Africa

Conversation at the Rolli house this morning:

Isaiah: I'm going to grow up and build a house in Africa.
Me: You're leaving me and going to Africa?
Isaiah: Yeah, I want a pet giraffe and elephant.
Matthew: Go to Como Zoo.

Sword of Light.... or not so much

We had a very busy, fun-filled day today (more on that later). Last night we were all up late watching the fireworks in Osceola. Because of our busy day today and late night last night we're relaxing in the living room at the moment watching old cartoons on the Boomerang channel. At the moment Thundaar the Barbarian happens to be on the TV.

Apparently Thundaar's weapon of choice is the Sword of Light.

While watching Thundaar restore good to the world and defeat all those bad guys that go around causing destruction in their path Anna spilled some soda on the floor. No worries, our resident hero, Papa, took care of the spill.

Matthew said to Anna, "No problem! I have my OWN of Sword of Light."

Anna said, "Where?"

Matthew then clarified, "Well, actually, it's more like a Domestic Towel of Cleanliness!"

Somehow Sword of Light sounds a bit tougher. I will say, however, the Towel of Cleanliness did a nice job cleaning up the soda.

Three's a Charm?

I am bravely claiming Anna is now potty-trained for the third time. I do hope this is it.

Also, I have a bone to pick with all those folks out there who say girls are easier to train than boys.

Happy 8th Birthday, Isaiah!

Tuesday November 7th, 2000, I became a mama for the first time. My best little boy was born on election day during a very, yucky, snow storm. First storm of the season. I was up at 4am ready to head to the hospital. I was scheduled for a c-section. Long story. Matthew and I could hardly stand it, we were so excited.

We knew we were having a boy. Matthew was going to pick our baby's name. We had it narrowed down to two; Issac Alexander or Isaiah Matthew. Matthew told me on the way to the hospital he chose Isaiah Matthew.

I still remember the drive to the hospital. As we passed the little building where folks in that township vote, we both realized that in our excitement to have our baby we forgot to vote. We should have cast absentee ballots but weren't thinking. The polling locations weren't open at the time we needed to go to the hospital so we just hoped we didn't mess up the election. We didn't, in case you were wondering.

Isaiah has been such a fun boy to have. We love him so very much. Isaiah is the best big brother in the whole world. Anna even says so. He is kind, compassionate, tender, funny and loves the outdoors. He tries very hard at school and enjoys reading and being read to. I enjoy my special talks with him and he doesn't mind if I sing to him when it's my turn to tuck him in at night. Matthew and I are very proud of our buddy.

Isaiah, we hope you have a very excellent birthday celebration day. You only get to turn 8 once, so have lots of fun. I am so glad you are choosing tacos and apple pie for your special supper tomorrow and Subway for your supper tonight. You have wonderful taste. I love you!










my baby boy at 21mos.





















Isaiah, 3yrs. old

a big 2nd grader

Art Barn

On Saturday Isaiah, Anna and myself, along with my mom and sister, Sally, went to the Art Barn. The Art Barn was having their annual Art Extravaganza in which you pay 5$ and have a whole slough of art projects to have fun making. We went last year while we were scoping out the area we wanted to move to. We had fun then and, now that we're locals, wanted to partake in the fun again.

My favorite station is the Raku pottery. The pottery is already made and fired and all we do is choose what we want to glaze, paint on the glaze and then the pottery professionals fire it again. Isaiah chose a stagecoach, Anna a turtle, Mom and Sally bowls and I chose a pencil holder. I love seeing what they look like after they come out of the wheelbarrow filled with sawdust. I think in traditional Raku the 2nd phase of the firing process is done in the ground.

We also did some dyeing of T-shirts. The dye was in spray bottles so it wasn't officially tie-dying, I thought it was more fun actually. Before the kids sprayed we added masking tape and foam shapes to act as a resist to the dye. After the shirts dried we took off the tape and foam and voila - a masterpiece.

After the shirt dying and pottery Isaiah and Anna made puppets, duct tape hats, got their faces painted, painted rocks and decorated bookmarks with golf balls rolled in paint. As the name of the day implies it IS an Art Extravaganza. It was lots of fun.

