Well, today is TuTu's and Loo's last day here...and W evidently feels quite comfortable with them. This morning, TuTu reported that W was in his room getting dressed and in the middle of the process (while completely naked, of course) he has to go to the bathroom, so he runs from his room to the bathroom....then when he's finished his business in the bathroom, instead of going back to his room to finish the job of getting his clothes on, he comes into the living room (still wearing nothing but what God gave him) where TuTu is....shocked, TuTu asks what he's doing?
W says "I just needed to blow you a kiss, Tutu!!!" and then blows her a kiss....while standing there in all of his naked glory. He turns around and runs back to his room.
TuTu has now heard and seen enough of W and his "boy parts", I believe...she's ready to pack it in and head home. Will she ever babysit for me again?
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
This week, dear Hubby is out of town, suffering for Jesus in the mountains of New Mexico, leading worship for a camp there. Two of my beautiful nieces (TuTu - almost 17) and Loo (13 1/2) came to stay with me and keep me company and stay with A&W whilst I am at work...I love it because even thought A&W are the youngest of the grandchildren on my side, it gives them a chance to hang out with their older cousins and they can "BOND"...
Well, evidently W feels good and "bonded"...at least enough to just say it like it is around them...yesterday morning, as I was leaving for work and telling W goodbye, he suddenly felt the need to tell me something very important...
W: "Momma, I woke up this morning because I felt pee..."
Me: Thinking maybe he figured he'd better tell me if he wet his bed, I ask "You did? Did you wet the bed, W?"
W: Looking at me like I'm the craziest woman on the planet, he says "NO, Momma!!!! I just woke up because my penis was full and it felt like it was going to explode!!!!"
Poor Tutu was sitting there and witnessed all of this. Please understand, Tutu is the oldest of 3 girls, no brothers...I thought she was going to fall out of her chair...she didn't know whether to be embarassed or to laugh, it seemed. W, however, didn't know what he had done that made us crack up...he was just stating it like it was.
Why is it again that I felt the need to be all anatomically correct with naming my children's body parts? I seem to recall the notion of trying to dispel the idea of shame or mystery about how God created girls and boys differently - something like that. Evidently it worked. W has no problem discussing his "boy parts" and labeling them with their proper names these days, whether it's just to me, to his t-ball coach, or the church nursery worker. Tutu just got the wonderful opportunity to experience this first hand this week.
P.S. Tutu and Loo have been alot of fun this week...I love them bunches. It brings a different sort of life into the house when you have 2 teenagers there!
Well, evidently W feels good and "bonded"...at least enough to just say it like it is around them...yesterday morning, as I was leaving for work and telling W goodbye, he suddenly felt the need to tell me something very important...
W: "Momma, I woke up this morning because I felt pee..."
Me: Thinking maybe he figured he'd better tell me if he wet his bed, I ask "You did? Did you wet the bed, W?"
W: Looking at me like I'm the craziest woman on the planet, he says "NO, Momma!!!! I just woke up because my penis was full and it felt like it was going to explode!!!!"
Poor Tutu was sitting there and witnessed all of this. Please understand, Tutu is the oldest of 3 girls, no brothers...I thought she was going to fall out of her chair...she didn't know whether to be embarassed or to laugh, it seemed. W, however, didn't know what he had done that made us crack up...he was just stating it like it was.
Why is it again that I felt the need to be all anatomically correct with naming my children's body parts? I seem to recall the notion of trying to dispel the idea of shame or mystery about how God created girls and boys differently - something like that. Evidently it worked. W has no problem discussing his "boy parts" and labeling them with their proper names these days, whether it's just to me, to his t-ball coach, or the church nursery worker. Tutu just got the wonderful opportunity to experience this first hand this week.
P.S. Tutu and Loo have been alot of fun this week...I love them bunches. It brings a different sort of life into the house when you have 2 teenagers there!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Deal or No Deal?
There are many things we may "fear" in life - whether it be the fear of spiders, the fear of losing someone we love, the fear of losing control...these fears rear their ugly little heads and we suddenly feel like that 4 year old child who was afraid of the dark or of monsters under your bed - the emotions are real and they are terrifying.
This weekend, my beautiful daughter found herself face to face with a bone-chilling, tears down the face fear...Normally, A is my "fearless" one - she doesn't know a stranger, she doesn't hesitate to try new things (except for food!), she's confident, she's secure in who she is...W is the one who hates change or hates having to do new things out of fear of failure or not doing it up to these imaginary standards he has in his head.
