When we look for the good, we see the best

In lieu of my recent discovery, that I need help mothering sweet little Addy, I have learned that I can see the princess in her when I try. When we look for beautiful flowers, we see endless gardens. I am not cured, I still need daily help, but thanks for the good advice friends. I have learned that I DO have more patience. The Lord loves us and has given us wonderful determined spirits because he trusts us. Les Clawson said it best, "Just remember, one day your kids will be adults and you will look up to them and admire them more than you know. Treat them like adults now and they will be your examples in years to come." Thanks Dad. Addy and I had a great week being patient with each other. I spoke to her calmly and in more detail. I do love my crazy little Patters.

Addy came downstairs last night and said, "Mom and Dad, I got your bed all ready for you, so, just go right upstairs and get in it." I heard her, but didn't really listen. I had no idea what she meant until I went upstairs to our bedroom and saw this:
She turned our lamps on, took out some pillows so we could get in, she gave us each a remote(I don't know where she got 2 or how that would work.) She also chose some wonderful books from our library. "Better Dads, Stronger Sons" and "HELP! Around the House" for me. Thanks Addy.

Incrimination

So, a recent forewarning has caught my attention:
If we willingly admit that we are breaking the law, we can put ourselves in jail. The eldest sis in the Clawson family is taking care of her younger sisters. (Lori is a good mother hen. Thanks for watching out for us.)
**If we admit that we leave our 3 little kids in the car when we run in a store(Janney), we admit we are breaking the law.
**If we say that that our 2 year old has broken her arm 3 different times and we don't know how it happened(Debs), then we are admitting to neglect or abuse.
**If we admit that we purposely leave our 6 year old at home because they are being a brat(yes, I did) then we are admitting to breaking the law.
**If we admit to stealing because nobody if there to ring us up(Janney), then we are admitting to theft.

From what I hear, when we post information in a blog, we are stating that something is true and correct. Therefore, if it is illegal, we are willingly incriminating ourselves.

Is this true?

My husband is helping me recall the incident that happened last Sunday. Now that I start to think of it, I don't think I remember if I left my child home by herself. I don't recall exactly what happened. I might have been dreaming. I am not admitting that I did it. I am allegedly not sure. It is something that I have thought about, but I can't remember exactly. What is the definition of is?
I don't recall the details.

I DID A BAD THING

I am not repenting but, I would like some advice.

This morning was just another Sunday morning:
Me and kids rushing around getting ready for church, getting suits on, curling hair, grabbing scriptures, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, getting Carson necessities, getting calling folders and hoping to be there before 9:00am. If we are lucky, we find dad there saving us a seat. (Sometimes we are blessed enough to get in him in our ward.) Anyway, things were great, it was 8:30am and we were all ready except for our lovely Addy. Addy is 6. She is our most extreme. There is no middle ground anywhere. I really do love her to death, don't get me wrong. This morning was like most, Addy didn't want to wake up, so, I assisted her. (Nicely, I might add.) We love "Love and Logic" in this house. (We have loved it for 6 years.) I gave her choices concerning her outfit, her hair due, and her breakfast. She wanted nothing from me so, I chose for her. I put her dress on her that I chose for her and took her in the bathroom and curled her hair while the other 4 children were obediently getting in the car with all of their gear.

All crap hit the fan when I curled one of her curls too tight. She said:
"Why do you curl so bad?" "You should know how to curl, you are a mom." "Why do I have to be in this family?" "You can't make me wear this dress, it's so ugly." "I don't even have on a necklace to match it, so I am taking it off."
She took off her dress and got her curls wet and ran down to her bedroom before I could open my mouth. I didn't want to chase her and say things I would regret......so, what did I do?...........

I LEFT HER!!!!

Please don't call child protective services on me. I thought it might be a good thing in the end.

Well, we got to church and Randy was there saving us a seat. I waited to see if he would notice that a child was missing. He is so smart....he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Where's Addison?" I said, "We had a bad morning and I left her." "WHAT, you left her where? In the car?" "No, at home." He immediately left the chapel on 2 wheels.

He came back 5 min later..we only live 1/5 a mile from the church so it's not that big of a deal. Anyway, Addy came in holding dad's hand with a big smile on her face. She walked past me and whispered in my ear, "I am going to tell the whole church that you left your child at home BY HERSELF."

It wasn't a good thing in the end. If I could only find more patience. I need help.

