I AM NOT TIRED!

I am not proud of these pictures {even though they are my favorite ones to take of my kids} But really two days in a row... All I can say is Claire needs her nap. She protest as every good two year old does. We do have a sort of a schedule , but the weekend threw us off a bit. I don't usually have Claire nap while eating, but when you need to get everything on your list done you might as well double task. Plus she is a girl and she needs to learn how to multi task.... Don't you love the pizza in her mouth. You can see just a smidgen of it that can be saved for later, a kind of after nap treat...ewww!

Play It Again Sam

Sam and I go the rounds everyday with piano practice. He is steadily moving forward at a slow pace. I find that if I sit with him for pretty much the whole practice I can get him through. He sees the notes and immediately gets discouraged. "It is to hard, I can't do it!" Sam says every time. I am the encourager, the enforcer, and the buck stops here. The thing is, he does get it and he is very precise as to the notes and the counting. He will not do with so, so. This is where the tears come in. I am not sure where this perfectionism comes from. ... Maybe it is genetic?

This was a great practice. I love when I see smiles instead of tears.

Go to Sleep

Every night Blake goes to bed around 8:30, every night we go through this hassle " Blake be quiet! Go to Sleep! ........... Blake if you talk again you will not get stories tomorrow night.....Okay no stories! ....... BLAKE QUIET!!.... Blake are you trying to get a spanking?{empty threat}.......Ignore...Ignore....This child will be the end of me...... 11:30PM BLAKE Crying" MOM! MOM! MOM!" ....Me, " What is wrong, What is going on up here! "{ whispered exasperated yell} Blake," I'm scared Sam went to sleep. I have no one to talk to." Me, " It is night. Go to sleep! Don't talk.." Blake,"but I am scared.....whine...cry...whine!"Me," GO TO SLEEP!"....walk away.

Tonight , Me,"Blake if you talk you will sleep on the floor in the hall. Do you understand?" Blake,"Yes." Me, " Tell me what will happen if you talk." Blake,"Sleep on the floor, in the hall way." Me," Goodnight I love you...DO not talk. Go to sleep." .............not even five minutes later. "Blake get your blanket you are on the floor."I say. Blake ,"No, please I forgot!" Me," Sorry, on the floor." " I love you"

I go up to check on him around 10:15pm, in bed with Jack. Me,: Blake get out of Jack's bed and get on the floor." Blake, " Mom I am asleep." Me," Then sleep walk out to the hall, lie down and go to sleep." Blake stomps out to the hall and lies down.

When I took this picture Blake asked what I was doing. Documenting for our poserity. He was not amused. I will be judged on my actions and you will see that I had it tough. Still not amused.

The Doctor Is In

Two days ago Sam stepped on something in the hall way upstairs. We were not sure what it was, but it hurt and his big toe was bleeding. It looked like a small pin prick. I really had no idea what it was, so I cleaned it and put a band aid on it.{I tend not to be an alarmist as my children can be dramatic} Well, the complaints kept coming. Last night after a day of not being able to walk too far and allot of limping, I decided to take the tweezers to it. I had flash light and a magnifying glass. I looked just like Skip in these pictures. I was not so successful though. Sam just cried. He kept pretty still and asked for breaks, but he did cry big crocodile tears and some of the crying was the silent kind. After 15 minutes I said we would stop and try again later. I couldn't take the pain I was causing him, especially when we were getting no where.

Tonight as Skip was putting Sam to bed, he thought he would take a STAB at it. For some reason Sam did not cry as much. In fact mostly just complaining and no tears. Skip joked with him to take his mind off of the procedure. After about 5-7 minutes he had the first of two big chards of glass out.{they weren't big compared to a thumb tack, but big enough to cause Sam pain} Sam said," Good we are done." and Skip said," No I think there is something else in there."

Skip poked around a little more and tugged at something else and finally pulled another chard out. It looks like jagged dagger. I said it must be the 'Littles'{from the book} you must have almost stepped on one and they were protecting themselves. Blake looked at me in fear and disbelief, "Are you kidding Mom?" Sam just smiled.

Afterword Sam gave his Dad a big hug. Sometimes you just need a Dad do the dirty work. Thank you Skip I love you. So does Sam!

God's Gift

Last night, before I went to bed, I checked my E-mail. I received a sad news from a good friend of mine. A child of another good friend past away a week ago following a tragic car accident, while on vacation. This kind of news is so devastating. She was Jack's age. A beautiful girl with a sparkle in her eye and a jump in her walk. She was cheerful, kind and loved life. Her name was Sidney.

I served in the primary and was able to get to know Sidney a little. You never know what life will deal you. Sometimes we miss opportunities to truly know others because, life happens and we are just barely hanging on as we fly by and miss the moment. I try to watch people and glean what I can from them, as I am flying by. One thing I did notice about Sidney, was her ever present smile. She seemed to be enjoying life.

