Friday, October 17, 2008



With three kids I feel like I spend most of my time just taking care of basic needs (food, semi-clean clothing, safety). I was thinking the other day that I should get down and play with them more. Then I realized, once I start playing with one, no matter what the other two are doing, they want to get involved. Then that starts a kind of mommy tug of war; both boys want to be held, but not together; Chandler wants me to play pet store... And that reminded me of the time I was dealing with one of the boys, Bennett was dealing with the other one and Chandler wanted one of us to do something for her. "We need another parent" she expressed with some exasperation, "we have three kids, we need three parents." Sometimes I don't disagree! I've heard that once you have three, adding more is just not that big of a deal because you are already outnumbered. I don't know that we will be testing that theory!

That runs us right into the issue that we always seem to be running late. Chandler is so used to hearing, "Hurry up, we have to leave now... school is already starting... we're supposed to be there already..." that if I don't say one of the above she'll ask, "Are we late? Has school/church/gymnastics already started?" Now I know why my mom always wanted us to put our shoes on and be completely ready 10-15 minutes before we even had to leave. I can hear her saying, "Get your shoes on" and thinking, "Why, we aren't leaving yet." Sorry, Mom!

Just a few minutes ago I was in the other room and heard Bennett come in from work and holler, "NO!" At first I thought someone must be doing something horrible, but it only took me about 2 seconds to realize what was going on. I had cut Garrison's hair and this was the first time he had seen it. Garrison has really great hair; lots of it with lots of body - Daddy wishes he had hair like Garrison's. I like his hair longer on top too, but it was getting so thick and heavy I felt like he needed a break - so I "trimmed" it. Well, if you have ever cut your own hair or someone elses, you know that a trim often ends up a "little" shorter than originally intended! In my defense, I was thinking that cutting it now would ensure that it has time to grow back before the holidays... ok, maybe not by Thanksgiving... I think he looks cute with it shorter, just different. Daddy is not very happy with me right now.



Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Our Kids

It's amazing how different your kids are. You hear that from people, but to watch your children and see each of their personalities emerge and how different they are...

Chandler is very smart (and a little bossy). She loves to learn and always has. Since she was three she has loved volcanoes (just like her daddy) and she loves her brothers. Josiah is a lover. He loves to be held and to give hugs. Everyone loves Josiah - with his big smile and blue eyes. He loves school, snacks, and music. He's my sweetie.Garrison is a character. I don't know how else to describe him. One of his favorite things to do is take whatever Josiah is playing with and run away holding it above his head (with Josiah running after him hollering); he doesn't want to play with it, just take it.



They keep us on our toes but they keep us entertained. They are each so different and each so amazing. I can barely remember life without them, and to be honest, I don't really want to!



Cleaning Up

My boys... Josiah dumped out Chandler's collection of cut up pieces of wrapping paper. I went over and told him he needed to clean up and got him started putting them back in their box. When I came back a minute later, Josiah was sweeping and Garrison was using the Swiffer! They are so funny. Now Garrison gets the broom all the time. He dropped a crumb the other day and went straight for the broom. If I can harness that "desire" to clean...

Ok - I give!

Ok, I give! I have been inspired by Sarah's heartfelt posts, Rachael's consistency to keep her blog updated, and Maggie's sweet, colorful stories about her children. I didn't want to do this, but I did drag Rachael (amidst much protest) onto Facebook; the least I could do was give this a shot. So here we go - hope it doesn't disappoint...