Our family went to the lake with Hubby's parents...and we took the boat out to the middle of the lake and stopped to take a swim since it was 100+ degrees out. Everyone had on their life jackets...W jumped in with his Pops with hardly any hesitation at all and swam around like a crazy man. A, however, could not stand the thought of jumping into a lake where she couldn't touch the bottom and couldn't see what was floating around and under her. She wanted to do it so desperately, but her fears held her back...she was terrified, even though her daddy was waiting to catch her when she jumped in the water. There was much drama and gnashing of teeth...so I told her she didn't have to and could stay on the boat with me...MORE drama and gnashing of teeth!! She WANTED to so badly. I promise, we talked about it for over an HOUR...when I say talk, I really mean I tried to reason with her, she cried, I got frustrated, she cried, I tried to be motivating, she cried...I told her to yell "I CAN DO THIS!" at the top of her lungs, she looks at me like I'm crazy...I told her that we would never let anything bad happen to her, she glares at me...finally, I start telling her that most of the time, we make the thing we are afraid of bigger than it really is - the "idea" of jumping into the water was HUGE to her while the actual event would last maybe 2 seconds. By this time, she was able to express to me that she REALLY WANTED to do it and knew she'd be sad if she didn't, but it was so hard!
That's when I hit negotiating mode...I knew she would be very upset and disappointed if we left and she didn't do this, so I tried to sweeten the deal..I told her if she'd conquer her fear, that I would conquer one of mine...that I was afraid of holding her pet lizards, they creeped me out. I could look at them through the aquarium all day, but I was afraid to hold them - especially her pet bearded dragon, King Randall. He's small and wiry and fast and likes to bite people if they tick him off (it doesn't hurt because he has no teeth, but STILL!!)...so if she'd jump into the lake, I'd hold all 4 of the creatures of the reptilian nature who currently reside in our home, even King Randall. That brought a sparkle to her eyes...she thought that would be funny, to see me do something I was afraid of and she wasn't....Her Nonni also joined in the deal making - Nonni doesn't like water and can't swim, either, but she agreed to get in the water w/a life jacket on if A would...So, after much effort and lots of persuasion, A finally jumped into the open arms of her daddy, who was waiting in the water for her (water-logged after waiting over an hour for her to make up her mind!)....it really gave me lots to think about...how we so often WANT to trust God, to just free-fall into His arms - we want it SO BADLY that we cry and throw a fit and we know we'll be so disappointed and sad if we don't do it - but that fear holds us back..it prevents us from experiencing something new, something exciting, something fun, something comforting - from some blessing that God has waiting for us if we'd just trust Him to catch us. At one point, her daddy asked A if she trusted him...she said "YES, but it's still so scary, Daddy..." It is, isn't it? It's scary to give up control...even when we know in our head and in our heart that God will be there to catch us...what an illustration of my own struggles with God....my fear of letting go and letting Him have control.
P.S. I also got suckered into a deal to KISS the chuckwalla lizard, Chuckie, by W...he made a deal that if he jumped in from the top of the boat, then I had to kiss Chuckie...so I guess I'll be puckering up. Why is it I fell for that one? Oh yeah, because my little W is such a sweet-talking charmer who tells me I'm beautiful at least 3 times a day! :)
King Randall - he is MEAN & SCARY, I tell you!
Me kissing Chuckie, the chuckwalla lizard - not quite so mean and scary...he's normally a kindergarten class pet but A is babysitting for the summer, so he's not nearly as ferocious as the King.
A showing sweet support for her momma by showing me it's not that bad to kiss a lizard.
I also had to hold 2 salamanders - Big Daddy & Sally - who we are pet-sitting for some friends this week...can you say slimy? CB, I hope you are proud of me.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Eat Like Movie Stars
Just a quick W-ism for this morning....as a fam, we decided to go see Kung Fu Panda last night at the theater..however, it was right smack during the middle of supper time so I told the kids we were going to do something unusual today and eat POPCORN for supper (my mom does it all of the time, doesn't that make it okay?). I know, a lazy mom moment, but what the heck. It's summer.
Anyways, W proceeds to tell his sister they are going to be MOVIE STARS today!!! Huh?
W: "Yeah, we are going to be movie stars and eat popcorn for supper!! That's what all of the movie stars do...."
Really....thanks for that tiny bit of I'm-not-sure-where-that-came-from-in-your-brain knowledge, son.
FYI - the movie was great!!!
Anyways, W proceeds to tell his sister they are going to be MOVIE STARS today!!! Huh?
W: "Yeah, we are going to be movie stars and eat popcorn for supper!! That's what all of the movie stars do...."
Really....thanks for that tiny bit of I'm-not-sure-where-that-came-from-in-your-brain knowledge, son.
FYI - the movie was great!!!
