Happy Birthday Grampapa

Grampapa had a birthday this week.. and we made him some cards.

Frankie Doodle Dan-dette

You were right, Great Grammy Elsie! She does look just like a little baby doll in this sweet outfit you sent us.

And Great Grandmother Angie, this "honey bee dress" is Margot's absolute favorite.

If only my entire day were going to be as peaceful and precious as these few moments were!!! We spent upwards of 2 1/2 hours "putting the girls to bed" last night. Sigh. We absolutely REFUSE to let these girls beat us. More importantly we absolutely refuse to let the girls' grow up without knowing their limits. It's so difficult setting limits. You get so tired of enforcing them. You feel like a super hero when they are honored without a reminder from you. The girls eat their food at each meal.. our bathrooms have gone from having "Froggy Potties" and potty seats to just having potty seats with stools to having just stools for the big potty to just being regular old bathrooms again.. with stools for washing hands. The seasons have changed from fighting over food and crying at night about potty training frustrations to enjoyable meals (most of the time) to being able to feed them whatever we want and go anywhere and everywhere in our big girl panties. We have been fighting this bedtime battle since we started potty training in December of last year.. our resolve has been strong and weak. This week and last it has been strong.. just please pray for us if you think of us around 7pm in the evening. It is un-stinkin' believable how stubborn these two are. Last night we just had to laugh.. for the first hour at least.. then fatigue and heart break got to us a little. It's not easy listening to your children scream for you over and over.. and take advantage of your kindnesses. As in, you feel sorry for them as you are putting them back in bed for the 67th time and take a few extra moments to tickle their backs or snuggle them close before leaving the room.. only to have them act like they have fallen asleep in comfort.. then jump right back out of bed screaming the moment they lose sight of you. I believe this will pass.. just like all our other struggles .. it has too right?! I keep saying that to myself and this week at least, I believe it. I shudder to think what sort of battles await us in the future. I did have a flash of the Lord's comfort last night though. A picture of Ada (who was the last holdout last night) being an absolute crusader for Christ in an oppressed country, refusing to budge as naysayers tried to chase her away from a group of people she was trying to help.. a group of people who needed her. Who wanted her there. Who were afraid of the people trying to make her leave. Ada was not afraid. Ada was sure. Steadfast. Stubborn.

As a Christian parent it is my greatest fear that my children would turn from the faith that has been so central in my life. At the same time, I know I don't want them to accept my faith just because they are my children.. I want them to find it and experience it for themselves. So I pray that these stubborn little hearts would come to know Jesus in a personal way some day, and be stubbornly for Him. And right now.. I pray that Jesus would help them sleep!!!!

This post was more random that I meant it to be. Oh well.

Surprise

This morning as I was downstairs putting our coverlet into the washer, Ada called for me to come back upstairs. When I reached the top step she was standing in the doorway to our bedroom. "I have a surprise for you, Mom!" she said stepping to the side, "I made your bed for you!" Tears people (it doesn't take much these days).



She was so proud of herself. Look what a good job she did.



It has been a good morning.

Happiness

Yes, she is pretty much the cutest baby in the whole wide world. She is growing up far too quickly. She is already digging her feet and knees into the carpet trying to travel around the living room floor. I think we may have a 6 month crawler on our hands folks.

Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love getting to wear snuggly clothes .. and getting the girls dressed for cold weather.. such a joy. Here we are yesterday getting ready for a beautiful fall day.



Here we are this morning.. day two of chilly weather. Preciousness.



This is about 30 minutes later...



.. and five minutes after that.

Lest you think it was all pink lollipops and peonies from there on out I am currently listening to Ada screaming on the floor. Fall.. that wonderful time of year when you truly understand why some animals eat their young.

Think you have a stubborn kid.. Ha! I laugh at your stubborn kid. Come to my house, where the children have wills forged in titanium.

