Thankfulness

A sweet friend gave me that poem framed for my kids' bedroom wall. I hung it over the rocker where I would read it and rock my sweet babies to sleep. I'm in a very thankful stage of life right now. I have 4 beautiful children, the youngest of whom is 3 months old and just pure joy all the time! I spend late nights rocking her and praising God for the wonderful family He's blessed me with. Some seasons in life make it hard to be content, thankful, hard to praise. Right now, though I have 4 kids 5 and under, 3 of whom are 3 and under, 2 of whom are one and under, I've never been so happy. Somehow this is a season of thankfulness and I'm thankful for that too!

Mommy Moments: A child who begs to change diapers?!

~Mommy Moments~
Moments that are the essence of motherhood

My 4 1/2 year old daughter sees me changing her siblings' diapers at least a dozen times a day. And I always try to make diaper changes a sweet time. I know you're thinking, it's poo and pee, how can it be sweet? Well it's not about the poo and pee, it's about the one on one face time opportunity. Not that I'm not cooing in my kids' face acting like a silly goose at other times of the day... ;) It's just that it kind of takes the ick out of diaper changes if I'm distracted by kissing little toes and tickling little tummies and kissing little cheeks while I do it. So I've made it a habit to be so distracted- but don't give me too much credit here. I didn't really do it conciously, but I've just always loved the specialness that makes up for the ick and somehow wound up with this really handy habit of being so busy loving on, praising, singing to, and being silly with my babies.
My 4 1/2 year old Chicklet was no exception herself, in fact her diapers were the start of it. I would play "this little piggy" on one foot when I first put her on the changing table, then after changing her while singing some silly song, I would blow raspberries on her belly before snapping her onesie up and finishing off with a round of kisses on her chubby little cheeks and "this little piggy" on the other foot.
Well apparently in doing this I must have somehow made changing diapers look like a FUN and COVETED experience!!!! LOL!!!!! Because Chicklet began begging me to let her change the baby's diaper a few months ago. I made sure to only let her change wet ones- scared of the disaster that could happen if I were to let her change a #2. I also like to avoid letting her change her brother's diaper just because, well, he's a boy and they're pretty close in age. Not that she thinks anything of the difference, being only 4 1/2, but I think it just makes ME feel weird for her to be changing his diaper when they're so close in age, like it might be something he'd be embarrassed about when he gets older and finds out his only-2-years-older sister changed his diaper as a kid. Might be kinda awkward, KWIM? I haven't made a big deal about it and try to not act like I'm specifically keeping her from changing HIS diapers because I don't want it to be an issue in her mind. So when she asks to change a diaper I sort of reluctantly taught her how to change Babykins' diapers and sometimes allow her to change the wet ones with supervision. She BEGS me all the time to please let her change a diaper, and even CRIED over it one afternoon when I changed the baby for nap without asking her if she wanted to do it.


At the beginning of this week I asked Chicklet if she could think of ways that people tell each other they love them without using words. She looked confused. I told her that when I pet her hair or rub her back I'm telling her I love her without words. She was confused for a minute before a big grin took over her sweet little face and she ran up to me to hug me, saying, "We can say love with HUGS!" A moment later she added, "And KISSES!" I asked if she could think of anything else and she giggled and tickled me, saying, "Yep! Tickles too!"
Thursday morning I was reading my Bible and having prayer time. I had just changed Bug's diaper and given the kids a sippy and a cheese stick in bed to tide them over until I finished my prayer time. My computer is pretty much right outside of their bedroom so I hear everything that goes on and I heard it loud and clear when a short time later Bug hollered out that he messed his diaper. I answered back that I'm almost done my God-time and I'll change him in a minute. Well I'd just finished my prayers when I heard the timer buzz and the toddlers charged out of the bedroom like a herd of stampeding... toddlers. I opened my mouth to verbally direct my little dude to the changing table for a fix on that poo diap but before I could say a word, my daughter says to me, "Mommy, I changed brother's poopy diaper!"
Mommy about had a panic attack. I wondered how much poo was smeared where and opened my mouth to scold her for changing a diaper without supervision, and she KNOWS she only changes wet ones, and HOW MUCH POOP is smeared wherever she changed him, and...
But she again cut me off before I could say anything.