The Wait is Over

As someone who loves to read and really enjoys books I have been waiting for the moment that happened this morning.

I have been reading to Isaiah from the time he was less than a month old. We are always reading books. I read to Anna all the time as well. We read daily on multiple occasions.

Besides instilling a love for our Jesus, instilling a love of reading is right up there on my list. I was so excited when Isaiah really was able to read a simple book all by himself. It was really thrilling for me.

This morning one of the other major reading milestones I had been waiting for happened. Isaiah voluntarily climbed into Anna's bed with her this morning and cuddled her up with some baby dolls and stuffed animals and ..... A BOOK. As I was washing the dishes left behind by a husband, who shall remain nameless, I heard happy little voices from Anna's room. Isaiah was reading a Diego book to Anna. I had to get a photo of the happy event. Both kiddos are still all snuggly in their pj's and Isaiah is reading the actual words to his little sister and all of this was voluntary.

I did not tell Isaiah to help occupy Anna while I did some little jobs I had to do. He just wanted to spend some time with Anna reading. For some reason this just is amazing to me. Enjoying a good book is such a fun treat and I want Isaiah and Anna to have that treat. I think it's starting to become a reality. Yeah for them.

My Day

Warning: this post may be a little "gushy" but I write this blog for my family so I want to keep a little record of our day.

The day started off by drinking a cup of coffee made by Matthew, always nice to drink coffee not made by myself. Isaiah made me breakfast. He has a specialty that is all his own. He makes THE best buttered peanut butter toast. Just ask him. He has a whole routine that he does to get the PB toast just right. Along with a slice of Isaiah's famous toast he garnished the plate with three jelly belly jelly beans. Really. I was amazed.

I opened the gifts and cards my family chose for me and made for me. I received homemade cards and gifts and some not homemade cards and gifts. All very special and appreciated. Apparently my family feels I'd make a great president. The 2008 election dilemma is solved for our family. At the top of the card there is a removable pin that I think I'll be wearing from now on. The idea may catch on...who knows? At this point I'm willing to try anything.

We then headed up to church and enjoyed a sermon by Pastor Bob. Isaiah enjoyed Sunday School and Anna, the nursery. After which I received more cards and Mother's Day gifts. I feel loved.

Matthew planned a huge to-do for supper so I wanted something quick and easy for lunch and against Matt's better judgement he allowed a run through the McDonald's drive-thru. At first Matthew thought that a deplorable Mother's Day idea but, hey, I get to pick. The kids, however, agreed with me. After the drive-thru Matthew needed a few more items from the grocery store for the extravaganza that would be supper so the kids and I ate our lunch in the parking lot. Honestly this was my favorite part of the day. While we were waiting I asked the kids what they discussed at church. Isaiah's class has been studying the story of Moses. He told me about the part they talked about that morning. Earlier in the week Anna and I read the stories of Moses in her Bible so the story was fresh in her mind. Together, the three of us, we started at the beginning of Moses' life and we each piped in our memories of the story all the way through the parting of the Red Sea. There we were sitting in the car, eating McDonald's food, waiting for Matthew to return with groceries talking about God. That was the best present ever. I loved it.

We did have other activities planned though so the day did continue. Matthew came back to the car with groceries and a pretty bouquet of flowers. We drove home and while the kids and Matthew fed the birds outside I cleaned up the house some more for our company. My parents and sister came up for supper to enjoy a Mother's Day feast prepared by Matthew. This is the menu he served to us all. The theme loosely follows a tea service. We had homemade french onion soup, apple chicken crostini sandwiches, mini-flank steak sandwiches with blue-cheese sauce, Thai chicken skewer wraps, garden sandwich with feta spread and fresh Morel mushrooms. (Matthew's parents sent them up fresh from their home) Yum, yum, yum! He had a dessert planned but, understandably, we were stuffed.

As a special treat afterwards Matthew let Lamby run in the big pasture with the other three ewes that are there. This is really funny as Lamby just doesn't "get" that the ewes don't want to play with him like the kids and I do. Also, Lamby doesn't really run like other sheep. For some reason he only springs, like gazelles. It's rather hilarious. He's still too young to be out there as even though he's grown A LOT he could still slip under some of the gates that are there. That would not be good. After we all laughed heartily at the ewes' expense Matthew put Lamby back in his area. I'm positive Lamby slept like a log last night.

