Perception

so you realize in the course of your life that your words are not always perceived how you say them. This holds true especially when you become a parent!!!

For example:
Keira-don't climb down the landscaped side of the hill. (She is now 60 seconds later starting to climb down that said slope with Kenna following right behind) Then a little later i tell her to NOT do something and she is DOING that EXACT thing!!! This has been the story of Keira and I's relationship lately. We just are not on the same page. I hope that we will one day get on the same page-but that may never happen....(I am a mom who believes in letting kids express themselves-my disclaimer-so I pick my battles-clothes are NOT one of them)

Case in Point....Keira came down the stairs today wearing a pink and maroon striped long sleeve shirt, khaki shorts, long socks that came up to her thighs that at the top had white fur and were multi colored blocked with snowflakes on them and her red boots. She was in heaven. I told her she reminded me of Junie B. Jones and she just LOVED that! That is when Kelsey told her she just needed a bow in her hair so I had to add a big maroon bow to her hair! So I will post a picture of her tomorrow! The ironic thing is if I had to guess I was probably a lot like her.....

But on a serious note, I learned that if we just talk AT people and don't stop to listen then we might miss what they HEAR us say. Their perception is just as important as what we are saying. It is true in a marriage, a friendship, a leadership role, as a parent, as a teacher.
I have watched Kelsey these past few days and sessions with soccer and I have watched what is different with the trainers. These trainers talk to her, have her repeat back what they just told her, and then have her execute it. They make sure that what they are teaching is understood and the kids perception is what they are trying to teach. The other trainers whether in Humble or College Station just talked AT the kids.
But I thought about this when Kyle told me on Saturday that he liked to ride with certain people because they took the time to ask him about what Kyle was interested in not just topics that he was supposed to be doing. He got to know Kyle on Kyle's level. It made me see just how much we can make or break friends, youth, our own children and especially our own spouses. We are most apt to be the harshest with those we are closest to b/c we want so much from them. But I have learned that if we will stop and ask them simple questions a lot of problems can be solved easily.
On a personal note, I am so happy to have gone running 3 out of the past 5 days! And walking also! It has been a great feeling! Now off to bed so I can get up and keep doing it!

Best Sugar Cookie EVER, No REALLY!!!

Ok, so I don't have a cool picture to post with it like my fellow blogger Cara, but I will post one once I make pretty ones. :) I was just trying out the recipe tonight for FHE. I had this bag of self rising flour and had read somewhere that it makes great cookies as well as biscuits and bread so I went hunting for a recipe. And let me tell you-I found it!

Soft, not too Sweet, and just like a perfect Sugar Cookie should Be.....

Preheat Oven to 375

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons of vanilla (you can use less according to your taste-my family wanted this much in the batter)
2 1/2 cups self rising flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add Eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Add flour one cup at a time. Divide in half. Wrap in plastic and seal tight! Chill in fridge for 2 hours.

Take out of Fridge, dust counter with powdered sugar, roll out dough on counter, use favorite cookie cutters, place on parchment paper on top of cookie sheet (this is a must whenever you bake cookies!!!)

Bake at 375 for 5-7 minutes unless you are baking thicker cookies then it will take about 9-10 minutes.

These are great plain, but I will frost them for the kids! I am so excited about this recipe and especially with Valentine's Day coming up.

Yes, I know that I have agreed that it is not really Valentine's Day for the next 16 years, but I will still make heart cookies while I celebrate the Chuchie's 3rd birthday! :}
I'll post pictures of these cookies once I frost them! A

And if you would like some and you live near me-
leave me a comment and I'll bring you cookies!

