cold rainy morning....

Camille wouldn't seem like such a busy little thing if the place were more geared for babies and toddlers, but with all the big brothers and sisters, it is kind of hard to have everything put away. This morning she found the pencil box that belongs to Suzanne. Chock full of gel-pens, crayons, pencils..... Yummy crayon!

Here she is trying to color with a white crayon on a little scrap of paper......

Wee, there were headphones in here too!
Her new favorite word is "NO", which she will say if you just look at her sideways. She also can say, "Ice!"....we have the ice-dispenser on the front of the 'fridge, and when she hears that rumble, she runs in to it, yelling, "ice!"....she loves nothing more than a cup with some crushed ice it. The kids all are ice-eaters, they eat it by the cupful....last night, watching American Idol, they were laying around the floor with their cups of ice, munching away.....

She calls me, "mee-mee".....and she gives big tight hugs. She likes to put her arms right around your neck and hug. And she knows how to give kisses, too. She says, "MUH", and exaggeratedly gives the kiss. If you ever read, "Get Fuzzy", one of my favorite comic strips, this will make sense. I call her Chubby Hugs, and Foodar....(Foodar is a cat character in the strip that can smell and sense food for miles....)

Charlotte Claire and Camille can fight like little animals sometimes. If Camille thinks Charlotte Claire is going to take her book or her toy, which is probably what is going to happen, she will bite her. And naturally, she will get bitten back. And they are both so suprised at how much it hurts! They will both be crying and sobbing and showing me their owies......

I am sometimes just not sure how to deal with things. Charlotte Claire hit someone yesterday. Now, I do not like to spank children. I just don't like it. Adults are big, children are small....but sometimes, I do give them a swat on the bottom.....So, she hit someone, and I picked her up, gave her a swat, and as I brought her to a kitchen chair to sit on until she wanted to be good, I explained, "It is not nice to hit!".....see, that doesn't make sense to me.....

Ignoring bad behavior can cause some big problems, since I am a certified psychiatrist, not. But sometimes they act out just for attention, and Mom needs to sit down and give them some.....

Each day brings it's challenges, that is for sure. But when I am rooted and grounded in God, then things go well in spite of the different trials. When the cry of my heart is to be gentle, and just, and patient, then God will hear my prayers, and help me. I need to let go of all the demands I have that the kids act a certain way, too. They are individuals. Not little cookie cutter well behaved do not embarrass your mother robots. That is another thing, when I discipline, it needs to be because it is for their best, not because I care what others think about them....(such as out in public)....

Well, here I sit with all my theories and ideas and strategies.....I have places to go today. I am taking my vacuum cleaner to the vacuum cleaner doctor. How on earth I will live without it for a few days is beyond me....watch, the kids will dump cereal and stuff.....and we are going to get our sewing machine part, too. Mirielle is so excited to sew....and I have a few projects I would like to start, too. We will also stop at a grocery store for some fresh fruits and veggies....so I need to get moving, again. Mirielle gets out pretty early today, and it would be nice if I have the kids all ready when she gets home.....