"Veggameatabreadatarian"

We were having supper tonight and found ourselves marvelling at how different our children are regarding food. Our son, Bailey, has always been a good eater...providing that we serve foods that he likes. I don't think he is a particularly picky eater, but there are certain foods he will NOT eat. He won't touch fish, for example; not even fish sticks. He doesn't like salads either. Not green salad, potato salad, egg salad...he doesn't really like things mixed together at all. He has always been a meat & potatoes (mashed or baked) kind of kid. He must take after my side of the family. He will begrudgingly eat his cooked vegetables, beans and peas if we urge him along. We have always kept it simple with him, avoiding too much seasoning, often not having things that are too exotic, etc. My daughter, Emily, on the other hand, loves vegetables. She has frequently been known to eat all the veggies on her plate first and sometimes pass right over the meat and starch. She loves salad, too, which I thought all kids hated.?? And I won't even talk about the raw peppers, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and those peppers they give you in the PapaJohn's Pizza box. I don't even touch those, but she likes them. Raw fruits and vegetables are often what she chooses for snacks, as well. She must take after her Granny Sharon, my sweet mom-in-law. Anyway, tonight we were trying to get Bailey to eat his steamed veggies & lima beans. All the while, we also tried to get Emily to at least try her chicken & rice. I joked that between the two of them they eat a complete meal. Haha! I also made mention that Emily is just a natural vegetarian. To which, my son said, "Well, I'm a veggameatatarian." A short pause and he added, "No, I'm a veggameatabreadatarian. I like bread, too." LOL

"The Hard Way"

The funniest thing happened last weekend. My 3 1/2-yr-old nephew, Collin, had come to stay with us on Friday, while his mom, my sweet sis-in-law Courtney, had jury duty. The kids played hard all day long and had such a great time. In the evening, after we ate dinner, the two boys went right back to playing. At one point, they came out of the bedroom dressed-up head to toe...Bailey was Darth Vader, Collin was the red Power Ranger...both wielding light sabres. It was hilarious to watch them go at each other while trying not to run into furniture, knock things over, hit the walls or hurt each other. And amusingly they did this while my oblivious husband sat on the couch reading the latest copy of his favorite Mopar magazine. Kids are better than TV! A short while into it they both stopped to take a breath and plan their next move. Bailey looked at Collin and in a very serious tone said, "Okay, we can do this the easy way or the hard way!" There was a momentary pause, then Collin very matter-of-factly replied, "THE HARD WAY," and gave Bailey's light sabre a good whack. Courtney and I looked at each other and started cracking up laughing. What made it even more amusing was that Bailey stands a good head-and-shoulders over Collin, but Collin was fearless in his challenge. The whole thing made me think. Isn't that how we are sometimes as adults. God says, "Okay. we can do this the easy way or the hard way." We barely pause to think about it and CHOOSE the hard way in our inexperience or arrogance. Sometimes it's just our thirst for excitement that drives us into challenges we might be better off avoiding. And often we do this with no fear of what might happen if life gets a little out of control. As I've gotten older, I realize that the hard way does not come without it's repercussions and consequences. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." He offers us the easy way. We should all learn more quickly to take hold of it.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things 1

Like most parents of young children, I am always amused by the things my children say. The other day my 8-year-old son, Bailey, was showing off his video gaming talents to my father, his Pawpaw. He just recently got the game system, but has quickly learned how to play several of the games very well. Unfortunately, the rest of the family is not so talented at playing them, so he is always looking for someone new to challenge him at Mario Bros., Star Wars, or whichever of the games he happens to be interested in that day. Anyway, he convinced Pawpaw to play a game with him and off they went to the bedroom to play. I could hear Bailey from the other room explaining, in his 8-year-old way, how the game was played, what the object of the game was, which buttons on the controller did what functions, etc. He quickly rambled through it all and then said, "Okay, Pawpaw, let's play." Having been through the same "instruction-time" with him myself, I could sense the confusion from the other room. But, Pawpaw, in his best way, said, "Okay, let's play." Anyway, I was visiting with my Mom, and we could hear them going at it the other room...mostly Bailey saying, "No, Pop, not that way, this way," or "you have to hit that button, no that button, no, no, no..." After a long while of giving it his best shot, my poor Dad finally gave up and "let him win." When it was all over, my sweet son looked at my Dad and said in his most serious tone, "Pawpaw, you're going to have to improve." LOL Fortunately, Pawpaw was tickled pink over that and will have plently of chances to hone his gaming skills. Every time they come to visit, Bailey asks him to play again. I'm glad my Dad has a great sense of humor.

