What time is it?

Lucas and Noah have been hard to settle down tonight.



After putting them back in the bed for the 2nd time, I heard familiar sounds of electronic toys playing music. I walked down the hallway to see a glow of light coming from their room.



Peeking in confirmed my suspicions. Lucas had turned on the light and both boys were in the floor playing.



Of course, as soon as they saw me, they quickly jumped back into their beds.



I stood beside Lucas and said, "Lucas, what time is it?" expecting a reply of 'night-time' or 'time to go to sleep' or 'bedtime'.



" I don't know," he said.



"Yes, you do. Tell me what time it is," I demanded.



"Ummmm.....3:30?"



The firm discipline flew right out the window as I began to laugh.



I couldn't even finish the discussion.

Giants in the land

Lucas is supposed to be taking a nap when I hear strange sounds coming from his room.



A few seconds later I hear



"Mommy, what do you think I'm dressed up like?"



"Lucas, why aren't you in your bed taking a nap?"



"I want to know what you think I'm dressed up like."



"I don't know. Why don't you tell me."



"I'm dressed up like King Saul in his army" (translated, I have on King Saul's armor.)



Curiously, I walk back to his room to see him standing at the baby gate that blocks his escape from his room, dressed in pull ups. He had gotten into a box of pull-ups that were in his closet waiting to be used by Noah.



He had one on his head....a helmet I was told.........and several others wherever he could get them.



"King Saul is just letting me use this while I fight Golaith," he said.



"Okay, Lucas, you go fight Goliath then you must take a nap," I told him.



"It'll only take a minute. I'm going to do it real quick," he said and off he went to fight imaginary giants.

Birthdays and Batteries

I've been talking about it for sometime now, but today is Noah's birthday!



We had his party Saturday night. It seems like Christmas has already come to our house because there are new toys crowding up the family room.



speaking of new toys: Kyle has a theory that the major toy companies have deals with battery manufacturers. Every toy Noah got for his birthday requires batteries. Not just one battery, but more like 3 or 6 batteries per toy. And there is no off switch. The toys are made to "automatically turn off after 2 hours of non-use." Which means, "We want the batteries to work overtime even when your child is not actually benefitting from their source of energy."



So, until some bright person develops a way for modern toys to run without batteries, we'll just keep on stocking up whenever there's a sale.

A laugh

I laughed this morning when I looked at the ads atop my page:



HotMommies



Maybe "they" should look at my content a little more closely! :)

To be a Mary

I've been thinking a lot this Christmas season about Mary. Having 3 little boys now, I can't imagine what went through her mind as the angel told her that she was going to have the son of God. What an awesome responsibility!



Did she fully understand what it would entail? Did she realize exactly who she carried in her womb? Did she know as he grew that he was God in human flesh?



What was it like to watch Jesus, all God yet all human, learn to sit up, crawl, walk, and talk? Did he have a smile that captured the hearts of everyone who saw him? What was his laugh like? Was it contagious?



Did Mary ever stop to think why she was chosen? I know she must have thought, "Why me, Lord? Who am I to be mother to the son of God?"



Did she ever second guess her decision? After all, so much was at stake. She could lose Joseph, her fiance. And her reputation.......well, that was certainly down the tubes.



Did she ever think she wasn't good enough? Did she think it seemed to be an impossible task to be mother to Jesus?



Yet she accepted the task with a willing heart.



"I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. " (Luke 1:38 NLT)



Lord, may I be like Mary. Willing to accept whatever it is you ask of me, no matter how much I don't understand or how great the task may seem.

Today

Well, the recital went off wonderfully. It was so short, though. One of the dad's told us after it was over that he brought a book in case it got too long! It's not going to be a long recital if there are only 3 students playing and 2 of them have only been taking for 2 months. Just not much you can do with that. It was very nice, though, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.



I have spent the day cleaning my boys' rooms. They were in dire need of it, though it doesn't do a whole lot of good. 15 minutes later and there are toys all over the floor again! I'm teaching Lucas to clean up, and he does a decent job, but Noah comes right behind him pulling things out again, so Lucas doesn't really get motivated to clean anything. Guess I wouldn't either.



