I think one of the cutest things in the world is hearing little kids talk about God. This week I volunteered at Vacation Bible School, so there were many of these moments. I was in a constant state of "Awwwww" as I heard little voices talk about loving God, being like Jesus, loving others and all sorts of sweet little nuggets.
Every night, Hailee and I came home and talked about what she learned and I smiled as my sweet little girl shared with me what she got out of the lesson for the day. However...I have realized one downside of trying to teach your children to be morally perfect. Not only are they are much more likely to judge your every action, but they will flat out call you on it even when you don't think what you're doing is wrong.
This morning I applied my very first dose of Round-Up ever in my life to all of the annoying weeds in my yard. Even as I mixed together the concoction of death, I have to admit that I did feel some sort of sick power and satisfaction. And...I will fully admit that as I sprayed around the yard, thoughts such as "Take that!", "DIE!" and other thoughts of destruction ran through my mind. When out of nowhere, Hailee says to me "Mommy, do you know what you're doing? You're killing God's creations." GULP.
My question is, what do you say to that? Maybe I shouldn't have enjoyed it so much, but I know that what I was doing wasn't wrong. It's very similar to a scenario that played out during "Say No to Drugs" week at school. You would have thought that I was a meth addict based on the scrutiny over my glass of wine with dinner. My answer then was that it's only bad if I drink the whole bottle (while she's looking), but this morning I really WAS killing God's creation. And enjoying it. But, I guess I figure if that's the worst thing she ever sees me do, I'm probably doing okay.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Why don't they make them more comfortable?
Have any of you parents ever felt like when you purchased a birthday gift for your child that it's a little bit more for you than for them? Maybe they didn't actually ASK for Rockband, but you just KNEW that they would love it and you just couldn't keep that inner Pat Benetar or Bret Michaels in any longer! Well...that was the case with Hailee's birthday present this year. Her new tag-a-long bike.
Granted, since she didn't actually ask for this present, there was a certain lack of enthusiasm (on her part...not mine) when she received it. However, I think that after using it for the first time yesterday, mom did good.
Let's backup a little. So, I love to be active and I really want Hailee to grow up being the same. She has a little bike...with training wheels that she's perfectly content toodling around the neighborhood on. But, let's just say that Mom is ready to go to the next level and Hailee still gets off and walks her bike down anything that resembles a hill. A hill being a curb.
So, somewhere, somehow I saw one of these tag-a-long bikes and instantly thought of how much fun we would have on one of those! IF...big IF...I could get her to actually get on the thing. I took the plunge, bought it and gave it to her for her birthday. Again, not really understanding the concept and having asked specifically for all things girly and princessy, the unveiling was a tad bit anti-climatic. Okay...to be perfectly honest, it didn't help that her "present" was a sheet of paper that showed a picture of it. Oops. If you know me, you know that I'm the world's worst decision maker and just as bad about procrastinating. I went back and forth for so long that when I finally decided to order the thing, it wasn't going to be here in time for her birthday. Lesson learned? Of course not.
The day the bike showed up, Hailee was super excited to put it together. Without even opening it, I decided that we would need the assistance of one of those man-types that some women seem to have around. Since there seems to be a lack of those around these days, the box sat in our office for a month. Remember that procrastinating that I talked about?
Well, on Sunday I finally broke that box open and put the thing together. All. By. My. Self. That's right....it involved wrenches (I have ONE) and a "small squirt of oil" (What? Who has that on hand? Skip.) and we had ourselves one tag-a-long bike! Luckily, my mom was there for the maiden voyage. She doesn't know that it wasn't just to hold Hailee to make her comfortable, but also to catch her if the thing fell apart! It took only a couple of passes up and down the sidewalk and Hailee was ready to roll!
All I can say is that we're hooked. We did a few laps around the neighborhood yesterday and then later took a FIVE MILE ride, which of course involved a stop in at the candy store. It was probably one and a half hours of my VERY favorite time spent with Hailee. She was so much braver then I expected, we chatted it up and laughed the whole time and she was an absolute champ!
The little princess has a tendency to complain these days and there was not a hint of whining uttered from that child's mouth. Well, not until about mile four. Which, already was about 3.75 miles further than she's ever ridden before. We're about to pass a couple on the greenbelt and just as we approach them, she's hollers up to me "Mommy...my bum and gina hurt!!!" No...we don't quietly make statements like this. We must yell them at the most inopportune times. I explained that her body is just getting used to the seat and that it will get better the more often we ride. She brought this up later and stated, "Whatever...the more we ride the more it hurts! It's like a secret weapon."
Luckily, she was anxious to get back on the saddle again today and I see many, many, many a fun time spent on our new toy in the future. Definitely the best present I've ever given her.
Granted, since she didn't actually ask for this present, there was a certain lack of enthusiasm (on her part...not mine) when she received it. However, I think that after using it for the first time yesterday, mom did good.
Let's backup a little. So, I love to be active and I really want Hailee to grow up being the same. She has a little bike...with training wheels that she's perfectly content toodling around the neighborhood on. But, let's just say that Mom is ready to go to the next level and Hailee still gets off and walks her bike down anything that resembles a hill. A hill being a curb.