"I did it because I love him."

I froze and tears welled up in my eyes. I was about to chew her out and it's a good thing she unknowingly put me in my place before I did. Wow. Just wow.
Sometimes as parents we worry if we're doing it right, doing enough, doing too much... We hope we're not screwing them up. We pray that God will cover the areas we lack in with His grace. And then there are moments like this when we're just so humbled and amazed and honored to be given this task of raising these little souls.
I'm praising God for these little blessings- especially a certain daughter who knows that love is more than words. ~♥~

If I gain their hearts but loose the war on clutter...

~Mommy Moments Monday~

Lessons learned and memories made.

Last night I should have been making supper. I should have been unloading the clean dishes. I should have been switching my load of laundry to the dryer. I should have been vacuuming the stairs. I should have been sweeping the bathroom. I should have been getting after the kids to pick up their toys.

But I wasn't. I was sitting right here in this chair with some music plaing on my computer, holding my 21 month old son. My sweet little snuggle-Bug. He was drinking his sippy cup and leaning against me contentedly and I was swinging the chair slowly side to side, humming along with the music into his fuzzy hair. I did this for about 20 minutes, just smelling him, enjoying him, cuddling him.

And you know what? I don't feel it was 20 wasted minutes at all. I don't regret not getting half the above list of should haves done until after the kids were in bed, and I don't regret not getting the other half done at all. I don't regret making a less-complicated dinner. I don't regret waking up to a messy bathroom. Because that sweet precious little 21 month old soul snuggled up close to my heart for 20 minutes is worth more than it's weight in gold to me. I hope all my children grow up always knowing how much I love them. If they grow up remembering always having a messy home, but always being loved and knowing what real love means, then it's worth it to me.




(*I have tried off and on to make this a meme but there has been no interest. If you have a precious moment, an ah-ha moment, a juicy piece of advice, or a story or photo that captures the essence of motherhood, and you would like to share it with my readers, please let me know you're interested in getting that meme started back up again! *)

Morning Snuggles

~Mommy Moments Monday~
Lessons learned and memories made.

Do you have a Mommy Moment you would like to share?
I consider a Mommy Moment to be anything that speaks of what IS Motherhood. The good and the bad. The tough moments, sweet moments, bonding moments, oops moments, ah-ha moments, silly moments...
To join the fun, put a link to this post in your Mommy Moments post, and then come back here and MckLinky up your post to this one. :) I do mine on Mondays but you can do yours on a different day and then link it up next Monday if you'd prefer. All linkups must have a link back to my blog to qualify. This is so that anyone reading your Mommy Moments post knows where to come to read more Mommy Moments and join in if they wish.

My Failings and His Grace

My husband was away on business last week 9/29 through 10/1 and I was here with the kids during that time. They were acting out terribly because Daddy was gone. I had that burn accident and was in alot of pain and I found myself yelling at the kids a few of the many times when they were being difficult. Then I would be so angry at myself for yelling at the kids in my anger! It feels terrible to lose your temper doesn't it? And of course it doesn't help the kids at all when I yell at them. I did not cuss at them or degrade them with my words, but the volume and tone of my voice was plenty to cause damage.
When I'm at the end of my rope, there is only one thing that can get me through without losing my temper. Even the best laid parenting intentions can fail without the Rock to lean on. When I started praying my way through, I found that He gave me the strength to control my temper so I could correct and redirect my sweet babies with a gentle tongue. Sometimes I was praying nonstop literally and then would go have a private cry during naptime, but He got me through it. I don't want to fail Him either.
Do you feel like you're about to lose it some days? Want to pull out your hair and scream? Feel guilty for yelling or snapping at your family? Take your overburdened heart to the Creator and get a refill of peace and love! Corrections made in love teach lasting lessons, corrections made in anger create lasting hurt. Jesus wants to give you the grace to correct in love. After all, your children were a gift from Him and He loves them even more than you do.

