents Day

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday Uncle Bill

Make a Smilebox postcard

Home

Since we have been here I haven't felt quite right. I couldn't really put my finger on it. It was just this feeling - like I was forgetting something important. Today I think I figured out what it is. We picked Payton up after school and headed for the beach. Earlier I surprised her at school to eat lunch. I was able to do that because Mike was home early. That would have never happened in North Carolina. His job here is completely different than being in the fleet. The past four years included two deployments to Iraq, various three month schools, and of course the trips that took him across the globe for days on end. Now this - home by noon? I think I have been waiting for the schedule to get harder, longer. As I sat on the sand watching my husband hold his children in the water I thought - wow, what a blessing this is. He gets to enjoy these next three years. He can participate in every holiday. He can surprise Payti at school. He can wake up with Wyatt at 6am (he is already doing that on occasion!) I feel very grateful to have him home. After going through the last fours years mostly without him I can truly appreciate and savor this time.

Potty Time

I can't believe it but I think my son is potty training. He began to show interest the other day so we dug out the potty from the shed, cleaned it up and low and behold - he sat down and tinkled! He has done it a couple times since. While I am extremely proud of my little boy (he is only 19 months after all) I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Tonight I did the pee-pee song and dance for him, the same treatment I gave his sister. And then mopped up the pee pee off the floor (boys are a different breed I learned). While I will not miss buying diapers each time I visit the grocery store, I am starting to miss my baby boy. He hasn't even had his first real haircut.

My little girl

Each night Payton asks me to sleep with her. Some nights I tell her no, that I have chores to do and I will check on her later. Most nights I oblige and snuggle up next to her in her twin bed. She tells me about her day, we tell stories, or we just act silly. Tonight was one of those nights. I tried to tell her I had chores, but as she grabbed my arm and pleaded with me to lay with her I couldn't resist. I try to remember she won't be my little girl for much longer. The dishes can wait, the grocery list can wait, my shower can wait. What can't wait is time. Before I know it she will be asking me to get out of her bed. So I laid there tonight trying to savor the feeling of her next to me.

Pizza and Kite Flying

We spent our Labor Day making pizza and flying kites.