That was my day. Lots of fun, family and food. It was a nice day and I enjoyed it immensely.

Is it Bedtime Yet?

4:02am- wake up to sound of coughing dog, fear she may throw up so Jump out of bed run to patio door and let dog outside.
4:02 1/2am- lay back down in nice snuggly bed only to realize 2 year old girly is now awake....
4:10am- realize that once this child is up.....she's up....no use pretending everyone will go back to sleep
4:11am- encourage my Anna to take a potty break, remove diaper and choose her big girl undies for the day
4:16am- get out promised watercolor paints for Anna to keep her quiet and busy while rest of house is happily asleep
4:18am- remember the dog is still outside....oops....let her back in
4:19am- feed dog
4:21am- make much needed pot of coffee
4:30am- read Bible and drink coffee all while asking Anna, every 2 minutes, if she has to go potty
4:45am- put supper in crock pot
5:00am- forget to remind Anna to take a potty break and clean up after my forgetfulness and Anna's bathroom break taken in dining room
5:02am- change Anna into second outfit of the day (did you notice the time? We're on the 2nd outfit already)
5:15am- change dirty paint water from Anna's painting dish
5:30am- find some sort of children's show for Anna as I'm still not really functioning in the mom department as of yet
6:00am- wake husband to do chores....I just can't do it today (sorry Matthew)
6:01am- make lamb's bottle for Matthew to take out to barn
6:10am- make breakfast for children
6:20am- get out painting supplies for Anna, yet again
6:30am- change sheets on the beds
6:50am- have Isaiah get his school stuff together
7:10am- have Isaiah get dressed for the bus
7:15am- send Isaiah off to the bus with lots of hugs and kisses
7:20am- write blog
7:24am- get out paint supplies for yet another round of painting


I can only imagine what the rest of the day shall hold. I would have to say it's going to be a pretty exciting one. Just look at all we've accomplished since 4 o'clock this morning.

15 Lessons

I received this in an email from my friend Michelle.

If you are thinking of having children and are wondering if you're ready.... Go through these 15 lessons as a checklist to prepare yourself.



Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive) Repeat steps 1-9 each night.
Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons.
How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
1. Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and a jar of paint, turn it into an alligator.
2. Now take the tube from a roll of toilet paper. Using only Scotch tape and a piece of aluminum foil, turn it into an attractive Christmas candle .
3. Last, take a milk carton, a ping-pong ball, and an empty packet of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower .

Lesson 7
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 8
1. Get ready to go out.
2. Sit on the floor of your bathroom reading picture books for half an hour.
3. Go out the front door.
4. Come in again. Go out.
5. Come back in.
6. Go out again.
7. Walk down the front path.
8. Walk back up it.
9. Walk down it again.
10. Walk very slowly down the sidewalk for five minutes.
11. Stop, inspect minutely, and ask at least 6 questions about every cigarette butt, piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue, and dead insect along the way.
12. Retrace your steps.
13. Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbors come out and stare at you.
14. Give up and go back into the house. You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

Lesson 9
Repeat everything you have learned at least (if not more than) five times.

Lesson 10
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 11
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 12
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Blues Clues.
Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 13
Move to the tropics. Find or make a compost pile. Dig down about halfway and stick your nose in it. Do this 3-5 times a day for at least two years.

Lesson 14
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 15
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 14 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Now, I ask you, are you tough enough?

Not What I Had in Mind

Isaiah has probably got to be THE pickiest child to ever walk this earth. I'm willing pit him against any other child out there and test their picky-ness. I'm thinking he'd win hands down. Seriously. He wasn't always picky. He weighed in at a whopping 18lbs. at 3mos. old. Now granted he was on a very limited diet but still. The boy could chow. He still can as long as it meets his high standards.

The other night we once again had sub-standard fare for supper and Isaiah was still picking at his food after the dishes were done and drying in the rack. I told him he'd better have that plate cleared by the time Anna was done with her bath....or else. (I know, real scary mom. I was desperate at that point to just get the kid out of the dining room)

Anna was washed, diapered and jammied.

