This has been one of those hard days with Anna Beth. I have been working hard on my day off to prepare things for her birthday party on Saturday and Anna Beth has done everything in her power to destroy the house.
Everywhere that she has gone today, there has been disaster in her wake! I readied a box of toys that the child has not played with in a year to go up to the attic. She promptly emptied the entire box while I had moved on to another room. I went downstairs to clean up down there and after I left the living room, she opened all of her DVD's and scattered them on the floor. I put stuff in the closet and she took it out. I baked her birthday cake and she screamed because she did not get to help. I washed the spoon and she screamed because she did not get to lick it. She got into the closet and emptied an entire bottle of glue onto my carpet and a TV tray.
I am so tired of getting on to her, putting her in timeout, taking stuff away, yelling at her. Today I need a break from being, "Mommy!" I am embarrased to say it because we are supposed to be patient in every situation but I am just tired of dealing with a 3 year old's drama! I litterally had to put her to bed and let her know that, "Mommy was going to her room to calm down." Then I lay on the bed and cried. I know that His grace is sufficient, but today, I am just not feeling
Monday, May 4, 2009
Day Of Sucess! Dated 3-5-08
Day of Success!
Anna Beth is offically 3 years old today!
She was confused all day because she knew that her party was not today and she was afraid that we were going to take her birthday cake to school instead of having her party. She argued with us and teacher's alike that it was not her birthday! LOL
For her birthday she reached another mile stone. She stayed in big girl panties all day at school. What a wonderful way to top off a birthday! We are so proud of her and look forward to losing the pull-ups all together over the next few months!
Anna Beth is offically 3 years old today!
She was confused all day because she knew that her party was not today and she was afraid that we were going to take her birthday cake to school instead of having her party. She argued with us and teacher's alike that it was not her birthday! LOL
For her birthday she reached another mile stone. She stayed in big girl panties all day at school. What a wonderful way to top off a birthday! We are so proud of her and look forward to losing the pull-ups all together over the next few months!
Out Of Her Mouth dated-4-4-09
Friday, April 04, 2008
Out of her mouth...
I have listed a few things that have come out of Anna Beth’s mouth in the last week or so. They are too funny not to share so here you go!
What’s your problem?
How’d that happen?
Let me think...
Ridem cowboy, go horsey!
You have a nice day Mommy? You have fun today?
Hey, you don’t do that! Ughhhh! (this is usually with arm gestures)
I’m pretty, uh-huh!
Ok, what you want to eat?
Shrek go potty, that’s nasty!
Daddy need to go night-night.
I sooo tired...
Daddy, you want some hot tea or orange juice?
I love you so much Boots!
Boots! You not scratch Mommy’s couch, that’s no!
I love my friends. Yeah, cause they love me too! Yeah...
I want..... How’s that sound?
You stay out here Daddy, I’m tired of your games!
Out of her mouth...
I have listed a few things that have come out of Anna Beth’s mouth in the last week or so. They are too funny not to share so here you go!
What’s your problem?
How’d that happen?
Let me think...
Ridem cowboy, go horsey!
You have a nice day Mommy? You have fun today?
Hey, you don’t do that! Ughhhh! (this is usually with arm gestures)
I’m pretty, uh-huh!
Ok, what you want to eat?
Shrek go potty, that’s nasty!
Daddy need to go night-night.
I sooo tired...
Daddy, you want some hot tea or orange juice?
I love you so much Boots!
Boots! You not scratch Mommy’s couch, that’s no!
I love my friends. Yeah, cause they love me too! Yeah...
I want..... How’s that sound?
You stay out here Daddy, I’m tired of your games!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Lessons in the Tub
I have just recently started back full-time, albeit temporarily, while my co-worker is on maternity leave. This has been a real adjustment for our little family as I have not worked full-time in 4 years and Anna Beth has always had mommy home 2 days a week. In the process, I have discovered something very special.
