Brave Swimmer!

I took the girls swimming today.  We have been trying to teach Payton how to swim without her floaties for a little bit now.  Today she made real progress.  She can swim short lengths, she just struggles when her head goes under.  

As I was laying out, tanning, Payton came over and squeezed a wet ball over my back getting me wet.  

Little stink!

I told her, jokingly, that if she did it again I would throw her into the pool, without her floaties.

She thought she was so cool and brave, she did it again.  So I got my big butt up and chased after her.  You are not supposed to run around the pool so we didn't go far and I gave up.  As she attempted to get me wet again, for the 3rd time, I grabbed her by the arm, carried her over to the 3ft. end and gently tossed her.  Of course keeping close by incase she needed help.  

She did fabulously!!  She came right up and swam over to the stairs.  

I thought this would be the end but she attempted again.  What a dummy!!  This time I grabbed the ball and threw it into the pool.  Not caring where it went cause she didn't have her floaties and she wasn't going to be able to go after it.  As soon as I threw it I turned around laughing to myself.  

HAHAHAHA!

Next thing I knew I heard a splash!  She had jumped in, she jumped right in to go get the ball.  I turned around prepared to jump in and then not believing what I was seeing.  

That little stink got the ball and swam back up to the side of the pool!

I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!  WOW!  I AM SO PROUD OF HER!!  

STAGES?

My kids are driving me crazy!!  I don't know if they are all going through the same stage at the same time or what.  Maybe they feel the stress I am feeling and are acting out.  No matter what it is I am so sick and tired of the way they are acting.

So I tell them to do something.  Lets take for instance I say bed time.  They respond with,

"Mom, but can we stay up 5 more minutes?"

I say lets go get into the car.  They respond with,

"But mom can we stay and play for 5 more minutes?"

I say lets stay for 5 more minutes and then head home.  They respond with,

"But mom can we stay for 10 more minutes?"

You get the picture?

This probably doesn't seem like that big of a deal.  It really is though.  They respond with this......"But Mom can we......."  Every single time I ask them to do something.  

I went off on them the other night.  They did the same routine, I ask them to clean up, get jammies on, brush their teeth and climb into bed.  After every one of the request they came back with a "but mom" response.  So when it came down to the bed and climbing in it, you can imagine that I had enough.  

At the top of my mean mom lungs, and with my mean mom, "I mean business" look,  I yelled,

"I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF YOU GUYS SAYING BUT MOM AND PROLONGING WHAT I AM ASKING YOU TO DO.  WHEN I TELL YOU TO DO SOMETHING SAY YES MA'AM AND THEN JUST DO IT, RIGHT THEN.  I AM NOT TUCKING ANYONE IN AND I AM NOT GIVING ANYONE GOODNIGHT KISSES"

I shut the light off, and slammed the door.

As soon as I walked out all you could hear was crying.  It sounded like there were at least 10 girls in their crying.  

"I want kisses", "Mom come tuck us in", "No mom come back", "MOOOMMMMM"

I didn't go back in for the rest of the night.  I hate nights like this!  I hope this stage ends soon, like tomorrow morning!

Nothing better!

Sure my kids drive me crazy, and they can be out of hand most of the time. 

But there is nothing sweeter than walking into a room and seeing two of them snuggled up together asleep.  

Even though one of them has their mouth wide open, sleeping like an old man, and the other had their eyes somewhat open, very creepy looking, as if they are secretly watching you.  All the while you know they are sound asleep.

I just love it!  They really are so precious and sweet and loving.  And for some reason they just smell sooo good.  (I hope I'm not the only parent that smells their children while they are asleep)

This small and awesome moment makes me just want to have a billion of them.  

I end up staring at them for a while, just taking it in.  I seriously have a hard time walking away.  

Sometimes I will make it to the door, walk out and then peak back in, just to get one more glimpse.

Then other times like today I end up snuggling in next to them, smelling them again and laying my head down next to them, just to fall asleep.  

I love moments like this!

Makes all the bad, rotten, smelly days so worth it!

Are you KIdding me?

Just the other morning I was taking a shower, in my own bathroom, and Madison walks in.  I asked her what she was doing and she said, "going to the bathroom".  Fine, ok, she is allowed to go to the bathroom.  She didn't just pee though.  

So I asked her, "you couldn't wait 10 more minutes to take care of that business or at least gone into the other bathroom?"

She answered No, of course.

Then child number 2, Payton came into the bathroom. Madison is also still in there, doing her business.  Then Reagan came in.  All of a sudden as I am trying to wash up they all start trying to talk to me at once.

"Mom can I do this?"

"Mom Rae did that"

"Mom, Mom,MOMMMM!!!"

I tried to ignore them as long as I could, but they knew I was in there.  It's like they sniff me out.  I repeated, I don't know how many times that I couldn't hear them.  Finally I had to YELL,

"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU"

And so they did.  At that point I said I can't understand when you all talk at once, just go one at a time.  I don't think they understood what that meant so they all started yelling at once.  

I then yelled,

"All of you get out, just get out, I am in the shower and I want you to GET OUT!!!  

Go ask your father."

Can't I have an privacy?  No, the answer to that is no.  There is no privacy in my bedroom or the bathroom or even the shower.  Sorry Moms you get no privacy anywhere.

When I was done showering, I wrapped the towel around me and walked into my bedroom, where my husband was sitting on the bed reading something.  

I asked him how long he had been sitting there?  He said the whole time that I was in the shower.

"Are you kidding me?  

While the girls are in the bathroom yelling and all trying to talk to me at the same time, and all the while I'm yelling back that I can't hear them all and they needed to get out.  You were sitting here nice and quiet and didn't think to help me at all?  Are you kidding me?"

"I didn't hear anything" he says

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

QUESTION OF THE WEEK.....

"I wonder what it is like inside this soccer ball"  
                               -Payton


                                          I didn't have an answer for this one.  

Gum......

While I was visiting my mom in TX we went into Target.  I went right away to customer service and she went to take the younger two girls to the bathroom.  When she came out of the bathroom and met up with me she told me to talk to Payton, to ask her what she has to tell me.  My heart started racing and I started to think of all the things that she might need to say.  As I called for her she started to walk near me and immediately said,"I don't have anything to tell you."  I then started to tell her that Mima (my mom) said she did in fact have something to tell me, when I noticed a big wad of GUM stuck in her hair.  I asked her how in the world she got gum stuck in her hair, she then told me she was just playing with it.  Of course she was just playing with it, what else could it have been.  

I told her I would have to cut off all her hair because she decided to play with her gum in her hair.  

Instead when we got home I got the jar of peanut butter and started to slowly rub it over the gum and it loosened the gum right up.  Within 7 minutes the gum was all out and I stuck her in the bath. 

THANK YOU PEANUT BUTTER!!

What we teach is not always what they hear!!

So of course my husband and I are constantly teaching our children things everyday.  Whether it is about life, religion, manners, respect, money or anything else.  All parents do this.

The girls and I are visiting my parents for 2 weeks in Texas.  My dad and Reagan were coming down the stairs where there is a picture of Jesus Christ.  My dad asked Rae who that was in the picture.  She of course said Jesus and then followed with he died on the cross.  

He said, "Yeah that is right.  Do you know why he died?"

She then tilted her head to the side, stuck her tongue out (as if she was dead) and made the "ehhhh" sound, also as if she was dead!

Pretty sure my Dad said "Do you know why," not, "Do you know what he looked like or what sound he may have made when he died"

What A Silly Girl!

(This may have been funnier in person)