‘round here

Olivia has taken to eating paper.


I'd say something like, "How weird!" but truthfully, not much shocks me anymore, including eating paper.  I’m not sure what’s going on, but lately she just can’t resist taking a bite out of a nice clean piece of white paper.  Maybe she is turning into a goat? 





Yea.  I’m sure that’s it. 


Now that she is four, we’ve been talking about trying to break her of her “baby” habits.  Particularly the one where she carries around a dirty stained blanket she affectionately calls “Nigh-nee”.  She dropped it in the muddy street on our way out from church and all I could think was, “Why do we keep allowing her to drag that thing around everywhere?”  It seemed ok when she was smaller, but now it’s really just one more thing I’m worried that will get lost or become ruined, and that in turn will cause a whole lot more drama than I am in the mood for these days.





I washed it four times, rinsed it five, gave it a good long soak in bleach, and at the end it was at best an off-white-gray.  I told her then that she would need to leave it at home from now on.  No more dragging it to the library or into church.  She didn’t need it at the grocery store or while she was playing outside.  Baby steps work best for her, so we will start here and see how she does.


Elaina has started making the big shift.  The one I’ve secretly been dreading and trying to push off.  She’s becoming a daddy’s girl.




I knew sooner or later it would happen, but now that she is seven she is making it ever more clear to me that it is time.  After all, she declares that I can no longer “understand her” and I don’t “listen to her”.  I hardly ever “share with her” and am quickly becoming “the worlds worst mom ever in the universe.”


sigh….


It’s almost too much drama for this momma to bear.  She burst out into a full blown fit because I offered her tic-tacs when what she really wanted was gum.  And after I made her wash the lip gloss off of her eyes (don’t get me started on make-up) she carried on about how I’m “holding her back from true beauty” and I “never ever let her be creative.”


I’m gonna need a manual for this stage of life, so if you have any suggestions by all means send them my way.  Otherwise if you see me with a look of complete bewilderment, know that I am trying my hardest to piece it all together and stay calm and carry on.





I’m reading through Desperate, Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe.  I wish I had this book like four years ago when I had two five year olds, a three year old, and a new-born.  Not that I would have had the energy to read it…  For some reason I’m stubborn and keep believing I can do this mothering thing on my own instead of looking to The One who created mothering for help.  It would be nice too if Sally Clarkson were my next door neighbor and could give me wise council and Scripture whenever I needed it.


I’ve also been reading lots of fiction during this break.  I read The Secret Keeper and Garden Spells and loved them both.  The kids and I read Hugo Pepper and Judy Moody together and the boys each read over a dozen books.  I keep hoping that Elaina will decide that she really does love to read after all, but so far, no such luck.






Our Christmas break is over today.  It’s been a nice reprieve though we didn’t do too much aside from relax and enjoy a free schedule.  Saul took the boys to their first Avalanche game with tickets he won from a local radio station.  And just after Christmas we drove to NoCo to visit family for a couple of days. It’s actually been pretty freezing the last few days so doing the typical outside stuff is out.  In order to help the kids burn up all their wild energy, we’ve been playing running games in the basement. 


I don’t feel ready at all to get back into the swing of school yet.  It could be my fresh stack of library books, but truthfully it’s more likely because of the aforementioned attitudes around here lately.  I’ll be sure that we all get a good nights rest tonight and plan an easy Monday and Tuesday to ease back into it slowly.  Hopefully it helps. 






Nothing too amazing in the kitchen lately.  Christmas week I did so much cooking that I decided to keep it simple this week.  Anything I could throw into the crock pot, or open from a can or a bag and bake up.  I did make some yummy rolls to go with soup, and baked a batch of cinnamon rolls for our Christmas with my Dad and Gina.  I’m hoping next week to get some fresh new ideas for our menu.  Any suggestions?