smiles or hives?

Does this picture make you smile... or give you hives?

(this was only a few days after I had restocked all the play-dough)

...and to my shocking disbelief, it actually makes me smile!

50 Dangerous Things

#1: Lick A 9V Battery

#17: Burn Things With A Magnifying Glass

#28: Climb A Tree

#34: Deconstruct An Appliance

#39: Cook Something In The Dishwasher

#47: Superglue Their Fingers Together 

The premise of the book is to get kids to do things most of their parents did as kids that made the most memories. Some of them marginally dangerous, some of them just clean fun
Here's the book.
Here's the interview.

What do you think?
What's something you did as a kid that would seem dangerous now-a-days?

the infamous baby bjorn

I once heard a mom say that she gets so much done around the house by putting her baby in her "Baby Bjorn." I had so much to do today and Elijah wanted my undivided attention, so I decided to try this technique out.

Total Fail.

First of all, I think in order to get anything done, your child needs to be less than 2 months old... or at least not discovered how their hands work yet. Everything I touched, Elijah touched. It actually made things worse. Secondly, they should also probably be under the 10lb limit to avoid excruciating back pain. Lastly, when they know how to kick their feet to get your attention, it's not a good thing.

I wonder if he got sea sick, or whatever you call it when you are strapped to someone's stomach, because he seemed to be bouncing around a lot. We definitely had a lot of fun, but I DID NOT get a lot of stuff done around the house, and I may have even received a fat lip. Plus, what do you do when you have to lean over to pick something up. I'm not really admitting to anything, but there may have been a bumped forehead.

It's a familiar scene...

You totally know what I am talking about.

A simple errand with 3 kids turns into a fiasco.

The DR called in a prescription to Walgreens for Isaac and ALL I had to do was get the kids in the car and pick it up at the drive-thru. I got it... for less than $4, which is a plus...  and was headed back home, drama-free. Until I realized they had given me caplets for my 4-year-old, instead of liquid. I knew what this meant....fiasco. I knew how crazy it was going to be and I even asked him if he would try swallowing the pill... he looked at me like I was crazy. So back into the car we went and into Walgreens (they won't return a prescription in the drive-thru because a manager has to get involved). The people working there were great and tried to speed things along, but 1/2 later, with all 3 kids super crabby, I finally exited the store. We are now home, drinking hot cocoa and watching a movie. I need to debrief.

 

 

 

 

Dear Lori,

Please be reminded to NEVER, under any circumstance, give your 2-year-old daughter hot cocoa in a cup without a lid. No matter how cute it seems!

ramblings: mom only has 1 syllable

I think I'm giving up the word MOM. Not the job, or the calling, or the blessing of it all... just the word. I hear it all day long, and it's usually said adding 5 extra syllables. "Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" Kind-of like that, but a lot louder.

Having 3 little ones hanging on me all day long can be taxing, but it also brings me an over abundance of joy. From the kisses, to the bedtime stories and even nursing the boo-boos... it's a journey that I thank the Lord for everyday, coupled with crying out for His strength and wisdom to make it through. It's the hardest thing I've ever done... this parenting thing... but I have a feeling it will bring rewards that are incomparable.

work-it-out

For most of the day my kids have been playing well together, but there is the occasional fight that gets pretty heated. I have been starting to put them in a room together to have them work it out, and then they can come out and tell me what they came up with. You may think that Isaac would just be able to tell Zoey what to do, but that would just mean that you don't know Zoey very well. :) During one of these "work it out" sessions, this is what I came in to see.....

 

It's so wonderful to know that some of this parenting stuff is starting to pay off! Now I'm off to break up another fight!

This is NOT what I was created for!

"This is NOT what I was created for!"

As soon as the words came out of my mouth I wanted to take them back. The problem was... I kind-of meant it. Zoey had been screaming incessantly for me to bring her a snack and then once I handed her the bowl of goldfish crackers, she dumped them on the ground and started to stomp on them. As I headed to the closet to get the broom... again.... I couldn't stop the words from coming out-
"This is NOT what I was created for!"

Now that I am sitting at the computer with my cup of coffee, I'm realizing that the statement, although full of emotion and somewhat validated, is very incorrect. This IS what I was created for. Not the cleaning up of goldfish crumbs, but the loving, caring and training of my children. I guess years ago in my dreams of being a mother and fulfilling that call of God on my life, I didn't realize it would be full of goop, sticky fingers and public temper-tantrums.

Deuteronomy 6:4-8

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your hearta nd with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." 

Working @ the car wash

I was giving Zoey a quick bath in the sink and it seemed to catch Isaac's eye. He asked me if he could have a car wash with all his cars. I thought that would be a wonderful idea, since I had to go and feed Zoey anyways.About 20 minutes in, I heard him say from the kitchen, "I have to go potty." I told him to wipe his hands and climb down, to which he replied, "never mind." I knew that couldn't be good. When I ran into the kitchen, this is what I found.
(In his defense, he did run to the bathroom to go right after I took him out, so he might have been holding it... we'll just hope)

Help me Mama!

Me: Chris, are you on your way home?
Chris: Yeah, why?
Me: Isaac stuck his finger in a wiffle ball.
Chris: I'll be right there.

Isaac's Doggy

Here's the back story:
My friend Connie sent Isaac and Zoey a Christmas package jammed packed with clothes, toys and goodies. One Isaac's favorite things was this "Grow-A-Dog" that is the size of a dime. You put it in water and over 10 days it grows to be pretty big. Isaac wakes up every morning to see if his doggy is any bigger. Last night, Chris tried to make the dog grow faster by putting it in hot water. This is what happened afterwards:


Isaac's Doggy from lori bunk on Vimeo.