Mr. Hyde...

Let me introduce you to my ornery little man!!
We are entering the terrible two's of his life and he is showing it off in style!! I decided one day after he had done a few things that I would show you all what a typical day was like with him. Without pictures I really don't think anyone would believe me. He is such a sweetheart but still he has a Mr. Hyde side!!
The kids needed a bath and being a stay at home mommy I don't have to do it before bedtime, I do sometimes but not always. This day I knew we were going to be busy and so before lunch time it was! I started by running the water and gathering towels. When I came into the bathroom this is what I found...
London in the bath fully clothed! He had gotten himself in the tub and started bathing without me! He also had sissies favorite bath toy, sneaky!!
Giving Ariel a kiss... See sweet side!!

The day continued with a little musical stool, instead of the kids moving the stool was on the loose! He carries this around to different places to get things he couldn't reach. He is smart!!

He is getting lunch before it was ready, yes we eat leftovers!! Oh and those dishes are clean, I do all of mine by hand... :)

To the front room we go...

Trying to escape, luckely he doesn't know how to open a door yet and if he did it opens in so he would be out of luck!

To the lights, on and off...

Back to the kitchen...

Throwing the magnets on the ground. My kitchen floor always has a layer of magnets on it around the refridgerator!! If he didn't love those so much I wouldn't keep them, but he does and so do I!

Up front again.... this is really in order of the day

Oh haven't turned the tv off and on enough so a few more times shouldn't hurt!! See those wires? He also likes to hang off of them.

This one gets daddy all of the time. Matthew likes to leave his guitar case in the livingroom behind the couch, this isn't its home but whatever. So London will set it down and stand on it. This is also Guthries little get away from the kids, on the back of the couch, so he pesters the poor dog!!

This is something London does for fun...

Why is this ornery you may ask...

Well because he now has a permenent rug burn and people just fuss over him and he eats it up!!

He also loves to torture sissy!! I wasn't home when this happened but oh my stars!! I don't know how long this lasted but it is funny!! He is always pestering her; taking toys away, turning off her movie, taking food/snacks away from her, hitting her, you name it he does it!! She just cries and fusses and he eats it up! I don't know why she lets him get away with it but she does!

And this is my little funny man!! He will do anything for a laugh.

Of all the trouble he causes he is way more funny!! We just love him and all his spunk!! He fits so well and we don't know what our family would be like if he wasn't part of it! Some days are like this day but some are just all kinds of laughs and fun. I wouldn't change it for the world!!

When someone you care about is missing...

I mentioned Matthew's grandma and couldn't help but devote an entire post to her, I just love her!! She is the mother of 6 girls and one lone boy. She was married to a Navy man who later became an Illinois State Policeman, Harold. I am convinced that he was the love of her life. He died in 1999 and really has been missed by the family since!! She has lived all over and came to find her home as Flora. All of her children attended Lincoln Christian College and most of their spouses did too. Her legacy is one of faith and honor to God. She has always been known as a quiet and peaceful woman. A few years ago she was diagnosed with Alzheimers. Alzheimers is a horrific disease!! I think that it is right there with cancer!! Maxine has been dealing with the symptoms for a few years but this year has been the hardest!!

Alzheimer's is a brain disease that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. That is a very basic description of what this disease causes.

Maxine has trouble having a conversation, she can't remember from one moment to the next, she doesn't know people that she has known for years, and she is really really depressed about all of this!! She has really good moments where she is aware of everything and she can talk to anyone, those are my favorite times!! Then she has times where she is so utterly confused you have to do everything for her, and then lately there is a new person (kind of). This 'new' person is so sad that she cries easily and she is angry so she won't talk or look at anyone. This new person is so much different from the mother, grandmother, and great grandmother that we all know. She has even been known to be a bit rude, and let me say it really isn't rude just slightly!! She is still a kind person but some of what we are seeing is so unlike her and I think that at times people forget that it is the disease not her.