Bathtime Again??

Is there such a thing as being too clean? My children LOVE to take baths. Not just baths, but bubble baths, showers, runs through the sprinklers. They are amphibious. They love to be wet. You may be thinking this is not such a bad thing. However, my kids have been known to take two or three baths a day, which my husband thinks is ridiculous and a colossal waste of water. I usually relent and just let them take one when they want to take one. After all, to them, it's not just about being clean. It's about playing with toys and being wet and playing with toys and maybe cleaning behind their ears and playing with toys. In other words, it's a complete kid experience. And they do come out happy and smelling good. Anyway, the other day, Emily had the mother-of-all-fits because I would not let her take a shower right after jumping out of the bathtub. She screamed and cried and would not let me dress her, but I stuck to my guns. I mean, for goodness sake, she had just taken a bath. Anyway, she protested for a very long time as I went about my daily list of things I had to do. At some point I realized that she was no longer crying...and it was eerily quiet in the house. I started to look for my precious 2-year-old only to find her fully dressed, soaking wet, IN THE SHOWER! She was standing there shivering because she couldn't figure out to make the hot water come out. Sweet little wonderbug KNEW not to call for Mother's help, so she was just standing there in the cold shower in all her clothes. By the time I got to her, she was ready to get out. Anyway, I think she learned her lesson and so did I. There is no such thing as too many baths!

These 2's Shall Pass

My mother, a woman of great wisdom and integrity, has a phrase she repeats to me when my life seems to be spinning out of control. "This too shall pass," she always says. Oh, how I have to remember that with my 2-year-old daughter, Emily. She is an adorable little girl, but she can be a real pistol. Because there are six years between our two children, often Emily thinks that she is as big as her older brother Bailey. Everywhere he goes, there she is right behind him. A few days ago, we attended Bailey's End of the Year Party for school at a place that has a bunch of those huge inflatable play zones. All the children in his small class scattered and began climbing and sliding and jumping. I was chatting it up with the other parents when I suddenly realized that I could not see Emily. I quickly excused myself and began looking around for her only to find her at the very top of the biggest inflatable slide in the place...with a huge smile on her face like she had accomplished something...and rightfully so. I did not think for one minute that she could climb all the way to the top of that thing. And the big question running through my mind was, "How am I going to get her down?" Before I even finished my thought, she threw her leg over the top, then finished climbing over with the other leg and quick as a flash she was sliding down that slide all by herself. I have to mention that the slide was about 12-15 feet high. It was huge! I cannot the describe the sheer panic I experienced in those few short seconds and the rush of relief that followed. She stood up and ran into my arms giggling, then pushed herself away and down and began to run toward the entrance so she could do it again! By this time, the "safety moniter" spotted her, and came bounding onto the apparatus right behind her, followed her up and slid down with her. I don't even know if he saw her do it all by herself the first time. Anyway, I share that story to make this point. Time passes all too quickly in this life. It seems like just yesterday I gave birth this child and now, suddenly, she's daring to climb to the top of a huge slide, jump from the side of the pool and rollerskate down the driveway. Where did the last two years go? And really, for that matter, where did the last eight years go? Or the last twenty? I am learning, through motherhood, to relish each moment...even the moments of panic and relief...because, as my wise mother has repeatedly said, "this too shall pass." And it will probably pass quicker than you'd like it to. People tell you when you are young how quickly it goes by, but you don't start to believe it until a lot of yours has gone.