Hodge-podge of stuff...

Aren't you proud of me? I'm writing again without a month going by! -not that I have anything to say, really or any news of note...so read on with low expectations and you shouldn't be too disappointed. :)

Emma and I are just hanging out here at home today, cleaning mostly. Well, me, not her~she mostly walks in behind me pulling out things I've just cleaned up, getting into things she shouldn't be, needing a snack or juice or a hand wiping her hiney, etc... If you have children, or had children or have been responsible for children, you know full well what I'm talking about.

I received a big surprise yesterday when I opened her backpack from preschool. Inside her folder was a coupon for a "big bear hug" because she had done a great job cleaning up at school that day. Total shocker to us! (Even Taylor's eyes bugged out and mouth hung open when she read it!) ha! Here at home, she is not a good "cleaner-upper", to put it mildly. When asked to clean up her messes her usual response is to fall out onto the floor and whine "I'm tie-ud! I can't pick up all dat stuff! Can you pwease helwp me? Tay-wer, will you do it fo me?" That's where the stuggle usually begins. I tell her to "get up off of that floor right now and get busy!" She rolls around a little more until I have to give her a spat on her leg. Then the whining goes to full blown crying with more whining. The entire process usually lasts an hour or so with several spats or spankings during that time. She'll learn one day just to do it and get it over with quickly rather than going through all of that. (Shhh...don't shoot down my dreams! It's my party, I can 'be dillusional' if I want to.) (I'm just so glad she does it here at home only and not at school or church!)

A lot of times I catch Taylor picking her stuff up for her. Taylor has such a soft spot for her when she's in trouble which can be a good thing, but not when it allows her to be manipulated by her 3 year old sister into doing her jobs for her! I once walked into Emma's room to find her sitting on her bed, tear stained cheeks from the hour of crying and spankings, giving orders to Taylor of where her toys and books were to be put. "Dat one goes over dere, Tay-wer. No, dat doesn't go dere, it goes in dat udder box." And there poor Taylor is cleaning up her room for her! Yes, I know I'm in for it as she gets older! Taylor and I have since had a few talks about her letting Emma manipulate her like that and that it doesn't help Emma for her to clean up her messes for her...she needs to learn to do it herself. "But she won't, Mama, and if I just do it for her she'll be done faster and then we can play." Taylor says. Too sweet for her own good. :)

I do have some good news to share, Nathan has a job interview today. He got a call on Monday from a company that he applied to several weeks ago. He hadn't heard anything from them and had sort of put them on the back burner, so to speak, thinking that they probably weren't going to call. He's had several other things he's been working on since then. Anyway, he is meeting a man this afternoon in Naples (across the state) and having dinner with him tonight. He's excited but a little nervous too. So say a prayer for him today.

I'm reluctant to say this but I know I'm going to get emails from my family and friends back in AR asking where this job is...I know that is one of your main concerns! So, to save my inbox from being overloaded today, here goes...The company is out of Laurel, Mississippi. I'm not sure exactly if that's where his job will be or not though. If I remember right, the job was either there or in Texas but I'm not certain...I may be confusing this one with another one. And to you, my dear Florida family, DO NOT start praying that this is not the right job! Remember, this is our welfare here! :) Yes, Cindy M., I'm talking to you too-don't do it! ha! (For those of you who don't know, Cindy is my friend that I'm helping coordinate MOPS with this year. She is so afraid that I'm going to move away and she'll be left to coordinate MOPS herself...which she is TOTALLY capable of doing quite well!)

To those of you in my Bible study class...I walked Taylor to class today instead of doing the car loop. I can say, totally honestly, that it was mostly because of the traffic in the drop off line rather being afraid to let her walk by herself. -well, I was a little afraid but that wasn't the deciding factor today. For the rest of you, I'll briefly explain: Taylor begs for me to take her through the car loop in the mornings and drop her off so that she can walk by herself to class. The majority of the parents and students do this. All last year she begged me and I wouldn't do it. I am so afraid that she won't make it to class or that something will happen to her on her way. Fears that are probably completely irrational! I like to physically walk her to class and hand her off to her teacher. So this year she has begged again so I have done it twice-AND I found out that sometimes Nathan lets her walk by herself when he takes her...I flipped out on him about that when Taylor "accidentally" let it slip that "Daddy lets me do it." I loudly and psychotically played out all the things that could have happened to her from him not walking her himself to class as he sat there looking at me like I'd lost every lick of sense that the good Lord had given me.

