Okay, so I'm not one to do dumb stuff, but today was a dumb day. I had just dropped Jade off at home and we were leaving her subdivision. Mason had moved into Jade's booster seat and couldn't get the belt stapped around his seat. So he asks me to help him. I'm still moving at this point, but I had my foot on the break to slow down. I leaned over into the backseat and my foot slipped off the gas pedal.

About that time, a mailbox jumped out and hit our car (Christian's suburban to be exact). The mailbox scraped down the side of the fender and into the side mirror, and then dropped onto the ground. Did I mention that the car is white and the mailbox was black?

So, I get out to assess the damage and pray that Christian won't kill me. I drive into the driveway, hating to go the door. I can hear my mother in my head saying, "You should watch where you're going and don't worry about those kids in the backseat. You'll get killed one day!"

So I left a note, and apologized. The lady called this evening and talked to Christian. She's single, and her husband passed away. So, Christian's going out to her house on Saturday to put in a new one for her. My husband to the rescue!

Oh my!!!

Masonisms

You never know what will come out of Mason's mouth. When we go places, espically places he's never been, I hold my breath everytime he speaks. Here are a few examples from today:

• Mason and Ava were at the playground this afternoon. Mason was hanging upside down from the lower money bars. His t-shirt was not tucked in so it was hanging over his face. Ava says, "Mason, you need to cover your belly. We can see your "beebees".

• He says, "What are beebees?"

• Ava replies, "Really, I have no idea."

• Mason replies, "Maybe its another word for your belly!"

The conversation was completely hilarious! And neither of them knew what the other one was talking about.

Later at dinner, Mason and I were talking at the table.

• He asks, "How did God make us?"

• I say, "He thought about us, and we were just formed."

• Then I asked, "Who did God make first?"

• His reply, "The Indians!"

Oh, its never a dull moment for your brain when Mason is around!

Over and Over...

I like this song. It has words to live by:

I've stood on the bank of a wide raging river
Trusting that I'd get across.
I've made my way through some valleys and deserts
Believing I'd never get lost.
I've been at the foot of what felt like Mt. Everest
Knowing I'd have the strength for the climb
'Cause through every trial, each test and temptation,
One thing is sure every time:

Over and over, again and again,
God is faithful.
Over and over, again and again,
Through it all He's made me able
To stand and survive, to come through alive
When it sure looked like I couldn't win.
Jesus is with me so I claim the victory
Over and over again.

If you ask me why I have no hesitation,
God does what He says He will do.
I'd simply say every battle has taught me
There's nothing He won't help me through.
So why should I dwell on the hardships and struggles
When I look just beyond them I see
The way this will end is with great celebration,
Deep in my heart I believe:

Over and over, again and again,
God is faithful.
Over and over, again and again,
Through it all He's made me able
To stand and survive, to come through alive
When it sure looked like I couldn't win.
Jesus is with me so I claim the victory
Over and over again.

Sweetness...

Mallory,
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.

Your smile makes me happy on the inside. I look at you and can't believe that God gave me something so perfect to take care of. I love the way you make everything into a song. You take simple subjects, and simple words and put a tune to them. I love that you are so excited to see me, even when its only be a few minutes that we've been apart.

I hope some day that you'll know how much I need your unconditional love every day. I hope that, when you are grown, God graces you with a child that gives you as much joy as you have given me.

I love you.

Mommy

Parenting 101

So I called my mom today for parenting advice. Its not often I ask, and not often that my mom gives without me asking. But I have a problem, and I don't know how to fix it.

Question: "How do I teach my child to not talk to me (or any other adult) disrespectfully?" He doesn't say things out of meanness. Its the way in which he says things.

Mom (as she laughs): I don't know.

Well, not the answer I really wanted, but atleast I'm not the only one that doesn't have a clue. Mason talks to me as if he is an adult. He also does this with other authoritive adults in his life. I've tried many techniques...some of which I can't publicize. But nothing seems to work. I don't want his teacher or anyone else to think that we condone this type of behavior. I work really hard to keep my cool while I'm talking to him, especially after he is disrespectful.