Anna Beth and I had gotten in a rut lately. I have projects going on around the house constantly since we moved in and there never seems to be an end to the painting, unpacking, and the regular cleaning and cooking. The reason Brian and I made the priority of me working 30 hours, 3 days a week had gone by the way-side... our girl! Those special days of crafts and cooking and learning had become a lower priority and were justified by all the "things" that needed to be done.
Since I just started back I have worked harder at listening when she talks and answering her crazy questions. As many stay at home moms know, their voices can at times feel more like a burden than a blessing. I have discovered ways to make those ordinary moments special... like the bathtub. Tonight my girl was in rare form and was full of dramatics. Every sentence out of her mouth was funny and emphasised with hand gestures. (she got this from her mommy) Anna Beth has a thirst for knowledge and it can be a challenge to find things to teach her off the cuff. Tonight bath-time started out with the usual banter and I decided to take the opportunity to talk about the 5 senses. She caught on quickly and understood how God gave us the 5 senses so we can appreciate the world that He created for us. From there we moved to opposites such as, "if you are hot, then you must not be... cold!" Next came the shapes around the bathroom and we ended with our review of our phone number and how to spell her full name. By the end, I was tired and had a renewed appreciation for Anna Beth's personality and discovery of everything around her.
While, there are still some parts of her attitude I could live without, this time has made me grateful for how special she is once again. Even the attitude, I have found ways to delight in. Just for instance, tonight, she was begging for a snack before dinner and I refused to cave. She actually came out and said, "You have got to be kidding me, daddy lets me have one before dinner!" While I did not appreciate the tone behind it, her speech was delightful! LOL Anna Beth has also recently become fascinated with using, "Mommy, did you know...?" before every sentence. I also over-heard her saying to daddy, "Mommy is over there but you cannot see her because her is short and her face can't stick up"
All this to say, while I will be grateful for the time when I can return to my old schedule, I am grateful for the reminder from God that it is not just about the time that you spend with them, but also how you use the time. Those family dinners around the table are to discover how each others emotions have affected their day. Clean up time is about teaching responsibility. Cuddle time is about affirming the love for each other. Story time is about growing the imagination. Bible is about training her to be a Godly woman that seeks God's heart before her own and last but not least... prayer time to to understand where our hearts are at the moment.
Anna Beth and I had gotten in a rut lately. I have projects going on around the house constantly since we moved in and there never seems to be an end to the painting, unpacking, and the regular cleaning and cooking. The reason Brian and I made the priority of me working 30 hours, 3 days a week had gone by the way-side... our girl! Those special days of crafts and cooking and learning had become a lower priority and were justified by all the "things" that needed to be done.
Since I just started back I have worked harder at listening when she talks and answering her crazy questions. As many stay at home moms know, their voices can at times feel more like a burden than a blessing. I have discovered ways to make those ordinary moments special... like the bathtub. Tonight my girl was in rare form and was full of dramatics. Every sentence out of her mouth was funny and emphasised with hand gestures. (she got this from her mommy) Anna Beth has a thirst for knowledge and it can be a challenge to find things to teach her off the cuff. Tonight bath-time started out with the usual banter and I decided to take the opportunity to talk about the 5 senses. She caught on quickly and understood how God gave us the 5 senses so we can appreciate the world that He created for us. From there we moved to opposites such as, "if you are hot, then you must not be... cold!" Next came the shapes around the bathroom and we ended with our review of our phone number and how to spell her full name. By the end, I was tired and had a renewed appreciation for Anna Beth's personality and discovery of everything around her.