STILL EATING.

All right! That's it. Dump your plate, no snack tonight, I don't want to even hear you start to mumble how you're hungry at bedtime. You know, the usual blah, blah, blah.

I sometimes think I must sound like Charlie Brown's teacher as I think I witness the same effect.

As a punishment I made Isaiah wash his own plate, fork and cup. Knowing how much I "enjoy" doing the dishes I foolishly thought Isaiah would also dislike the chore. Fifteen minutes later I decided to remove that punishment option.

Note to self: Isaiah thoroughly enjoys washing the dishes. Not on recommended form of punishment for oldest boy.

A couple nights later I again made horribly gross dragon tales and fish scales for supper. Before he even ate half of his supper he gleefully asked if he could dump his food and wash his plate. He said all this with a huge grin by the way. The look I gave in answer to his question ceased all further inquiries.

My Hero

Anna had a wonderful case of the stomach flu Sunday morning at 1am. She pulled through only to leave me feeling like junk by Tuesday afternoon.

Isaiah gets home off the bus at 4:03. By about 3:00pm Tuesday I knew it was a'comin'. I was hoping I could at least wait for 4pm to fully experience all the fun that is the flu. I knew I'd be able to count on Isaiah to take care of Anna, the dog, snack, supper and jammies. I had already declared Tuesday to be a "No Bath Tonight" day.

Isaiah was my hero. He came home and I told him I was indeed not spared Anna's bug. The first thing he said? "Well... I suppose I won't be able to go to school tomorrow, 'cause who's gonna take care of Anna?" I assured my knight in shining denim that I thought I'd probably just need help for the evening and tomorrow will be okay. He got their snack, don't know what they had, didn't care. He later got himself a turkey and cheese sandwich, applesauce and milk for supper. Anna received the same except she had PB&J. I was able for about 10min. take care of the puppy dog. Isaiah even got Anna's jammies on her. He was indeed my hero.

Papa got home very late, from a meeting. I divulged as much info. as possible and Matthew took over.

I Don't Wanna

Happy 2008! Hope all New Year's Eve plans went well for those who celebrated. I do believe we were all asleep by 8pm. Very exciting I know. We are wild and crazy over here. Today? I'm washing clothes and snowpants, gloves, hats, jackets and scarves. Why? I have to send my boy to school tomorrow. I.Don't.Wanna.

I really don't want to. I like having him at home. How much longer 'til summer? I'll buck up. If Isaiah knows how much I hate sending him to school it could only lead to disaster. I'm sure he'd take that bit of info. all the way to the bank.

Happy New Year and here's to a quick finish to the school year.

...Before the Fall.

Anna and I were playing with her babies. Rocking, feeding, kissing, hugging, singing, napping, burping, strollering, etc. I watched her interact with her little dollies and thought to myself she'll probably be a kind, empathetic, understanding mama someday. aaahh...... sigh....... smile...

You know what she did then?! She jumped up and down with her stuffed baby bunny, rather aggressively, grabbed the fluffy bunny ears and flung that critter across the dining room floor. sheesh... I guess we need to have the please-don't-hurl-your-babies-by-their-ears talk.

Thinking Ahead

Isaiah was granted a cookie after school. I said he could have a second cookie if he wanted but he opted for some cheez-its instead. He had good reason, he felt his 2nd cookie of the day would safely be achieved after supper.

After I asked if he would like a 2nd cookie he asked what we were having for supper. You see, if he felt secure with the fact that supper would meet his boy standards he knew he'd be allowed dessert. If, on the other hand, supper would be sub-standard fare dessert would be unlikely. Unlikely because he would throw a supper-time fit. With the assurance of a high quality Chef Boyardee Pizza kit he knew the 2nd cookie would be granted at dessert time, thus his second choice for snack, the cheez-its.

I was quite impressed with his ability to think a situation through fully before making a decision. Because of Isaiah's forethought he was able to enjoy not only cheez-its but, two cookies as well. Brilliant.