Please don't judge me if you do not have a determined child. I really thought parenting was easy and wonderful before our 4th. I DID judge others that could not control their children...I guess it is payback time. I would love any advice.

Lowering Expectations

Last night I got home from a much needed girls night, to find a wonderful sight. I have come to learn, when I leave for whatever reason, I need to come home with NO expectations. So, what I see when I walk in the door will not bother me and I will be happy. (My mom taught me this when we had 3 babies 1 year and under, in diapers. Thanks Bev--I love you.) So, the big joke in our marriage has been, (from the mouth of Randy) "Lower your expectations and everything will be fine".

I got home early, about 10pm and thought maybe the kids would still be awake because Randy forgot to look at the clock. So, I walked in expecting the worst and to my surprise, Randy outdid me. I am not sure if he is finally "getting it" after so many years(and kids) or if he is trying to prove "it's not that hard". No matter what the reason, I am grateful. The kids and dogs were bathed, read, fed and to bed. (We are dog sitting Tootsie so we have 2 dogs this week.) The house was spotless. I mean shining. The way I like it clean.

I went downstairs to kiss kids goodnight and the goodness kept coming. All of the kids rooms were perfectly clean. I kissed all of their flawless faces while they were sleeping. (The boys' rooms didn't even have the boy smell.)

I went upstairs to our room to find sweet husband almost asleep. (I guess he was tired.) And then with his sexy wavy hair and his cute southern accent, he said, "Hi baby, did you have fun with your friends?" What I wanted to say was, "Who did you hire tonight?" But, I didn't. I just kissed him and told him how sexy he was. Then, to make the night better than perfect .... dot....dot...dot. No, I am just kidding there wasn't any of that, he was too tired. But, it was still a perfect night.

Are we white trash?

There are some days that I feel I have my life together, the house clean and the children located. Other times, (like last night) I wonder if we have an unorganized, white trash life. I could not find Carson after church yesterday. It was getting cold and dark. I went to the backyard and found a trail of his clothing. He was by himself, naked with the hose. It was funny, but I think I need some help.


When we came inside, Carson said, "You funny mom, you take a pitur a me naked".

'GOOD OLE BOY'

How many of you know a real, good old country guy?

I DO. His name is Donnie Kimball. IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY

TODAY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONNIE. (You're turning 28 right?) Pawpaw Donnie is the coolest, funniest, craziest guy in the world and he is MY father-in law. Over the past 14 years I have been collecting "Donnie Phrases". These are words that have actually come out of his mouth. They are not phrases that he has to think about saying first--they just flow out.

YA GOTTA READ EM
(Now remember you have to read them with a southern drawl)

"The pot can't call the kettle black"
"Just like a cow peeing on a flat rock"
"Serious as cancer"
"Fine as frog hair"
"Ain't nothin going on but the rent"
"He as dumb as a box of rocks"
"She wouldn't look good fifty feet away in foggy weather"
"She's a 2 bagger"
"Sometimes you gotta pull yourself up by your own bootstraps"
"It's hotter than a 2 dollar pistol"
"She looks worse than 9 miles of bad road"
"He wouldn't say **** if he had a mouthful"
"6 in one, half a dozen in the other"
"Ya gotta make hay while the suns shinin"
"Girl, you could sell ice to the eskimos"
"She's as ugly as a mud fence"
"That's about as clear as mud fence"
"Ya can't squeeze blood from a turnip"
"That's better than snuff, not half as dusty"
"Hotter than a firecracker on the 4th of July"
"You can lead a horse to the troff, but you can't make 'em drink"
"He doesn't know his butt from a hole in the ground"
"He couldn't pour piss out of a boot if it was written on the heel"
and my favorite........
"Just ridin around eatin chicken"

5 Generations

Double D, I mean Daddy Donnie,
We are so blessed to have you in our lives. You are so fun and entertaining. You light up the room when you come in. Thanks for loving us and being such a great man and Father-in-law. We love you!! GO BIG 60!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONNIE!! WE LOVE YOU!!

"That thing ate my book"

Today we went to the library to take back some books. Apparently, Carson has never seen the book return process. He watched as his favorite book, that he can read all by himself, go down the slide and disappear. He absolutely freaked out. He screamed, "That's my book!! That's my book. That thing ate my book". I am a mean mom so, 3 hours after we returned from the library, I had to remind him and take this video: