New Shoes!

I bought Laiken and Jack new shoes today at Hibbett in Hernando. I love the fact that the decision was based off of how fast they could run in the shoe. Not color, style, comfort, or any other logical reason. Just by how fast they could run. And let me be the first to tell you, they are fast. They were fast in Hibbet Sports, fast on the sidewalk leaving the store, fast in AnnOlivia's, fast in the driveway, and finally fast down the hall at home. Is it bedtime yet??

The logic kids have and the way they understand things is unreal sometimes. Most of the times it's funny and sometimes I am just glad they don't understand life. About two weeks ago, Laiken started telling me about her best friend's dad, "is going to work really far away for forever." She said the little girl and her mom are so sad. And she could not come over to play b/c she had to spend time with her dad before he leaves. She also told Laiken that he wants to take her dog with him, but she didn't want him to. I was pretty sure Laiken did not have all of the facts. Today Laiken told me that the girls parents are "versed". I asked her what "versed" means. Laiken said it means your dad has to go work and stay a long time somewhere else for a long time and you have to go, "stay at your dad's" alot. Laiken said, "but I don't even know what that means...go stay at your dad's." I want to explain to her what being "divorced" means, but I am not sure what the little girls knows either. I feel sad for her and her family. I hope it ends differently for them.

Laiken is so sweet and tender hearted. Last night we were watching "Mars Needs Mom's". The martians were stealing Earth's moms and killing them. (It's a kid movie and not bad at all. I loved it!) When they came to the part were the little boy was trying to save his mom, he was seconds away from being too late and it seemed she might not make it. Laiken teared up and sighed. It broke her heart that the little boy may lose his mom. But he saved her and all ended well.

My kids melt my heart daily. Just the other day I was grabbing Jack and holding him really tight saying, "I will NEVER let you go. I want to hold you FOREVER!". Then I would grab Laiken and say the same. They squealed and I tickled them, squeezed them so tight and kept saying I would never let them go. They both kept running off. The last time I let go, Jack jumped back in my arms and said, "squeeze me again mommy, I want you to hold me FOREVER!''

Really??

Laiken watched the first half of " Gone with the Wind" with me. She was talking about Scarlett later and said, "You know...the lady in the southern belle movie that was mean to all the boys?" I said, "Scarlett?" She said, "Yeah, she was pretty, but she was really mean to all of those boys, right?" LOL Laiken is so observant. She doesn't miss anything!

Jack, oh my sweet, funny Jack. He came in from outside, "Mama!! Look what is in  my rain boot! A really big green cricket." He comes closer. "No Jack, that is a grasshopper. He is dead." Jack said, "Oh." So then he fills up a little cup with water and puts the dead grasshopper in it. He comes back inside every few minutes to check on him. After a few times, he picks up the cup and shows it to Laiken. He says, "You know if you put a dead cricket in water he comes back to life." He walks towards the open back door and holds the cup up. "And sunlight helps too. And you can see his green more." We didn't say anything and Jack walked outside. After the door shut, Laiken said, "He sure tells alot of stories that aren't true." Jack comes back in later with his cup and goes to the bathroom. "I am gonna wash him now." I went in the bathroom to check on the "mess in progress". He said, " I am going to name my dead cricket Brooklyn." As I am writing this, He and Brooklyn (in a cup of water, freshly bathed) are still hanging out. Doing stuff together.

My Beauty Queen

 My Laiken. She is growing up so fast. As she grows, I am becoming a spectator in her life. When she gets home from school, she tells me stories about her day. Instead of being a part of her day, I get to hear about it. She tells me who she sat by at lunch, who she played with in the playground, and things she is learning. She is already learning to read. She is always happy when I pick her up.

For the past  year or so, Laiken has begged me to be in a beauty pageant. "Toddler and Tiaras" is one of her favorite TV shows. Even though she wanted to do them, I still put it off as long as I could. I love my kids, and I don't really like the idea of them being judged by someone. Hernando High School's TigerFest hosted their first beauty pageant this weekend. Laiken came home from school, and asked to be in it. So I gave in....

During the summer Laiken attended VBS at our church. She had terrible stage fright at the program. Even with 50 other kids on stage with her, she cried the whole time. I was not sure what to expect today. She was amazing. She walked out on stage like a professional. I was so pleased with her performance, and she seemed to be enjoying the whole thing. For crowning, the judges would announce the title, then the girl's name, and then the little girl whose name was called raised her hand. I watched my Laiken's little sweet innocent face, each time a title and little girl's name was called. I could see she was dying to hear her name. It was not called, and yet she kept on smiling. As she walked off stage, I met her in the back. I scooped her up in my arms and she melted, "Mama, I didn't get ANYTHING." My heart broke and she sobbed. I consoled her and gave her a few "you can't always be the winner" speeches. She was ok, and we enjoyed the crafts vendors and games at Tigerfest. We came home and watched a movie. She cried again. I consoled again. This evening I cried. Trey consoled me. It just hurts to know she is hurting. “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
Elizabeth Stone

But the good news is that she hasn't given up! Tonight, we played pageants. I announced her winning over and over. I awarded prizes, sashes, and crowns all night to my very own beauty queen! (The trophy is from her first pageant when she was 18 months old.)