Miss Independant

Three months ago I thought I'd introduce the idea of potty-training to Anna. We purchased the pink pull-ups and bought a 2nd potty chair for the second bathroom. She went in the potty chair once and could not have been any less interested then she was at that time. When Isaiah taught me how to potty-train a child five years ago he thoroughly showed me how sticker charts, treat bribes and new big boy underpants DO NOT mean a hill o' beans. I learned my lesson and decided to just wait for Anna to be interested.

I waited. Waited some more. Waited again. Last week Anna saw the package of pull-ups that made the move to Osceola with us and thought they looked neat. Well she told me she wanted to wear her pull-ups last Wednesday and has been nearly spot on for almost a whole week. I'm impressed. Relieved. Seeing the light at the end of the babyhood tunnel. Sigh... we've almost made it. The money wasted on an occasional wet pull-up will be evened out by the savings on stickers, paper and ink. It's allllll good.

My Boy is Seven Today

Today is my boy's golden birthday! Can you believe it?

We aren't really having a big hoopla party with his friends, as we have the past few years. A result of the move. His Hudson friends are a bit far away and he doesn't have a list of friends in Osceola yet as this is his third day of school.

So.... here's what we are doing. He opened a couple packages this morning that arrived in the mail over the weekend. He picked his favorite meal, porcupine meatballs. (Not made with real porcupine mind you) Over all the desserts I can make he picked a boring cake mix, however, he fancied up the frosting choice. Red frosting in the middle, blue on top and chocolate on the sides. His multi-colored layer cake is relaxing in the fridge at this moment. No real idea on the reason for the frosting choices but a boy turns 7 only once so ... whatever.

After supper and the rainbow cake he'll open the gifts from Matthew, Anna and myself. Anna is giving him the Jungle Book movie. The gift Matthew and I are giving required me to revisit the promises I made to God on Isaiah's dedication day. It's a BB gun along with all the safety gear and ammo. Matthew's been waiting for this day since the ultrasound technician first announced we were expecting a boy. I have been holding my breath for this moment and now that it's here I am hoping the snow flies early and BB gun activities will be quickly exchanged for sledding activities. This mom gig is hard work.

That would be the whole shebang. My parents and sister are coming over Saturday for buffalo burgers and to continue the celebration of Isaiah's 7-ness.

I was initially going to recount Isaiah's birthday but, in light of Erin's pregnancy I shall refrain. Not that Isaiah's birth was horrible, I'm just going to refrain at the present time.



ps Are you noticing a food theme here? Porcupine meatballs and buffalo burgers. The buffalo is actual bison however.

FYI

Note to self: When you notice Anna putting raisins in the front pocket of her overalls don't forget to empty said pocket before doing laundry.

When we found out Isaiah was to be a boy everyone said things regarding his pockets. They mentioned how you have to watch what boys keep in their pockets and how you need to be sure to empty their pockets before you accidentally send a frog, or other such thing, through your wash machine. Isaiah never, ever hid stuff in his pockets. Anna, on the other hand, has THE cleanest collection of rocks, sand, sticks and now raisins.

Fred

I picked Isaiah up from school a half hour early yesterday. He needed the extra time to say good-bye to Fred before the vet. clinic appointment. Isaiah didn't know why I was picking him up early as the decision to put Fred down was made after Isaiah was in school for the day. I told him we had to go to Auntie Sally's to say good-bye to Fred. He took in the information and became a little teary in the car. I asked him a couple times if he had any questions and he said he did not. We got to my sister's and noticed Fred did not look or act like himself. He also noticeably had a fever. Isaiah and Fred cuddled for awhile. Isaiah cried, a lot, and said what he needed to to Fred. Isaiah also had the emotional strength to munch an after school snack/meal of cereal, PB sandwich and pudding. (sorry for the grocery depletion Sally) I thought this a good sign as life does need to continue and at least Isaiah's tummy was heading in the right direction.

We packed up Fred and left for the vet. They have a very nice room in which the procedure takes place. The Dr. explained the process and would start the procedure when my sister gave the okay. I repeated the information to Isaiah and made sure his questions were answered. Isaiah wanted to hold Fred during the procedure and I said Sally would need to do that in case his muscles twitched. I didn't want that to upset Isaiah if that were to happen. After Fred was gone Isaiah was able to hold him and when Isaiah and Sally were ready the Dr. took Fred out of the room. I had a cat, Fred's litter mate, who was put down 6years ago. We buried that kitty in my parent's backyard. Fred was placed in a box, along with a picture and a little craft project Isaiah made for Fred, and brought back to my parent's home. We thanked God for the time and memories we had with Fred and that was that.