Any advice welcome! I'm going to real on-line to see what I can find. Ugh! These children should have come with manuals!

Yikes!!!! Its been almost a week since my last post. I'm dropping off my game. So where shall I start???

Mallory's finger is healing well. She makes it a point to show me every day, how far she can bend it. Her teacher, Ms. Kathy, asked me if I pulled it back out after she jammed it. Yuck! I didn't even know you were supposed to do that. I couldn't imagine Mallory letting me touch it like that when she realized what had happened.

We went to Douglasville on Thursday afternoon to see my mom and dad. I hadn't been to their house in weeks and Mason was confused as to why I "need to see my mom". It was nice to go to their house and veg-out. Mom cooked a great dinner, the kids played, Nanny & Papa came for dinner and Aunt Laura showed up. The kids loving being at my parent's house. Not just because they get everything they want, but because they have my attention. I'm not working on laundry, or typing on my blog, or reading or anything else. Just focusing on them! We spent the night and did a little shopping on Friday morning, before heading home for Supper Club.

Saturday was a birthday party for one of Mason's friends from FUMC preschool. It was a good time, and good for Mason to see his old buddies. But boy, were they whiny!!! We couldn't wait to get them out of there because M&M could barely hold it together. Mallory was asleep before we got hom. It ended up that we all came home and took a long nap. Mallory slept for 3 hours. Mason, Christian and I got about 1.5 hours. It did everybody good.

On Saturday night, we took Mason to the Motorcross at the GA Dome. He loved it!!!! I'd attach some pictures but I forgot to take my camera. I know my mom is cringing at the thought, but...sorry, Mom! Christian was afraid that Mason would get bored. But after three hours, he was still into it. He said it was loud. He told me that he liked "going on dates with you and Daddy". What a sweet boy!

The rest of the weekend was busy as usual. I like busy. It keeps my mind from racing and I can actually get some sleep.

Its Wednesday. Only a few more days of vacation and then back to the routine. Yippee!!!! We've had a busy week. Lunch, dinner, Jump Zone, dinner, visit to Grandmas, etc. I am planning to take my boys to Motorcross on Saturday night. I know Mason is going to love it. He's still talking about his visit to Creed's house on Saturday.

Mason went with my parents to visit some friends. These friends have a boy, Creed, that is almost Mason's age. Creed takes Mason for a ride on his 4-wheeler, on which Mason has never been before. Mason LOVED it!!!!!!! Its all he has talked about. Creed is his new best friend and he can't live another moment without a 4-wheeler. I didn't see it, but from what I heard, he must have done pretty well. Maybe motorcross will delay this purchase a little while longer.

Mallory fell today at the Jump Zone. We went with some friends, and the kids were having a great time. Mason, Mallory, Ava, Dawson, Madelynne, Emmaleigh, Bridger, Petra, Petra's brother, Adam and Amanda. Whew! Thats a mouth full! It was about 20 mins. before we were going to leave and she flipped off the top of a jumper. I didn't see it, but someone brought her to me with a frozen hand. Her left index finger was already swollen, red, purple, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs. After much talking and cajoling, we decided it wasn't broken. We think its just badly jammed. It didnt' deter her from wanting chips n cheese for dinner!

Another day, and I'm thankful for my many blessings! Good night!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

Do you hear that???????????

It is the sound of silence in my house. Christian got the kids up early this morning and took them to work with him. Then he's delivering them to my parents house, where they are spending the night and won't be back home until late tomorrow afternoon!!!!! I know I sound wayyyyyyy too excited, but I don't get too many days of quietness. I do love my children, and love to be with them. But I do relish in the days where I can clean up the house and it actually stay clean for more than 2 minutes. I'm not sure if we're doing anything Valentinesy tonight. Christian usually keeps his plans close to his vest until time to go. But he's so tired, and I'm loving the silence, that we may just stay home. For some reason, chicken wings sound really good to me today. A movie, dinner at home and some lazy time is a pretty good Valentines present. Oh, and did I mention that I got too much chocolate at school yesterday. I'm sure we'll make a good dent in that supply.

