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| Paintball, his favorite pastime |
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| What we were doing on 12-12-98!! |
4. Toddler Boy has been particularly fun these days, getting into everything. I see him carrying his little yellow fisher price chair all over the house so he can stand on it to reach things he's not supposed to (guess he hasn't learned that there's a reason we put things out of his reach). I have to admit that teaching him sign language has been sort of fun. I am amazed at how advanced his mind is, having raised four kids before him I thought I understood the mind of a toddler. He is the first one we have used sign language with and it has really helped cut down on the temper tantrums. For example, he may want a drink of water after eating some crackers. Before, I wouldn't know if he wanted:
a. more crackers
b. a drink
c. to finish eating and get down from his high chair
If I couldn't figure it out fast enough he would get frustrated and resort to screaming and batting things out of my hand until I finally got it right. Not fun for anyone. Now he can sign for "more" or "drink" or "all done" so that takes the guesswork out of it. Plus, he knows I understand what he needs so if I can't do it right away (say, I have to get him a cup and fill it) I can tell him "hold on" and he is learning to be patient and wait. Toddler Boy knows I'm working on it, and as long as he knows I understood he can wait for a short period of time. Honestly though, I had no idea people this young could be so expressive and so clearly understand what they want and be able to communicate that to another person. It opens up a whole new world into the mind of a toddler!
5. Along those same lines the women's bible study group I attend has been studying the book "Loving Your Kids on Purpose". Actually, I haven't read the book yet but we've been watching the video series that goes along with the book. It follows the "Love and Logic" principles that I've heard a lot about but haven't actually practiced with my kids until this point. It's always nice to add some new tools to the parenting bag. I got to use some of their stuff this past week at McDonalds when one of my older kids was impatient to get his food and while grabbing his happy meal accidentally knocked over a tray with a soda on it, which then spilled all over his brother's seat and the floor under the table. In the past, my reaction would have been an angry lecture "if you were being more patient and wait for me to hand you your food then this wouldn't have happened" and then frustration because my food would have gotten cold while I went to find something to clean up the mess.
As I felt my blood pressure start to rise I realized that "this is not my problem" and immediately felt my sense of calm and peace return. I turned to my son and calmly said "well, we need to get this mess cleaned up"...the look on his face was priceless, I guess he was expecting me to start lecturing him. I told him it was probably too big to do ourselves and so he needed to go to the workers and ask for something to clean up the mess. He was surprised and responded "can't you do it?" and I said "no, I didn't make this mess so it's not my job to clean it up but I'll help you if you want". His brother offered to help too and between the three of us we had the job done within a few minutes, no big deal. Crisis averted, score one for family harmony.
6. I realize I'm a bit late to post this, but have you been praying with 40 Days for Life? We're over half-way through the fall campaign and we had a twin save at the women's clinic I pray for, exciting stuff! Sadly, this particular clinic has been in business since the 70's, so there have been many countless abortions performed there over the years. Plus, because my state does not have the parental permission or waiting period requirements that the neighboring states have there are many girls that are brought here across state lines to have their abortions, sometimes by their older "boyfriends", and her parents are not even aware of it. This January marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, making abortions legal here in the United States. May God have mercy on us!7. Did you all see Mrs. Fulwiler's take on not answering the phone? I loved it, my friends and family say the same thing about me. Maybe it's because I became a stay at home mom before the Do Not Call list came out. I swear that thing was a lifesaver, we were getting 10 to 15 soliciting calls a day, I kid you not. I had two under two and had to unplug the phone during nap time so it wouldn't wake the kids up. I grew up in a more "disconnected" generation. I remember a time without cell or cordless phones (you know, when you went to answer the phone and then were stuck there until the call ended because the cord wouldn't reach anywhere else)! I remember when nobody had a computer in their house and I took a typing class in high school on actual typewriters. E-mail was a new thing when I was a freshman in college and the internet didn't happen until after I graduated, and even then it was a few years before people had enough sites up to make it worthwhile to search for anything. Don't get me wrong, being connected is nice and I like being able to keep up with my friends and family, especially those who have moved away or ones who I don't get to see on a regular basis. But I have my limits...do I really need to know what you're up to every. single. second. of the day?! I put up with Facebook but I have yet to venture onto Twitter, there's only so many hours in my day.
8. I added in a Quick Take near the beginning and forgot to fix the numbers until I went to post, so this is going to be QT #8 (you get a bonus this week...you can thank me later)! When I was working on number 7 above my computer kept crashing while I was trying to upload the links. I took it as a sign that God wanted me to get off the computer and start paying attention to my family, who are
Have a great weekend and go check out more Quick Takes at Conversion Diary
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