JACK

I told Jack to get in the bath, and he did. When I came to check on him a few minutes later...he looked like this.

My Jack hates vegetables. Really, he hates them. He does not eat any. Not one. So today I made spaghetti for lunch, it's his favorite. While I was making it, I had a great idea to add in a little extras. 1 squash baby food, 1 green pea, and 1 green bean. HOORAY for hidden veggies! Jack gobbled up every bite! (The best part is that you could not taste the extras at all. Really, it may have been my best spaghetti ever.) Quick, I need 10 more Italian "saucy" recipes!

Jack loves Brynley. Sometimes he loves her so much that I have to keep a close eye on him, for Brynley's sake.

His newest obsession: Wearing more than one pair of pants to bed. This was the first night he did it. He is telling me that he has 2 pants on. Not sure where this one came from. We are up to 3 pairs a night now. And yes, all at once, over each other. A phrase from my wise mother comes to mind, "Pick your battles." Yep, this one is not worth waging a war."You dressed yourself, Yay! Goodnight, Sleeptight Son."

Another conversation heard between Laiken and Jack this morning.

L: Mama, there is a mosquito in the truck! Get it out! Mama, don't let it bite Brynley, she will scream!!! Oh no, Where did it go??? Jack! Jack! Is there a mosquito back there???

J:A bosquito??

L:A Mosquito.

J:A big bosquito or a little one?

L:Little.

J:One that bites and sucks out your blood??

L:Do you see one?

J:(looks around) Uhhhh, No.

I haven't blogged in so long. I have so much to catch up on. I am going to try a few times a week to upload pics from all of the events that have happened lately. I am also going to highlight each child in between pictures. Jack cracks me up all the time, so I started with him.

Lessons on Life

Some of the best conversations can be heard at the dinner table. We talk about everything under the sun. Last week was VBS and we talked alot about Jesus and Heaven. Tonight, while cooking supper, the kids were coloring at the table. They were all making star charts, which they learned from me. I always have rule lists and reward charts. Dylan was making his chart and announcing names when he was writing them. Laiken and Jack start screaming about which color they want their name in. So both little ones are screaming what they want to Dylan, who is doing his best to sort out requests and make them happy. Dylan: Okay, I am writing Jack's name. Jack: I want green! I want green! I want green! Laiken: I want pink! I want pink! I want pink! Laiken and Jack: I want green! I want pink! Dylan: Okay, Okay One at a time! Me: WOW! ISN'T HARD TO HEAR EVERYONE YELLING WHAT THEY WANT ALL AT ONE TIME? Dylan just grinned. Dylan:I am going to make red stars by my name. Jack: I want blue stars. Laiken: I want pink stars. Me:Supper is almost ready. Dylan: I am just going to make yellow stars for everyone. Me:ISN'T IT HARD TO ALWAYS DO WHAT EVERYONE WANTS? Laiken and Jack: Awwww I wanted blue. I wanted pink. Dylan:It's almost time to eat! It's faster this way. They are all going to be yellow! Me: SOMETIMES IT IS JUST FASTER AND EASIER TO TELL EVERYONE WHAT WE ARE HAVING OR DOING RATHER THAN LETTING EVERYONE CHOOSE. Dylan:I don't know how you do it. And for anyone who knows Dylan.... The other day I told him that I cannot wait until he has kids. He asked why. I said because you feel you are so oppressed and never get to do or have anything you want. And you will let your kids do WHATEVER they want and you will let them eat WHATEVER they want. And one day you will come to me crying (in my best crying, whining voice) and say, "Mama, my kids are so bad!! I don' t know what to do!" And I will smile and say, "Give them rules, boundaries, structure, and routine like I gave you. And cut back on the sugar, it makes kids crazy." He laughed! I hope he proves me wrong one day. I hope he understands it all.

The things that make us laugh and cry.

Tonight Jack was jumping up and down screaming, "Yes! I did it! Whoo-Hoo! Mama, give me a high five!" He was in complete celebration. So I said, "Jack, what did you do?" Jack pulled on the waist band of his pants and said, "The tag is in the back!"

Dylan has had loose tooth for weeks. Finally, the other day he pulled it out. When he got home from school, he handed me a paper that read, "Is the tooth fairy real? Circle yes or no." I turned around, trying to not laugh, and said, "Yes, of course. What do you think?" He tells me things the kids have been saying at school about it. I talked to Trey about telling him the truth because he is 10 years old. So that night I told him the truth about all of it. As I was telling him and watching his face, I teared up. I felt horrible, almost like I was ripping his childhood away from him. He was sad, but he didn't cry. The more we talked about it, the better he seemed. Ever since that conversation I get random questions. "Who eats the cookies?" "How does he get the tooth without waking me up?" "Who moved the elf?" The magic is gone. I just hope he can keep from spoiling the secret with the other 3.

I love being a Mommy!!!!!!!!!!

Too much fun??

This...

always... leads to....

this.

I love a quiet afternoon!