Figure it out!!!

Hey Y'all:

Yesterday after a visit to my office my boys tried to drive me insane.

They were fighting over Spencer one of the steam engines from Thomas and Friends. Now there are two Spencer's in our house one big one and one smaller one. Erick was playing with the bigger Spencer and of course Myles wanted it. While I'm in the kitchen trying to prepare dinner I hear them crying and arguing over big Spencer.

I was super tired and didn't want to deal with the fight so here is how I handled this dispute.

"Listen if you guys can't share I'm going to take all of these trains and put them away, then no one will be able to play with them. So if you want to play with the trains you better figure it out"

I walked back into the kitchen and finished cooking all the while saying how "I can't take all this hollering over toys I'm going to throw them all away and see how they like it" you know the typical Mother rant. I then hear Erick say... "Here Myles you can play with Big Spencer, I'll play with James", "Thank you Erick" says Myles and peace is then restored.

I didn't immediately acknowledge Erick's act of kindness toward his brother but when I did it was with a kiss & hug and words of thanks to him for being such a wonderful big brother.

Lesson learned for me was, sometimes you can't be the mediator you have to let them FIGURE IT OUT!

Until next time...

MUAH!

I need...

SLEEP!

Hey Y'all:

I Wikipediaed Sleep Deprivation and I think I clearly have the symptoms!

• Irritability - check
• Cognitive Impairment or brain fog - check
• Memory lapses or loss - check - I already shared that I can't remember peoples names!
• Impaired moral judgment - check - I've considered slapping a few people upside their heads a couple times this week
• Severe yawning - check
• Aches - check I am aching right now - my head aches, my eyes ache, sometimes even my fingers ache
  

Now the rest of the symptoms I can't really check off, thank God but you get my drift.

I AM SLEEPY...

I thought that since Erick is now a full fledged grade schooler and the twins are well past the bottle - waking up in the middle of the night stage - that I would be able to get a good nights sleep. I thought that I would have the ability to wake up each morning - after eight refreshing hours of sleep - ready to take on a brand new day! That couldn't be further from the truth!

Sleep is just a dream for me. Erick, Leah and Myles insist upon waking up every morning about 2:15-3:00 a.m. to get into my bed! Yes all three of them! I have tried just about everything but my sweet darlings refuse to sleep the night in their own beds! Now when the twins wake up (one right after the other on most nights) they either want juice or to be held and rocked. Erick just wants to get in our bed and falls right back to sleep as soon as he is sandwiched between my hubby and I.

The other morning Myles woke up whining, he wouldn't stop! I gave him juice, rocked him, patted him and I almost cried! The only thing that caused him to finally calm down was taking him into the living room and laying on the sofa. We finally fell asleep after 45 mins of drama. That same morning about 2 hours before Erick was having a bad dream and kept whining. Not sure what that was about but I got him to calm down ONLY when he was given the green light to get in bed with me (hubby is out of town so all three have been sleeping with me). Leah is the only one who doesn't really give me sleep issues, when she wakes up to come into the bed she usually just asks for something to drink then cuddles under me and falls sound asleep.

I share this with you because I am on a quest for sleep and I figure if I put it out in the atmosphere it might just come my way!

Hope you have a beautiful sleep filled weekend!
Until next time...
MUAH!

The Lunchroom Altercation

Hey y'all:

The other day my husband received a call from the nurse at Erick's school stating that he had a bump and scratch on his head. He was told that the Dean would call him and fill him in on the details of the indecent. Needless to say I was a little upset hearing that Erick was hurt, so I immediately called the school myself to find out more details. Turns out that there was a 'altercation' in the lunchroom (well it wasn't really an altercation... Erick was being a typical boy exuding testosterone and playing around in the lunchroom.) The story is that Erick and a little boy named Jayden were not sitting down at the lunch table like they were supposed to but were actually wrestling or something.

Anyhow Erick is MUCH smaller then Jayden. Jayden pushed Erick (on accident - Erick's words), Erick then fell into a table and bumped his head, he was taken to the nurses office where his dad was called and told that he was fine but that the Dean would call him. The Dean never called! I was so upset that they totally dropped the ball that bright and early the next day I was up at the school looking for answers.

The Dean finally spoke to me and explained the above situation, confirmed that he spoke with Erick and Jayden and that he called Jayden's parents to inform them of the situation and to teach Jayden that the lunch room is not for horsing around.

I'm sharing this with you because if you follow me on Facebook; you were among the mom's who gave me encouragement and tips on handling the matter. Although I won't tell Erick to beat people up (Doris) or wait for kids across the street from school with a BB gun (Nicole). I will teach Erick the importance of knowing when to play and when not to. Kids need guidence and as parents it's our duty to teach them right from wrong. This doesn't end when they enter the school system, it's our job for the rest of our childs life (hopefully until 18) as parents we are constantly working ourselves out of a job.

Erick can be a very bossy and then passive child so I have to be sure to coach him in the art of handling confrontation. Wish me luck!

How do you handle these types of issues with your children/school? Do share...

Until next time...
MUAH!