While, there are still some parts of her attitude I could live without, this time has made me grateful for how special she is once again. Even the attitude, I have found ways to delight in. Just for instance, tonight, she was begging for a snack before dinner and I refused to cave. She actually came out and said, "You have got to be kidding me, daddy lets me have one before dinner!" While I did not appreciate the tone behind it, her speech was delightful! LOL Anna Beth has also recently become fascinated with using, "Mommy, did you know...?" before every sentence. I also over-heard her saying to daddy, "Mommy is over there but you cannot see her because her is short and her face can't stick up"
All this to say, while I will be grateful for the time when I can return to my old schedule, I am grateful for the reminder from God that it is not just about the time that you spend with them, but also how you use the time. Those family dinners around the table are to discover how each others emotions have affected their day. Clean up time is about teaching responsibility. Cuddle time is about affirming the love for each other. Story time is about growing the imagination. Bible is about training her to be a Godly woman that seeks God's heart before her own and last but not least... prayer time to to understand where our hearts are at the moment.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
"There is a strange dog in my car"
So I just wanted to share another day in the life of Jenny... it is a little unbelievable but then if there is a weird story to tell, I am usually involved!
So there I was in my car heading home from the dreaded 2 hour trip to Walmart. I turn on my street and am thinking about all the groceries I am going to have to put up when I realize there is a large dog sitting in the middle of the road. I stop right in front of it and blow my horn... nothing, Blow again... nothing. This goes on for about 2 minutes when I give up and open the door. He sat there until I almost got to him and then he circled the car with me in tow (because I realized that he was hurt). We round the car and he jumps into my seat and climbs over to the passenger side. I realized at this point that he was dripping blood all over my seats. What do I do? I tried to get him out and even flagged down another car and ask for the police dept's number. They have someone on the phone already and they have the other person look up the phone number for me. I call the number and as I am dialing, I wonder... what am I going to say?
I am watching the dog closely as I have my 3 year old in the back seat and the dog turns around and faces me. Holy Cow, I realized at that point that I had a bloody, hurt, pit bull sitting in the front seat of my car! So there I was, on the phone with the police, trying to untangle Anna Beth from her car seat and wondering how in the world I was going to get myself out of this one. I closed the doors and left that pit bull in my warm, running car with all my groceries! The dog then climbed into the backseat and sat down in my child's car seat. Nasty!
A gentleman drove past and asked what was going on and he pulled over when I told him the story. He walked over to the car and confirmed that indeed that was a pit bull and offered to let Anna Beth sit in his car. Thankfully a police officer and his partner drove past at that moment and pulled over to help. They were very kind and called Animal Control and prepared to direct traffic around our stranded car with the dog as pretty as you please resting in Anna Beth's car seat. At some point, we realized that Animal Control was not coming and they made another call. Anna Beth had to go to the bathroom and I was another 1/2 mile from the house with my keys trapped in the running car. I grabbed Anna Beth out of the back of the police car and headed into the woods. She is not very good at going in the great outdoors and tried to stand up while she was still going.
So here I sat in the back of the police car, a wet child, my car running out of gas and $200 worth of groceries going to pot just because I had opened the door to a strange dog! After 2 hours of this ordeal, I was able to stick my child in her bloody car seat and drive home to put away my groceries. It has been a long and frustrating day but hopefully the dog will be ok and all will not be lost!
So there I was in my car heading home from the dreaded 2 hour trip to Walmart. I turn on my street and am thinking about all the groceries I am going to have to put up when I realize there is a large dog sitting in the middle of the road. I stop right in front of it and blow my horn... nothing, Blow again... nothing. This goes on for about 2 minutes when I give up and open the door. He sat there until I almost got to him and then he circled the car with me in tow (because I realized that he was hurt). We round the car and he jumps into my seat and climbs over to the passenger side. I realized at this point that he was dripping blood all over my seats. What do I do? I tried to get him out and even flagged down another car and ask for the police dept's number. They have someone on the phone already and they have the other person look up the phone number for me. I call the number and as I am dialing, I wonder... what am I going to say?
