Mealtime Battle.....

Call me laid back or stupid, but I don't believe in battling my child for control.
Sure, there is much I can do to express my opinion and inform him of right and wrong, but I know that trying to control him will only end up in a blubbery mess.
blubbery mess=me in tears, child in tears, no one listening to each other

He is responsible for his decisions.
He is his own person. Who am I to try to make him someone else?

That is just a losing battle that will make my kid hate me.

And me hate him or at least his actions.

I believe in consequences.
Everything leads up to a behavior and from that behavior a consequence occurs.

Good or bad.

Does that make sense?

I am not going to get too behavioral here but this is really just a long way of saying that I do not force my child to eat every bite of his dinner if he chooses not to eat it at that time. I do not force my child to sit at the table until his plate is clean. I do not sit at his side with a fork full of food trying to coerce him into eating it because then, um, who has the control? I do not feed my child because he won’t do it himself.

I just inform him that if he decides not to eat it, then he is not allowed to have any dessert or treats.


No battles.
Just matter of fact.
And he makes the decision.

 

But, man oh man some nights are harder than others and I feel worse about it than others.  Just sayin’!

Raegan got stuff.......

Raegan got new stuff (well, it got put together).....

The boys got a new box to play with......

They couldn't be more happy!!

Raegan 38 weeks

Here is another picture of the sweet baby girl to be seen for real in the very near future!  But, for now we have to look at these blotchy images and wait.  Not much longer though..........

 

See you soon little one......see you soon!!

Riding Along.....

Check out these handsome boys......

Our world would not be the same without them!!

 

Four-wheeling, cookies, and all...................

 

 

A Boy is...
Scuffed up knees, a freckled nose
with dimples here and there.
A daring, caring, sharing heart
a mass of tousled hair.
Boundless curiosity
the spirit to explore.
Two twinkling eyes, a smiling face
and energy galore!
A love of life, a bit of sass
a source of untold joy.
A wonderment, a dream fulfilled
God's miracle...a BOY!

Rhythm.......

In life there is always a rhythm, we breathe in and out, inhaling and exhaling in one fluid motion. We sleep and we wake. We watch the tide roll in moments before the currents secede and roll back out. There is an ebb and flow. Not every relationship is marked by glittered and sparkly friendship bracelets of spun unicorn mane, in fact most are messy and some even hurt.

“There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” -Leonard Cohen

Just as we can sit along the waters edge in a torrent of crashing waves, we know that sometime soon, the tide will pull those white caps away, receiving them back into the deep and at the same time giving a renewed love for calm inhales and exhales and fresh air.

There will be days when plans don't go as expected, when ideas change and you make memories out of the forced smiles between the cries. Those times will come, they always do. But sometimes without them, the regular days... the days we find ourselves alone in a pumpkin "patch" with happy kids, a cool breeze and perfectly shaped orange gourds, would pass by without the gleam of shimmering golden light being noticed.

 

Oh it's there. The light is always there. Sometimes it's about letting the light in, even through the fracture of misguided expectations... and sometimes it's about shining your own light. Right now? We are trying to do both.

 

Shine on, friends. And if you can do it with a pumpkin or two? Even better. Like, sparkly Autumn unicorn kind of better.

Carving Day.....

Carving away our day.....

Then someone decided eating the pumpkin was a fabulous thing.  Any guesses who that was?

 Lots of fun and cheesy smiles and bloopers to go with......

Squiggle Story .... By: Ayden

"Once there was a weird planet called planet Ayden.  There were aliens on the planet.  There names were One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six.  Those aliens were relly silly.  One liked to do back flips.  Two does spin flips on the trampalen.  Three likes to run in his house.  Four loves to go crazy everywhere.  Five likes to jump on the seling.  Six loves to go in spaceships and go everywhere.  The astrounot who visited the planet his name was Mike.  Mike was a short fellow.  He can fit in tight spaces on the planet.  The tight spaces on the planet were as big as a tiny window.  Mike said hello to all the aliens on the planet inclouding 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.  Mike liked the aliens he played everyday when he was on the planet (1 whole year).  After the year his rocket ship broke down so his ship will be fixed in three more years so he had to stay on there four years.  Mike almost ran out of oxagine but he is fine.  The guy who fixed his ship gave him some more oxagine.  Mike had enough oxagine he could stay for 6 more years.  The End"