DRAMA Don't Work on MAMA!

Yesterday, Avery pulled the funniest/saddest manipulation tactic I have ever heard her try. I took away her Resurrection Eggs for the day because of something she did to Brynn. Then, within about 10 minutes, she wanted to watch the Mrs. Pattycake Easter video and do the eggs along with it. I said no, reminding her of her punishment. She huffed off to her room, and then the REAL drama began…

Now, she was back in her room all by herself, and I heard her start ranting in this half crying/half whining voice. She was saying so much that I turned on the monitor to listen, and this is just PART of what I heard. I missed the whole beginning, and once I started listening, she said so much that I couldn't even remember it all! She was saying all of this completely to herself because I had closed the door. (I think she was hoping I'd hear it all and be so sad for her that I'd change my mind and let her play with those eggs after all!) This is some of what I actually REMEMBER hearing...(words in all caps were spoken with extra emotion.)

"I am SO SAD right now. NOBODY likes me and I don’t have ANY friends – not Carlie, Lilla, Anna, or Reagan (these are all the girls in her class @ school)....not Mommy, Brynn, Daddy, or Asa… The only person who is my friend is Baylor (her cousin)…SHE is the only person who is NICE to me because EVERYBODY else is mean to me. I wish I could go live with HER family….but THEY don’t have room for me….I wish I could just DIE and go to heaven to be with God and Jesus and all the other people that died like Pops (my grandfather) and Mrs. Patricia's dog who gotted killed in the fire (our neighbor's house caught fire last fall)…And I don’t have ANY pretty things. None of my CLOTHES are pretty. I don't have any pretty DOLLS, no pretty CLOTHES, no pretty TOYS…and I can’t even FIND my pretty lamb that I gotted for Easter" ...and on and on and on!!!!

It was COMPLETE drama from beginning to end. Needless to say, I had heard about enough when she got to the "no pretty clothes or toys" part, so I had to jump in there and have a “chat” about trying to manipulate me using this type of drama and that it WON'T work. We talked about how the things she said were not true at all, but were used to try to make me feel sorry for her and change my mind about her punishment. I told her that there are plenty of children in Africa that would love all of her toys and clothes, and if she doesn't appreciate them, I'd be glad to ship them to some children who would. We talked about how God put her in the perfect family and that if she died we would all be so sad. She got the message and was fine after some hugs and kisses (even though she still couldn't watch Mrs. Pattycake and play with the eggs).

All I could think is that I hope this isn’t a taste of the teenage years! I must confess it broke my heart to hear her say those things. But I know she didn't mean any of it, and I better get some thick skin because I'm here to be her Mom and not her friend! I am hoping that MAYBE she will learn now that this won't work on me and won't even try it as a teenager. Parenting is SOOOO hard sometimes...especially the discipline part!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Brynn!

Today is special for 2 reasons - it's Easter Sunday, but it's also Brynn's 3rd Birthday. The picture above was taken when she was a week old. My, how she's grown up! Brynn is my "life of the party" child. She has been into things since she could roll over! There is not a day that goes by that she doesn't make me crack up laughing about something. She is so vibrant, spirited and full of energy and brings such joy and enthusiasm to our family. Today, we made cupcakes for her to take to school tomorrow and had a little family party after supper that she enjoyed immensely! Happy Birthday, sweet girl! Mommy loves you!

A Day at the Zoo

On Saturday, April 4, we took the kids to the Atlanta Zoo, and they had a super time! We couldn't have done it without Nonna going with us - we are able to play man to man instead of zone defense. It was fun seeing the animals for the first time ever through the eyes of the kids. The girls were amazed to see in real life, animals that they'd only seen in movies and books. They loved the pink flamingos (Brynn screamed at the top of her lungs, "Look at that bird's tee-tee bottom") after seeing a bird go to the potty. I kept my distance and was like, "Whose child is THAT?" The gorillas and the orangutans were particularly playful and fun to watch. Asa rode a merry go round for the first time. There was also a new parakeet exhibit that opened the day before we went. There were hundreds of them and they would come down and eat off of seed sticks that you held out for them. Brynn LOVED that! There was so much more to do and see than I expected, and I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Spring Break - Macon Style

Girls in downtown Macon

Due to a variety of circumstances (weather, Bryan working, saving money, and others) we decided to stay in town for Spring Break this year. I knew if I didn't have something planned for us to do every day, that the kids would go nuts (or maybe it was me that would go nuts)! Either way, we kept ourselves busy. On Monday, we went to the park, and the girls painted and decorated the ULTIMATE toy of all time...a huge cardboard box. On Tuesday, I took the girls to the Museum of Arts and Sciences. They loved it, especially when the cockatoo pooped on the floor and when they got to see the Madagascar "History" (Hissing) Cockroaches. On Wednesday, Mom and I braved the rain and took the kids to the Georgia Children's Museum. Thursday was our inside day...water, water everywhere!! We dyed Easter eggs and had indoor egg hunts. On Friday, I must have been super desperate to get out after staying inside all day on Thursday because I VOLUNTARILY took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. I am glad that it doesn't take much to amuse my children, because we really didn't do anything spectacular. At the end of the week, Avery told me, "Mommy, this was the best Spring Break EVER!!"

