lionel richie had a song called "easy like sunday morning". great song, but the title itself is a contradiction. sundays are anything but easy. apparently, mr. richie never tried getting 2 young divas ready for church.
i've become convinced that the devil will do anything and everything to prevent a person from going to church on sundays. in the past, he's forced me to sleep late, caused fights, and (when ella was younger) made dirty diapers occur just seconds before walking out the door.
this morning, the devil somehow made his way into the girls' closets. he stole a shoe and shrunk some dresses. first of all, madelyn had a sandal to mysteriously disappear. and i mean, we searched everywhere. in the back of her closet, under her bed, in the shoe holder on the back of her door, in the honda, in the nissan, in ella's closet, under ella's bed, in the toy basket downstairs, in my closet, in suitcases. so i merely suggested she wear a different pair of shoes and the world suddenly came crashing down.
"no, i'll just wear another outfit."
"no, you'll just wear different shoes."
"but i want the piiiiiiiiink ones!!!!"
the devil rears his ugly head.
next, i went into ella's room. and it's the strangest thing: all of ella's dresses had mysteriously shrunk. not a single one fit. i swear the child had more clothes than that. the first hit right below her butt. the next could've been worn as a shirt. the white one had a stain, the turquoise one had a rip, last year's easter dress still fits but the shoes don't. and when i pulled out the denim one, ella wrinkled her nose.
"i don't want that one."
we settled on a pale pink one that needed ironing. it didn't get ironed.
how is it that the devil seems to strike when we're at our weakest? when we're vulnerable? when he knows he can get us? that moment hits me almost every sunday morning. i'm rushed, i'm frantic, but i'm trying my best to do the lord's will...and he absolutely hates it.
so with a wrinkled dress, the "wrong" shoes, and my hair looking as crazy as i feel...we made it to church. on time, even. sorry, devil...you lose.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
a real woman can take her kids to walmart...and survive
every mother knows that there is time in her child's life when she would rather not take them to a restaurant to eat. i'm talking about a restaurant where you have to wait to be seated, order from a menu, and drink from glasses instead of paper cups with lids and straws. a "sit-down" restaurant, if you will. you choose the restaurant based upon which one plays the loudest music to drown out your crying baby/screaming toddler/etc. the age varies from child to child, but it is somewhere between the age where they stop sleeping in their pumpkin seat throughout the entire meal and when they're old enough to order for themselves. you know, that age.
on the other hand, there is a whole different set of age guidelines for taking children shopping. shopping with children does not become enjoyable until they are much, much older. shopping with multiple children is even less enjoyable, no matter the age. or maybe my children just haven't reached that age yet.
today, i took madelyn and ella to walmart to do a little grocery shopping. i usually save such a task for when i'm alone, but i was getting stir crazy and wanted to get out of the house, so we went. it started out badly when ella started crying before we even got out of the car because i turned off the ignition while she was listening to oasis' "champagne supernova". the crying continued when i told her that she was going to to ride in the basket, whether she liked it or not. so she climbed in the back instead of the front where she was supposed to. i pick my battles, so i wasn't going to complain that her occupancy of my cart was going to hinder me from placing groceries there. then madelyn chimed in, "my feet hurt...can i ride in the front?"
"madelyn, i really don't think your butt will fit...you can walk or get in with ella."
"no, i don't wanna get in!"
"then you will walk."
"but i don't wanna!"
"then we will go home."
"fine. i'll walk."
all of this before we even got inside.
walmart on wilma rudolph stresses me out anyway, since they've started their renovation project. i have no clue where anything is. a few weeks ago, the bottled water was in the lingerie department. but when you add children to the mix, it increases the panic attack factor to alarmingly high levels. ella decided she wanted to go to sleep and proceeded to curl up in the fetal position in the cart. good...at least if she's asleep, she won't whine. but then she insisted i buy a beach towel so that she could have a "pillow", and screamed when i refused. madelyn kept trying to ride on the end of the cart, which made it difficult to push and turn, and also made ella want to get out of the cart and do the same thing.
