Butter Bandit

Hmmm... so it seems I have a butter bandit.

It had to of been someone tall enough to reach the top shelf, and someone that is not missing any teeth.  That leaves one certain little girl. 

The confrontation caught on video:

Big Events This Past Week

There were a couple big events over at my house this past week.  On Monday, my sweet little man Royce turned three!  He had a great day.  He got to choose his birthday dinner... and the smart boy chose steaks, his daddy's baked BBQ beans, and macaroni and cheese!  He chose chocolate gooey butter cake for his birthday cake.  He got some cool toys too.  What better present for a future first round NFL draft pick than a football?  ;)

The girls this week started dance class for the 2010-2011 year.  Kaydence and Laila both take a combo tap/ballet class, and Kaydence was old enough to start pom this year!  Here are the girls making their usual funny poses before we headed to Kaydence's first pom class:

That was the happenings around our house this week!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Lead By Example (And Hitting Myself In The Head!)

I've always been annoyed about how technology seems to drive families apart. You see families where the kids are staring into their phone all day, or Xbox, or TV, or whatever. Tonight I was reading through the archives of one of my most favorite blogs, and came across this post: http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2009/04/1962.html

And then I hit myself in the head. I AM one of those people on their phone all day. I'm checking Facebook, emails, texting, visiting random websites, all throughout the day! Whenever I have a spare moment, I pull out my phone (which is always in my back pocket). It has become a HORRIBLE habit. A habit that I do not want my children to have! But they see me doing it!

So I must start leading by example, and not pulling my phone out all the time. Maybe limit myself to once a day? Maybe put my phone up and limit myself to computer only (which I normally don't get to until late at night!). Either way, I will quit allowing my cell phone to become a distraction and become a wedge between my family and me!

SO MUCH falls on a mother's shoulders. Her example to her children is one of the biggest factors on how her children are raised. If I have high standards for my children, then I must go above and beyond to model those standards myself.

First Day of School!

Today was Kaydence's first day of school. She handled it quite well. They have a short assembly first thing every morning, where she's supposed to go and sit with her class... she held on to me and refused to go in until a teacher came and led her to her seat. Then we went back to her class and she played with Play-Doh with a few kids, while kids at another table drew pictures and wrote their name. I peeked over at their drawings... it included nice scribbles, including scribbles for names. I asked Kaydence if she showed her teacher that she could write her name, and she said she just scribbled it like the other kids! Hahaha oh man...

She said she had fun for the most part, but she said, "We had SPICY Cheese-Its and we all had to drink lots of water!" and "There was a kid crying during rest time and I couldn't sleep!" She also said that her teacher talked a lot and they had to sit and that was "boring". You can tell she's never had to do that! :) It'll be good for her though, because in life you must learn to do things even if they're boring!

But luckily, since it's a school for homeschoolers... I get to teach her Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! There are a few things that are assigned for her to do... but other than that, I can add whatever I want. I do need to add some things that will keep her on her level. I think most of what she's assigned, I'll have Laila do also. Tomorrow we are fingerpainting, reading (Laila will be starting on recognizing letters and their sounds), handwriting, math, bible study... and that's probably it for tomorrow. Taking it easy on the first day at home!

Now I'm off to get the kitchen cleaned up so we can mess it up tomorrow! ;)

Being Thankful

Today Kaydence and I had a one-on-one lunch. We talked about lots of things... like starting school, making new friends, going back to school shopping, etc.

After lunch, we ran to the grocery store to grab a few things. As we were leaving, I said, "That lady is walking home with her shopping cart!"

Kaydence laughed and said, "Does she not have a car??"

I told her that maybe she didn't have a car.

Kaydence said, "I thought everyone had cars!"

So I explained that not everyone has a car. And Kaydence asked why. So I tell her how some people can't afford cars, or don't have a drivers license, or aren't able to drive for some reason.

She then asked why some people can't buy cars, and I explained that it costs a lot of money! I told her how some people don't have houses to live in, and in some parts of the world people are starving because they cannot even get food! Kaydence then asked why they just can't go to the grocery store. So I had to explain that too.

Kaydence then tells me, "Then why don't people just give those people some of their food??" I smiled at her innocent but correct idea. I told her that some people do try to help, but not everyone that is starving can be helped.

Then we started talking about people having no where to live, and she asks, "But what if they don't have a pool either!?"

Well we don't have a pool, so I guess we're just so deprived, LOL. :)

So I told her to be thankful for what she has. "A house to live in, a warm bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, food to eat, and a blanket to sniff!" (Said to her as she was smelling her blanket, haha)

Kaydence then tells me, "No one sniffs blankets!"

I said, "Yeah, you're just weird."