The rest of today is devoted to folding laundry. Yes, folding. It's all been washed, and is lying in big piles on the floor. So, now it's folding time! Whoo Hooo!

And your name is????

The other day while dropping off a prescription to the pharmacy we use, I had the following conversation.



Pharmacist at drive thru window: Can I help you?

Me: Yes, I need to drop off these prescriptions.

Pharmacist: Noah *******. The ******* boys. You've been here before.

Me: Yes, quite a bit.



Now, is it just me or is it a bad sign that the pharmacist remembers us out of the hundreds of prescriptions he fills a day.



We've been there WAY too much, I think!

Recoveries and Recitals

Seems as if everyone in our house is feeling better. The coughing has quieted down quite a bit and I'm keeping everyone in for a few more days. If we can keep the flu away from our household, especially Jacob...the only non-vaccinated family member....we'll be doing great. By the time he was old enough for a flu shot, he had pneumonia, and now that's he's well enough to get one, they're all gone. C'est la vie.



My house is a wreck today, and it HAS to be cleaned. I teach piano to 3 little girls and tonight is their first piano recital. The entire recital will probably last all of 3 minutes, but they are excited about it. Actually, I think mommys and daddys are more excited than they are, but isn't it usually that way?



So, tonight, we will cram 20 extra people into our very small dining area. I say area because it flows openly into the family room, so it's not technically a dining ROOM, just a dining AREA. And it's not used for dining, just for a piano.



Anyway, I'm sure it will be a fun night for everyone involved. Expect to see more about it tomorrow!

God's timing

One week from today, my little Noah will turn 2. I should be saving this blog for his birthday I guess, but I've been thinking so much about it, I'll go ahead and do it now.



I don't have favorites with my kids, but there is just something special about little Noah. God's got big plans for him, and I can't wait to see what they are. God is teaching me all about HIS timing through Noah.



Noah surprised US (not God) 2 years ago by entering the world 6 weeks early. Not due until the end of January, I was shocked to wake up December 14, 2001 with contractions. After spending several late night hours in the hospital, they succeeded in stopping the labor and sent me home. 2 hours later, we returned and Noah made his entrance into the world at 9:56 am on December 15.



To the surprise of everyone, except our mighty God, Noah came out screaming and needed no stay in the NICU.



From then on, Noah has brought delight to us all. He is full of mischievousness and you can see the sparkle in his eye when he has done something out of his boundaries. Yet he also has the tenderest heart imaginable. One disappointed look from his dad or my eyes will bring him to tears. Don't think for a minute that this stops him from getting into things that his older brother has never thought twice about. Noah receives his share of disciplining in our house!



Because he was 6 weeks early, Noah has been a late bloomer. He crawled late, walked late, and we're still waiting on the talking part. His vocabulary consists of about 10 words, only 2 of which a bystander would be able to understand. His understanding of language, however, is not lacking, as he makes up signs for words that he cannot yet pronounce.



This lack of vocabulary has left me helpless. Expecting him to be a carbon copy of his brother was the first thing I had to ask forgiveness for. God has helped me see how unique each one of my children are. But his speech is something I continually have to turn over to God.



The other day, we received a Focus on the Family publication. There was an article in it that caught my eye, and I know God placed it in there especially for me. The article spoke of a little boy, who, like Noah, was late speaking. He finally began speaking in his own time. At the end of the article, his mother stated:



"All those months, while I waited and worried, he was developing just as God intended. While I quietly doubted God's timing, my son listened, learned and grew according to the clock God gave him. That's how it is with God. He has good plans for us, but seldom do they fit our self-created timelines."



Thank you, Lord, for the reminder that Noah is your child and you have created him in your image and with a great plan for his life.

I was frightened today by a trip to my local grocery store.



After retrieving all the items on my list I headed for a check out. With only 2 to choose from, I took the one with the lesser line.



As I made my way closer to the conveyer belt (is that what those things are called?), I was distracted from events taking place in front of me by magazines and tabloids planted purposefully in my view.



When it was my turn, I began unloading my groceries from the buggy (I've been told this is a 'cart' but my Southern Mississippi roots refuse to allow me to call it such).



