Ryan

Ryan is 4 and a boy. And I've been told that boys do this, but I'm embarrassed and afraid that he'll become addicted or something. And I'm sure some of you moms know what I'm referencing without even saying what he does.

So I've threatened that it will fall off. He doesn't believe me because, well...okay it won't fall off, but you think it would scare him enough that he wouldn't continually play with it. And it doesn't help that he has a patch of dry skin right above it where his band goes on his underwear. I've put lotion on it, but he's scratching that all the time too, which he gets nagged for because it's so close to the other offense.

I decided to try a different kind of underwear. One that didn't have the scratchy elastic band, but more of a "comfort band". So we got some of these.


Once we got home, I told him to go into the bathroom to put a pair on. A few minutes later I hear "MOM! You got me panties!!" in an angry sort of voice.

Turns out, there's no flap or opening in the front like a normal pair of boy's underwear, which is odd. But he doesn't ever use the flap, so it's fine that they don't.

Anyway. I think he's been scratching less. And he looks grown up wearing them instead of Spiderman and Lighting McQueen. ;)

But with the touching thing....I've been tempted to take Gentian Violet and dab some on when he's sleeping. I might scar him for life though, if he wakes up with it purple. What do you think??

New colors

About a month after Reagan started kindergarten, we found out there is a whole other blue that we didn't know of. Carolina Blue.





And just recently we learned of an even different color blue. Duke Blue.





Now nevermind that they are two different sports and leagues. That's not important. What's important is that we make sure she gets the Carolina Blue cup/plate to eat her meals on.

Today in church

if you happened to be sitting near our family, you would have heard this come from our two year old's mouth after seeing a slender black man.....

"is that Arock Obama?"

Bon's eyes got huge, as did mine, and then we bust up laughing. He asked me where he'd heard that from. Uh, tv, Reagan, Ryan, and have I mentioned on here that Reagan occasionally likes to watch Newshour with Jim Lehrer? lol So yeah. He's heard of our nation's president before.

Searching for myself

I've been doing some soul searching lately. Some digging down deep, trying to figure out who I am, what my purpose is, trying to find happiness or a sense of normalcy. I've been trying to find out why I feel the way I do and how I can get it to stop. I've always considered myself a strong person. Not only physically, but mentally. I've had one hell of a life. But I'm coming to my breaking point. I am struggling to hold on to me. My strength is running out and I'm finding it hard to hang on anymore.

2008 was such a hard year for me. From mid-January until late April, I was sick. Like barely functioning sick. That's just what pregnancy does to me. And once I started to feel better I learned that the baby died. What a shock. I grieve. And grieve some more.

And then I start to focus on selling our house. What a nightmare that was. It sold so quickly. It came as a shock to me. I wasn't ready to move. To say goodbye to my friends and in-laws. And then we found a house here in NC and we moved.

We moved in the week I was supposed to be having a baby. If you saw me that week, you wouldn't have known that my heart was heavy or that it was on my mind. But it was all I could think about. I was consumed.

And I am still consumed. I am depressed. I am jealous. I think about all the loved ones I have lost and the memory of them is still fresh in my mind. I cannot shake this heaviness that is in my heart and soul. I can feel happiness, but it only lasts a short while. And then my head is filled again with cloudiness.

I recently read this book. http://www.amazon.com/Reaching-Hope-Perspective-Recovering-Depression/dp/157345849X It is wonderful and I will be reading it again. I felt peace and understanding while reading it.

So for now I will be working on me. I will press forward and do all I can to help myself get to feeling normal and comfortable. I will continue to develop friendships here. I will try not to feel so self-conscious or feel like I'm losing my grip. And any extra thoughts or prayers on my behalf would be great.

Thank you for being my friends. My family. For being there if I needed you. I can only hope I can return the favor.

9 bottles of water

That is what the kids decided to open and pour out on our driveway today...all at the encouragement of our next door neighbor girl. She comes up with some hair-brained ideas and my kids lose all sorts of common sense and self-control and they do what she says! It's ridiculous! The other day when she was over, I was upstairs sewing my curtains and they were downstairs. I came down and they had play-doh all over the living room/dining room, after I told them not to. And they had also made a drink consisting of orange juice, Bon's dairy free milk, juice from a capri sun and who knows what else. Bon said I should've made them drink it all, but I didn't want to clean up any puke. But because they mixed up that drink, there was a sticky mess all over my dining table and chairs and the floor. I was so mad. I had to mop and wipe it all down. After she had gone home, I learned that she made them (and by "made them" I mean "told them") to eat some play doh. So they did! We've been trying to tell them that they do not need to listen to her and to use their common sense! She's only 7, so it's not like she has that much either, but c'mon! She's a really nice girl and her parents are great too. I guess I'll just have to hang around better/more when they play together. *sigh*

When they are young

Do you ever look at your children and wonder when they were taught to demand things instead of asking politely?

Then sit back and let me explain something to you.

I've recently found the source of where they are being taught this behavior.




That's right. Dora and Diego. They are working together to corrupt the minds of our children. They teach that when you ask for something in a not so nice way, you get results.

And they also teach the pimp method. Dora wants her backpack? Well Dora gets her backpack. Oh, but not by asking for it nicely herself. She makes YOU ask for it. And it's not really even asking. It's like demanding. "What do we need?" "Backpack!" "What?" "Backpack!" "louder!" "BACK-PACK!" And voila. There's her backpack.

Next she'll be asking your kids to choose a gang color and consider her as the leader.

And Diego is no better. Heck. He yells at monkeys for misbehaving. I haven't been around too many monkeys, but I bet they are all ornery. And I bet they are pissed they are called the Bo Bo Brothers. I know I wouldn't be to happy about that.

So the next time you hear your kid screaming "BACK PACK!!" at the tv, maybe it's time to turn it to....Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.

I know, you thought I was going to say off. I'm not *that* crazy! :)

Oh, this is bad

You know your two-year old has seen too much Mamma Mia when they are sitting by their sister and as she reads titles of books, she pauses and the said two-year old says "dot dot dot?"

If I was stronger

I would go and balance my washing machine.

But I'm not, so I won't.

Even though it's really annoying and loud. :)