4 Under 4- The Good and The Bad

So of course, as with everything, there are good things and bad things. I'll start with the bad, because I like to end on good news. :)

The Bad

• First I'd like to say, training and discipline is key. If you have 4 under 4 and they don't listen to a thing you say, that would be um, VERY BAD. If you look in the right hand column, there's a link to "Raising Godly Tomatoes"... which is WONDERFUL info on how to raise some nice, sweet children. ;)
• If you fall behind on chores, it'll be bad. Ask me how I know. LOL
• It takes an hour to get everyone dressed and out into the car, buckled and ready to go.
• It's hard to find a babysitter you would trust to handle all four. Luckily, I have my parents who had 5 girls, and they know what they're doing. But if they aren't watching them, hubby and I will go out after the kids are in bed for the night. Makes it easy on the sitter. ;)
• They eat a lot, therefore lots of grocery $$!
• Lots and lots of diapers. I'd recommend cloth diapers if you're good at keeping up with laundry. I'm not, so I only use them when I run out of disposables! :)
• Things WILL get chaotic at times. Here's an example: The baby will be crying, while I'm trying to calm down the 1-year-old who's crying, then my 2-year-old potty trainer says, "I peed in the floor!!", and my 4-year-old needs help with something, right now, or the world might end!! There is only one mommy, and she cannot handle four different problems at the same time. :)

The Good

There are soooooo many good things, it'll be hard to condense it into a list, but I'll try. :)

• Watching the children play together. They are so nice and sweet (most of the time! LOL) and always help each other out. They'll give each other hugs and kisses and tell their siblings they love them. There is nothing on earth more precious than that.
• They always make me laugh because they're always saying or doing something really funny!
• I have a never ending supply of hugs and kisses.
• I have lots of help, even though with their ages, their help doesn't help too much. But at least they try!
• I'm never bored.
• I'm forced to learn new things and ponder deep thoughts when my 4-year-old asks me, "What's the Spanish word for fire?" or "Why can't I see Jesus RIGHT NOW!?"
• When I'm laying in bed and all the kiddos jump in and cuddle with me and their daddy, nothing else matters. Just so sweet.

Blah so now I've made myself all teary thinking about all these good things. What I'd like to say, is that as crazy 4 under 4 may seem, it is ALL worth it. I once heard someone say, "You will never regret the children you have, only the children you didn't have." SO true.

4 Under 4- The Differences

What's it like to have four kids under four??

I'm going to split the answer into a couple of blogs, because it's hard to sit down and write a long blog all at once. Someone will need me soon! :)

Each child brings along a new set of things. This is how it has gone for me:

Baby #1- Baby #1 is the biggest life changer. You go from no baby... getting to go places whenever you want, just running out the door when you decide, making plans easily, etc. to BABY! Everything you thought you knew is no longer. So many moms think, "I'll just have a baby and be back at work in 6 weeks, no problem!" Oh no, no, no!! You will discover a love never ever felt before, one that you couldn't even imagine, until you actually feel it for yourself. That cute, chubby, wrinkly little thing will change how you view EVERYTHING. It's very much a protective love... one that won't let you easily drop your baby off with anyone, let alone a daycare. You have to get used to the fact that you aren't as free as you used to be.

Baby #1 is also the experiment baby. You learn what to do and what not to do. What works and what doesn't. Every time Baby #1 would wake up at night, I'd turn on the lamp, change her diaper, and nurse her sitting up! No wonder I never slept! I'd pace the halls at night wondering why in the world she wouldn't go to sleep. Ah yes, you learn what NOT to do fairly quickly. :)

Baby #2- Baby #2 is easy! You've already learned what to do with the first. It's just adding another into the mix. No problems there!

Baby #3- Baby #3 is a different story. The workload seems to double, although you've only added one more. Things get busy, and it takes longer to bounce back after birth. Maybe it's because there are more children than arms, I'm not sure. #3 was the toughest for me.

Baby #4- After getting used to the busyness with 3, Baby #4 is not too difficult. By this time you can tune out crying and whining. :) Expect to take an hour to get ready to leave the house. I've been leaving the house A LOT less than I used to. It's time to get organized too.

Those are the differences with the babies, shortened for a quick blog read. :) Later I'll post on the good, the bad, and the ugly. LOL

Stop the Disrespect!

One thing I think I may never understand is why on earth some parents allow their children to be disrespectful to them.

Just watch one episode of Supernanny and you can see it! Or I'll hear a mother say something like, "She got so mad and she said she hates me" and then list some hideous names the child called them. WHAT!?