"can i just lay on the rails underneath the cart?" she asked at one point. um, no, madelyn. you're not a case of cokes. but thanks for asking.
but my breaking point was when she informed me that she had lost a shoe. she was standing on the rail at the end of the cart, against my better judgement, and somehow the darn thing just disappeared.
"madelyn, when did you lose it?"
"i don't know. not too long ago."
"ok...was it just now? did it slip off? did you fling it? i mean, why...why is it not on your foot?"
"um...it just kinda came off...it's here somewhere..."
so we began to look. no shoe. i stepped out of the aisle and looked left and right...no shoe. i looked at the rails under the cart, where madelyn had earlier wanted to position herself like a big bag of dog food. nothing.
"madelyn, honey...how long has it been since you had the shoe on your foot?"
"i don't know."
so we retraced our steps. and about 5 aisles back, on the other side of the store, sat a lone, pink shoe.
we won't even talk about the checkout line, the requests for candy and gum and a drink and all of the other items walmart stocks at the front of the store to tantalize young kids. or the fact that i walked in with a list of groceries and only came out with a gallon of milk, tub of blue bonnet butter, and a case of bottled water. oh, yeah...and about a shred of my sanity. i did leave with that.
on the other hand, there is a whole different set of age guidelines for taking children shopping. shopping with children does not become enjoyable until they are much, much older. shopping with multiple children is even less enjoyable, no matter the age. or maybe my children just haven't reached that age yet.
today, i took madelyn and ella to walmart to do a little grocery shopping. i usually save such a task for when i'm alone, but i was getting stir crazy and wanted to get out of the house, so we went. it started out badly when ella started crying before we even got out of the car because i turned off the ignition while she was listening to oasis' "champagne supernova". the crying continued when i told her that she was going to to ride in the basket, whether she liked it or not. so she climbed in the back instead of the front where she was supposed to. i pick my battles, so i wasn't going to complain that her occupancy of my cart was going to hinder me from placing groceries there. then madelyn chimed in, "my feet hurt...can i ride in the front?"
"madelyn, i really don't think your butt will fit...you can walk or get in with ella."
"no, i don't wanna get in!"
"then you will walk."
"but i don't wanna!"
"then we will go home."
"fine. i'll walk."
all of this before we even got inside.
walmart on wilma rudolph stresses me out anyway, since they've started their renovation project. i have no clue where anything is. a few weeks ago, the bottled water was in the lingerie department. but when you add children to the mix, it increases the panic attack factor to alarmingly high levels. ella decided she wanted to go to sleep and proceeded to curl up in the fetal position in the cart. good...at least if she's asleep, she won't whine. but then she insisted i buy a beach towel so that she could have a "pillow", and screamed when i refused. madelyn kept trying to ride on the end of the cart, which made it difficult to push and turn, and also made ella want to get out of the cart and do the same thing.
"can i just lay on the rails underneath the cart?" she asked at one point. um, no, madelyn. you're not a case of cokes. but thanks for asking.
but my breaking point was when she informed me that she had lost a shoe. she was standing on the rail at the end of the cart, against my better judgement, and somehow the darn thing just disappeared.
"madelyn, when did you lose it?"
"i don't know. not too long ago."
"ok...was it just now? did it slip off? did you fling it? i mean, why...why is it not on your foot?"
"um...it just kinda came off...it's here somewhere..."
so we began to look. no shoe. i stepped out of the aisle and looked left and right...no shoe. i looked at the rails under the cart, where madelyn had earlier wanted to position herself like a big bag of dog food. nothing.
"madelyn, honey...how long has it been since you had the shoe on your foot?"
"i don't know."
so we retraced our steps. and about 5 aisles back, on the other side of the store, sat a lone, pink shoe.
we won't even talk about the checkout line, the requests for candy and gum and a drink and all of the other items walmart stocks at the front of the store to tantalize young kids. or the fact that i walked in with a list of groceries and only came out with a gallon of milk, tub of blue bonnet butter, and a case of bottled water. oh, yeah...and about a shred of my sanity. i did leave with that.