Siblings

Hey Y'all:

As we walked into our house a couple Sunday's ago Erick walked up to his father and said;
"Daddy are you sure Leah and Myles are a part of our family?"
I was still walking up the stairs and couldn't believe my ears.
"Babe, did Erick just ask you if Leah and Myles belonged to the family?" I asked my husband
"Yes he did" my husband replied.

I have no idea why my 5 year old would ask this question after a beautiful morning in church. No clue what Leah or Myles did to make him even ponder their belonging, but he asked the question none the less.

As I went through the weeks thinking about this question it forced me to think of my pregnancy and how my little boy was dead set against being a big brother. Many days I would try to get him to rub my belly and touch the babies, but with that kid it was a no go. If ever he was asked if he was excited about having babies; he would look at who ever said this foolish thing and yell "NO BABIES!"

Needless to say when the babies were born and they actually had to come home with us Erick was NOT feeling them. It was very rare that I could take a picture of all three of my love bugs. My oldest child just didn't get that these babies wouldn't be leaving! He was the only child for 3 years how dear these little people come into his space and take away the attention he was getting? I would watch him like a hawk whenever he was around the babies for fear that he would do something to them! He never hurt them but rather totally ignored them! It wasn't until they could roll over and babble that he warmed up to Leah and Myles. Now I can't imagine him without them. If we are at a relatives house and we act like we are going to leave them behind, he won't walk to the door. He is such a good big brother and loves them even when they take all his toys and jump on him like he's a bean bag.

I am the oldest of 9 and am so glad to have siblings. I feel really blessed to have been able to give my son a brother and sister to grow up with as well.

What's your take on siblings?

Until next time...
MUAH!

That's Not My Name!

Hey Y'all:

Ok I have a problem but I don't know if I want to solve it. I typically don't call people by their names.

Sweetheart, dumpling, sugah, honey, lovely, dearest, honey, sugarbooboo and most recently darling... have been a few of the names that I call folks. At work, church, home and pretty much any social gathering I call folks by my terms of endearment. Sometimes it's because I can't remember their name (how long can I get away with using pregancy brain as the excuse?) and other times it's just my way of addressing people.

I often apologize early on just to let them know that I'm not trying to be ofensive but I just love using those names. Am I wrong? Should I curb this?

Until next time SUGAH...
MUAH!

Happy Mother's Day 2010

Mother, Mommy, Ma, Mama, Mami, Grandma, Great-Grandma; whatever you call her or are called, in honor of Mother's Day I would like to dedicate this post to you/them.

Being a mother is...
A blessing
A challenge
A pleasure
A gift...

As the mother of three beautiful children I now understand the sacrifices and decisions my mother has made. I now know why she told me that education was the most important tool I would ever posses. I understand why she took time to teach me to cook, clean, iron and dress appropriately for every occasion. I now know why we each had tasks and chores in the household that we had to do. My mom was working herself out of a job. She was preparing me to be self sufficient; an upstanding citizen and now a devoted and caring wife and mother. My greatest accomplishment in life is not my career or the material items that I now posses; it's not my writing skills or my adaptability to change. My greatest accomplishments in life are Erick, Leah and Myles!

I promised God that I would care for the gifts He blessed me with exactly how he cares for me; with patience, love and understanding. I am blessed to be in the sisterhood of mothers and wouldn't give it up for anything in the world.

So this Mother's Day - I salute you Mother, Mommy, Ma, Mama, Mami, Grandma, Great-Grandma for all that you continue to do. For being the CEO, CFO, CMO of your household, for keeping it together when your little one throws a major fit in the middle of Target, for taking off one hat to put on another everyday with such ease. I salute you for never complaining or giving up and I especially salute you for being a woman of substance and grace under fire and adversity.

I pray that you have a blessed mother's day and that you are celebrated by your family and friends all day long. If you are like me you are recognized all year long, but it's aways nice to feel extra special on the day that is nationally recognized just for us!

Happy Mother's Day!

Until next time...
MUAH!

Adoption Wednesday: Points from a Lady

Hey Y'all:

It's been quite some time since I've posted an Adoption Wednesday post, so here is some food for thought from a very good friend of my Kaeisha O'Neal (she was one of the beautiful people I spotlighted during Black History Month.

-----

Maybe it is the recent birth announcements that have me thinking so much about babies and the meaning of family.

I have to ask: What if every professional/upward mobile/stable family adopted at least one baby. Imagine if just 100,000 strong families (strong in spirit; finances; education and service) just took the time to bring a baby that is not biologically theirs into their lives and raise them like it’s their own. That will be 100,000 more positive advanced people in our world. The impact will be tremendous.

These days the “look” of not all your children being your own is long gone. Who cares? With all the issues in the world this is a drop in the bucket. Its 2010 not 1910.

This may be a bad metaphor but as rapper Redman said “It’s time for some action.” Talking about making the world better isn’t good enough…we need to be aggressive. You remember the cheer (B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E)?

Let’s get to work people.

Just my 2 cents.

Get busy people!

Until next time...
MUAH!