4-year-old 101: Man vs. Dad

Not unlike any other day in this house, I folded clothes this morning while Tayt asked 1,452 questions and Nash climbed on the television on the floor in our bedroom. The kid likes head trauma. After what seemed like Tayt's 1,338th question, I couldn't take it any more. I started to get a little annoyed and then God must have stepped in and I prayed for those children who couldn't speak at all, those parents who couldn't hear, and that I wasn't either of those. Instead of telling Tayt to go away or shut it, I started asking him questions... in hopes of deterring his string of questioning. First I asked if he had to go to school this fall because I was going to miss him. His reply to this was to roll his eyes. This may or may not have been the 1,452nd time I've asked him. Both he and Nash were playing with phones so I'm guessing the following conversation stemmed from that...

T "Mom, dad used to have a phone like this."

"Oh yeah..."

T "He doesn't any more. He was a man then."

"He was a man when he had a flip phone?"

T "Yeah. He used to be a man." 

"What is he now that he isn't a man?" (in all the seriousness I could muster up)

... concentration pause ...

T "a Dad."

r.a.b. - remember Alex Brown

Last night before bed the kids and I sat down and watched part of an episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I'm a sucker for these shows for a couple reasons... 1) I absolutely LOVE everything about building a new home; and 2) the stories usually make me tear up.

At the start of last nights show I didn't expect to be touched as much as I was. The stories are usually extreme... things I pray never happen to my family or any families I know. Last nights show opened my eyes.

I'm an EMT here in our hometown. Every year our ambulance and fire departments help out the local high school and create the scene of an accident for high school juniors and seniors... kind of an eye opener. This last summer I participated and the scene was that of a student texting while driving. This is supposed to be an eye opener for the students and I now feel guilty having participated when I'm guilty myself of texting while driving. Well, after watching the Extreme Makeover Home Edition last night, I will no longer be texting while driving. I'm making the pledge. And I hope everyone who reads this does the same.

For more information, visit their website here. Very touching story.

** IDEA - if you check out the remember alex brown page on Facebook listed under their info section, they send you a package of these neat thumb bands (like all those rubber type bracelets everywhere) to keep you focused on NOT texting while driving for donations of at least $25. Anyone interested in pitching in a few dollars let me know.

congestion v. (kən′jeschən): to ruin innocent lives

This last week we've been dealing with the fun usual illness that accompanies this time of the year... The Cold. In some way, shape, or form, all 6 of the kids have at least one of the symptoms that go along with The Cold. This infamous, more-often-than-not, aggravating Cold usuallllllly causes little problems because who can't cope with a stuffed up face and runny nose?

Well, last week Austyn developed a fever with her cough, congestion, runny nose, and on and on and ON. From past experience when Peyton was hospitalized with pneumonia, I knew a fever with these symptoms and that kind of barky, hacking cough was not good news. Alas... Austyn had/has pneumonia. Fortunately, a course of amoxicillin is doing the trick and dodging a hospital stay! Unfortunately, Drew is extremely congested but the doctor assures me she "looks good" and "keep doing what you're doing." So no worries (too much) there either. Humidifier/vaporizers have been running nonstop the past couple days.

For the most part, we venture out of the house with minor symptoms that are not contagious (I promise) but this last weekend the 4 little gaffers and myself had to miss Peyton's basketball games on Saturday. Leaving the house in sub-zero temperatures with coughing, hacking children was not on my list of Things To Do that day. I love to watch him play so was disappointed but I know my Mom got some great photos of him, which are mostly the same from game to game seeing as they are at the learning stage of the game, but I enjoy seeing them anyway. My sister, Casey, caught Peyton's near-game-winning-shots on tape a couple weekends ago and it. was. Awesome! Casey also got a bunch of good ones that you can see HERE. So even though I missed this last weekends games on account of illness, I'm glad we stayed out of the cold to hopefully keep healthy, and I look forward to the next batch of photos. This week is proving to be healthier than last so far and I hope it continues.

clenched fists

One of my favorite things about newborns is the clenched fists... immediately adding that to my list of "Things I'll Miss..." One of my least favorite things is the amount of crying during bath time. This poor little girl screams right up until the time when I put her diaper on. Warm water. Hate it. Washing her hair. Hate it. Lotion. Despises it. I'm just glad she's big enough now to use the tub that I use in the sink. She looks so chubby and is starting to get those classic Smith chubby thighs and arms. (comparison below) Maybe not much of a difference to the naked eye (pun intended) buttttt I love it... yet I beg her every day to ssslllooowww down on the growing! 

2 weeks



just about 1 month