The Heart of a 3 Year Old

Noah is not a good eater. In fact, I spend most meal times begging and threatening him while he complains and takes forever. It is exhausting. When I finally get him to take a bite, the food stays in his cheek for a good 5 minutes. So, you can imagine how unpleasant and long meal times are with this kid. The other day, I decided to try the "kids- are- starving- all -around- the -world tactic" to speed up meal time. Here is how it went.

Noah: (for the 40th time in his whiniest of voices) But, I don't wanna eat, I'm not hungry.

Me: You know what? There are little kids all around the world who are starving. They are so hungry and their tummies hurt really bad because they want some food but their mommies and daddies don't have enough money to feed them. So, you should be thankful that your tummy doesn't hurt and that your mommy and daddy can feed you and you should eat your food.

Noah: Do they say, "I'm hungry. I'm hungry." all the time?

Me: Yup.

Noah: Well, I have an idea! Why don't I take some of my food and take it to those kids who are hungry!

Me: (Stumped)Uh...well we can't really take the food that is on the table right now because it would get rotten, but we do help one of those kids. The little girl on our refrigerator. That is why we send her money so that her mommy can buy her food and her tummy won't hurt.

Noah: Oh! Okay. Let's pray for those other kids right now. (Folding his hands) Dear Jesus, thank you for the kids who are hungry. Please help their tummies not to hurt anymore and help their mommies and daddies have money to buy them food. In Jesus name, Amen.

Me: Noah, you have such an amazing heart. I am so proud of you...Now, can you please eat your food?

You Know You're A Bad Example When...

You pull out the cleaning spray and start cleaning the counters and your daughter says, "Mommy why are you doing dat? You don't oo-sually do dat. Teresa does."

Teresa is the cleaning lady who comes once a month. Ay yaiy yaiy! My daughter is going to be a slob.

My Latest and Greatest Fashion Discovery

Let's face it, my budget cannot handle a pair of designer maternity jeans. It just does not make sense to me to spend upwards of $150.00 on a pair of jeans that I will only wear for a few months. However, the type of maternity jeans that my wallet can afford can only be described as saggy crotch/butt jeans. You know, the kind that make your butt look saggy and make you walk like a penguin because the crotch sags down to your knees? But, I NEED jeans. I mean jeans are so versatile and I wear them at least 4 days out of the week. Do you see my dilemma?

Well, the other day, I went shopping, but I decided to skip the maternity stores and see if I could find fashionable clothing that would accommodate my growing belly in the regular stores. There I was looking for baby doll dresses, loose fitting shirts, and leggings when lo and behold, I discovered my new wardrobe staple: JEGGINGS! Jean leggings! These are even less expensive than the affordable maternity jeans and much more comfortable plus I do not have to worry about looking like I have a saggy butt or walking like a penguin! They even have some that have pockets on the butt so you don't always have to wear long shirts with them. They are absolutely AMAZING and a perfect solution to my maternity jean dilemma. I am so excited that I just had to share. Maybe one day I'll post a picture of me in my new favorite discovery!

And the Worst Mom of the Year Award Goes To...

TALEAH MURRAY! (Applause here)

First of all I'd like to thank the snooze button that forced me to push it 3 too many times this morning which resulted in me not having enough time to wash my hair for the third day in a row. Next I'd like to thank the curb that jumped out at me right in front of Noah's school this morning as I was dropping him off. Because of you, curb, all the moms will now run for cover and hold their kids very close when they see me driving up to the school. I also don't want to leave out my sincere thanks to Noah's very first school picture day which slipped my mind this morning as I threw Noah's dirty gross hat over his wild bed head hair. I am so thankful for the panic you caused me as I walked into Noah's classroom this morning and noticed the room was full of groomed and well dressed kids. Without you, I may have been able to walk out of the school with my head held high (until I got to the parking lot of course). Instead, I could not get myself to make eye contact with Noah's teachers or anyone else for that matter out of sheer embarrassment for dressing my kid like a bum.

Well, they've turned the music on, so I better wrap up this acceptance speech. Real quick, I don't want to forget to thank my son for repeatedly asking, "Why'd you hit the curb mommy? Why did you drive like that?" and "Why are you making me duck and run so no one sees us?"