We had supper club last night, but Roy was the only guy again. I know he gets tired of hearing us "women", but he held on like a trooper! I made a simple dinner and the kids played hard. Us grown-ups played cards, and Roy won. We always have a great time when we get together. For the first time ever, I made a red velvet cake for dessert. It was a kit that someone gave me a few months back. I didn't know what I was going to have for dessert, and I came across it in the pantry. It came out perfect and everyone loved it. Especially the kids! I think Mason could have made his whole meal from just the cake.

Mallory still isn't feeling well. She went back to school on Thursday, and went to her party on Friday. But she is so whiny. She hasn't run a fever since Wednesday, but the cough is awful. She seemed like she was on the road to recovery, but now its like she's taken two steps back. I hated to send her to my mom's house, but there is no better cure for sickness like being with Grandma. I sent the breathing treatment machine to my mother and I think she might have been nervous about that part of the baby-sitting. She doesn't mind, but I'm not sure she's done it before. I hope Mallory feels better soon. I hate to see her just laying around.

Well, off to fold clothes and finish my book!

Okay, so just when life was going good, a bad day comes around. Mason had a bad day at school today. Ms. Roberts said he was talking back and refusing to do his work. Not my sweet baby!!!!!!!!! But he's like this mostly when he doesn't feel good or when he's very sleepy. On one hand, I hope he doesn't get sick with strep. But on the other hand, I hope he wasn't disrespectful to his teacher to be mean to her. God, please help!!!!!!! I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Mallory, bless her heart, has been sick this week. She didn't feel good last week and the "crabs wouldn't get out of her ears". She was sickly most of the weekend but went to school on Monday. Thats when we found out that two in her class had strep throat and a total of five kids were out of her class that day. By the next morning, she was running a fever. Good thing I had called the doctor on Monday afternoon for an appointment. Sure enough, she had strep. So, I've been nursing the little girl. But she hasn't been too bad of a patient. She is good with a blanket and a cup of juice. She hasn't wanted too much to eat, but she has been taking her medicine. Hopefully tomorrow she can go back to school.

Mason is doing great at school. Ms. Roberts told me on Monday that he had a wonderful day. It makes me so happy to hear good stuff. He told me last night at dinner that it wasn't nice to play tricks on Dr. Allen (the administrator of the school). I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I have to wonder if he's tried something...Maybe I won't ask until they tell!

I'm looking forward to this weekend. My mom told Christian that she would keep the kids so we could go out to dinner. Yippee!

10 Things I LOVE about my Mom:

1. She thinks of everyone before she thinks of herself.

2. She makes the best chicken & dumplins (from scratch)!

3. She can remember anything...from any time...she never forgets!

4. She's my back-up notepad. When I forget things, she never forgets!

5. She plans the best parties!

6. Christmas is her favorite holiday, so she makes it extra special for everyone else!

7. She loves paper and notepads and gift cards, just like me!

8. She listens to me every time I call to complain about my hard-working husband!

9. She thinks I'm the best daughter!

10. She's truly the mom any girl could want to have!

I love you, Momma!

Mallory hasn't been herself the last few days. I know she's been worried about Mason, and unsure what is going on, but she's also been very whiny. I mentioned yesterday that she had to sit out (Emily, I'm not worried! :0)) But tonight, she said her ears hurt and she wanted some medicine. She said the crabs were inside her ears and they won't crawl out! I keep ear drops on hand all the time, so I placed some in both ears. I hope she sleeps through the night. Keep your fingers crossed!

Mason's dinner prayer: "God, thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for this good food and I pray that our bellies serve you. Amen." PRICELESS!!!!!!!

