4th of July, 2009

Taking a break from the rigorous parade route down our neighborhood streets.
What a fun neighborhood to have a parade where we are all invited to actually be in it! And thanks to all of the "older" people that so kindly placed their lawn chairs on the side of the road so that someone waved to us as we patriotically rode by.


In the garage with our decorated bikes and stroller getting ready to ride down to the parade.

William spent many good minutes hand-drawing this beautiful American Flag that he hung on the front of his bike. Jake opted for a Spiderman figurine instead of a flag. Afterall, "Spiderman is American Flag colors."

Ended the day at "our" beach in the company of good friends. Beach and BBQ. A Perfect 4th.

Pick Your Battles

"It's not an eternal consequence." One of my moms greatest one-liners ever. From not being asked to a high school dance, to making mistakes to burning the dinner. If it's not an eternal consequence, it shouldn't matter.

So goes my battles.

Any mother knows that battles need to be picked. With great care.

I don't know how it started, but I remember making a VERY conscious decision when William was young. I realized that if I picked every battle with my young toddler, all he would ever hear was the word, "NO." And so it has gone with each of our children. Wanting to limit the "limits" in our house, I had to decide. My battles were going to be the battles of eternal consequences.

Here are some things my kids get away with everyday becasue I have chosen not to pick these battles. For better or for worse.

1. Not wear shoes. I am tired of being a broken record. If they don't want to wear shoes...so be

it. All week they have been running through the swimming pool parking lot shoeless. Whatever!

2. Water fights and mud pies. I decided many years ago that mud and dirty footprints in the house are not an eternal consequence. Last week James came home to find the kids and I in a water fight with the hose. He shared his opinion that it was going to be a mess. I sweetly reminded him that this fight would not effect him in the least. Afterall, who cleans the house and does the dirty laundry everyday? Check and Mate.

3. Coke. How can I drink it and not let my addicted 4 year old. Fine. Take it. He can still get a temple reccomend someday.

4. Wearing jammies during the day. They will have to wear suits the rest of thier grown-up lives anyway. As long as they put on clothes to go out in public...fine! Jammies at 3:00? Great.

5. Begging for a drink right before bed. I always give in. What if they really are thirsty? I know I will be washing the soiled jammies and sheets in the morning but what the heck. I do dirty laundry every second of my life anyway. Why not make one more load?

6. My baby is starting to get attitude. Surprise, surprise. She reapetedly took out feminine products all day yesterday from the bathroom counter. I took them away several times and finally gave in. "Fine," I told her. "Just take them!" They are all over the house. I just step over them. I hope no one stops by.

7. Jumping on the couch. In our old apartment, they had little room to run around. The couch added an extra 10 feet of wild, wiggle room. Fine with me. James, not so much. Now in our new house, I made sure they had a couch just for them to jump on in the family room. James and I are both happy.

8. Concocting experiments with products from the fridge. Not to say that I am overwhelmed with joy to walk into a kitchen to find a gigantic mess, but it's not a battle I am willing to fight. They are using their creativity.

9. Ice cream snack before bed. What the heck. We suggest something healthy, but ice cream is fine, too. Just get to bed.

10. See picture: Staying up in the story chair reading stories to each other after reapeatedly being told to "get in bed and STAY IN BED!" I'm not going to fight this one. In fact, can this moment never end?

Jake

Josh and Maddie and Ty came to visit us last weekend. How we LOVE our cousins. Jake and Maddie= best friends. Josh and Will talk super heros as well as mature adult conversation. Naomi and Ty poke each others eyes out and grab each other's hair. Nothing better than COUSINS!

I love my 4 year old. I just came down from putting him to bed...an hour later...the second time. The first time I descended the stair case after kssing the boys goodnight, it was only moments later when I heard Jake groaning and whimpering. I ran upstairs to see what was the matter. "My nose hurts." I responded sympathetic. "Oh my goodness. What shall we do? I am so sorry." His turn to respond. "I know," he happily chirped. "I need the drink that will make it feel better."

"Oh, what's that Jacob?"

"Coke."

I started laughing. "Jake, Coke doesn't help with hurt noses."

"But Willey said that you gave him Coke when he was sick."

"Honey, Coke sometimes helps if you have a headache, but not a hurt nose."

"Oh...he said. My head hurts now."

"Jake, stop it. Your head does not hurt and neither does your nose."

"Yes, my head hurts really bad."

"Jake, stop."

"Mom, when you eat a lot of food sometimes you get a headache. I ate a lot of food. I have a headache. I need a Coke."

He never got his Coke. But he is still not asleep. I can't wait to see what hurts next. He should be down any minute.

Oh, how I love this kid.

O.K. It's been three minutes since I last wrote. I knew it. A little voice just called down the stairs. "Mommy, I have a headache."

"Jakey, you do not have a headache. Go to bed!"

"Yes I do mom, I JUST got it."

I'll be right back...I have to attend to an ailing 4 year old...