Friday, June 6, 2008
June 6th
Today is my 10th wedding anniversary - I was married on June 6, 1998! I decided to entertain myself (and you!) with some photos from my wedding...we were SO COOL in the late 90's. A is fascinated by these pictures and wants to watch my wedding video, too...maybe I'm going too deep here, but it seems to give her a sense of who she is and who her family is...
Anyway, I was thinking about my wedding day - how there were SO many things that just went wrong that day (umm, the flowers came in the WRONG color, the greenery caught fire at the front of the church, the limo was an hour and 1/2 late picking us up, need I go on?) but I was not nervous, I wasn't anxious, I felt amazingly calm and peaceful. Nothing got to me on my actual wedding day. The worst was the Thursday before...:) But there were so many people who I loved so much there that day - pitching in to help in whatever way they could....
My Ma was there, giving us all directions and keeping us sane...it happens to be her anniversary, too. I chose that day as a way to honor her. I mean, what are the chances of it being a Saturday? It was fate. She and my Pa got married on June 6, 1944 - D-day and smack in the middle of WWII. My Pa was on a short-leave from serving in the U.S. Army infantry. He would end up marching across Europe and seeing lots of things he chose to not speak about ever again. This is the first time in my married life I haven't been able to call Ma and tell her happy anniversary today to hear her say "Happy Anniversary to you, Gayle!" right back...I miss her.
My uncle Stephen was there...he served as the baker and caterer and all around entertainment for all of us. He made both the bride's cake and the groom's cake...and he took care of all of the food for the reception - we dipped strawberries in chocolate, we cut out melon balls, we made little sandwiches, we made meatballs, we did alot...but, you see, June 6th is also my uncle Stephen's birthday!!!! He was born June 6th, 1965. He spent his birthday doing all of these amazing things for me....My uncle Stephen died on June 1, 2001. I miss him so much.
My mom and dad were there...doing the things required of moms and dads at their daughter's wedding...but doing it exceptionally!! I am sure there were a few tears shed, but my parents never do anything half-way and this was no exception...they worked hard...and they celebrated with me. My husband tells me my dad caught him alone before the wedding and told him that he was giving him his treasure, and he'd dang sure better take good care of me. That's my dad. My parents were engaged on June 6th, 1965...my mom came home to tell her mom that she was engaged to find she was at the hospital giving birth to her youngest brother...my mom was 18, my dad was 19. They were married on Sept. 11, 1965 and have now been married 42+ years....
So June 6th has lots of significance for me...and it's pretty emotionally overwhelming...so enough of that and on to the funny stuff...the pictures!!!
Anyway, I was thinking about my wedding day - how there were SO many things that just went wrong that day (umm, the flowers came in the WRONG color, the greenery caught fire at the front of the church, the limo was an hour and 1/2 late picking us up, need I go on?) but I was not nervous, I wasn't anxious, I felt amazingly calm and peaceful. Nothing got to me on my actual wedding day. The worst was the Thursday before...:) But there were so many people who I loved so much there that day - pitching in to help in whatever way they could....
My Ma was there, giving us all directions and keeping us sane...it happens to be her anniversary, too. I chose that day as a way to honor her. I mean, what are the chances of it being a Saturday? It was fate. She and my Pa got married on June 6, 1944 - D-day and smack in the middle of WWII. My Pa was on a short-leave from serving in the U.S. Army infantry. He would end up marching across Europe and seeing lots of things he chose to not speak about ever again. This is the first time in my married life I haven't been able to call Ma and tell her happy anniversary today to hear her say "Happy Anniversary to you, Gayle!" right back...I miss her.
My uncle Stephen was there...he served as the baker and caterer and all around entertainment for all of us. He made both the bride's cake and the groom's cake...and he took care of all of the food for the reception - we dipped strawberries in chocolate, we cut out melon balls, we made little sandwiches, we made meatballs, we did alot...but, you see, June 6th is also my uncle Stephen's birthday!!!! He was born June 6th, 1965. He spent his birthday doing all of these amazing things for me....My uncle Stephen died on June 1, 2001. I miss him so much.
My mom and dad were there...doing the things required of moms and dads at their daughter's wedding...but doing it exceptionally!! I am sure there were a few tears shed, but my parents never do anything half-way and this was no exception...they worked hard...and they celebrated with me. My husband tells me my dad caught him alone before the wedding and told him that he was giving him his treasure, and he'd dang sure better take good care of me. That's my dad. My parents were engaged on June 6th, 1965...my mom came home to tell her mom that she was engaged to find she was at the hospital giving birth to her youngest brother...my mom was 18, my dad was 19. They were married on Sept. 11, 1965 and have now been married 42+ years....
So June 6th has lots of significance for me...and it's pretty emotionally overwhelming...so enough of that and on to the funny stuff...the pictures!!!
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