In For It

I have thought this often with regards to little Miss Katie - we are in for it. She is definitely going to be our strong willed, and vocally so, child.

For instance last night we had to run a later errand, just after dinner. Since we were already going to be out and about I thought let’s kill two birds with one stone. So we went to church so I could finish some work…took me about 45 minutes or so. While I am there I put them into one of several of the Sunday morning kids’ rooms to keep them confined, busy and happy so that I am free to do what I need to do where I need to do it. When we come in we are normally there an hour to an hour and a half depending on how technology and I agree. :) So last night was rather short for them with regards to playtime at church.

Well, let me just say when we got home I had a seriously unhappy camper. She screamed, she cried, she grabbed her hat, coat and shoes and proceeded to head back to the door we had come in. She hung on the knob…cried some more, writhed on the floor…all while my husband and I were doing our very best to ignore that ornery little thing. This kept up for 10 minutes or so with no sign of slowing down or rather calming down.

Since we were at bedtime about when we reached home it was a simple executive decision to just pick that girl up who was now a mass of tears, still arching her back and place her in bed in the clothes she had on, the diaper she was in (had changed her an hour before) leaving her teeth unbrushed and handing her a cup of milk (I never do this but tonight it was more for my sake than hers since she hadn’t eaten much dinner and I was in no mood for a midnight snack call). We literally let her cry herself to sleep.

She woke in the night and offered me giggles and smiles so I knew there were no hard feelings…at least on her part! I on the other hand need to figure out just what is going to be effective in getting a handle on this strong willed 3rd child of mine. Sweet mother of mystery I hope she doesn’t send me to the funny farm!

Oh, and note to self: it is a BAD idea to run an errand that ends just about bed time.

Persuasive Letter

The topic for one of Kiersten’s assignments this week was to write a persuasive letter. We mulled over a few topics she could use until she found the one she wanted. Then we made a list of 3 reasons she should use to build her case. I helped her with reason #2…she already had the right idea but I rephrased it for her (you’ll see in the letter, hence the correct spelling). She started the letter out to me and halfway through erased it and put the letter to Dad saying he was the one she really needed on convince. :) There is quite a bit of truth to that statement. We won’t go into how different she is when she asks things of her father vs. me. A whole other story for a whole other day!

She addressed the envelope, added her necessary art and then laid it on Daddy’s pillow for him to find later. Without further ado…let’s see if Miss Kiersten can persuade you.

January 14, 2010
1234 Our House
Familyville, USA
09876

Dear Mom Dad,
I would like a puppy. Here are some reasons I think you should get me one. First of all I would feed and clean up after it. I would also take it to obedience school so it would listen and obey. Lastly it is fun to let it sleep on my bed.

Sincerely,
Sweets

Nine Years

Today makes 9 years of wedded bliss to my Sweet of Sweets. Happy 9th Anniversary Beloved. I love you so. (Isn't he a handsome son of a gun? :)

Incredible Hulk

I forgot to add some things about moving day, the day we moved Isaiah into his own room. There was an ‘incident’, shall we say. I was resting and Isaiah came down to tell me that, “Kiersten broke her bed.” Of course as she is the expert tattle tailor he said it just a little to chipper like – finally able to get one in on her.

Some claims just beg to be investigated and since this sounded like it could mean trouble I went to see. Lifting up her mattress it was easy to see that two of the slats under her bed were busted.

My Beloved was just behind me coming up the stairs so he saw the damage just as soon as I did. Can I just say he was seriously hot under the collar! Kiersten knew she was in some serious, serious trouble. He ranted and raved a bit and then headed off to a hardware store to buy the necessary materials to fix the bed.

This afternoon when I received a call from my mom I was surprised to hear she knew about what happened. She called yesterday afternoon when I had laid down for 30 minutes or so and spoken to Kiersten and gotten the ‘news’. Today she called back, just as I was ready to leave for my doctor’s appointment (sorry for not having time Mom!), and had to share quickly that Kiersten had told her, “Daddy was as mad as the Incredible Hulk!” when she broke the bed. (She's into using similes constantly.)

Oh dear.

It made Mom laugh, me chuckle and gave my Beloved a good laugh as well. Kids, what would we do without them?

Mutt, Jeff & Tallulah Girl

I always think Mutt & Jeff because that is what my dad always used to call my cousin Kjar and I. We are only 10 months apart and when we were younger and lived closer together we were the best of friends. So whenever we were together he called us Mutt & Jeff.

Kiersten and Isaiah are Mutt & Jeff...and then there is Tallulah Girl (don't ask, I don't know). Feisty that one is...but we'll save that for another post. Just wanted to show some pictures of the 2 together and the little one on her own since I have been slacking severely the last few months. :)

I also had to throw a picture in of me and my 'chicks'.

There was a funnier version where Isaiah threw his foot up and in the way of his face so all you see is his hinder sticking out and a foot where his face should be. Classic boy. :) He is such a nut. I'll have to capture some better pictures of him. I really adore the first one at the top where you see his genuine smile and can almost hear the laugh. Oh, that giggle. I shouldn't just say him because all three of them have that contagious laugh/giggle. Something I completely adore.

But I am going on a tangent. Just wanted to post some pictures. :) Have a wonderful day.

A Lonely First Night

Well, the Biggest Man's room is semi-done and at this point habitable. The only remaining issue is the flooring. We are going to carpet it but are still looking at the options (carpet tiles vs. carpeting the whole upstairs) and that will take a little while yet. So in the interim we ran to a local hardware store and purchased a few cheap rugs to put on the floor for now.

This is the room newly painted minus the molding around the base of the room (that was put in just after I took these).

Isaiah said he wanted blue so we went with a lighter blue for the walls. I am not a huge fan of lots of dark walls in a room but didn't necessarily want 'baby' blue either. Not sure if I won out on that last point...but the paint looked nice nonetheless and made Isaiah happy. :)

So this is the 'finished' room with the rugs and furniture. He was so excited to have 'his' room and was moving some books from the other room in so his bookcase wouldn't be empty. Kiersten kept trying to pawn off books that weren't her favorites to fill the shelves and it was funny to hear her offer and then him reply, "No thanks," and proceed to get the books he wanted.

The room isn't much, but it is something. We already had the bed (just separated the bunk beds for now) and the dresser. We grabbed the bookshelf from someone off of Craig's list for a very reasonable amount. Room sweet room.

Or so he thought until bed time.

Poor guy. He was so tired (fell asleep sitting up at 4:30ish) and yet he was still fighting sleep at 10 last night. Even though he could listen to his Jungle Jam every night it just wasn't the same without Kiersten in the room and the room wasn't the same. I sure did feel for him and yet knew he needed to tough it out.

This morning he asked me, "Mom, can I sleep with Kiersten again?"

To which I had to reply, "No, honey. You need to sleep in your own room now."

That was not met with a smile I can assure you. We'll see. It'll take some time. He adores that sister of his...and I am not utterly convinced the feeling isn't mutual as I don't think she slept the best last night either!