One of "Those" Day's...

So, we just need to have "one of those day's" occasionally so we know when we have a great day! Yesterday was "one of those day's"  I woke up a little tired so I was a little cranky, but I can usually keep the crankiness under control.

As I was getting dressed I asked Emma if she could get herself dressed, she was excited to pick out her clothes, so she quickly went into her room, got her shirt on then she stopped.  I asked her at least 4 more time to get her pants on.  She would look at me then continue to do "her" thing.

I asked her why she wont get dressed her reply was that she wanted to write on her chalk board first.  She knew that she needed to get dressed and she just wouldn't.  This was making me so angry.  I kept thinking if she would just listen then we could work as a team.

Finally we got her dressed, fed and out the door.

Still frustrated by her attitude and disrespect.  This is not a problem that just started, she wont listen when it is time to do homework, eat dinner, go to bed, etc..

I went outside to "become one with nature" it usually makes me feel better.  I pulled some weeds in the garden.  David was a great helper.  Jacob thought it was great that there are flowers on the pea plant and pulled one off.  Thankfully he listened when I told him that the flowers stay there. 

 

Found an egg on the ground in the chicken run.  For some reason the last couple of days a chicken wants to lay her eggs outside of the coop.  Can't say that I blame her, she made a nice nesting hole and there is straw in there, it looks so cozy.

I was feeling better, but still on edge so I went to the store to get chocolate... peanut M&M's. One knows that this IS a fix all.  And of course it did work.

At about 1:30, I was just getting started on the dishes.  Jacob was walking towards the house, speaking in baby talk about his hand.  It looked serious, so I closed up the dish washer and and went to help out.  Thinking he was upset because his hands were dirty, I scooped him up and proceeded to clean his hands.

Ohhhh, what is that poking me I thought.  Looking closer I could see all the hair like cactus needles in his hand.  I grabbed the tweezer and sat in the sunniest part of the house, the front door.  He sat still for about 3 minutes.  Then I realized he had a stinky diaper and I also knew that he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get all of the needles out of his hand.  Changed the diaper, then packed up the kids and went to a neighbors house to get help holding him down.  He sat really well, I mostly needed help holding his hand opened.  It took us at least 10 minutes to get those out.  Upon returning home I went to look at his sweater that he had on before.  It has needles all over it, unbelievable!!

Eat more chocolate... the day will get better!!

Emma gets home, we have a pleasant greeting.  Day seems to be going well.  

Make dinner Mac and Cheese for the kids and burritos for us.  For some reason Emma just doesn't want to sit at the table.  She says that she is not ready to eat.  Pa and I ask her to sit at least 7 times.  One would think that is enough.  Nope she still fights.  Emma runs down the hall, Pa asks her nicely to come sit down and if she doesn't she will not be able to eat.  Emma screamed, "I HATE YOU!"  Whoa--- where did that come from????  She is sent to her room, she fights that.  What is happening I think, this is not MY little girl!

After everyones composure is back, we sit down as a family and talk about what happens when we make choices and that with every choice there will be a consequence, whether good or bad there will be a consequence.  We talked about how we (Ma and Pa) love the kids and that we don't want to do anything that will hurt that.  We talked about how Ma and Pa have a role, that we need to teach the kids, and how important it is for them to listen.  Everyone was in agreement, until Emma decided she was now hungry.  I told her that her consequence for not eating with us is that she can't eat till morning.  Then she kicked me.  Okay, now it is bed time.

After many tears, she finally fell asleep, and I was very surprised that she wasn't crazy hungry this morning.

My heart hurts that she is pushing buttons and that we have to go through such hard ship with her.  I am hopeful that she is learning, and hopeful that she happily learning and not angry.  I think that if she is happily learning the we will have the love and respect that I always dreamed I would have in my family.  Sigh.  -Ma

Abby's Fear

Abby has always been so scared to go to her Sunday class.  Now that she is a Sunbeam it has not changed.  Pa sits with her during primary, but then she comes with me during her class time. She is terrified!

Last Sunday Pa had to go into work so I was by myself.  David and Emma went to class fine. Abby wanted to try and go to her class, she said she wanted to go and sit with Emma.  So, I took her to primary, sat her next to Emma.  She looked so proud of herself, like she was being such a big girl. They say that within 2 minutes she started to cry uncontrollably.