Isaiah, and Sally, were very brave and courageous to do such a selfless act. Isaiah was still pretty sad about Fred this morning and he cried some more. I told him it's okay to cry and that even though we won't get to cuddle Freddy any longer we will always have our happy thoughts. He went to school with a note for his teacher explaining the situation in case it comes up at school. Matthew and I thought routine would be the best for Isaiah. Isaiah would have been happy to stay home today.

Tomorrow we're taking my sister out to eat for supper. We'll pick her up first. That will be the first time going over to her home without Fred. I thought the sooner the better for that experience. I think it'll be pretty tough for my tenderhearted boy. We are proud of the way Isaiah handled himself. He cried when he needed to and he laughed when he needed to. All very good things.

The Power of Forgiveness

Anna has recently been learning what a time-out is. This is the only punishment I can come up with that is remotely successful for my strong-willed dolly. There is no time-out chair, corner, mat, etc. It's my lap, why? There's no way that 2-yr.old would sit anywhere during a time-out unrestrained. She must sit on my lap until she apologizes to whomever she has been naughty to. It is working and most of the time she apologizes and appears remorseful before we even get to the time-out on my lap.

Today at nap time, Anna's least favorite activity, she did her usual cry and rant and rave on the horror that is nap time. She then stopped right in the middle of a scream looked at me and said, "Sorry, Mama." I asked why she was apologizing and Anna said, "Ummm, hmmm yet's see...what I do wrong Mama?" When I informed her she had, in fact done nothing wrong and had no need to apologize she was simply lying down for nap time she realized her plan malfunctioned and continued the ranting and raving for another 5minutes.

At least she tried...I guess? She obviously dislikes the time-out strategy of being confined to my lap and although she was merely in her bed for a much needed nap she knew how to "get-out" of it. I suppose I'll have to take what I can get. One can only do so much.

Creative Parenting

Those that lived in the Twin Cities area during the 80's may remember a local show called Good Company. It was sort of like Regis and Kathie Lee but in St. Paul. The hosts were a married couple Steve Edleman and Sharon Anderson. They had a lot of segments with local experts and one of them was Donna Erickson. Donna was the creative parenting expert and would come on the show and do fun little projects that parents could recreate with their children at home. How nice, right?

Well I think creative parenting is a bit more than art projects and picture magnets on the fridge. I think a creative parent has to actually be creative in their thinking and answer giving. You could nearly start a nuclear meltdown with the wrong answer.

Anna noticed a leaf on the grass. She was NOT happy about that! She did NOT authorize this leaf to be ON the grass. How dare this leaf fall from the tree! The horror! So can you sense her disgust yet? She asked me why the leaf was on the grass and I said calmly that the leaf was blown off the tree from the wind. No Mama it go up dere. (pointing to the top of the tree) I'm sorry dolly that leaf won't go back on the tree. Yes Mama put it back. Okay, I'll try. I picked up the leaf and tucked it into the bark of the tree. Dat be good Mama.

In an effort to ease her into the inevitable sorrow that is autumn, I started to brace Anna for the entire season. I mentioned that soon all the leaves will turn to pretty colors like red, orange and yellow , the trees will get ready to take a nap at which point, gasp, the trees will let their leaves fall to the ground. NNNNOOOOOO! It did not go over well. I re-explained the whole pretty leaf colors situation and she appeared to slowly be okay with this fact of nature as long as there are some "boo yeaves". I did not want to cause more heartache and did not argue. Maybe there will be some blue ones? I then explained how fun it will be rake up all the leaves into a great big pile that she can jump into. The lights went on in her little head. She said, "I be fine, dat be fun, dat be good fo me." Thank you Anna.

Anna is prepared and ready. Let the fall color-rama begin! Take that Donna Erickson, mending broken hearts and having fun all in less then 5minutes!