I am watching the dog closely as I have my 3 year old in the back seat and the dog turns around and faces me. Holy Cow, I realized at that point that I had a bloody, hurt, pit bull sitting in the front seat of my car! So there I was, on the phone with the police, trying to untangle Anna Beth from her car seat and wondering how in the world I was going to get myself out of this one. I closed the doors and left that pit bull in my warm, running car with all my groceries! The dog then climbed into the backseat and sat down in my child's car seat. Nasty!
A gentleman drove past and asked what was going on and he pulled over when I told him the story. He walked over to the car and confirmed that indeed that was a pit bull and offered to let Anna Beth sit in his car. Thankfully a police officer and his partner drove past at that moment and pulled over to help. They were very kind and called Animal Control and prepared to direct traffic around our stranded car with the dog as pretty as you please resting in Anna Beth's car seat. At some point, we realized that Animal Control was not coming and they made another call. Anna Beth had to go to the bathroom and I was another 1/2 mile from the house with my keys trapped in the running car. I grabbed Anna Beth out of the back of the police car and headed into the woods. She is not very good at going in the great outdoors and tried to stand up while she was still going.
So here I sat in the back of the police car, a wet child, my car running out of gas and $200 worth of groceries going to pot just because I had opened the door to a strange dog! After 2 hours of this ordeal, I was able to stick my child in her bloody car seat and drive home to put away my groceries. It has been a long and frustrating day but hopefully the dog will be ok and all will not be lost!
Monday, November 3, 2008
A Child's Faith
Yes, it has been a long time since I have been on here. We have had alot going on! Since my last blog, we have sold our house, moved and bought the same house twice. Long story and not a fun one but it is over and we are no longer squatters so all is good. We are in the process of having new wood floors and tile put in downstairs, painting the entire house and still trying to unpack. Just so you are aware, in case you were wondering, concrete floors are cold, very dirty and not recommended! lol
Anna Beth completely relaxed after we made the move and seems to have settled, She has gotten over the separation issues and has been taking life by storm once again. We have enjoyed a more peaceful Anna Beth although it is never completely calm when she is around. Drama is common with her but more manageable now that we are in our house.
Brian and I have been focusing on Obedience with Anna Beth lately and making her aware of the people that she hurts when she disobeys. Some of you will recognize this definition... Obedience is doing WHAT I'm told to do, WHEN I'm told to do it, WITH a happy heart. Anna Beth can quote it by heart and I use it just about every time we have a "moment." She has been more aware of whom her actions are affecting, especially Jesus. About 2 weeks ago, I was filling up the car and Anna Beth had been quoting the pledge of allegiance for about 20 minutes so I had begun to tune her out. All of the sudden she said, "Mommy, Jesus lives in my heart!" I said, "yes, Jesus can live in your heart if you ask Him to come live in your heart and forgive you for your disobedience." (We have not used the word "sin" yet so I had to break it down) I have not heard any other comments from her on this subject until October 30th. I was putting Anna Beth to bed, which is unusual in our home, and Anna Beth and I were having prayer time. She interrupted me and said, "Mommy, I asked Jesus in my heart" "You did?" I asked. "Where is he now?" "He's in my heart" said Anna Beth. I talked to her about the fact that Jesus cannot live in the same place where there is sin and then I went through what sin was with her. She agreed and stated that Jesus did live in her heart. We went on with our prayer time and thanked Jesus for living in her heart.
I got up from the bed and went and shared with Daddy what had happened and we both came to a realization. Salvation does not have to be a complicated process. I had always pictured having a conversation with Anna Beth in front of an open Bible and kneeling down and praying. For her, this was not important. At 3 years old, she understands that Jesus is real, she loves Him, He loves her and that He wants to have a relationship with her. Simple! I know that in time, she will come to understand on a greater level but right now she has faith that is bigger than even Brian and I can understand. God is more real to her at 3 than He is to us in many ways. She considers Him through-out her day when, as adults, we often schedule time to think about Him.
