The Little Red Hen

What parent doesn't love the story of the little red hen. Well, today, Emily's room had little paper clippings all over from us making snowflakes. So I said "Who will help me clean up the paper?"
"Not me!" chimed my two ever so helpful elder children.
Ben was sitting on my lap, so I thought I would take a second to review with him the lesson of this classic tale.
"Remember the story of the little red hen." I said
"Yes." replied Ben.
"What did everyone say when the little red hen asked for help?"
"Not I."
"And what did they little red hen say when they wanted to eat the bread that no one else helped make?"
"No."
"What do you think I am going to say next time you ask for bread."
"Yes."
"Why do you think that, when you don't want to help me?"
"Because it's store bought bread."
From there I was speechless. He had me. So, I paid a penny per piece of paper and it got cleaned up. What do you do when your kids are learning to outsmart you?

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

Well, I have to say that this has been the best Christmas I can remember having in a number of years. Our time with family this past weekend was wonderful. I enjoyed all the parties and people. This was a special year for the Baxter's since Sean and Melissa were here. We spent three days at Tom and Mary's in a crowded but happy house. The kids played, the adults enjoyed some relaxation. At least as much as you are allowed to have as a parent.
I especially want to thank everyone. We were recipients of wonderful gifts this year and we really loved everything. Our kids spent all day today just playing and loving every minute. Frankly, Emily spent all day scouting out candy canes and devising ways to get them open. But, I'm sure she will eventually want to check out the toys too. I thought about sending thank you notes to everyone, but I know myself better than to think I really will. So, thank you!!! We love you all. Our lives are so much better because of the family we have. Oh, and a special thanks to Mary for reorganizing the Baxter Christmas Eve party just so Nate and I could get our kids home for Christmas before the snow hit. Merry Christmas.

Mommy's Twelve Days of Christmas

1.On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
2.On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two days to sleep in and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
3.On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three glorious kids, two days to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
4.One the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me four nights of quiet, three glorious kids, two days to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
5.On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me five more feet of room on the bed. Four nights of quiet, three glorious kids, two days to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with poopy.
6.On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me six big fat hugs, five more feet of room on the bed, four nights of quiet, three glorious kids, two days to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
7.On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven dinners made, six big fat hugs, five more feet of room on the bed, four nights of quiet, three glorious kids, two mornings to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
8.On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me hours of scrap booking, seven dinners made, six big fat hugs, five more feet of room on the bed. Four nights of quiet, three glorious kids, two days to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
9.On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me nine movies of my choice. Eight hours of scrap booking, seven dinners made, six big fat hugs, five more feet of room on the bed. Four nights of quiet, three glorious kids, two days to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
10.On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten fingers massaging, nine movies of my choice, eight hours of scrap booking, seven dinners made, six big fat hugs, five more feet of room on the bed. Four nights of quiet, three glorious kids, two days to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
11.On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eleven nights of putting the kids to bed, ten fingers massaging, nine movies of my choice, eight hours of scrap booking, seven dinners made, six big fat hugs, five more feet of room on the bed. Four nights of quiet, three glorious kids, two days to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy.
12.On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me a twelve days in Hawaii, eleven nights of putting the kids to bed, ten fingers massaging, nine movies of my choice, eight hours of scrap booking, seven dinners made, six big fat hugs, five more feet of room on the bed. Four nights of quiet, three glorious kids, two days to sleep in, and changing Emily's diaper with a poopy!!!!!

When it rains it pours, or should I say, when it snows it's a blizzard.

Mud, mud, mud. That's what Nate drives through to get into the construction site he has been working at. Well, yesterday, as he raced through the mud (if you slow down or stop you get stuck)he hit a big rock. Quickly, he knew it was bad news. The van started shifting poorly. He couldn't even get it home. He barely made it to the Autozone. Lucky for us, it turned out the rock put a healthy sized gash in the transmission pan which cost us a minimal amount of money to fix, compared to what a destroyed transmission would have cost. However, it meant Nathan spent all day in the rain turned sleet turned snow laying under the van in the auto zone parking lot fixing the problem. Then, when it was finally all fixed we couldn't find the keys. We have two of them, and we seem to have lost both. That's only the beginning of our car problems, seeing as our new van, that I just had to have, has not run well for us hardly a day since we bought it. So, as I said, when it snows its a blizzard sometimes. We just have to grin and bear it. After all, when the blizzard is over, the world looks pretty good.