Just Google It...Or Not

My favorite thing about technology today is Google. I LOVE Google. When I need to do research for my job, I Google it. When I need to know how to cook Basmati rice, I Google it. When my stomach pain gets so bad, and I need some suggestions for home remedies, I Google it. So far Google has been extremely helpful, but today...well, I figured out that Google is not always on the up and up.

All of a sudden, at lunch yesterday Noah said started not to feel well. He became really lethargic and developed a fever. I figured he was coming down with the Flu. He went down for his nap and woke up feeling just fine. I thought it must have been a fluke. But, at 2:00 a.m. he woke up with a fever and said he was not feeling well again. Then, he threw up and asked to watch a movie. I took his temperature about 68 times and then decided to Google "Headache and fever in toddlers." The words that showed up, sent me into a panic. "Spinal Meningitis." I read everything I could on it. Then, I went into the living room turned on every light and asked Noah if it bothered him. Duh! Of course turning every light in the house on after being in complete darkness would bother him. But, I was certain that he was experiencing "sensitivity to light" another one of the symptoms. Then, I began to squeeze his neck and ask if it hurt. After poking and prodding and asking him a million questions, he was annoyed and I was convinced that he was getting brain damage as we spoke. I began to cry and woke Ricky (my voice of reason ). He told me to just give him some Motrin and chill out. I gave him the Motrin and just sat and stared at my son, thinking through all the worst case scenarios. The fever died down and he went back to sleep.

When I woke up this morning, I called my Mother-in-law and my mom and dad to ask opinions. All the while, My Voice of Reason, sat looking at me with an amused smirk on his face. Every once in a while making fun of my craziness. I, very distraught that he was not taking this seriously, would say, "Go Google it and see for yourself!" To which he would respond, "Babe, if I Google it, I would think he was dying too. I 'm not going to Google it!" My mom and dad agreed that it is probably just a harmless virus that he picked up from school and that I just need to wait it out.

Sheesh! What a mess. I wonder how different my state of mind would have been without Google. I mean my mom had 4 kids and no Google. I am sure there were countless nights of inexplicable fevers and rashes and sicknesses. I bet she just prayed a lot and believed the best or she would have definitely been in the nut house! We all made it out relatively healthy and alive. Imagine that!

From now on, I'm gonna skip Google when I am tempted to self-diagnose my kids.

My verse for the day: "...The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:5b-7

The Dog

Look Mom! I drew a doggy!

Apple Farm 2010

When I was little, my best friend used to always tell me about her annual trip to Glen Oak to pick apples. The following day, she would come to school with the most delicious homemade applesauce. I was always a little jealous of her yearly trips. So, I made the decision that I when I had kids, we would make a tradition out of going to Oak Glen yearly. I have kept my promise and we are now going on three years of going to Riley's Farms to pick apples. My kids absolutely love it! This year we invited Bramma (Grandma) to come with us and we had a wonderful time. It was a gorgeous day and the kids had a blast!

Maia felt as though it was free snacks all day long.

Looking for a good tree with the best apples. (We were not so good about following the rules)!

Bramma found this tool and got the apples from way up high...

Cheeeeeeese!
Everyone eat an apple!
Reach for it Maia...
Uh oh...it fell...
Look what I found
Dandelions, our favorite!
Run, Noah, Run! (My favorite picture)!

Okay, mom enough pictures already. How many times do we have to say cheeeeeeese?
My precious family. I am a lucky girl!

Discipline or Death

"Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death." Proverbs 23:13-14.

In America today, these verses would not be well-accepted. I can see it now, CPS at my door for posting this verse on my blog! However, it's a good thing for me that I do not answer to American culture. Instead, I answer to God.

He has given me these precious (sometimes) children to nurture, love, and raise for His glory. And, He has given me instructions on how to do so. If He tells me not to withhold discipline, then I should probably obey! When I read this verse a couple of days ago, I felt my face turn red. Why? Well, I was ashamed of myself. I'd been having a rough couple of weeks with my kids misbehaving and I realized that it was because I was being slow to discipline. As a mom, I never get a break and sometimes it's just easier to be inconsistent or to bribe them out of making a scene. Reading this was like a slap in the face! By being lazy, I was contributing to their bad behavior and making life worse for myself. If I want to incline their souls toward Jesus, I must teach them obedience, selflessness, and self-control now. If that means bringing out the spanking spoon a little quicker and more often, then so be it. I've got to stop being so lazy because the alternative to disciplining them is to incline "their souls to death." How scary is that?

