The Time Has Come

No, I'm not going to make a political speech, though I could.

No, I'm concerned about matters of much greater importance than who will be our next president:

Yes, you guessed it. Ladybug has learned how to say, "no!"

Oh, sure it's cute now, she shakes her adorable cheeks, and declares in a sing-songy voice that dreaded word I was hoping to never hear.

I ask her if she wants to go to bed...."NooOoh!" Do you want to eat some more? "NooOoh!" Do you always say no? "NooOoh"

*sigh*

Here we go. Number four is starting the defiance stage, and I'm still breaking in number 3 on first time obedience. (note: haven't done that well with 1-3 yet. Will try some more)

The funniest part is when she can't make up her mind what she wants to answer. If I ask her if she wants, say, a Popsicle, then that messes up her response. She does wants one, but she's not nearly as adept at saying "yes" yet. So, she just tries to nod, and shake her head at the same time.

I suppose that if Ladybug is starting the "no" stage, that means I'm that much closer to getting out of diapers, right?

And I'll need all that extra cash if my wealth is going to be re-distributed anyway....(oops! did I get political? Sorry!)

Thoughts from the Rocking Chair

So, I sat and rocked, sat and rocked.
Sat and rocked, sat and rocked.
Sat and rocked, sat and rocked.

Poor ladybug came down with croup, and she is miserable. She wanted her Mommy, and just wanted to be cuddled, wanted to be held, wanted to be rocked.

So I did.

Now, I admit that I don't like to rock my children to sleep. I got caught in that trap with the first one, then had a heck of a time trying to teach her later how to fall asleep on her own. So with the others, I loved them, kissed them and put them down to bed.

Worked like a charm.

Until they get sick.

And to be honest, I'm a sucker for a sickie. When they feel puny, I feel powerful. They know that only Mommy can stop the hurt, and if Mommy can't, then she'll stick with you until it does stop hurting.

What they don't know is all the things that go through my mind, all the projects that go undone, and the chores that need to be finished. I'm thinking about the floor needing to be swept, email to be answered, dishes to be done. It is in these moments that I realize what a hard time it is for me to be still. I guess I'm a Martha at heart, and it's not natural for me to just sit.

But I did tonight. I fought the demons of industry and just sat and rocked. With God's help I did it for her.

Ladybug was finally ready for bed and asked to get into it. I had tried earlier, but she just wasn't ready and fussed. So I picked her back up and rocked.

I sat and rocked, sat and rocked.

It feels good to do the right thing. At least I get it right from time to time

Blessings,
Brandie

His Royal Highness

I like to party.

Probably not what you're thinking, however. I don't go out and have drunken brawls. No, I like to give parties.

For kids.

Superman turned five in August, and he has yet to have a real big birthday bash. Big sister had them every birthday from the time she was one! But as most parents, I realized my insanity when I had more kids and was not able to keep up that pace.

But it stinks for the younger kids, so I thought I would do one big bash for Superhero. We had an all out knights in armor party, and even "hired" a local teen to be the royal herald to help with the events.

We had jousting, sword fights, and even slayed a dragon (not an easy task to locate dragons).


At Castle Longoria, the Lord and Lady were decked out in their finery and I wanted to share some of the festivities with you all (y'all in the south). Notice the tights on the king!!