Monday, May 24, 2010
are we raising meaner kids?
in the infamous words of alice cooper..."schooooool's out for summer...." that much anticipated time has finally arrived when my soon-to-be 2nd grader gets to spend all day, 5 days a week, with her beloved gran. i don't think this time of year brings as much joy to gran, but that's neither here nor there.
what i remember from being a child and how i viewed my nannie is quite a bit different than how my girls view their gran. she was a 'grandmother' in every stereotyped sense of the word. she got her hair rolled once a week. she wore glasses. she baked cookies. she wore sas orthopedic shoes. i loved her dearly, but most importantly, i respected her. after all, how can you disrespect a little old lady?
i suppose this is why i find it very strange when my children "act up" when they visit gran and papaw. don't get me wrong, i participated in my share of mischief at nannie and papa's house as a child. i vaguely remember my cousin, kyle, and i getting in trouble for turning on the outside water spout when we were instructed not to (strangely enough, this is the same cousin with whom i got into trouble at his house for hosing down the inside walls of their garage...what was up with us causing chaos with water?) but aside from that, i don't recall ever doing anything that nannie told me not to do. my girls, on the other hand, have back-talked, thrown screaming fits, name-called, and deliberately disobeyed my parents. but what really put the icing on the cake is when, just last week, mom told me that ella had called her "stupid". really? are you kidding me? my 3 year old told her grandmother that she's stupid? i didn't raise her this way!
maybe this "freedom of speech" has come about because my girls are so comfortable with my parents. from the time madelyn was 2 years old, my mother was like a 2nd mother to her. she watched her from the time i started working full time in 2005, and when ella was born in 2007, she started watching her, too. or maybe it's because today's grandmothers don't seem so "grandmotherly". they aren't the white-haired little women that i traditionally think of when i think of a grandmother.
but could it be that we are raising disrespectful kids, even if unintentionally? i'd like to think that this isn't the case, but i can't help but think of how children acted 50 years ago. would opie ever have told aunt bea that she was stupid? i strongly doubt it. of course, aunt bea probably didn't even use the word "stupid", herself. i admit i've been guilty of using negative expressions ("this computer is getting on my nerves! this stupid internet is so slow!") and as a result, my children may think it's ok to say these things to, um, their grandmother. as a society, we seem to be straying away from the morals and values and manners that were instilled in our grandparents and our parents...and in us. i must say that i am always prompting a "thank you" out of my children by saying "what do you say?" when they are given a compliment or a gift. and i know that my mom has been working with them on their "ma'ams" and "sirs". so maybe it's not too late to raise well mannered, respectful children. hmm, ella just flung herself on the ground, screaming and writhing in anger over a weeble toy. ok, so maybe we still have a little work to do.
what i remember from being a child and how i viewed my nannie is quite a bit different than how my girls view their gran. she was a 'grandmother' in every stereotyped sense of the word. she got her hair rolled once a week. she wore glasses. she baked cookies. she wore sas orthopedic shoes. i loved her dearly, but most importantly, i respected her. after all, how can you disrespect a little old lady?
i suppose this is why i find it very strange when my children "act up" when they visit gran and papaw. don't get me wrong, i participated in my share of mischief at nannie and papa's house as a child. i vaguely remember my cousin, kyle, and i getting in trouble for turning on the outside water spout when we were instructed not to (strangely enough, this is the same cousin with whom i got into trouble at his house for hosing down the inside walls of their garage...what was up with us causing chaos with water?) but aside from that, i don't recall ever doing anything that nannie told me not to do. my girls, on the other hand, have back-talked, thrown screaming fits, name-called, and deliberately disobeyed my parents. but what really put the icing on the cake is when, just last week, mom told me that ella had called her "stupid". really? are you kidding me? my 3 year old told her grandmother that she's stupid? i didn't raise her this way!
