Elijah 1 - Mom 0

Last night before the kids went to bed I was laying around on the couch, being lazy and trying to have a minute of down time before I got back to work. Literally, I just wanted a minute. Well, maybe five. I vaguely heard David say to Elijah, "Go show Mom!" but completely ignored them. I should not have been so careless. Elijah walked up to me, I'm still ignoring him and BAM! Right in the face! He had the lid of a pot, and decided to show it to me up close. And hard. That got me off the couch and FAST! Oh was I mad!

Later David relayed the story from his side, Elijah took the magnet key for the cupboard and held it up to one of the doors. He was working really hard at trying to open it up, and David was impressed with E's knowledge of using the key to open the locked door. So he helped the little guy out. Elijah went straight for that lid. He knew exactly what he wanted. And then, with David's encouragement, came to find me.

It was premeditated. His little one year old mind had it all figured out. The plan. "I'll get Mom," he thought to himself. "I'll use something big. And hard..." That silly cupboard door was in his way, but he knows how it works. And then, Dad even egged him on - "Go GET MOM!" E heard, and he toddled right into the living room. Mom was looking down at her phone. Ignoring the boy once again. Not smiling at his endlessly cute antics. "I'll teach HER not to ignore me!" he thought as he got closer and closer... Nothing could distract him now!

WHAM! "Haha!" he laughs as Mom makes her retreat, she lost the battle and E had won. Payback for letting him cry in his crib. Retribution for not offering the right snack, not picking him up on demand, not carrying him endlessly around the house.

I'll win the next one, though. Cause I'm bigger. And smarter. So there!

She's Got Wheels!

Oh how the pain of being left behind can be such a motivator!

Yesterday afternoon Archer took off for a ride around the block. Shelly asked if she could go with him but I told her no. The little wooden coaster bike is just too small for her. She can't keep up with him, she can't go very far on it because she's not comfortable, no you can't go. I told her when she can ride a regular two wheeler then maybe she can go. Someday. Tears in her eyes, slouched over and defeated, she asked, "When can I learn?" I suggested this weekend. Three days away. "Can I learn now?" I couldn't deny her. I dropped everything else, it can wait. Shelly can't.

We went outside, I set up the playpen for E to watch from a safe distance and we brought the bike out to the street. No training wheels. All or nothing. The two wheeler. The little wooden bike lay in the grass and Shelly climbed onto her $2 garage sale pink bike, spurred on by her desire not to be left behind. Courageously gazing down the street, she listend to my instruction. Its just like the wooden bike, Shelly, push with your feet till you're coasting then put your feet up on the pedals. And NO KIDDING within seconds she was RIDING that big two wheeler down the street! She got about ten feet away and stopped, hopped off that bike and started screaming and jumping up and down like I've never seen her do before! Of course, I was screaming too, clapping my hands for her and she ran to me for a big hug and NOW she's a two wheeler girl! More screaming, high fives, celebrating, and the entire neighborhood got to witness Shelly's graduation to her big bike. On a 70 degree day in March you just can't be holed up inside and so we all watched as Shelly practiced up and down the street, getting the hang of turning and stopping and not a single wipeout.

The question this afternoon, I'm sure, will come... "Mom, can I go around the block with Archer?" And I'm so proud and happy to say that today, the answer can be yes, go!

Winter Wear

Now that winter is gone, I can give you a glimpse of how our kids deal with it. I sort of hate the chaos that comes with a zillion hats, mittens and boots but that chaos has its smiles. From a couple of months ago...

I sent an email to David letting him know that, thanks to Facebook, if you send your kid out in public with four mis-matched mittens the entire universe will find out within seconds.

And the very next day, we found that our chaos is not limited to the mittens in our house...

Today, just when I thought we'd moved past the sock issue, I told Shelly to take off her socks because she'd been walking around outside with no shoes on. She happily sat down and peeled them off to reveal another pair underneath! I never know what's coming next!



Warm Weather Injuries

This has been the strangest winter I can ever remember, with hardly any snow and such warm temperatures that we never even put the kids' bikes away. In January Archer was riding his bike around the block!

The warmer air that's been blessing us lately has brought everyone out of their houses for some time in the sunshine and it's not without consequences. Shelly returned from two days at Grandma and Grandpa's house with a bruise and scrape on her forehead, along with scrapes on her arms and legs. They were the result of a collision with her brother as they made a trip around the block - she was running, he was on his bike and an unfortunate series of circumstances resulted in Archer and Shelly in a heap under the bike. I'm not sure how Archer escaped without injury, other than maybe his sister softened the fall?