Love Languages

So over the Christmas break I read the book the five love languages for couples by Gary Chapman. In it he talks about the way we can lose our ability after marriage to communicate with our spouses b/c we don't talk in the same love language. So I had heard about these love languages for kids since Kelsey was in kindergarten. Her teacher, Mrs. Bushman (now), loved this book for kids and would tell me how she would use it for discipline in her classroom. I was her room parent and was in there ALL the time so I saw how effective she was! She had so many boys in her class as well as two boys at home as a single mom and her class was always under control. I just loved her!
Well I never read the book, but always thought good things about these "love languages". Well, Jeremy had a friend who told him about this book a few months back and mentioned just how different he and his wife's love languages were. We talked about it and then just kind of let it go. Then on Christmas Eve we stopped by another friend's house and I can't remember how this book came up again and he said he just LOVED that book. He had seen it transform marriages that were on the brink of divorce and that when he and his wife read it-it really opened their eyes to how differently they looked at giving and receiving love.
So he offered the book to us and we gave in and read it and.....yes...it is an amazing book! I can see how Ms. Congleton now Mrs. Bushman would have so much success in helping little boys behave now because she took the time to understand how to reach them in their love language. Don't you wish all teachers did that? How many less behavior problems would their be if teachers took the time to understand the kids they have and their personalities? It is a rare teacher these days that does that-but to those teachers that my kids have had that do-I salute them! I could name each one of them since there are only 6 out of the 26 teachers!
And as far as the couple communication goes....I highly recommend it to all couples! It helps you see that what you feel is a huge way of expressing love and support for you may not be for your partner. For example, I have always very lovingly filled up my husband's gas tank when I drive his car when it is empty and make sure that he is never without a full tank. I felt I was showing how much I loved him by taking care of this task for him every time I borrowed his car. I tried to move the seat back, etc. but the gas was the big one b/c I made a special stop to get it done for him. But he never said anything and whenever he took my car it never was filled up and sometimes it was close to empty when I got it back. I always got mad at him for it. (This is a trivial example, but it is a building block for bigger things) So as we read this book and I saw that one of my love languages is acts of service. So I explained the gas tank thing to him. He had NO IDEA! He did not know that I got mad at him for leaving the tank until it was empty. He did not realize how much it meant to me to leave his car with a full tank for him. It was not a big deal TO HIM. So we have really changed a lot of things thanks to this book.
My house is cleaner :) the gas tank is full :) I smile more :) I have taken the time to really figure out which ones my children are-that aren't screaming out to us. It has helped me appreciate Jeremy more each day.

So we made it!

So it has been a week! I will not say that night times are completely dry yet, but my baby is a big girl now! She is diaper free! She has had maybe two accidents in the past 10 days and has stayed dry most nights!! She tells me when she has to go and she has been a big girl about it all. But I must add that I still put potty training as one of my least favorite parenting tasks! We all go through it as parents. We all know how it feels once you have a child, but it doesn't make it any easier when it happens to you even if it is the fourth time around!!
So yesterday we are in Kohl's....and I am trying to find an undergarment which is on sale....which as you know with a toddler in tow is embarressing anyway as they yell-hey mom how do you like these boobs? Or what about these boobs? Uh...Yeaaaah....well then she says mom I have to go potty! So I tell her, ok get in the stroller and I will give you a ride to the potty! So she hops in and she yells run mommy! I walk briskly as she yells "Mommy hurry up I have to go poop, Mommy! I have to pee, Mommy!" As I am passing several people on the way to the restroom on the OTHER side of the store! So we get to the restroom and THANK GOODNESS there is a FAMILY restroom! Whoever invented this concept had to be a MOM because it was a lifesaver!!! I was in there for the next 15 MINUTES! While she sat on the mini toliet, narrating stories for me about random things basically all made up! So after asking her at least 20 times are you done yet? She finally says yes and we get to wash our hands with foamy soap and dry our hands with the paper towels-of course she has to do it all by HERSELF! I now have 10 minutes to finish finding the things I came for before we have to get home in time for Keira!
So the moral of my story? You never know what will happen in the life of a mom with a toddler/preschooler-today she spilled an entire gallon of Memonade all over the counter, in the drawer, and on the floor all in the time in took me to run into my room and back (maybe 3 minutes)!
But with the Chuchie-you REALLY never know what each day will bring, BUT I AM GRATEFUL for every crazy, insane moment that this life brings....

Potty Training.....

So I decided that this was the week that no matter what happened I was going to start Kenna in underwear....

