"I am not peace."...UPDATE

*****UPDATE*****

Well, we have moved on from peace to self-control. Abby even told me very empatically this morning, "Mommy! I am being peace today!" We made a very big deal about this! The self-control post-it has a few marks of disobedience...even from mommy and daddy. Mommy ate 2...count them...2 cinnamon rolls the other day. While I was cutting the second one to eat I literally said to myself, "Self. You should have self-control and NOT eat the second cinnamon roll." About the time I got to the end of that sentence...I put the first bite into my mouth... no self-control. So I got a mark and Daddy got a mark for losing his temper while the kids were supposed to be cleaning the playroom...That in and of itself should not be reason for a mark. I'm pretty sure God himself would lose self-control while trying to get my children to clean the playroom. Seriously.



***ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS***
So last sunday night I was teaching my preschool AWANA group. We only had 2 weeks left so I decided to teach 2 weeks on the Fruits of the Spirit. We had a coloring page and some fun activities that were brilliant, I might add. So we started going through the Fruits of the Spirit. I started with Love, then joy, then peace....and I get all the way to self-control.

This is when the story gets...well...interesting.

I am teaching on self-control and all of the kids (except mine) are "practicing" self-control. We were wiggling our feet and then we would stop and "get control" of our feet. Then we would wiggle our hands and "get control" of our hands...and on and on. It was just a good physical excersize to try and teach self-control. Well while all of the other children were practicing self-control my children were...

doing hand stands.

yes. people. hand. stands.

Not exactly self-control.

So while this is going on, I look at my other teacher and say quietly through super-clenched teeth..."If someone doesn't remove my children from this room right now..."

I didn't even have to finish my sentence before the other teacher had scooped my two kids out of the room on the way to daddy...for, you know, encouragement.

Paul and I were so defeated that night after I had told him the story about self-control. So we came up with a plan. We would write on sticky notes each persons name and a couple of the Fruits of the Spirit. We stuck them to the oven (don't ask why...) as a reminder of the Fruits of the Spirit that we are supposed to be practicing.

For some reason...

I got patience. and Abby got peace.

Seriously, God and my husband have an amazing sense of humor.

So all day on Monday Abby and I are practicing patience and peace. We both did pretty good for the morning except one little time.

Abby and Caleb got into a little skirmish and Abby hauled off and hit Caleb. I calmly (really...I promise) walked over to Abby and said, " Ab's you are supposed to be practicing peace today and hitting Caleb is not a good way to practicce peace."

She looked at me with eyes only a mother could love and she started to stomp her way to her room for a good pout session and about half way across the living room she stopped, turned and looked at me and said, in a not so pleasant voice...

"I am not peace!"

And so we begin again, maybe we will have better luck tomorrow.

The "Big Girl Section"

Not to far in the distant past I remember buying Jacob some clothes and when I got them home they fit and then two seconds later I found myself crossing the isle in Target from the "Toddler" clothes to the "Big Kid" clothes.

Several things struck me when I crossed over.
1. The clothes are at least $4-$6 more expensive over there.
2. This means my little boy is growing up...(insert all appropriate emotions here.)
3. Now he is officially a Big Boy.

After that incident I gradually became accustomed to purchasing clothes from all different departments at each store that I went to. Caleb's transfer to the Big Boy section went without real incident because, well he is the second boy. I love him no less and I did have a twinge of sadness when I realized he, too, had crossed over. The sadness did not linger as long as it did with Jacob.

And then...

The other day I was shopping for Easter clothes. I, of course, picked out matching shirts and shorts for the boys from the big boy section at a considerable price increase and as I was looking for something for Abby, I remembered. The clothes I had bought a few weeks ago were a tiny bit snug on Abby. Her midsection is...thicker...now than it was not so long ago. Her legs are longer and her torso is growing longer too.

It took me a minute to come to the realization that all of you probably already have.
I should cross over to the Big Girl Section. After all...the smallest size in the "Big" section is not all that different from the biggest size in the "Toddler" section. The clothes, however, are cut differently and therefore fit the "big girls" better.

So I reluctantly walked over to the Big Girl Section. I was walking really slowly, not really wanting to find anything so I could go back over to where "I should be." After all I don't have a big girl...do I? Again I began to realize that in fact, I do, have a big girl. She has stopped wearing pull-ups at night, she talks like she's 25 and she has the attitude of a 15 year old.

The Big Girl Section was a different animal than the Big Boy Section. So many choices, so many options, SO MANY accessories! I slowly and somberly warmed to the idea of shopping in the Big Girl Section and found a cute dress that has the same colors as the boys shirts AND THEN...I went to the Big Big Girl Section and bought me a dress to match! I guess that is one perk.

Here's to me having three "Big" kids.

Not only do I have to deal with my own poop, but everyone else's too...

Ahhhh, the joys of motherhood.

I was watching Oprah today, not something extremely normal at my home, but on the occasion I watch Oprah. There my confession has been made...not the point of my story...

Anyway. I was watching and it was about motherhood today. Several women were confessing some h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s stuff that they had done as a result of being a mother. i.e. - not bathing in several days, using a diaper to pee on in the car because her kids were sleeping on a road trip and she didn't want to stop, creating an entire lunch from snacks inside the car on the way to school. You know REAL mom stuff...not TV mom stuff.

So I was thinking about some of the things that have occured around me and my family. Don't worry nothing as extreme as above. However I have, on the occasion, created toilets out of cups, bushes and cinder blocks. I have also made entire meals out of granola bars fruit snacks and gatorade at the ball park.

One other thing that my friend and I were talking about after seeing this episode, was poop. I know, I know, it's not the prettiest of subjects but seriously. All my children, for the most part, take care of their own poop. My husband takes care of his own poop...ALL the time...and I of course take care of mine...AND, on the occasion, my children's AND on the occasion the cat's, AND any other children that come over to play with my children...AND...the deer poop that comes in off my children's shoes...AND the bird poop on my car!

I mean seriously! Everyone else only has to deal with their own...but a mom, she deals with it all.

Opening Day Bulverde Little League

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Worth every minute...

If you have a few minutes or nine, I think you should spend it watching this. That's all I'm going to say about it. I don't want to give you any expectation. Just watch. I dpn't know how to link it to make it clickable so you'll have to exert a tiny bit of extra effort to copy and paste into your search bar.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4


Totally worth it.