maybe this "freedom of speech" has come about because my girls are so comfortable with my parents. from the time madelyn was 2 years old, my mother was like a 2nd mother to her. she watched her from the time i started working full time in 2005, and when ella was born in 2007, she started watching her, too. or maybe it's because today's grandmothers don't seem so "grandmotherly". they aren't the white-haired little women that i traditionally think of when i think of a grandmother.
but could it be that we are raising disrespectful kids, even if unintentionally? i'd like to think that this isn't the case, but i can't help but think of how children acted 50 years ago. would opie ever have told aunt bea that she was stupid? i strongly doubt it. of course, aunt bea probably didn't even use the word "stupid", herself. i admit i've been guilty of using negative expressions ("this computer is getting on my nerves! this stupid internet is so slow!") and as a result, my children may think it's ok to say these things to, um, their grandmother. as a society, we seem to be straying away from the morals and values and manners that were instilled in our grandparents and our parents...and in us. i must say that i am always prompting a "thank you" out of my children by saying "what do you say?" when they are given a compliment or a gift. and i know that my mom has been working with them on their "ma'ams" and "sirs". so maybe it's not too late to raise well mannered, respectful children. hmm, ella just flung herself on the ground, screaming and writhing in anger over a weeble toy. ok, so maybe we still have a little work to do.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
in my daughters' eyes
"i don't like your attitude, madelyn."
this sentence came out of my 3 year old's mouth today. the girls were playing, and madelyn had done something to make ella mad. so ella verbally reprimanded her.
of course, i had to laugh. but then i thought, "where did she get that? oh....yeah....those exact words came out of my mouth the other day when madelyn got smart with me..."
children are sharp. and they pick up on things when we think they aren't listening. this can be a good thing; like if you try to teach your child something and you don't think they're paying attention until they can recite it back to you. but sometimes they're listening when you really wish they weren't. like when you get road rage and yell at the other drivers on the road, only to have your daughter screaming "come on slowpoke, it's green!" the next time the two of you are sitting at a light and the car in front of you just sits there (um, yeah...true story).
one of the funniest things i've ever seen my girls do is the first time (because they've done this more than once) that they pretended to be me and brian. it was one night after we had both gotten off work and our shoes were by the front door. madelyn put on brian's shoes and ella slipped on mine. once they were "in our shoes", they became "us".
"oh, i'm tired. i'm going to lay in the recliner and watch tv," madelyn said in as deep a voice as she could make.
"i'm going to get on the computer. girls, will you please pick your stuff up!" ella said, also changing her voice.
we were cracking up, of course, because it was hilarious. but seriously, is this how our children see us? brian is always kicked back in the recliner and i'm always barking orders? when you see your child do something or hear them say something that sounds vaguely familiar--and then you realize that the reason it is familiar is because you just did or said the exact same thing the day before--it really puts things in perspective. moral of the story? watch your words. watch your actions. because your kids are always watching you!
this sentence came out of my 3 year old's mouth today. the girls were playing, and madelyn had done something to make ella mad. so ella verbally reprimanded her.
of course, i had to laugh. but then i thought, "where did she get that? oh....yeah....those exact words came out of my mouth the other day when madelyn got smart with me..."
children are sharp. and they pick up on things when we think they aren't listening. this can be a good thing; like if you try to teach your child something and you don't think they're paying attention until they can recite it back to you. but sometimes they're listening when you really wish they weren't. like when you get road rage and yell at the other drivers on the road, only to have your daughter screaming "come on slowpoke, it's green!" the next time the two of you are sitting at a light and the car in front of you just sits there (um, yeah...true story).
one of the funniest things i've ever seen my girls do is the first time (because they've done this more than once) that they pretended to be me and brian. it was one night after we had both gotten off work and our shoes were by the front door. madelyn put on brian's shoes and ella slipped on mine. once they were "in our shoes", they became "us".
"oh, i'm tired. i'm going to lay in the recliner and watch tv," madelyn said in as deep a voice as she could make.