She has been living with my in laws for 6 years. There is a family history of alzheimers and she has been showing symptoms for awhile so they all decided that her living with them was the obvious solution. Nothing was terribly out of the norm until last year. She had to stop driving and couldn't be left alone for a weekend. So that was a bit to work out and then this year happened!!! She can't be alone at all!! She gets so worked up that she has been left behind, she forgets that Sherry (MIL) has gone to Walmart really fast. So they have a care-giver who comes while Dan and Sherry work and then they are there with her all night. I love how much they love her and all of the family does but sometimes I know she is so unhappy and that kills me!! Please pray for my in laws and especially Maxine, who in all of her live was a faithful servant and now has to deal with being served!!

Nap time=Me time

I don't know anyone who loves naps any more than a stay at home mom!! I personally love nap times!! It is one of the only times that is saved for just me. Matthew works and usually can't come home for lunch and the kids sleep at the same time for at least a couple of hours. They NEED there naps about as much as I need them to nap.

If we are having a hard day this is a nice time to refresh and start new. If we are just to tired to be nice to one another then a good nap usually helps. We all depend on nap time to make our days more enjoyable with one another, although I don't think the kids agree with me!!

I have various things that I love to do while they are napping. I like to keep the house quiet during nap time so I am limited in what I can do but it is fine by me, sometimes quiet is just what I need. I do a lot of my computer work during nap time!! I thought I would tell you a few of my favorite things to do during nap time.

1. Catch up with the blogs that I follow, I love the world of blogging!!

2. Read whatever book I am reading.

3. Take a nap myself.

4. Watch some tv, or a movie.

5. Craft anyway I want.

6. Organize a closet or cabinet or something that has been bugging me with clutter.

I know that I am not the only person who feels this way. Matthew's grandma Maxine was very pro naps. I love to hear her talk about being a mom, I am convinced that she was the best!! She always says that you always should have a quiet time during the day. She has 7 children and she always had a quiet time where they went to their rooms and were quiet. She did that until there were no kids at home anymore. I know that that is hard to do in this fast paced world but I am going to do that as much as possible. We are just to busy these days and we need to slow down more!!

New Years... New Me...

I don't make resolutions, sometimes I would make something up and say it was my resolution but never committed to actually doing it. So then when I grew up, the last 5 years or so, I began saying I don't make resolutions. Instead I make beginning of the year goals, obtainable ones that I really feel God wants me to do! So last year Matthew and I made a few goals with a worksheet (I found a bunch when I googled goal worksheets) and when I went through them this year I really think I did well!!
1. I lost the baby weight I wanted too.
2. We set up a budget and have been sticking to it.
3. We payed off our car and all of our credit cards, which were only a couple but they are outta here!!!
4. I read more.

There are more I am sure but it is late and I am not digging the list out right now... Should have prepared more... haha

This year I have an actual book list of some of the books I should have read as a kid and didn't, I was busy reading V.C. Andrews which are not the most kid friendly but my grandma collected them. There are 25 on the list but some of them are series'; Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings. Then there are the classics; The Great Gatsby, Wuthering Heights, Little Women, Catch 22, Sherlock Holmes. Then there are the spiritually inspiring books; Bringing up Girls, If Jesus Raised your Kids, Crazy Love, and The Bible. I am giving myself a year to complete this and these are not all of them... Sounds like a lot of work but work that I love!!

Then my other large life changing goal is to be more giving when it comes to money. I think that I talk myself out of giving when God is promting me too. I want to have a giving heart and so I upped our tything and I am praying and listening to God's prompting. I don't expect God to give it back or make it easy but I want to give until it hurts. If anyone has any easy solutions or helpful advice I would be up to hearing it. I will give time and stuff but money is where I am less likely to give. I have been hearing God telling me to let go and I have to just do it!! So I know it isn't January and maybe that is appropriate because these are not my resolution but instead simply goals...