Mommy Moments Monday 9/28/09

~Mommy Moments Monday~
Lessons learned and memories made.

Do you ever start feeling discouraged? Wonder if you're really being the best parent you can be? Your child goes through a phase where they are constantly testing you and you begin to wonder if what you're doing works or if the anti-parenters have it right and we should all just let our kids raise themselves? My daughter has been going through a really rough stage. I have been just hanging in there, praying, trying to stay as consistent as humanly possible, trying to stay as calm as humanly possible... I thought I had the key by cutting out the television but it couldn't be that easy could it? TV was a part of the problem, yes. A large part I believe. She learned some of these behaviors from the television and stopping watching it is not going to undo what has already been done. It will help from here on out, but it can't undo the past. So I have alot of tantruming I'm dealing with and bad behaviors and some days I wonder if I'm getting through to her at all, and if the right things are getting through to her.
Last week I had a woven cotton blanket on her bed and she kept pulling the strings out one by one and then pulling so hard they ripped out. Literally destructively unravelling the blanket, ripping it up. Well needless to say she got in big trouble for that! At the time I wasn't sure if she had gotten the point of the disciplinary measure or if she was just using it as an excuse to pitch a fit.
Day before yesterday she was playing with her dolly Jane. She had made a nest of blankets on the couch and carefully tucked baby Jane in. Then she said to the doll sternly, "Baby Jane, no breaking the blanket!"
A minute later she agains told the doll, "Baby Jane! No breaking the blanket! Breaking is not nice!" and this time she picked the doll up gently with a sad look on her face and gave it two swats on the behind and then put it back down. Then she looked up at me and said, "Mama, Baby Jane is cryin'! Baby Jane is sad!" So I asked her, "What do you think you should do now?"
She turned back to the baby dolly, asked her so softly I could almost not hear, "You know breaking is naughty, right? Are you sorry for breaking?" ...picks up the doll and hugs it... "Awww! I love you baby Jane! I forgive you! No more breaking, okay?" Then she tucked the doll back in with a kiss and tiptoed over to me with a sweet smile.
And I had a tear in my eye because I realized she IS getting it. It is getting through. Even when I don't know if she's listening or paying attention or old enough to understand- she is. And it said to me, 'hang in there, the terrible twos don't last forever!'


~*~

Not too long ago, I was sitting on the floor playing with Chicklet (3) and Bug (13 months) came crawling over to me, pulled up to standing, turned around, and plopped his little tush down in my lap. A minute later he lurched off and took off to explore the toybox, then returned to again climb into my lap unassisted. I leaned down and kissed his hair and he basically ignored me except to lean back on me and get comfy, where he say and played for a while. And it made me think how precious babies and toddlers are, thinking particularly about how they don't have any insecurities or hinderances when they know they are loved. How my kids can just climb into my lap uninvited on a whim with 100% confidence that I'm going to receive them with a kiss and a snuggle, and they can leave with just as clear of a concience. Because just as much as they KNOW I love them and won't turn them away, they know that they love me too whether they're in my lap or across town and assume that I know that too. So precious and amazing! I think that is one of the reasons Jesus said that we must be like little children in our faith. Little ones know what they know and they don't overthink like adults do; 'what if I'm crawling into Daddy's lap and he misreads my intentions?' or 'What if I'm not good enough?' 'What if He doesn't love me?' 'What if He turns me away?' Little ones are so precious because they have to pomp, no facade, no mask. They are what they are. They love. It's what they do. Oh to be like a little child in my faith!