"i'm going to get on the computer. girls, will you please pick your stuff up!" ella said, also changing her voice.
we were cracking up, of course, because it was hilarious. but seriously, is this how our children see us? brian is always kicked back in the recliner and i'm always barking orders? when you see your child do something or hear them say something that sounds vaguely familiar--and then you realize that the reason it is familiar is because you just did or said the exact same thing the day before--it really puts things in perspective. moral of the story? watch your words. watch your actions. because your kids are always watching you!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
in honor of dear ol' mom
mom has started reading my blog. she seemed a bit huffy the other day when she told me that she had read some of my posts. then, after a few minutes, she said, "what, do you think i don't know fashion? because i made you wear this horrible white sweater with pink pants in the 3rd grade?"
mom is so funny. and i could tell a million funny stories about her. but she would get offended and think that i was making fun of her, when really i'm not. if i didn't love her dearly and think that she was the greatest mother on earth, i wouldn't bother even telling the stories. so i won't mention the words and sayings that she comes up with that we are pretty certain that she made up herself. and i won't talk about how silly she is with my girls, although that is one of the reasons they love her so much. but i will tell about the other things that make her great, in the hopes that she doesn't think i'm "making fun".
i was a momma's girl when i was little. i was devastated when i had to start kindergarten and leave her side, and i cried for weeks. but being a momma's girl was short-lived, and throughout my teen years, we most definitely clashed. i think maybe all girls go through that with their mothers, so i guess i better start preparing myself now. i never felt like i could talk to her about "stuff". i don't think it was so much her; maybe it was just my age or my own personality that made me feel like i couldn't talk to her. you know how you hear about girls who say that their mother is their best friend and they could talk to her about absolutely anything? that wasn't me.
i remember being embarrassed to tell her that i wanted to start wearing a bra. i think i wrote her a note or something. i don't remember talking to her about boys. or that dreaded 3 letter word that starts with an 's' and ends with an 'x'. and at 23, when i had to tell her that i was pregnant...unmarried and pregnant...it was just as difficult as if i were still a teenager.
but in the past 8 years, i've realized things about my mom that i never saw before. or perhaps i saw them but just didn't appreciate them. she's so completely fair with all of us girls. if she bought my lunch one day, she'd make sure she did something special for alecia and jennifer, too. she's funny. she's silly. certain aspects of my mothering style are a lot like hers, and i'm becoming more and more like her every day. i hope that my girls feel like they can talk to me about anything and everything as they get older. i'd like to be considered as the 'cool' mom. but if they feel they can't come to me, or if they think i'm totally uncool, i'll understand, because i was young once too. lately, i've found myself saying "oh my gosh, i'm becoming my mother" on more than one occasion. and you know what? that isn't a bad thing. not in the least.
mom is so funny. and i could tell a million funny stories about her. but she would get offended and think that i was making fun of her, when really i'm not. if i didn't love her dearly and think that she was the greatest mother on earth, i wouldn't bother even telling the stories. so i won't mention the words and sayings that she comes up with that we are pretty certain that she made up herself. and i won't talk about how silly she is with my girls, although that is one of the reasons they love her so much. but i will tell about the other things that make her great, in the hopes that she doesn't think i'm "making fun".
i was a momma's girl when i was little. i was devastated when i had to start kindergarten and leave her side, and i cried for weeks. but being a momma's girl was short-lived, and throughout my teen years, we most definitely clashed. i think maybe all girls go through that with their mothers, so i guess i better start preparing myself now. i never felt like i could talk to her about "stuff". i don't think it was so much her; maybe it was just my age or my own personality that made me feel like i couldn't talk to her. you know how you hear about girls who say that their mother is their best friend and they could talk to her about absolutely anything? that wasn't me.
i remember being embarrassed to tell her that i wanted to start wearing a bra. i think i wrote her a note or something. i don't remember talking to her about boys. or that dreaded 3 letter word that starts with an 's' and ends with an 'x'. and at 23, when i had to tell her that i was pregnant...unmarried and pregnant...it was just as difficult as if i were still a teenager.