I was pretty sad last night as it all soaked in. I thought Jeff and Cassie and the overwhelming sadness they must be experiencing. I wanted to do something to help them. My thoughts turned to my own children sleeping safely in their beds. It could easily be one of my children. I thought of how much I love them, what my hopes and dreams are for them. It is times like these that you see a glimpse of what life would be like without them and what a huge void it would cause in your life.

I don't know exactly how Cassie and Jeff{ Sidney"s parents} feel. I can only empathize with them and send my love and prayers to them. Then take all the moments I have, to hug, cuddle, listen and play with my kids. They are truly gifts from God. They are his children and I have the privilege of teaching and more importantly being taught by them. Each day I have with them is a gift.

I hope I can try harder to enjoy others, old and young a like. We are all Gods children passing through this life, in different ages and stages. I need to speak less, listen more and appreciate all that each has to offer me and how I can, in exchange offer a kind word, a hug or service. Each exchange being a gift to everyone involved. Enjoy the moments that our life's books are written from. Each moment tells a story and each experience can lift us to a higher plain if we let it.

Why I Do what I Do!

...Verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken for ever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

-Alma 48:17

Right now my main focus in life is on my children. I am a daughter of God, A partner with my husband for eternity and A mother to four spiritual beings that have been placed in my care through the tender mercy of the Lord. {one of which as I am writing this is telling me mom, I can't go to sleep,It is 10:15PM... What to do......}

I will be back...

I'm back that didn't take too long, just over night.... The Internet died an took with it an hour of typing...aahhhhhg!

Back to my original thought; I take being a Mom very serious. Some may say I over think it. Most Moms I know take their job and treat it with quite a bit of thought. Still I get naysayers. I choose to be a strict parent. I grew up with strict parents. I guide them, as much as I can,in what they see; movies, TV, Books, and on the computer. I talk to them at length about what they hear and say and what those things mean to them and how they will effect them and others.

Now you may say,"Laurene, come on, you can't keep them from the world."I say, "Why throw them to the world while they are young." 'Teach correct principles and let them govern themselves.' Why fill their minds with the endless minutia of the mundane and the degradation that society heaves at them. Why not stop and weed out all the things that are not "virtuous, lovely or of good report" There is plenty of time for them to be desensitized to the things of the world. So many worldly things pass as acceptable, because they have been spoon fed to us so slowly, that we don't even see the danger.{Flaxen Cord}

I hope that as I teach my children what the is "virtuous,Lovely, and of good report" They will seek after these things. I hope they will learn to react to things that offend the spirit and flee from them.

Chores!

OK! I have tried everything to get my children to do their chores, school, piano, and EVERYTHING! Charts, incentives, consequences, and yes the ever popular nagging and yelling.

I came across a program called 'Accountable Kids' it helps your children become responsible for their own actions and choices. That is the idea that I hope will take hold.

This system has cards for most chores you can think of and even included cards for school work. {a bonus for me} We started today and they hit the ground running. Sam and Blake rose bright and early ready to finish all their chores and receive an incentive ticket. Then Jack with a little less enthusiasm. He worked very hard though.

I am just tired of telling them what to do every minute of the day. I will let you know what happens.

"People are Starving"

These are statements that are made all over the country everynight . There are children starving all over the world. You are so blessed to have such delicious food to eat. We eat a great variety of food you need to learn to like it. Eat whatever age you are, five years old equals five bites. You can't have any strawberries or bread till you eat your meat, rice, and vegetable. I have uttered these words more times than I care to remember.

Now my question is different. Do I just let my children dictate what I make? Do I only make what they like and avoid all the issues we have every night? Does it matter if I give variety? Will they grow up hating Rice and broccoli because they were forced to eat it? Will this effect them into adult hood? Will they make good decisions as their life progresses? Should I force them to eat what has been given them and not complain because it is bad manners or let them complain and not make them eat? What about when we go to someones house and they don't like the food, can they complain.

Skip says, that's what kids do it is natural. I say "the natural man is an enemy to God" They should be taught not to complain , eat what they are given, and be grateful. I guess I am an absolutist. It is a hard thing to teach children and many times you are to tired to be the enforcer. Isn't this what we are though, the parents. Skip says choose your battles and this is one we will never win ,so don't battle.

I know this subject has been debated forever. One of my friend's husband gives their children more of the undesired food if they say a word of complaint. I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do ,but it is trying to teach respect for the person that put the time in to thinking up and preparing what to eat. I do think about it a lot. I want my kids to be healthy and have healthy choices. They need to be respectful and grateful for the person spending the time on the food prep.

I found this article http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/general/toddler_meals.html and thought it made sense. What do you think? Skip and I have got to come to a meeting of the minds on this.