Anyways, I just thought I'd share...deep thoughts from the Confession Mama!

My Ideal Vs. My Reality

Ideal: My kids would wake up in a happy mood at 7:00. Get their own breakfast, eat it by themselves within 5 minutes without needing bribes, get dressed on their own without me begging, and brush their teeth without whining. I'd have time to pack everyone's things for the day including my own. We'd all get into the car in 3 minutes flat by 7:30 a.m. and have a pleasant drive to school without anyone having to go potty and no traffic. I'd walk into the office 15 minutes early with a smile on my face genuinely asking everyone how they are doing.


My Reality: Kids wake up at 7:00 a.m. whiny and Noah wet the bed. I have to beg them and chase them down to get them to eat, get dressed, brush their teeth, do their hair and carry their luggage out the door. I am flustered by all the begging and whining that I forget to feed myself, make my lunch, take something out for dinner, and put my shoes on. I bribe the kids to get into the car at 7:43 a.m. We are late. We get to the freeway and there is a ton of traffic. Noah whines and lets me know that he does not like traffic. 10 minutes into the traffic, Maia informs me that her tummy hurts which usually translates to, "I have to go poop." I tell her that I will take her potty as soon as we get there. I start to gag from the stress of being stuck in traffic with 1 toddler that has to poop and 1 toddler that is whining about the traffic. We finally get out of the traffic and off the freeway and Maia starts to cry over her tummy hurting. As I look in the rear view mirror I notice that she looks a little pale and before I can process the meaning of that, she pukes all over herself and her car seat. It smells. I gag. Noah panics. I ask if she has to throw up more and throw her a grocery bag that happened to be in my purse. She cries. Did I mention it's raining and I have no umbrella? We make it to the school parking lot and I search the car for my spare wipees that I leave in the car for situations such as these. They are nowhere to be found. I call Ricky to yell at him for taking the wipees out and tell him how stressed out I am (I needed to take out my frustration on someone...don't judge me). I throw Noah's nap time blanket over my head and attempt to remove Maia from her vomit covered seat and clothes. I dress her in the spare outfit I packed, a Summer dress in which she will freeze on this rainy day. Perfect. Meanwhile, Noah is crying because his nap time blanket is getting all wet from the rain. We finally get everyone cleaned up and we run to drop Noah off at his classroom. He is late. When I drop Maia off at her classroom, she screams and cries and begs me not to go. I start to wonder if maybe she has the flu. But, I have no other options. I have to leave her. I need to go to work. As I make my way to the office, I hold back tears while gagging from the stress. I walk into the office late and am so consumed by my crazy morning that I don't even notice everyone saying hi to me. I feel like a horrible person, a horrible mom, and a horrible employee.

Yup, this is my reality. Someday, I will laugh about all this chaos...

P.S. Maia did not have the flu. She was just carsick. Today on our drive I left the windows open the whole time to save us from another vomit incident. I didn't care that it was raining. I told the kids that it was their bath for the day. I think they thought I was crazy!

Toddler Conversations

Ever since Noah and Maia were away from each other for a couple of days, Noah has been very sweet to his sister. (I can't say the same for Maia...the bite mark on Noah's arm is all the evidence you need to tell that). The other day, Noah sat in her chair while she was away from it, but when she came back, he kindly gave it to her and apologized for sitting in it. Today, when getting into the car, he let her go first announcing, "Ladies always go first." However, my favorite picture of his kindness toward her happened on our walk to the car after church. Noah gently placed his hand on Maia's back as they walked...

Noah: What story did you learn in your class today Maia?

Maia: We had a story about Jesus.

Noah: (taking her hand) Oh, that's a good story.

Maia: What story did you learn Noah?

Noah: We had a story about Jesus too! (Noah, then eyed their crafts and noticed the differences) Why is your Jesus so big?

Maia: Oh because my Jesus has a heart in his belly.

Noah: Ooooh! My Jesus has a door on his heart.

Maia: Oh!

Normally, this would lead to a brawl over whose "Jesus" was better. But, today they appreciated the differences in the "Jesus" crafts and continued to walk hand in hand to the car ever so sweetly. Toddlers are so entertaining!

Maia's "Jesus"

Noah's "Jesus"