but in the past 8 years, i've realized things about my mom that i never saw before. or perhaps i saw them but just didn't appreciate them. she's so completely fair with all of us girls. if she bought my lunch one day, she'd make sure she did something special for alecia and jennifer, too. she's funny. she's silly. certain aspects of my mothering style are a lot like hers, and i'm becoming more and more like her every day. i hope that my girls feel like they can talk to me about anything and everything as they get older. i'd like to be considered as the 'cool' mom. but if they feel they can't come to me, or if they think i'm totally uncool, i'll understand, because i was young once too. lately, i've found myself saying "oh my gosh, i'm becoming my mother" on more than one occasion. and you know what? that isn't a bad thing. not in the least.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
this was the best day ever!
we live about 2 miles from dunbar cave park, so monday after work, i took the girls and delilah down to where the road has been blocked off to see the effects of the flood. we took pictures, and the girls were amazed by the fact that the same grassy hill that they had rolled down just a few weeks before was now almost entirely covered in water. when we got back in the car, madelyn said, "this was fun, wasn't it, mom?" in her mind, we weren't viewing the aftermath of a horrible natural disaster. we were simply spending time together, walking along the waterside and watching ducks swim across a lake in the middle of the road.
i can think of a few times that the girls have declared that "this is the best day ever". like the time i wanted to get out of the house, so we went driving around and ended up at baskin robbins. or the time i bought paint and canvases and let them create masterpieces to hang in their rooms. or madelyn going to watch the new 'alice in wonderland' movie in 3D with her daddy. and ella still talks about the time she went with gran and papaw to cumberland falls (although that has been about a year ago, and the fact that her 3 year old brain can remember something that happened when she was 2 amazes me). of course, they also remember some not-so-happy moments. like the time madelyn ate so many jelly beans she threw up (that was almost 4 years ago and she still refuses to touch a jelly bean). or, more recently, having to watch their beloved pet die.
of course, some of my fondest memories growing up are family vacations to the beach and to the mountains. but there are tons of other memories that stand out in my mind. memories that are just...ordinary. like riding with daddy in the truck and listening to a mixed tape that he had made. to this day, i cannot hear 'mississippi squirrel revival' or 'seven spanish angels' without thinking of daddy and a semi-truck. or the time mom said we were going to get buttercups, and i got excited thinking she meant we were going to the store to buy reese's peanut butter cups. how disappointed i was when instead we went walking out in the field to pick flowers and i didn't get a single piece of the chocolate-covered peanut butter yumminess that i had eagerly anticipated.
i think my first memories date back to when i was 3 or 4. i'm certain that i can't remember anything that happened prior to that. which means that events that take place in ella's life right now, she should be able to recall when she's my age. it makes me wonder, with every word that comes out of my mouth and with every place that i take my girls and with everything that we do together...what is going to stand out in their minds when they get older?
i can think of a few times that the girls have declared that "this is the best day ever". like the time i wanted to get out of the house, so we went driving around and ended up at baskin robbins. or the time i bought paint and canvases and let them create masterpieces to hang in their rooms. or madelyn going to watch the new 'alice in wonderland' movie in 3D with her daddy. and ella still talks about the time she went with gran and papaw to cumberland falls (although that has been about a year ago, and the fact that her 3 year old brain can remember something that happened when she was 2 amazes me). of course, they also remember some not-so-happy moments. like the time madelyn ate so many jelly beans she threw up (that was almost 4 years ago and she still refuses to touch a jelly bean). or, more recently, having to watch their beloved pet die.