Winning

No, that is not a nod at the ever annoying Charlie Sheen. It is the sum total of my day today as SAHM (Stat At Home Mom for the uninitiated). Ah hmm! (clears throat)

Frankie wakes up screaming this morning and won't eat for several hours = losing

Stephen stays a little late so I can pump = winning

Frankie won't even touch the bottle of pumped milk = losing

No shower for the last two days = losing

Girls won't FREAKIN' stay in their beds at bedtime resulting in various form of punishment as well as emotionally and physically draining Stephen and I of our remaining energy from any given day = losing

Ada figures out she can get up and down from the potty all by herself without the help of her step stool = winning

Margot wants us to count items on the counting page of her Richard Scary Word Book during lunch time and makes it all the way to the acorns = winning

Mary calls me at lunch time and gives me a mini-pep talk while I sit in tears in the bathroom hiding from the girls for a few moments = winning

Currently listening to Stephen wage WWIII with Ada to keep her in her bed = losing

Finding dairy, soy, chocolate free cookies last night and almost consuming the entire bag = winning/losing (can a person qualify as a repressed individual from lack of sweets?)

Ada and Margot now sit in bed and read books on their own before crawling under their covers and falling asleep for nap.. such big girls = winning

Frances and Margot wake up from nap just as I am dozing off = losing

Margot snuggles up and watches movie while Frances giggles for the first time = winning

Ada has a little pee-pee accident during nap = losing

I have my very own washer dryer in the house to wash the dirty sheets right away = winning

Stephen coming home a little early = a nice long hot shower for me = winning

Cooking dinner for a new friend and being able to actually deliver it on time = winning

Frances recovers from her bad day and eats a huge dinner tonight = winning

In the space of time that it has taken me to type this, Stephen has managed to get the girls to stay in bed.. and it's only 8:16 = winning

My day today has been incredible. Not incredibly good or incredibly bad.. just incredible. I have comforted the sweetest, cutest, most adorable baby on the planet while she screamed in agony and gurgled from her refluxing. I have dressed my girls, helped them brush their hair and teeth, only to have them discard their clothing and run around in their panties all day. I myself stayed in my PJs all day.. and that sounds too cute for what it was.. I stayed in what I slept in all day. Are you picturing a frumpy housewife type with saggy boobs in a nursing top and slept-in hair..? Good. This afternoon, when a friend called to vent about the troubles that life sometimes hands us, I felt like I was running a marathon. No, that term is used too much I think. When I hung up the phone to go and comfort Frankie and get the girls ready for their nap, I honestly had the fleeting thought that I was in battle. Speaking to my friend felt like a call from another general to discuss battle tactics. I walked through the living room answering two sets of the same rapid fire questions that I answer every day ("Why do we have to go night night?" "Can I have another sip of water?" "Can you hop me up the stairs?" etc.). I weathered their barrage of pre-school logic with an ease that only comes from practice, all the while jostling their baby sister to help her get the air out of her tummy. It's hard to explain but it's almost like a runner's high, the moment you realize you are in control of the situation. The dog is barking and you are answering a billion questions while bouncing a baby and making a pot roast (lets not kid ourselves, that was in the Crock Pot but still!), the phone rings and your daughter clings to your thigh as you switch loads of laundry and your mind is spinning and you almost want to scream and then.. you don't. Your baby gives a huge belch and a happy grin, the laundry whirs it's way to cleanliness, the house warms with the aroma of comfort food, and you realize you are glad your Ollie barks at you when he needs to pee instead of squatting on the floor and you know the answers to most of Ada's questions and when you don't you are able to make her giggle instead of cry, and Margot just needs some lovin'. You've got this. Even though the house looks like a tornado came through and you look like you swore you never would.. you are in control and things are going the way you need them to go... and you feel so grateful. Grateful to God, grateful to every person who has whispered a prayer for you today, grateful for.. well.. Prozac! In the end, it isn't about winning or losing.. it's about how you played the day.