Yesterday we went for a walk around the block and Elijah got to hold a worm for the first time. He didn't like it (surprise!). And when we were exactly half way, at the farthest spot from home, he wiped out. On his face. Scraped the bottom of his chin badly and came up covered in gravel and grime. Its pretty ugly looking, it probably still hurts. Not that its slowing him down. This morning we went outside to look at the sky on the driveway (Shelly's chalk masterpiece) and on the way in he wiped out again. This time its his knees. Well, you know his knees would have been fine, if he had been wearing pants. But who needs pants (or shorts) on a beautiful sunny day like today? I wonder if I'll have to keep him in pants all summer to protect his legs, its what happened with Shelly, I always made sure her knees were covered because she seemed to fall so often - hopefully she's past that now. But E - well, he's still a beginner at this walking thing, and with so many other people to chase after, there's no reason to slow down now!

Echo

My faithful little Echo turns 10 years old this month. This little two door compact car has carried me more than 133,000 miles. I've only ever had one mechanical problem with it, and that's despite being chronically late on oil changes and often negligent on keeping her clean and pretty. Twice someone has run into my little car when we're at a stop sign, countless times the kids have abused her and she has endured millions of crumbs and many many spills on her seats. Despite all of that, she's still going strong.

I really try not to get sentimental about the objects I own, and I guess I'm not really sentimental about this car, but she holds a lot of memories for me. I bought her in March, ten years ago, six weeks after I'd totaled my Saturn. I was sick of having no wheels and decided one day that enough was enough - I needed a car. "David, I'm buying a car tonight" I announced, and off we went. (Oh the freedom to say that!) I had decided I wanted a Toyota but David suggested we stop somewhere else just in case I found something I liked better. We walked into a dealership, the salesman immediately introduced himself to David and ignored me, and we walked back out. We ended up at the Toyota lot, I test drove my little green Echo and a couple hours later drove away in it. Every decision was practical. Four doors? Who needs four? No one ever rides in my car with me. (This is way back, before I was even married.) Manual or automatic? Manual is cheaper, and gets better mileage. CD player? I don't need that. Extra anything? No.

I didn't consider that I would still have that same car two years later when I would have a baby. (I wasn't even MARRIED yet! Who's thinking about kids?) I made it work, crammed that big infant car seat through the door into the back seat. Remember we had a dog then too? A big one. No matter, he sat in the front. Pregnant again, a couple years after that - thoughts of a van? No way! I am NOT one of those moms. My car is just fine. A four door might be nice, but the Echo works. And then... Another. Another baby. Have you seen my car? The littlest car ever? Two doors? Three kids? And still she carries us on, around town, visits to the grandparents, toting massive loads of groceries and luggage and crayons and toys.

I sometimes tell the kids its like we're riding in a clown car from the circus. One clown in a tiny car parks and steps out. Then another. Well, that's the end of the clowns, right? No, they just keep piling out. And that's how it is whenever we show up somewhere in my little car. We just pile out, one by one, ducking through those two doors and trying not to get tangled up in each other's legs. I step out, let Arch and Shell out, and I climb into the backseat to retrieve Elijah.

I've slowly come around to the idea of having a van but I've had to be very careful about how I talk around the kids. If I express any kind of frustration in front of them about how hard it is to buckle someone, they pick it up and repeat it. They start complaining. And then I remind them, and myself, that we need to be content with what the Lord has provided. And if we don't have a van, its because the Lord knows we don't NEED one yet. Knowing that they're listening and taking cues from me, I've become better at following my own advice. Be content with what you have. Praise God for his wisdom and for providing us with a car that keeps us safe.

And so, after ten years of driving my faithful little Echo, I need to say, thank you Lord for providing for our family so richly, a car that I never have to worry about, a car that has seen my life grow from just me to a family of five. You knew what was in store for us, Lord, and you provided exactly what we needed. Thank you!

My little Echo...

 - Has no clock. Not even a clock! I'm lucky it has a radio!

 - Has seen more than her fair share of dog drool, vomit, diaper messes, gum in the carpet, chocolate milk and coke spills.

 - Has a surprisingly big trunk, you'd be amazed what you can fit in there!

 - Has saved me a FORTUNE on gas money, she gets 40 MPG!

 - Has dings and scratches from bikes, a wheelbarrow, sleds and balls, and worst of all, artwork drawn with a rock.