of course, some of my fondest memories growing up are family vacations to the beach and to the mountains. but there are tons of other memories that stand out in my mind. memories that are just...ordinary. like riding with daddy in the truck and listening to a mixed tape that he had made. to this day, i cannot hear 'mississippi squirrel revival' or 'seven spanish angels' without thinking of daddy and a semi-truck. or the time mom said we were going to get buttercups, and i got excited thinking she meant we were going to the store to buy reese's peanut butter cups. how disappointed i was when instead we went walking out in the field to pick flowers and i didn't get a single piece of the chocolate-covered peanut butter yumminess that i had eagerly anticipated.
i think my first memories date back to when i was 3 or 4. i'm certain that i can't remember anything that happened prior to that. which means that events that take place in ella's life right now, she should be able to recall when she's my age. it makes me wonder, with every word that comes out of my mouth and with every place that i take my girls and with everything that we do together...what is going to stand out in their minds when they get older?
Saturday, May 1, 2010
just add water
i was never taught how to cook. i'm not blaming my mom, or nannie, or any other female figure in my life when i was growing up. i mean, do moms still do that? take their daughters into the kitchen and teach them how to whip up meringue? maybe they do. mom once said that she may be partially to blame because when my sisters and i were younger, she would tell us to justgo play or watch tv until she was finished with dinner instead of inviting us in there to show us how it was done (which makes me think...perhaps my impatience was inherited from my mother?) and nannie, god rest her soul, was a student of the "pinch of this, dash of that" school, from which i completely flunked out. i tried that with smoked salmon dip once because i couldn't remember how much of what went into the recipe. the outcome was not good. it's not that i'm complaining; i'm just making an observation. but as a result, i'm not a good cook to this day. luckily, my husband is.
i have had several instances of recipes gone bad. like the corn pudding that i tried to make 2 thanksgivings ago. it wasn't that i didn't prepare it correctly, it's just that my oven is too hot. so my burnt-to-a-crisp creation ended up in the trash, i ended up crying my eyes out, and the family ended up at kroger buying pie to take to the kennedy family function. and twice, i screwed up hamburger helper. the first time is because i mixed everything together instead of preparing the cheese sauce separately. the second time, i used soy milk instead of regular milk, which would've been fine had i remembered that i bought the vanilla flavored instead of plain. and just last night, i added too much milk to some "just add milk" muffin mix.
i doubt my girls want to learn how to make soupy muffins and vanilla hamburger helper. yet, for some reason, my girls still think that i'm the greatest. madelyn thinks my "homemade" pancakes (read: pancakes made from mix in which you just add water) are the best she's ever had. and the phrase "you're the best cook ever" has actually come out of ella's mouth after eating ramen noodles to which i "just added water". but what else do i have to teach them? well, i take them to church and teach them about god. they know how to pray (even though ella still says "a minute" instead of "amen"). they are in the process of learning how to pick up after themselves. they know to say "please" and "thank you". i tell them stories about when i was little, and about their great-grandparents so they know where they came from. they can responsibly drive a barbie jeep, which i think will serve them well when they get older and learn to drive a real vehicle. they also know that you can't wear white before easter or after labor day. and how to eat with chopsticks. they appreciate good music. madelyn knows that jim morrison was the lead singer for the doors, and led zeppelin's "going to california" used to be one of the only songs that would make ella stop crying in the car when she was a baby. so maybe i'm not a chef and can't keep a spider plant alive. but for everything that i have taught and will teach my girls, they think i'm the greatest. and really, that's all that matters to me.... hopefully one of their grandmothers can teach them all the domestic stuff.
i have had several instances of recipes gone bad. like the corn pudding that i tried to make 2 thanksgivings ago. it wasn't that i didn't prepare it correctly, it's just that my oven is too hot. so my burnt-to-a-crisp creation ended up in the trash, i ended up crying my eyes out, and the family ended up at kroger buying pie to take to the kennedy family function. and twice, i screwed up hamburger helper. the first time is because i mixed everything together instead of preparing the cheese sauce separately. the second time, i used soy milk instead of regular milk, which would've been fine had i remembered that i bought the vanilla flavored instead of plain. and just last night, i added too much milk to some "just add milk" muffin mix.
