project 52:49 - refereeing

This is an example of the things my children can argue over...which Chick-fil-A cow is who's.  Apparently there is a difference, though I challenge you to figure out which is Ava's & which is Lily's in this picture.


Sometimes the arguing, tattling & picking is textbook ("uh-un", "yes-huh", "uh-un", "yes-huh" or "Mommm, Jack's looking at me!"), sometimes it is humorous, down-right baffling, or exhausting...but it's part of life, learning how to co-exist with other people that annoy you (hello life lesson!) and helping them learn conflict resolution will pay off down the road.  ALL of my children may become attorneys though (very, very skilled at debate).  


Jack's teacher told me that siblings that fight are a product of parents that have a loving, strong relationship because the kids don't worry about their security so they can bicker about the little things.  I don't know if it's true (I know some really awesome parents with kids that all get along great!), but it darn sure made me feel good!!  Haahaa!

*chirp, chirp*

Well, the "nesting" phase is starting to kick in which means I've been busy cleaning out closests, weeding out clothes, and making baby things instead of updating my blog.

My third trimester starts in 4 days-it's getting closer to baby time!

We did take time (finally) to put up our "Missmuss" tree (as Ava calls it) and to start Christmas shopping.  I just have to say I love Amazon prime.  Free 2 day shipping is da' bomb when you are faced with mall crowds and freezing weather.  We went from no shopping to almost done in a matter of a couple hours.  And, with any luck, it'll all get here before Christmas day.

We can add poor, defenseless sheep to the list of things Brooke finds palatable...where were the shepherds when she snuck in like a wolf & devoured our little fuzzy sheep that's part of our nativity??  The little creatures didn't even make it 12 hours.  Brooke is vicious and voracious when it comes to things that are fuzzy & stuffed.  Or hard plastic.  Or paper or wood.  Or pretty much any composition, it's fair game for chewing.  She needs exercise, I know, but she also likes to eat her leashes so it makes it difficult to take her out for a walk.  It's just a phase, right?  

project 52:48 - me do

Independence.  Learning it takes a lot of patience on both sides of the fence.  Ava is definitely wanting more independence-dressing herself, buckling herself, carrying her milk to the table, and walking in parking lots, resulting in tears of frustration when she can't do it like she wants or when there simply isn't enough time for her to take 10 minutes to put on her shoes.  I hate that so much of the time I have a "rush-rush" feeling, I catch myself telling the girls "hurry up, we've got to go!  Not this time, we have to hurry!" all day long.  Momma has got to have more patience so these girls can practice new things because the smile, the sense of accomplishment when one of them does it right in her mind is priceless.  


What started off as "me do! me do!" is now "I do it myself momma".  One thing about it, when we tell the kids to get their pjs on, she's the only one to do it right away, first time she's asked!  There's the silver lining on the cloud of independence!