Must be All the Rain

I guess the cloudy, rainy weather has affected our mood around here. Mason woke up spouting hateful words, and Carter...well, Carter just threw his usual 25 fits that he throws every day. Carter's consequence is easy...I put him on his bed until he quits crying. Mason's, however, is a bit more of a challenge. I finally resorted this morning to the June Cleaver style lecture. "Now, Beave, you can't go around telling people you hate them. It isn't kind, and you're a kind boy. Run along now and remember the golden rule." Okay, so it wasn't quite that hokey, but it was close. And it obviously didn't work because he told our friend Kaylee that he hated her on the way home from school. SO I skipped the second lecture and made him pick out some "treasures" from his room that he could wrap and give to her as an apology gift. (His future wife can thank me later.) Then I picked out the next two things that will become apology gifts if he should decide to tell someone else he hates them. And should the trend STILL continue, he gets to use his allowance money to BUY apology gifts. Something tells me that Bill Cosby would be very proud of me.

Forgot to mention: Carter has started imitating me when he gets mad. He wrinkles up his nose and says, "I not very happy wif you!" I don't laugh, but it's really funny. Those are the things you wish you had on video to laugh a later...when it's not a discipline issue anymore!

Sweet Dreams

I just rocked Carter to sleep. He usually goes to bed by himself, but he was extra tired and clingy tonight. So I held him and patted his little baby back for about five minutes before he was sound asleep. I could see the clothes hanging in his closet while I was rocking him, and they looked so small. He seems much bigger during the day when he's demanding his way and playing like a big boy. But at night, he's my baby for just a little while longer. (And, no, I still don't want another one :)

Invasion of the Killer Worms

Every time it rains, we have slimy little earthworm friends who come in our house. I don't know if we need more weather stripping, a new door, or what, but I can't keep the creepy crawlies out of my living room! This morning there were three...yuck!!

Quirky, Rainy, Awesome Easter Sunday

Today I..
..woke up early, but not early enough.
..ironed Easter clothes because I forgot to do it last night.
..made muffins so my family wouldn't have to eat cereal on Easter.
..watched Carter tear into his Easter basket.
..left the kids with Jas to go sing with the choir in the 8:00 service.
..was late to the 8:00 service and didn't sing with the choir.
..LOVED sitting in the service alone with no distractions.
..got a call from Jas saying the Trailblazer tire was flat.
..went to Sunday school (alone) and met a super nice girl who was visiting.
..sang with the choir in the 10:45 service.
..shook like a leaf all the way through my solo (why do I do that?!?).
..LOVED sitting with my friend Christina during the second service.
..fought the urge to lean over and whisper the endings to Pastor Steven's stories.
..picked up Jas and the kids in the car with 4 good tires.
..met the McAbee family for lunch, where our party of 11 waited for an hour to be seated.
..thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship while we waited.
..came home and crashed on the couch...really tired...and really happy :)

"...I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

Good Friday at the Mall

Jas, Carter, and I braved the mall tonight so that I could look for an Easter-y, springy outfit of some kind that I can wear in the freezing cold, rainy weather we're supposed to have on Sunday. I think Oklahomans should abandon the idea of Easter dresses and bonnets, and adopt the much more practical idea of Easter sweaters and earmuffs. I'm not complaining, though, because I haven't been to the gym enough times to feel comfortable in spring dresses yet, anyway. So I'm kind of grateful for the excuse to wear my comfortable black pants and my new white blazer that I discovered at NY & Co., paired with a turquoise shirt for extra springiness. AND the blazer was 15% off because I'm a AAA member...who knew?

Carter thoroughly enjoyed the experience because he got to ride in the race car stroller that you can rent for a ridiculously high price at the mall. He also made a friend at the kiddie playland. He found a little girl who liked to play chase and make "scary" monster faces as much as he does...what luck! Mason, just for the record, was playing at a friend's house. So a good time was had by all...except maybe Jas, who got dragged to the mall to Carter-sit while I shopped. He was in good company, though. The kiddie land was full of dads, and there were an unusual amount of men pushing race car strollers tonight.

Perfect Weather + Restless Boys = P A R K

We stopped at the park in the Spangler's new neighborhood after picking up Mason from their house. It was the perfect size for him to run off his after school energy and for Carter to follow along like he's been at school all day, too.

Carter is having an issue with the word "stupid." He can't quit saying it. Unfortunately, his favorite movie, Game Plan, has this toddler curse word in it a few times. And the other favorite movie at our house, The Little Rascals, has "suck" and "bite me." Ugghh...why do they have to put those words in kids movies?!? We may have to stick to the black and white Little Rascals movies to avoid modern day foul language.

I Wanna' be a Rock Star

We went to a super fun, super loud rock concert for kids today at church (right before the super windy, freezing cold Easter egg hunt). The Crosscut band played praise music that the kids...and adults...could get up and dance to. Yes, I said dance...in a Southern Baptist church. I had this amusing vision of my little Baptist grandparents sitting on the back pew with disapproving looks on their faces. Who knows, though, Grandad Roye might have joined in when we sang "My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save...forever, author of salvation..He rose and conquered the grave...Jesus conquered the grave..." Grandad Roye loved God with all his heart for most of his 99 years, and I think he might have just belted out the words and raised his hands in praise if he had the chance. It was definitely an amazing time of worship. Even Mason sang the songs, and he never sings in regular church worship. He brought the band's CD home and listened to the songs over and over. Carter, however, wasn't thrilled about the loudness of the concert. He watched the show with his hands over his ears and a pouty look on his face. He must be the only real Baptist in the family :)

Pictures to follow when I figure out how to get them off my phone...

Much More Fun Than Work!

I am officially procrastinating. I need to write 2 articles today, but today doesn't actually end until midnight. So I'm playing on the internet, and I've found a couple of really cool things:

AudibleKids - Kids' books you can download to your mp3 player. Put to music and read by celebrities, these books are super cool! They seem to be a bit pricey, but I see a link to a $.99 sale. I'll be trying this out today. More on how it goes later...

31 Awesome Birthday Cakes - I don't know if these are as easy as they're supposed to be, but they're really cute. Trains, castles, ladybugs, dump trucks, you name it...they have it. I love the monkey and lion faces!