i doubt my girls want to learn how to make soupy muffins and vanilla hamburger helper. yet, for some reason, my girls still think that i'm the greatest. madelyn thinks my "homemade" pancakes (read: pancakes made from mix in which you just add water) are the best she's ever had. and the phrase "you're the best cook ever" has actually come out of ella's mouth after eating ramen noodles to which i "just added water". but what else do i have to teach them? well, i take them to church and teach them about god. they know how to pray (even though ella still says "a minute" instead of "amen"). they are in the process of learning how to pick up after themselves. they know to say "please" and "thank you". i tell them stories about when i was little, and about their great-grandparents so they know where they came from. they can responsibly drive a barbie jeep, which i think will serve them well when they get older and learn to drive a real vehicle. they also know that you can't wear white before easter or after labor day. and how to eat with chopsticks. they appreciate good music. madelyn knows that jim morrison was the lead singer for the doors, and led zeppelin's "going to california" used to be one of the only songs that would make ella stop crying in the car when she was a baby. so maybe i'm not a chef and can't keep a spider plant alive. but for everything that i have taught and will teach my girls, they think i'm the greatest. and really, that's all that matters to me.... hopefully one of their grandmothers can teach them all the domestic stuff.
just a little patience...
when did i lose my patience? i swear that i used to have tons of it. i think that the loss occurred somewhere around 2005, coincidentally around the time madelyn turned 2. yep, i'm pretty certain that my patience flew out the window during those temper-throwing, potty-training, incessant-talking, terrible twos. add ella to the mix, and now my fuse is so short that it's safe to say that it is nonexistent. as we speak, she is singing a made-up song about yogurt (and how she wants some--NOW) at the top of her lungs. she's been singing it for 10 minutes. i'm about to go berserk.
the day started off rough. maybe it's the dreary weather. or the fact that i slept later than normal, which tends to throw me off kilter. or the fact that i don't have an i.v. of caffeine hooked up to me during the night, so it takes me a good 20 minutes and 2 cups of coffee in the morning before i can function or handle anything or anybody. and before i could even blindly stumble to the kitchen to brew a pot of that glorious beverage that brings me to life, madelyn starts telling a story. this would've been fine, except sometimes when madelyn tells a story, she gets off track and starts stuttering and stammering around and forgets what she's talking about, and says things like "...and like...and then...um, so...like...(giggles)...what was i saying? oh yeah..ok...so..." this was one of those times. so after 15 minutes, she was finally able to deliver this epic tale of how she was at aunt jen's one time and drank sprite from a coffee cup. and i had to smile, because in a way it made me laugh. but i also had to say, "really, madelyn? all of that time to tell me about sprite?" and she just laughed.
i love my girls with all my heart and couldn't imagine life without them. still, i have to wonder...is it just me? is it in my nature to be impatient and get frustrated over tiny details? is it because i'm stressed out? or do children just make us this way?
the day started off rough. maybe it's the dreary weather. or the fact that i slept later than normal, which tends to throw me off kilter. or the fact that i don't have an i.v. of caffeine hooked up to me during the night, so it takes me a good 20 minutes and 2 cups of coffee in the morning before i can function or handle anything or anybody. and before i could even blindly stumble to the kitchen to brew a pot of that glorious beverage that brings me to life, madelyn starts telling a story. this would've been fine, except sometimes when madelyn tells a story, she gets off track and starts stuttering and stammering around and forgets what she's talking about, and says things like "...and like...and then...um, so...like...(giggles)...what was i saying? oh yeah..ok...so..." this was one of those times. so after 15 minutes, she was finally able to deliver this epic tale of how she was at aunt jen's one time and drank sprite from a coffee cup. and i had to smile, because in a way it made me laugh. but i also had to say, "really, madelyn? all of that time to tell me about sprite?" and she just laughed.
i love my girls with all my heart and couldn't imagine life without them. still, i have to wonder...is it just me? is it in my nature to be impatient and get frustrated over tiny details? is it because i'm stressed out? or do children just make us this way?
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