This Sunday (Today), Pa sat with her in Primary, then she said she would go to class all by herself.  He let her stay, 2 minutes later she is brought to me.  She was shaking she was so afraid.

I can't think of anything that would have scared her so much.  It is amazing to me that these little children come to us with such personalities.  Abby is just so afraid to be without Pa or I. However I do know that she will not be like this forever and I am enjoying this clinginess, most of the time. -Ma

Oh yes, on a side note.  When Emma was getting ready to go into her Sunbeam class.  We would talk to her and say, "This is so exciting, you get to be a Sunbeam."  For a few weeks she wouldn't say anything, then she stated with tears in her eyes the week before her class started. "Mom, I don't want to be a Sunbeam, I want to stay hear with you."  Shocked that she knew what a sunbeam was I asked her if she thought she was going to go into the sky.  She said yes, that is what she thought was going to happen.  I am glad we got that cleared up.

Not Great In '08

This past March my family realized that we have had some not so great things happen in 2008.

• Aunt T. found out that she has cancer, however she has gone through lots of treatment and is now in remission. 
  
• My Mothers Aunt M. A. fell and broke her hip.
• Aunt M. got frozen shoulder after first snow storm in Jan.
• My mother also hurt her shoulder.
• As did I.
• Aunt S. had her first cataract surgery
• Aunt P. died and was brought back (cardiac arrest)
• Aunt M. had issues with gallbladder.
• Aunt M. panicked in the MRI machine when pictures were being taken of shoulder.
• Aunt M. A. got hip fixed but now refuses to walk
• Uncle W. tripped over the dog and has a black eye
• Tansy fell off a horse and broke her arm
• Aunt S. had her second cataract surgery
• Grandma was waving at an old guy down the hall of her facility and tripped over her cane and bruised her arm, but nothing was broken.

This is what Aunt M. had to say about all of this,

"Let that be a lesson to you....

walking and flirting with old men when you are 83 years old will just land you on your face!!!

shoveling snow is for youngsters to do!

don't read too much...it ruins your eyes!

if you die...come back

keep the sludge out of your gallbladder

don't go in the MRI machine if you have claustrophobia.

if you teach your dog to lie down make sure he knows to put up traffic cones

stay off of horses especially if everyone else in the family has had some bad luck"

Since March these are some more things that have happened.

• David was getting Jacob out of his crib and dropped him on his head.  He had a cat scan done.  They were going to make him sleep through it.  However I nursed him to sleep and asked if we could try with out the sleeping medication.  We tried, he woke up, but I got up on the table, laid on top of him, held his head straight and sang a song trying to keep the tears back.
• David cut his hand really bad with scissors
• Jacob fell off the couch and busted his lip
• David had his tonsils removed
• We went to the mall, loaded the kids in the car and forgot to load up the junky stroller, and some really cute red shoes that were with the stroller. Went back to get them and they were gone!
• Emma had to face going to ALL day school.
• Emma has had run in's with kids at school.
• We had ants bite our children like crazy
• Abby wrapped a rubber band around her finger and it was on their for at least 2 1/2 hours, her finger was a deep purple color.
• Emma got a thorn in her head
• Jacob gets burned with hot water
• Emma has been getting strange headaches 
• Jacob fell off of a tall chair, on his head again
• Pa's Grandmother passed away
• We went on an unplanned road trip got stuck in a K-Mart parking lot many miles away from home for a couple of hours
• On the same road trip it felt like something was wrong with the alignment, turned out our tire was bubbled, it could have popped
• A family member is going through a very ugly divorce
• Pa's mother found out that she has to deal with health issues, including cancer.

Yes, there were some difficult times this year, even things that I wouldn't want to relive, or wish that family members would have to relive.  However, everything that is listed above, they are getting better, I am thankful for that.

I am thankful for family and friends.  I think that is the only thing that is keeping us here in AZ.  If it wasn't for Ya'll then we probably would have moved to PA when Pa graduated years ago.  I am also so grateful that I have a family with such a good sense of humor, it helps when things are not so great. Thank you for being so good to us. -Ma