Torn

I was reading a quote this past week that I have heard numerous times in many different ways. "There is no better feeling in the world than rocking a baby to sleep." So I continue to wonder. I have never come across a pediatrician who didn't tell me to let my baby cry itself to sleep. "It's better for you, and it's better for them." Hence, I am torn. Torn between an old truth and a new theory.

Do I really know it's better not to comfort my baby when she screams? "She's just manipulating you," one may say. That's fine. She's not the first and she won't be the last. I think about the quote. It's true. Naomi's bedtime is one of my favorite times of day. She's not a real snuggler. At bedtime, she is. We sit together in my rocking chair. The one I asked for when I was sixteen at Christmas. I sat in that rocker through my many years before I was married. I deamed of one day rocking my babies to sleep in it's sturdy, light wooden arms. My dream has come true. Three times. I sit in this same rocker each night with my baby. The 6:30 light is mostly covered from the window shades purchased for $6.99 at Lowe's. Still, some straggling light filters through the windows edge. We rock there together. A bottle of milk and her blankey. A time when she will lay her head on my shoulder. In return, I nestle my old, worn complexion against her thin, blonde youth. Peace.

Yes, I could let her cry herself to sleep. But why would I? One day she will be too old. One day I will only have my memories. I had better make them good.

Good Day/Bad Day

Since there is NO public swimming here in Akron, William's very, extremely nice kindergarten teacher called us up and told us that her swim and tennis club was having a free week-end where we could go and "check-out" the facilities. We tried it out on Saturday. It was a blast! We won't be buying a membership, but it was a great day.

It was a bad, very bad day at church. James was on-call. The boys out of control. James and I team teach the 14-15 year old Sunday School Class. They were terrible. William was brought to me in Relief Society becasue of his behavior. He kept slamming the door. Jake ran away twice. I found him outside. My baby was pretty good. Well, actually quite a distraction while I was trying to teach Sunday School. I hardly talked to anyone. I was exhausted. Embarrassed. I got home. Paged James and told him I felt like a failure. Can I do nothing right?
Oh yeah. To top it off. Two thirds of my children didn't wear shoes to Church today. Jake's were lost. We had nothing else for him to wear. Naomi has outgrown hers. She likes bare feet better anyway. I figure why should I spend money now on shoes when she hates them. I'll save up for when she's a teenager. She'll have credit.

Kindergarten Graduation

Each child recieved a special recognition. William recieved "Geography Expert."

What a great half hour. I sat in the second row with Jake, his friend Wyatt, who's brother is in William's class, and Naomi. I threatened Jake's life to be "reverent." It didn't work. Naomi neither. I tried to take pictures. Somewhat successful. Namoi squirmed and kicked on my lap and wanted to get down. Fine. She would probably be less disruptive on the ground. She made her way up to the graduates. Stole some diplomas sitting in a basket. Two parents turned to look at me. I shuffled through the row to grab her. I returned to my seat. Jake and Wyatt were wrestling. Naomi screamed to get down again. I let her down to break up the fight. Well, it wasn't a fight. It was "fun wrestling." I am actually looking frantically for a wrestling team for Jake. If he is going to wrestle so much, we figure he might as well learn how to do it right.

Naomi was back up in front. More diplomas in her hand. I got up and dragged us all out of the room. The boys found the fire extinguisher.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. I took them all back in the room to hear the final song. We made it...kindof. I made me way up the the podium to take Willliam's picture. He wasn't very

co-operative. He didn't want to get of of line. He was worried about getting into trouble. All the other kids were out of line hugging parents, taking pictures, etc... Not William. I managed to get a few smiles out of him. We walked back to class with him. Someone called out my name just in time. Jake was trying to pull on the fire alarm. I ran. Grabbed him. I dragged him by the arm into William's classroom trying to get some more pictures. William wouldn't let us in. He said that Jake was going to disrupt the class. He was probably right. I left.

One successful Kindergarten Graduation. So after all is said and done:

WE LOVE YOU WILLIAM! CONGRATULATIONS.

Daughter

Many years ago, long before I was married, I was in love with the idea of having ALL boys. Happily, I had my first son six years ago. Followed by a second two years later. I was in heaven. At least until I had to stop going to playgroup because my boys aggression would always have me on the defensive side of parenting. My self esttem shriveled as I felt as if I couldn't control my two crazy toddlers. By this time, I thought a baby girl sounded really good. I had her one year ago.

She is just as stubborn as her brothers. She eats dirt just like her brothers. She pulls my hair if I put her in her car seat just like her brothers. She steals toys from other toddlers just like her brothers.

Luckily, I get to dress her. And I am hoping, one day, she will change my diapers while I live in her spare bedroom and possibly don't even remember her name. These are the two main reasons I wanted a daughter. So...she isn't much different than her brothers. I am glad. She has spunk...and love. My two favorite characteristics I love in my children. My daughter didn't let me down!