As I was doing this, the cashier asked "Ma'am did you find everything you were looking for?"



I shook my head yes to avoid spitting the peppermint out of my mouth as I spoke.



Obviously she didn't notice the head shaking.



"Ma'am, did you find everything you needed?" she asked again, a little more emphasis in her voice.



This time I shook my head and answered vocally "uh-huh"



Again, she didn't hear me and as I placed the last item down on the belt she said,

"I asked you, Ma'am, did you find everything you needed?



Now, this was a little more than just emphasis on her words. It was the gruffest, strongest vocal empasis that I probably have heard since I was a child and had just shot out my parents camper window with my brother's BB gun.



I felt scolded.



"Yes ma'am. I did find everything I needed. Thank you."



"Good. Have a good day sweetie," she said with a smile.



Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde if you ask me.

Mmmmm

One of those things that i need to get done tonight is finishing decorating my Christmas tree. It is all complete except for one project that i was adament about doing this year. I had the great idea to string popcorn and cranberries for garland on the tree. It does look nice. The problem is I've been working on this for a week now, and only have half the tree done.



The other problem is every time we turn around, Noah is eating the popcorn off the tree!

peace and quiet!

Lucas and Noah are at their Mimi and PawPaw's tonight! It's so quiet around here, I'm almost lost!



I have tons of things that I need to get done while their not around, but I have somehow wasted the night away watching Survivor and eating pizza. What a night!

oh yeah...

I forgot to post that Noah will be celebrating 2 years of life...



for those of you who care. And those who don't, you should! ;)

Happy Birthday

to Noah. Not yet, actually, he has 11 more days. However, I have yet to plan anything. I do know that I'll be baking a Blue's Clue's birthday cake, but beyond that, it's a mystery.



I laugh at the remembrance of Lucas' 1st birthday. I began planning when he was 6 months. And, yes, I took the entire 6 months to plan the monster of all parties. Complete with party hats, blowers, and party favors. What 1 year old needs a party blower or a party favor?



I have since come to realize that until they are older, birthday parties are more for the adults involved since the child will have no recollection of anything that will take place, nor does he care if the party hats are from Birthday Express or the Dollar Tree.



So now my party planning is reduced to the last few days before the actual event. It'll all get done and Noah will never know that his mom forgot to plan his birthday party until 2 weeks before! :)

light at the end of the tunnel

I finally see it! Seems like Jacob is in better spirits today after a few treatments with an albuterol inhaler and an antibiotic for an ear infection. It seems when kids are little (as all 3 of mine still are) that their illnesses are never-ending. Surely it's only a matter of time until their immune systems are tough enough to handle most of what is thrown at them, but until then, I'll spend much of the winter locked inside my house with 3 little boys and their germs.

frustration

Okay. Here's my rant for the day.



This is the 3rd day in a row to take Jacob to the doctor. Something is wrong with this child, and no doctor can tell me what it is. Monday he was there for a nasty nasty cough and a rattle in his chest. Because of his recent pneumonia case, I took him in to make sure all was clear. The doctor told me I was basically paranoid and that he was clear. Bring him back if he develops a fever.



Monday afternoon he awoke with a fever. "No problem" I was told after calling the office. If it last for 2 days, call us back.



Yesterday afternoon, he awoke from a nap, still with fever, and now crying non-stop for over an hour. This is not like him at all. I call the doctor and they tell me there are no appts. left. They also tell me I need to take him to the Children's Healthcare urgent care office. So, off we go.



Chest x-ray is clear. Flu test is negative. It's probably the cough medicine you gave him that's making him cry and fuss, I'm told.



Last night, fever all night, coughing all night, no sleep.



This morning, coughing up green stuff, vomiting, still slight fever. I call back and they tell me to bring him in this afternoon.



Kyle says I need to tell them I'm not paying for this visit. I think I agree with him.

Lazy Day

I'm having one of those days. I have no desire to do anything that is on my "to do" list. I've had the tv on all morning for the boys, which is something I try very hard not to do. I feel guilty, but it hasn't motivated me to get up and turn it off. I did fold a basket of laundry a while ago, but nothing since then.



Maybe this afternoon will be more produtive than this morning has been.