When I let her use the car loop, I worry about her most of the day and am not completely relieved until I see her in the afternoons waiting in the car loop line for me to pick her up. Is there any other mother out there as anal about things like that as I am??! I won't let my kids go anywhere hardly by themselves! Which, with Emma, that's understandable since she's little. I'm trying to ease up a little in that area with Taylor since she is getting older and can do some things by herself. However it is really hard for me to do it. Anyway, in our bible study class we're working on believing God and having faith in Him. Yesterday we talked about being able to take a stand of faith in big things but then not being able to with small things. -smacked me in the face for sure! So I shared with them my little thing (not trusting Him to protect my kids) where my faith is lacking.

Yesterday I did drop her off and tried to be brave about it. But on my way home from bible study, as I pulled onto the street to turn into our subdivision (I have to go by the playground and it's during her recess) I said a little prayer "Lord, if I could just see her out there playing I'd feel so much better." And despite my such little faith, He allowed me to see her among all those other kids. She was standing off to the side of the playground, away from the other kids, with her friend laughing and playing. It was one of those moments were I was overjoyed by that little answered prayer but feeling a little guilty for not having more faith that he had answered my prayer that morning to get her safely to class. I am reassured daily that this is definitely the bible study class that I need to be in right now! :)

Well, Emma and I need to get on with our day and she is begging me to use my computer. -a new skill that she has learned. Quick story about that (well you know me better by now, my stories are usually not quick ones but drawn out sagas of more details than are necessary...see, here I go again!) Anyway, last week when I came home from taking Taylor to her open house at school I found Nathan downstairs watching TV and Emma nowhere around. When asked her whereabouts, Nathan nonchalantly tells me "She's upstairs playing games on your computer." "WHAT?!!", the mother screams. "She can't do that by herself!! She can't even read OR work the mouse without 'clicking' all of her fingers and thus pressing both mouse buttons!" To which I was told to calm down that she in fact CAN work the mouse and on 'Noggin.com' anything you move your mouse over it says aloud for you so she doesn't HAVE to read. I rush upstairs thinking that surely my computer would be no more...would be crashed into the depths unable to be retrieved. There she sits, big as you please, playing a Dora game. I said "Emma, just what do you think you're doing missy?" And in a most haute, grown up way she says, "Pwayin a game on yuh com-poo-tuh. But I'm aw-mos done so you can have it in jus a minute when I'm finished." Speechless, I stand watching her and she is doing it, clicking on the right things.
The next morning I am getting dressed, thinking Emma is downstairs watching TV. I find her on my computer, playing games on Noggin. I have no idea HOW she was able to get to Noggin.com by herself. Of course, I freak out a little and she calmly shows me how she got there by herself. "I jus cwicked on dat widdle stah (the "my favorites" star on Internet explorer-which was already opened up to another web page that I hadn't closed the night before.) and found dee widdle Noggin moose and cwicked on him. Dat's allllll, Mama!" Hmmm...my little Einstein. Yes I know I should be worried, very worried! :)

Have a great day!!
PS-I just received this funny email (pasted below) and thought it quite appropriate to add to this blog:

Kindergarten Son
A Mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe. So she had an idea of how to handle it.She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he wouldn't notice her.She said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise, so she agreed.The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew. She did this for the whole week.As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. Finally she said to Timmy, 'Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week? Do you know her?'Timmy nonchalantly replied, 'Yeah, I know who she is.' The little girl said, 'Well, who is she?''That's just Shirley Goodnest,' Timmy replied,' and her daughter Marcy.''Shirley Goodnest? Who the heck is she and why is she following us? ''Well,' Timmy explained, 'every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life,' so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace. May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy be with you today and always.