And what happened...Kyle got a stomach bug and stayed home from school for three days!!! But I stuck with it and she has been in underwear since Thursday! It is a little sad to say that my last baby is wearing underwear, but she is doing a great job of it. She has taken to it like a champ. She did protest verbally, but she complied. Thursday and Friday were challenging mornings, but she did a good job and only had one accident when I left her with Kyle while I went to go pick up Keira from school. But she was in the bathroom when it happened! She has been willing to actually wake up and go to the bathroom-which is awesome compared to the others! So I am grateful for that little bit of success. With all of the other challenges I have been through with Kenna I am skeptical that it will be this easy to say that we will be done with it all in a matter of a few days, but if it does she will be up there in the Kyle department of potty training!But I will not have a baby anymore. :( She will be three in 34 days. She is going to nursery pretty well-but that is all thanks to Chrissy who is the awesomest teacher ever!!!! I can't thank her enough for her patience and love for my daughter each Sunday!!!

So the singing potty, and the pretty underwear, and candy and a few days and we have mastered the last hurdle to being a big girl....

Unfornately, I guess that makes me officially old and not a young mom anymore....

Well I finally put up the curtains 2 years and 6 months later!!!

So this picture is not a great one. And I know I cut off the amazing 20 foot ceiling by not having it be 20 feet long, but thanks Trudy for adapting these panels that were so hard to find to my liking and helping my living room look a little more like home. It may take me 30 years to finish my house, but I am so grateful to have a house that is a home with a husband who loves me and 4 great kids who have opportunities to do things that they love. These were my projects for last year-so who knows what it will be for 2010....Keep checking and now that Kenna is older maybe, just maybe I won't be flying by the seat of my pants all of the time, I might just catch up on things, and get this year's project done THIS YEAR!!!! ;)

Well there is hope anyway....(note previous post about all you can do is take a picture) that is still true on a daily basis...But I hope so....

more pictures.....

well it was a great Christmas all around...Thanks for all of the grandparents who spoiled the kids and the aunts and uncles who did the same! Ya'll are awesome and we love ya tons!!!!! Wish we lived closer so we could have spent it all together!!! Maybe one day!

The promised pictures...

Here are Christmas pictures.....The ones with all of the grandparent presents are on the other camera. So that will be a later post, but here is our little Christmas....

this is the dress from Patriot's day that I finished with the shawl and mob cap on with her hair in curls, right before she left for school.

This is how I found the cat one night-he has a fetish for water-he is so like a puppy is scary!

Catch Up-Pictures to Come later

Ok so I know I have a lot of catching up to do. I will sit down tomorrow and upload all of the pictures from the visit to the farm, Christmas and all the down time we had over the past few weeks. It has been heaven and I am so sad to see it end. I have enjoyed spending time with my kids and Jeremy playing games, staying up too late, sleeping in too late, just enjoying each other. Christmas was wonderful and not too materialistic. The grandparents spoiled the kids as usual, but "Santa" brought the kids just enough and they remembered what the season meant. We shared out New Year's Eve with friends and it was wonderful and low key. Kenna as usual freaked out about the fireworks, but fell asleep around ten so she didn't have to deal with the super fireworks display our street put on this year! It was crazy!!! I even had to come in from all of the gunpowder smokeyness in the air!!! But our firepit kept us warm and it was a great night!
We spent time with friends and family-isn't that what it is all about?
Keira, Kenna, and Jeremy all struggled with sinus infection off and on throughout the holiday season. Kenna had a massive ear infection last week that thank goodness she has tubes or I think her ear drum would have burst! The amount of drainage was huge! I have never been soooo thankful for tubes in ears as I was last week! Keira was finally allergy tested and she is allergic mainly to molds. But we think that meds will keep her in check. That was a rough day yesterday, but she was a trooper!
Most of all I am grateful for the miracles that occur in our lives. We don't know when they will happen, but when they do they change us forever. Our outlook changes and we see things differently. We see God's hand in our lives and how He reaches down into our lives and helps us when we need it. I think if we answered on our timetable it would not be as sweet or as special. I am grateful for those answered prayers. For those miracles in my life that I was able to experience this Christmas. For a new understanding....