There will come a time that Anna Beth will realize the depth of God's love for her and how He expressed that through the death of His son Jesus. For now, I believe that my child has Jesus in her heart because she states this to me with authority. I am a very grateful Mommy. Grateful that God has made Himself so real to my little girl, that she believes in Him at a very young age, grateful that I am able to hear her strong faith and grateful to be the mommy of such a special little girl!
Anna Beth completely relaxed after we made the move and seems to have settled, She has gotten over the separation issues and has been taking life by storm once again. We have enjoyed a more peaceful Anna Beth although it is never completely calm when she is around. Drama is common with her but more manageable now that we are in our house.
Brian and I have been focusing on Obedience with Anna Beth lately and making her aware of the people that she hurts when she disobeys. Some of you will recognize this definition... Obedience is doing WHAT I'm told to do, WHEN I'm told to do it, WITH a happy heart. Anna Beth can quote it by heart and I use it just about every time we have a "moment." She has been more aware of whom her actions are affecting, especially Jesus. About 2 weeks ago, I was filling up the car and Anna Beth had been quoting the pledge of allegiance for about 20 minutes so I had begun to tune her out. All of the sudden she said, "Mommy, Jesus lives in my heart!" I said, "yes, Jesus can live in your heart if you ask Him to come live in your heart and forgive you for your disobedience." (We have not used the word "sin" yet so I had to break it down) I have not heard any other comments from her on this subject until October 30th. I was putting Anna Beth to bed, which is unusual in our home, and Anna Beth and I were having prayer time. She interrupted me and said, "Mommy, I asked Jesus in my heart" "You did?" I asked. "Where is he now?" "He's in my heart" said Anna Beth. I talked to her about the fact that Jesus cannot live in the same place where there is sin and then I went through what sin was with her. She agreed and stated that Jesus did live in her heart. We went on with our prayer time and thanked Jesus for living in her heart.
I got up from the bed and went and shared with Daddy what had happened and we both came to a realization. Salvation does not have to be a complicated process. I had always pictured having a conversation with Anna Beth in front of an open Bible and kneeling down and praying. For her, this was not important. At 3 years old, she understands that Jesus is real, she loves Him, He loves her and that He wants to have a relationship with her. Simple! I know that in time, she will come to understand on a greater level but right now she has faith that is bigger than even Brian and I can understand. God is more real to her at 3 than He is to us in many ways. She considers Him through-out her day when, as adults, we often schedule time to think about Him.
There will come a time that Anna Beth will realize the depth of God's love for her and how He expressed that through the death of His son Jesus. For now, I believe that my child has Jesus in her heart because she states this to me with authority. I am a very grateful Mommy. Grateful that God has made Himself so real to my little girl, that she believes in Him at a very young age, grateful that I am able to hear her strong faith and grateful to be the mommy of such a special little girl!
Friday, September 12, 2008
"No More Mommy!"
Ok, so yesterday I reached the point that I was just tired of being a Mommy! There, I said it!~ I am being as honest and raw as I can be. Anna Beth has just been having a really difficult few weeks and I am emotionally drained. There is so much guilt that goes along with knowing that I am in this place. She needs me so much but I need a break from being needed! It does not help that Brian and I have not had an evening away from her since the middle of June. I love her dearly but I just grow weary of all the battles. She doesn't want to go to Sunday School, or preschool or get dressed, or does not want to wear one of the 3 outfits that I picked for her to choose from. She wants mac and cheese but not on that plate, she does not want that cup but this one, it goes on and on....
I called Brian yesterday and told him that I was coming to his Upwards Flag Football practice because I did not want to be alone with her anymore! Tears were pouring down my face all the way to the football field and I was praying and asking God what more can I do to help her through this? I want to raise her with love, discipline and Jesus being the reason we make good choices. There are times that I just want to throw in the towel because of the work that goes with that. I know that I can't because I know the lifelong consequences of that choice but there are days that even prayer do not seem enough! At the football field were other mothers from our church that dared to ask me how I was doing and I was blunt. I was instantly encouraged as they began to tell me that they had all been through the same thing and there was an end to this. The guilt over feeling this way was lifted and I was allowed to feel hurt and sad.