- Has only let me down once, when the accelerator got stuck while I was on the on-ramp to the freeway and I had to shut the car off and coast to the shoulder.

 - Has taken me to hundreds of appointments, meetings, play dates, days at work and days visiting family... What a treasure this little car has been!

Shelly the Collector

Shelly and I were discussing her collection of papers. She sometimes organizes her desk and throws some of it out to make room for more. She usually does this on her own now, without me initiating it, but she still needs help. I told her she's like Hector the Collector. We read the poem. She said she's a little bit like Hector because she has paper bags, and he does too. But he has socks that have been mended, and she doesn't. Plus, he has more stuff than she does. I told her its really sad about Hector, because he loves his stuff "with all his soul." And that's not how we should live. I asked Shelly what we should love with all our soul and she immediately said, "God!" And what else? "Can you give me an idea?" I asked her WHO she loves and she started listing people. So we should love God and people. Not our things. God takes care of us, not our things. She seemed to understand all this. And then, of course, the conversation took a direction I wouldn't have expected.

"Should we love strangers?" That stopped me in my tracks. I understood, sort of, what she was trying to work out. Yes, love strangers. Jesus tells us to love everyone. But Jesus does not tell us to TRUST everyone. So we talked about trust. It continually surprises me the way my kids can follow up with such thoughtful questions. It amazes me how they're figuring out how the world works, and what the rules are.

A conversation about collections and organizing turned into a lesson on love and trust. I just pray that as we keep moving forward, having these conversations, that I could stay at least one step ahead, that God would give me the answers for their tough questions.

Hector the Collector

by Shel Silverstein

Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.

Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin' guns that wouldn't shoot,
Leaky boats that wouldn't float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn't toot.

Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks.
Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
'Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.

Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul,
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more than glistenin' gold.

Hector called to all the people,
"Come and share my treasure trunk!"
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked...and called it junk.

Pants (or A WOMAN'S JOB)

The last few days of fun have put me seriously behind on the laundry. Mountains. Overflowing hamper. Unable to get around the pile in the closet... Behind. This morning my wonderful husband said to me, "I'm on my last pair of pants." I knew what he meant. "Woman, do you job! Do the laundry!" Well, he wouldn't really say that to me, and besides, he does his fair share. But when he's gone during the day, and I'm home, whose job is it? Mine. I know it. Anyway, I spent most of the day working on my job, trying to get caught up, whittling away at the size of mountain. And as I was folding pants this afternoon and watching the news, a discussion item came up. "What do you think of this?"

When I saw that... "Machine wash warm... - Or - Give it to your woman. It's her job." I laughed so loud the neighbors probably heard. Offensive? Nope. Just really funny!

Family Time

Sorry you're sideways Nana, I tried four times to fix you but it just wouldn't work...

The last two days have been BUSY BUSY! More than usual. Grandma Marian was in town, she came to our house for a night and the other night at Mom and Dad's. On Tuesday Denise, Dan, and James came over to Mom and Dad's and we enjoyed supper together and then some serious quality time. Somehow the kids conned the uncles into playing judo and a serious wrestling match ensued. James and Dan roughed up the kids pretty hard and there were tears only once when Arch and E knocked heads. It was so much fun! The kids slept GREAT and we went back the next day for more. This time it was Grandpa's turn for wrestling and it seemed under control until he came after me and I had to take him out... Or did he take me down? Whatever, the kids were screaming and laughing, the grownups were laughing and huffing and puffing and again we had a great time.
I'm so glad that Nana/Grandma Marian could come and stay over, the kids loved spending time with her and she brought the rest of our family together for a meal and good conversation and great fun. Elijah, Mr. Shy mama's boy even walked right to her a couple of times, wanting to be picked up and hugged when I refuesed to give him what he wanted. They made friends. And I'm so proud to be in this family, that pulls together when it counts and has fun together when it counts and we're just there for each other.

Archer Decided

After weighing all his options, Archer decided we should spend our evening at Barnes & Noble. He played with the toys, read a couple of books, and then we had a treat before coming home. He is such a great kid to hang out with. I really enjoyed my time with him last night. There were no great revelations or really exciting games, but the calm time spent together enjoying each other's compny is priceless. The chance to tie strings of fellowship in our relationship together, connecting over the little things so that when the big moments come up, we have a foundation of trust to build upon. Its so easy to let the everyday rush plow over those quiet times of conversation and shared treats. I'm glad that didn't happen last night. I'm so glad Archer and I got to hang out. Thank you Lord, for letting us have that time together!