First of all, please don't break down and cry. A child never MEANS those type of things. And that's exactly the reaction they want, so they would 'win'. What NEEDS to be done is some discipline- to make sure they never ever talk to Mom that way again- Mom should stand her ground and let the child know she's not to be messed with, and Dad should be making sure no one disrespects his wife. ;)

I had ONE instance where I had a child say, "I don't like you". All I had to do was give a stern, "You don't talk like that to me." and it never happened again. Nip it in the bud at the very first appearance and you shouldn't have too many problems later.

PLEASE don't ever let your child talk that way to you. If you allow them to be that harsh when they're only five, then you don't even want to know what they'll be like at fifteen.

4 months!

Today Maleah is 4 months old. This day marks a few new milestones.

First, Maleah is MOVING OUT! Moving out of our room, that is. :) It's always good in a way because the baby always sleeps so much better without any extra sounds. It's kind of bad for me though, because hubby will now want to watch TV in our room all night. After Maleah is in her own room, it'll only be a couple of weeks before she's on the same sleeping schedule as all the other kids. Yay!!

Maleah is also now trying solid foods! The only time I buy baby food jars is right now... just starting out. She's been eating it fairly well! Once she starts to pick it up, I'll make her food myself. I learned all that good baby food making from the book "Super Baby Food" which I highly recommend, except that I don't follow the vegetarian stuff or the cow's milk consumption after 1 year. ;)

Well I'm off to work on those bedrooms some more!

The PICKY Eater

I am very excited to say I have had my very first blog request!! It deals with an issue so many of us parents face… THE PICKY EATER. Now I will give a disclaimer and say that I do NOT know the answers to everything, but I can tell you how things work in OUR family. These ideas may or may not be right for your family. Here is what was written to me:

“I have an idea for your blog. Discuss what you do if your kids won't eat their dinner. Maybe you don't have this problem, but my kids are picky eaters. We try to have a policy where if they don't eat their dinner and complain about being hungry, they have to eat a piece of fruit (usually apple or banana) before they can have anything else. But I need some other suggestions! Lol”

First off, it’s best to avoid this issue altogether (of course!! LOL). We do not have picky eaters for the most part, and my husband and I believe it has A LOT to do with the fact that we let our babies taste all kinds of foods from VERY early on (usually around 2 months). They’ll be in our lap and have tastes of whatever we’re eating… a lick of spaghetti sauce, a taste of chocolate, BBQ sauce, etc. Whatever we’re eating, they’re tasting! Of course they’re not eating a whole meal at 2 months old. Just a tiny taste. (Another disclaimer, if your family has a history of food allergies, then DO NOT do this!!) We also don’t do much baby food at all once they’re of eating age. It’s almost all table food. :)

But what to do when you have a toddler that doesn’t want to eat anything??

I am not a short order cook, except for lunchtime, where the kids get a tiny choice. They pick what sandwich they want usually limited to two choices (PB&J, turkey sandwich, grilled cheese, etc.). Breakfast and dinnertime, they eat what I make.

Now of course you must judge every situation as it arises, as it’s not a one-rule-fits-all type thing. If I try a new recipe and NO ONE likes it, not even myself, then we make something else. For the most part though, they eat what I make. There will be nothing to eat after dinner. (I only make dessert on nights that everyone ate well for dinner!) They do not have to finish their plate, and they do not necessarily have to eat everything that is served (unless it’s something new and I want them to try at least one bite).
I basically want them to eat a decent amount of the main dish (which for us is almost always protein of some sort). I don’t care too much about them eating any sides.

Now IF they do not want to eat anything at all, we have a dilemma. First, we must figure out their motive. Is it because they genuinely dislike the food (which everyone can relate to, but is still very rare) or is it because they’d rather have their favorite PB&J instead?? If it’s because they genuinely dislike the food, I tell them they can wait until everyone is done, and then I’ll make them a little snack later.

On the other hand, if they just want something else, then that does not fly around here!! For my husband, it’s a big respect issue. Mom works hard to make this meal and get it on the table, so you better eat it (with no complaining!!). We tell them eat, or get nothing else. They will go to bed with nothing else. I’m not a softie when it comes to lesson teaching, either. This will be hard at first if you have a history of giving them a snack later. You must be consistent, because giving in just ONE time will pretty much start the process back at ground zero. ;)

That RARELY happens around here though. There are a couple things that help avoid this:
-No snacks between lunch and dinner. (Unless for some reason dinner will be late!)
-I try to make things everyone will enjoy

If my child was constantly wanting yogurt (or insert whatever other food the child always wants) instead of what I was making… then I wouldn’t be buying yogurt anymore. “Sorry sweetie, we don’t have any yogurt!!”

They will not starve themselves. Yes, they will make themselves GO HUNGRY, but not starve. Breakfast comes quickly. ;)

That’s how we do things around here. Feel free to comment with your own ideas!