After talking through this with Brian last night, we started to realize some of the fears that Anna Beth is going through right now. A few weeks ago, we put our house on the market and began the conversation about moving with her so she could be mentally prepared. (Anna Beth needs plans to feel safe) In the process of preparing the house to sell, we decided to move Anna Beth's cat to my sister's house so we would not have to deal with the pet issues in selling the house. We knew that Anna Beth would have a little trouble with this but I do not think that we realized just how much. Anna Beth thinks of Bootsie as part of the family. When she talks about her family, it is mommy, daddy, Anna Beth and Bootsie. There is no distinction that Bootsie is a cat! She also started back to preschool around the same time, started dance classes and has no understanding of what moving entails. She has this great fear that we are going to leave her right now and I think that in her little mind, if we would leave Bootsie, why would we not leave her? She has also been every unsure of leaving anything behind. As we talked, my heart just began to hurt for her as I realized what we have asked of her in the last few weeks. Anna Beth's greatest fear is being separated from us!
I really do not how to ease her fears except to constantly reassure her that we would never leave her where it was not safe and we will always come back for her. Walking through that conversation did not change the circumstances that we are going through with Anna Beth right now but it has made me more compassionate towards her. Discipline is an even greater responsibility right now because there is safety in boundaries. Right now it is important for her to have that picture of the cat on the fridge even though I am trying to keep things clean. So much of me wants to be selfish and walk away from the frustration of the moment but I know that God will allow that time later and right now He has asked me to give more of myself than I think able because He wants my dependence on Him!
I called Brian yesterday and told him that I was coming to his Upwards Flag Football practice because I did not want to be alone with her anymore! Tears were pouring down my face all the way to the football field and I was praying and asking God what more can I do to help her through this? I want to raise her with love, discipline and Jesus being the reason we make good choices. There are times that I just want to throw in the towel because of the work that goes with that. I know that I can't because I know the lifelong consequences of that choice but there are days that even prayer do not seem enough! At the football field were other mothers from our church that dared to ask me how I was doing and I was blunt. I was instantly encouraged as they began to tell me that they had all been through the same thing and there was an end to this. The guilt over feeling this way was lifted and I was allowed to feel hurt and sad.
After talking through this with Brian last night, we started to realize some of the fears that Anna Beth is going through right now. A few weeks ago, we put our house on the market and began the conversation about moving with her so she could be mentally prepared. (Anna Beth needs plans to feel safe) In the process of preparing the house to sell, we decided to move Anna Beth's cat to my sister's house so we would not have to deal with the pet issues in selling the house. We knew that Anna Beth would have a little trouble with this but I do not think that we realized just how much. Anna Beth thinks of Bootsie as part of the family. When she talks about her family, it is mommy, daddy, Anna Beth and Bootsie. There is no distinction that Bootsie is a cat! She also started back to preschool around the same time, started dance classes and has no understanding of what moving entails. She has this great fear that we are going to leave her right now and I think that in her little mind, if we would leave Bootsie, why would we not leave her? She has also been every unsure of leaving anything behind. As we talked, my heart just began to hurt for her as I realized what we have asked of her in the last few weeks. Anna Beth's greatest fear is being separated from us!
I really do not how to ease her fears except to constantly reassure her that we would never leave her where it was not safe and we will always come back for her. Walking through that conversation did not change the circumstances that we are going through with Anna Beth right now but it has made me more compassionate towards her. Discipline is an even greater responsibility right now because there is safety in boundaries. Right now it is important for her to have that picture of the cat on the fridge even though I am trying to keep things clean. So much of me wants to be selfish and walk away from the frustration of the moment but I know that God will allow that time later and right now He has asked me to give more of myself than I think able because He wants my dependence on Him!
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