Friday, August 31, 2007

Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde

I have a bully in the house. I'm really quite surprised by this for some reason. The bully in question is Baby A. my seventeen month old. She baffles me. How did I get through the other three kids without a biter or a hair puller or a head banger. She truly throws some of the most spectacular tantrums I have ever seen. I am so bothered by her bullying tactics that at her last check up I even asked the doctor for suggestions. He put most of it down to her age but did say once she was eighteen months we could effectively start using time outs. Oh is it going to be a long month. Poor K has lost countless handfuls of hair and both boys have been bitten by her. She's even biting the dog for goodness sake. Yuck! She can turn a calm and quiet room upside down in no time and laugh at the results. She is the youngest of four and I really think for her she just wants to be a part of the action. Any action, and if there isn't any then she will just create some of her own.

But don't think she doesn't have her good qualities to. She is the best kiss giver of the bunch. She will immediately come back and give kisses to anyone hurt and pat them on the back. Whether she feels true remorse, I have no idea. She just copies whatever it is that I am doing Oh the joys of having a dual personality at seventeen months. I really am looking forward to this phase passing and soon. In the meantime, I have to give my older kids a huge award for being so patient with her during all the hair pulling and biting.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Just Testing It Out

Okay, some stories are just to good to keep to myself. So let me make your day a little bit better.

The other day my husband had to run to Lowe's to buy a new seal for our bathroom sink. He decided to take Hoss and K. with him to give me a little quiet time. After he found the seal he needed he was getting ready to leave and turned to get K. who had just been right next to him the entire time. Naturally she wasn't there so he looked down the aisle a little further and saw her. She was sitting as proud as can be on one of the toilet displays. Not only that, her shorts were down around her ankles. So he runs down to get her and gets her pants back up and thankfully notices that no one was around. And in case your wondering no she hadn't "gone potty" yet. Thinking that she must desperately need to go to the bathroom he asks her if she needs to go and what on earth was she doing on the toilet display? K. simply looks like him like he is dumber than dirt and says "Daddy, I was just testing it out". How can you argue with logic like that. And since dad is dad and not a mom, he left that store as fast as he possibly could before getting the rest of the things he needed.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Summer Soap Celebration

Nan over at Life is Like a Lunchbox is hosting a Summer Soap Celebration so head on over to check it all out.

Last days of summer

I've been MIA the last few days since I really wanted to spend a few more moments in the sun with my kids. So after a few days at the pool, hitting the batting cages, reading and just doing alot of fun family time the school year officially began today. Z. was very excited to be seeing his friends today and rode off with the neighbor boys on bikes a little earlier than was truly necessary. But that's okay, as long as he is excited about school than I am happy.

You would think that by our early start to the day I would have made it to my nine o'clock appointment on time. But that was not to happen (this is me after all). After getting the three remaining kids fed, dressed and buckled we started off already twenty minutes late. Toss in the Dallas traffic and the fact that I'd never been to this office before and you can tack on another twenty minutes. But not to be outdone, Hoss got carsick and so I was then stuck wondering where I can exit if his nausea actually gets the best of him. We finally arrived at my meeting (that sounds so official but it was really wasn't) and I am frazzled. Thank goodness that it was a for a study of scripture and Pope John Paul II encyclicals so it was well worth the struggles of getting there. So once again I am reminded of God's love for us. So no matter how frustrating my day may start off I can always redeem it by a few minutes spent in prayer and quiet reflection.

Now on to another topic altogether, I just finished reading an excellent book by Kim Edwards called "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". It's about a Dr. who delivers his own twins in the 1960's and discovers that one of them has Down Syndrome. He chooses to tell his wife that the baby died at birth and send her off to a home. However the nurse who was supposed to deliver the baby to the home can't do it and ends up raising her instead. This book just grabbed me and I had a hard time putting it down. It's not an easy topic but still well worth the heartache that it may cause you to feel at moments.