Mason is doing so well at school, his teacher told me that they are going to place him on the Kindergarten curriculum next week. He was so excited to read me his books last night. Ms. Roberts sent home the books he had missed at the beginning of the school year, and he read right through them. I'm holding onto them so I can start working with Mallory.

Speaking of Miss Abbigale, she had to sit in the "Thinking Chair" twice yesterday. My sweet, precious, demanding, child had to sit out during school yesterday. Emily said it almost killed her to make her sit out, but she hadn't done the right thing. I had a talk with Mallory this morning and she promised she would do her best today. Hopefully! Wouldn't that be my luck? I get one child on the right track and the other child start acting up. UGH!!!

I'm trying to help our family to save money, any way I can. So for two days, I've been on the internet, reviewing coupons, looking at the weekly sales flyers, etc. I got a notebook to help me plan meals and make grocery lists. I planned two weeks of dinner meals and lunches for the kids. I couldn't get many coupons to print (I think its my computer, not the sites!) and below is what I got:

















I spent $151.62 for two (almost three) weeks of groceries. Thats $60.68 per week. And...I didn't use any coupons. I'll have to work on that part of my plan.

Happy Shopping everybody!

Ode to Emily!

Great job on your workout and your weight loss! I'm so proud of you. Maybe I too will begin to loose those pounds. As I type this, I'm thinking of a late-night snack with peanut butter. Oh well, "there's always tomorrow". LOL

Funny things my kids say...

Today, we had Haley Ann over to the house for a playdate. We drove all the way to Monticello to get her from school. Everyone was so excited! Like they hadn't seen her in months. (It was just Sunday.) The kids played well together. Haley Ann is an only child, and after today, she might be glad of that fact. On the flip side, she got to play dress-up with Mallory and she did a little sword-fighting with Mason. During one of their "matches", Mason looks seriously at Haley Ann and blurts out "Bring it on porkchop!". I almost fell out of my chair. It was soooooooo funny and he was so serious! They don't get to play together very often but today was an exceptional day. Thanks for coming, Haley Ann. We had a blast!

Sibling Attachment

I've never known two children to be so attached to each other more than my Mason and Mallory. They aren't twins but you'd not know it by their mannerisms with each other. They truly love each other, and can't stand to be away from each other for very long.

So, today was Mason's first day at his new school. I was so excited and was trying to smooth things over this morning at breakfast. He was real sure he wanted to go and was trying to talk his way back into the preschool. Mallory, on the other hand, was very unhappy that Bobo was going to a new school and she wasn't. She kept saying that she wanted to go to the new school too. I think it was harder on her than it was for him. It was a very emotional day for her and I know his absence played a big part in her attitude.

Mason, on the other hand, had a stellar day. Christian dropped him off and showed him the new classroom. Mason was so excited to show his teacher all of his new supplies and couldn't wait to meet his new friends. His desk is on the front row, right in front of his teacher. At pick-up, he was working quietly at his desk when I arrived. Ms. Roberts said he had a great day and worked hard to learn the rules of the classroom. She shared a few of his antics of the day:

1. He was mezmorized by his new pink, rectangle erasers. He had never seen them and couldn't figure out what to do with them. Ms. Roberts called him up to her desk and wrote his name on a piece of paper. She took his new eraser and scratched over his name. She said "The look on his face was priceless." He knew what they did on the end of a pencil but didn't know the other kind existed.

2. She said he was most quiet during Bible lesson. Ms. Roberts said he sat completely still and quiet during the lesson and then asked the most interesting questions afterward. She said he seemed very interested in that portion of their day.

I can't say enough how glad I am that we decided to make this decision. In one day, I feel so much better about his future. I know that his new teacher will work with him, and push him to be a better student. Ms. Roberts said he was very bright and was more advanced than her other Pre-K students. She sent home his first book tonight, and he read all 11 pages. I was very proud!!!!! I'll keep you posted on his progress.

Good night!