Museum of Arts & Sciences

Showing off their creative sides

Dressed up in kimonos at the GA Children's Museum

Asa @ GA Children's Museum

So proud of their beautiful eggs!

Go CRAWFISH!!!

Coach Jason, Coach Alex and Coach Dale with the CRAWFISH

No, we're not dressed up in pink for the Cherry Blossom Festival...Avery had her first T-ball game this morning! Her team is named the Crawfish, and their uniforms are pink - Avery's absolute favorite color. She was so excited to get to play in her first real game. She did really well - getting 2 hits off the tee and fielding a couple of ground balls. The game, of course, had it's blooper highlights though, as she spent most of her time in the outfield building molehills out of dirt and had to be reminded to run after hitting the ball. One time she missed a ground ball and then ran and stood on second base like she WAS something. Guess we need to remind her that you have to be holding the BALL to get someone out at second. The best, however, was when she was the runner on 2nd base and the batter hit the ball. She took off running to third, but instead completely bypassed the base and ran straight into the dugout. In her defense, the inning WAS over, but I'm not sure she knew that. We are in for a great season!

First time at bat

Avery running from 2nd to 3rd (but ending up in the dugout)

Ready position

My angel in the outfield

Getting some coaching from Alex at first base

Friends in the dugout

Mommy According to Avery

Here is a fun little game that I recently posted on Facebook. I don't usually do these types of things, but I thought I would enjoy knowing what Avery's perceptions of me were. It turned out to be quite fun! I had to ask Avery these questions and see what she said about me.

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you!
2. What makes mom happy? I guess when I say, "Mom, this dinner is sooooo delicious!"
3. What makes mom sad? If I get a spanking.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Tickle me.
5. What was your mom like as a child? You liked to play with your toys.
6. How old is your mom? 53 (a little digit reversal, I'm afraid, and one year off.)
7. How tall is your mom? Let me measure you...(leaves room to get a tape measure, returns empty handed). I guess I'll have to count you. She counts from 1 to 14 from my feet to my head and says, "14 tall."
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Go to the beach.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Sits there and cries and says, "Avery's not here to play with me."
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Everyone seed you.
11. What is your mom really good at? cooking supper
12. What is your mom not very good at? I'm thinking it's gonna hurt your feelings. (I told her it would not, and she changed her answer to "going to bed.")
13. What does your mom do for a job? clean up (it sure does feel like that's my full time job!)
14. What is your mom's favorite food? broccoli
15.What makes you proud of your mom? Taking me to Ella Sombrero for a date.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Larry the cucumber (had to ask why, and she said because you're straight and long. HA!)
17. What do you and your mom do together? go on a date
18. How are you and your mom the same? Both of us like to play on the computer and we both got blue eyes (hazel actually).
19. How are you and your mom different? Because you're bigger than me and I'm smaller than you.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? You kiss me and hug me.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? getting married
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? to choir

Snapshots Worth 1,000 Words

Sometimes during the day, I will catch one of the kids doing something cute or funny (and often mischevious). I have learned to have the camera nearby, so that I can snap a picture on a moment's notice. There are no long stories to go along with them - for the pictures tell their own story. Here are a few of my favorite snapshots from the last month.

OK, what is it with Asa and the feminine products? Guess I need to put them out of reach!

Avery and Brynn riding double on MY old horse - so sweet!

Asa giving me a big fat kiss! Love that boy!

Check out Brynn's shirt! HA! So appropriate for the girl who colors her lips with red marker and climbs into the bathroom sink to look at herself in the mirror (it's about to break off the wall!) She is the QUEEN of mischief!

She has an electrifying personality!

She's Jumpin' Her Pants Off

The other day, Brynn was jumping up and down in the living room, and she is so skinny, that her pants fell down. As if that wasn't funny enough, she looked at me and said, "Look Mommy, I just jumpted my pants off!"

A GRAND Day for Brynn

Brynn's Grandparents Tea was today, after being rescheduled from Monday due to the snow day. Grandmommy, Grandpapa, Granddad and PaPa were able to come, but Nonna and Grandma Shirley could not get out of work obligations for it. We sure did miss them. It's just a blessing to have 3 sets of them all in Macon! She had so many grandparents that she had a table ALL TO HERSELF!! Brynn had a ball pouring tea and singing songs for the Grands. The decorations were precious and the food was delicious. Here are some pictures...

Thanks to all of you guys for making this day special for Brynn!!

Snow Much Fun!!

WOW! I can't believe it actually happened - we got snow in Macon, Georgia for the first time in 7 years! It was in the high sixty's yesterday, and today it snowed - that's crazy Macon weather for ya! The girls were so excited to see their first snow, and we had so much fun playing in it. Granddad and Nonna came by to watch, and the 2 of them, along with Daddy helped Avery and Brynn build a great snowman! (We didn't have a carrot, so he has a hot dog nose! The girls thought that was quite hysterical!) Asa looked like the kid from "A Christmas Story" all bundled up to where he could hardly move. He was very subdued and fascinated by the whole thing. This was certainly a day to remember...because it may be while before it happens again.