~*~

Mommy Moments Monday: Slimy Fresh Pumpkin Seeds

Tonight my husband brought home a pie pumpkin. Cutest little thing it was! We do not celebrate Halloween but my 3 year old Chicklet has seen puimpkins around in autumn displays and learned what they are called. The other day she came up to me and asked me, "Mama? Do we need to get a pumpkin?" I had to laugh. I don't know where she got the notion that we needed one. Probably just wanted to see a real one since she'd never seen a real one. So tonight my husband walks in with a little pie pumpkin and asks me to hand it to Chicklet for him while he puts down his armload of stuff. She grinned huge, took it, turned over and over, asked, "What is it?" and then looked up with an ah-ha look and exclaimed, "It's a pumpkin! Is it Daddy? Is it a pumpkin?" It was so cute! She then wanted to open it and eat it so after putting little Bug to bed, the three of us took that pumpkin apart. :) It was such a special time, with me slicing and peeling chunks of pumpkin, my husband washing them off and grating them, and Chicklet sitting in front of me with a huge grin and a pile of slimy pumpkin seeds in front of her, eating them. I tried to convince her to wait until they'd been washed, salted, and roasted before eating them because they would taste better. But she wouldn't have it, she just smiled sweetly and told me they were yummy as she stuck another slimy seed in her mouth. And of course I just smiled back and let her have her pumpkin seeds as she liked- what kind of mother would I be to dampen the spirits of a 3 year old helping to take apart her first pumpkin? ;) We are going to make yummy pumpkin bread out of it, maybe tomorrow or the next day, and she is going to love helping with that as much as she did the first stage I think. :) I just love these sweet family moments, these special memories!

Sweet Motherhood

Mommy Moments Monday

Such a wonderful "job" we have, being mothers! I'm so thankful I can't even begin to express how much, that I am a mommy! I adore being a mom! Some people are worried about not having a life when they become parents but I feel like I didn't really LIVE before I had kids! Sure, before kids I went to the movies every weekend and spent lots of money pointlessly, and indulged in some amusing irresponsibility, but NOW... Now I teach geniuses, I frame precious artwork, I have the most fun exercise routine, I doctor precious ones with my magic kisses, I dance with angels, I am a famous chef and a princess, I get to play dress up all the time, and there's always someone there to cuddle with. ♥

Mommy Moments

Well sadly, after my first and only 2 "Not Me Monday's," I read somewhere that MckMama has announced that she's moving on to the next chapter in her life and Not Me Monday will not be happening anymore. Bummer! So instead I will be blogging about Mommy Moments on Mondays. ;) I figured I have lots of those and should be able to come up with something of the sort to write at least most Mondays, right? ;) I consider a Mommy Moment to be anything that speaks of what IS Motherhood. The good and the bad. The tough moments, sweet moments, bonding moments, oops moments, ah-ha moments, silly moments...

Sweet: Lately I have been dancing with the kids. I turn on the playlist I have on here and take turns with them, picking them up and twirling them around the house. They both adore it! Thier little eyes like up, heads tip back with laughter, and they beg for more. We wind up laughing like maniacs on the floor gasping for air and I love every precious minute of it!

Mommy-Brain: Some time last week, the exact day I do not remember, I had a Mommy-brain attack. I went to get Bug a bottle for nap and as I'm pouring it I snapped out of my tired daze to realize I was just beginning to fill his bottle with lemonade instead of milk. Hmmm... Yeah that would have gone over like a lead balloon!

Sweet: Yesterday I sewed myself a new skirt (more on that to come and a pic too) and had more cotton calico than I expected leftover. So I sewed Chicklet a matching skirt and I honestly was totally surprised at how delighted she was! I had no idea how much it would mean to her. She was watching me sew and when I cut the thread and held it up to her she clasped her hands together with a big grin, eyes squeezed almost shut with excitement, and did a happy stomp dance while giggling. I helped her put it on and she ran around the kitchen like a nut for a moment before grabbing my hand and pulling me into the living room to "show Daddy." She ran to him and jumped around in front of him giggling, "Lookit skirt!" Then she climbed up onto the couch saying to me, " Mama sit!" - she wanted me to sit beside her so she could enjoy how our skirts match when we're sitting as well as standing. She patted both skirts at the same time and then bounced to Daddy again. I got up and said, "Hey lets spin around in our new skirts! I'll bet they look pretty spinning!" And proceeded to spin around until I got dizzy as she joined in, giggling all the while. We collapsed onto the couch dizzy and laughing. And I thought to myself what a blessing it is to have a daughter! :)