I'm Gettin' Nothin' for Christmas!

So, when I picked Ben up from school today I asked him the usual question. "How was School?"
Ben replied, "It was pretty good, but there was one part that was really bad."
"What part was that?"
"Well, I had to sit with my head down."
"Why?"
"I don't want to tell you."
"It's o.k. Ben. I won't get mad at you. You already got in trouble at school."
"Well, number one, I kicked someone during reading time. Number two, I threw a snowball during recess. Number three, I got sent away from the reading table because I was bawling."
"So, how long did you have two sit with your head down?" I inquired.
"The whole recess."
"Wow. So I guess it was kind of a hard day."
"Yea. It's because I didn't get enough sleep last night."
"Oh, you think so, huh?"
"No. It's true."
"Well, O.k. I guess we will get you to bed earlier tonight."
"Yea."

Just a friendly reminder to all that Christmas is coming, so make sure you have a good excuse for your bad behavior or you may get nuttin' for Christmas. HoHoHo!!!!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

I've started keeping a tally of how many times our beloved, puny, pathetic Christmas tree has been pulled over since we put it up Sunday. I am up to 6 so far. See, our problem is we have this adorable little toddler who thinks that she simply must have the shiny ornaments hanging on the tree. So, every time I leave her alone for too long, I hear a crash and then a cry. Our tree is just no match for her super hero strength. We have lost nearly every glass ornament we had. I think that would be 5 or 6 in total. I have also had to glue together several beloved ornaments that were injured in the continuous falls to the floor. I'm not sure the tree will survive Emily. Does anyone have a tree with a concrete base we could borrow:). Happy Holidays.

Thanksgiving

Well, it's Thanksgiving this week. I have so many reasons to be thankful, but I must say all of them are connected to family. There is nothing that I feel I can't live without, except my family. Yes, I am thankful to have a roof over my head, to have a car to drive, and food to put on the table everyday, and I suppose I really couldn't live without those things. But, without family my heart would break. The older I get the more often I see children who live in such poverty, both financial and emotional. I realize how blessed I was to have loving parents and siblings and a home in a nice neighborhood where I could have good friends. I hope Nathan and I are going to be able to provide those things for our children.
Life brings us things that are unexpected and sometimes hard. For me, in those moments there always a mother, a sister, a husband, or a friend to call and talk to. I am never alone.

Happy Thankgiving. And Thanks to all.

Why does this happen every morning?

I wake up and look at the clock. Ahhh! It's already 7:45. Hurry down stairs and throw some eggos in the toaster. I turn on the tv. No more "Sponge Bob" in the morning. We are giving our minds a jump start with "Super Why" on PBS. Down stairs I go to gently urge Ben to get up. Ben comes upstairs and wants to sit on the couch to watch TV. "No, no, "I say. "You have to eat fast, fast, fast."
Rachel comes up and lays on the couch. I won't talk to her for at least five minutes. Her morning wrath can be frightening. She'll eat when she is ready. "Waaa!" Upstairs Emily starts to cry, but I've got to get Ben some clothes first. I run downstairs. I hope he has some warm clothes in his drawer. I grab the first thing I see and rush it upstairs. "Ben, put these on."
Upstairs I go to get Emily. "Mom, what took you so long" Emily's eyes say. Downstairs we go. Emily goes in the high chair. She smiles as she stuffs several bites of eggos in her mouth. "MMMM. My favorite meal" she seems to say.
Help. It is already 8:15. "Ben, why aren't you dressed yet." I grab his clothes and start pulling jammies off as fast as I can. Finally, he's dressed. "Brush your teeth" I say. I wrap Rachel in a blanket and haul her out to the cold car. O.k. She's buckled. Now for Emily. I repeat the same process. "Oh good, your done brushing your teeth. Get in the car and don't forget your backpack."
Everyone is in the car. It's 8:25. Maybe we can still beat the bell. Off we go. "Slow down" I tell myself. We pull up in front of the school. I jump out and run around to open Ben's door. I hear the bell ring. Oh well. He's late again. His 46% tardy record isn't going to improve anytime soon. "I love you Ben. Be good at school." "I love you too, mom" Boy, I love my kids.