So, somewhere, somehow I saw one of these tag-a-long bikes and instantly thought of how much fun we would have on one of those! IF...big IF...I could get her to actually get on the thing. I took the plunge, bought it and gave it to her for her birthday. Again, not really understanding the concept and having asked specifically for all things girly and princessy, the unveiling was a tad bit anti-climatic. Okay...to be perfectly honest, it didn't help that her "present" was a sheet of paper that showed a picture of it. Oops. If you know me, you know that I'm the world's worst decision maker and just as bad about procrastinating. I went back and forth for so long that when I finally decided to order the thing, it wasn't going to be here in time for her birthday. Lesson learned? Of course not.
The day the bike showed up, Hailee was super excited to put it together. Without even opening it, I decided that we would need the assistance of one of those man-types that some women seem to have around. Since there seems to be a lack of those around these days, the box sat in our office for a month. Remember that procrastinating that I talked about?
Well, on Sunday I finally broke that box open and put the thing together. All. By. My. Self. That's right....it involved wrenches (I have ONE) and a "small squirt of oil" (What? Who has that on hand? Skip.) and we had ourselves one tag-a-long bike! Luckily, my mom was there for the maiden voyage. She doesn't know that it wasn't just to hold Hailee to make her comfortable, but also to catch her if the thing fell apart! It took only a couple of passes up and down the sidewalk and Hailee was ready to roll!
All I can say is that we're hooked. We did a few laps around the neighborhood yesterday and then later took a FIVE MILE ride, which of course involved a stop in at the candy store. It was probably one and a half hours of my VERY favorite time spent with Hailee. She was so much braver then I expected, we chatted it up and laughed the whole time and she was an absolute champ!
The little princess has a tendency to complain these days and there was not a hint of whining uttered from that child's mouth. Well, not until about mile four. Which, already was about 3.75 miles further than she's ever ridden before. We're about to pass a couple on the greenbelt and just as we approach them, she's hollers up to me "Mommy...my bum and gina hurt!!!" No...we don't quietly make statements like this. We must yell them at the most inopportune times. I explained that her body is just getting used to the seat and that it will get better the more often we ride. She brought this up later and stated, "Whatever...the more we ride the more it hurts! It's like a secret weapon."
Luckily, she was anxious to get back on the saddle again today and I see many, many, many a fun time spent on our new toy in the future. Definitely the best present I've ever given her.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Nurse Hailee
When's the worst possible time that you can think of to get sick? Right before a long weekend, right? Okay...so the day before your wedding or the day before you accept an Oscar for Best Actress might bump it out of first place, but it's definitely right up there! Well, Wednesday night I came down with something and it kicked me in the arse! I stayed home from work on Thursday, but had to venture out into the real world that evening for Hailee's VERY last t-ball game. I say VERY last because based on her very honest opinion of it, I seriously doubt she'll play again. Ever. According to her "All we do is stand around. Then we bat. Then we stand around some more. Then we throw the ball. Then we stand around some more." Clearly the child was bored 90% of the time and now thinks she wants to play soccer. We'll see how that goes with all of the running involved, considering that I can't get her to run and get the mail!
Anyway, Hailee overheard me telling my mom that if I was feeling really bad after the game that I might have her stay at her dad's house that night. She said in the sweetest little voice ever, "Mommy...I don't need to go to Daddy's house. I'll take care of you." Who can pass THAT up? Nonetheless, I used this opportunity to also negotiate no whining while getting ready for bed and only one story. Hey...you gotta take advantage of it while you can, right?
Bedtime went smoothly (home run for mom!) and my little angel came in at 6:30 in the morning to make sure I didn't get out of bed. Umm...I'm sick and it's 6:30....twist my arm, please. After lots of noise in the kitchen and lots of questions, she came into my room with breakfast in bed. Here is what I got:
Yogurt (Can I lick the lid?)
Baggie of Craisins (Because they're your favorite...they're really hers)
Baggie of Carrots
Baggie of Soynuts (Is it okay if I eat these?)
Water
This closely resembled the breakfast in bed that I got on Mother's Day, sans grape tomatoes. But I loved it. A few big hugs, but "NO KISSES" and I have to say that it was just what the doctor ordered.
Anyway, Hailee overheard me telling my mom that if I was feeling really bad after the game that I might have her stay at her dad's house that night. She said in the sweetest little voice ever, "Mommy...I don't need to go to Daddy's house. I'll take care of you." Who can pass THAT up? Nonetheless, I used this opportunity to also negotiate no whining while getting ready for bed and only one story. Hey...you gotta take advantage of it while you can, right?
Bedtime went smoothly (home run for mom!) and my little angel came in at 6:30 in the morning to make sure I didn't get out of bed. Umm...I'm sick and it's 6:30....twist my arm, please. After lots of noise in the kitchen and lots of questions, she came into my room with breakfast in bed. Here is what I got:
Yogurt (Can I lick the lid?)
Baggie of Craisins (Because they're your favorite...they're really hers)
Baggie of Carrots
Baggie of Soynuts (Is it okay if I eat these?)
Water
This closely resembled the breakfast in bed that I got on Mother's Day, sans grape tomatoes. But I loved it. A few big hugs, but "NO KISSES" and I have to say that it was just what the doctor ordered.
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