Better days

Well, things have turned around just a bit.

Ryan had a much better week at school. Granted, some days were better than others, but he has succeeded in gaining back a few of his toys. Thank Heavens!! I'm proud of the way he has been acting, even at home. He has been somewhat more respectful and caring. The other morning he crawled in bed with me a little before 6am. He is always wanting to snuggle in the mornings, which I truly love. But this morning, he turned to me and said, "mommy, I love you more than life itself" I have said that to him multiple times, but this time he returned the favor. My heart just beamed and eyes filled with tears. I felt so special!

Alex on the other hand has been a bit of a handful. He is still sweet and cute and absolutely adorable, but..... He's also decided he no longer needs a sippee cup. He wants to be a big boy and use regular cups like his big brother. So....he unscrews the lid. Yes, my 2 year old unscrews the lid to his sippee cup. Which of course generally ends in tears and "uh oh" when he's covered in juice or chocolate milk. He also is going through a hitting phase. Although I remind him we only give hugs and kisses, which he generally gives, he still hits when he doesn't get his way. Oh have mercy!!! (I love his kisses because he always wants to kiss on the lips). I remind myself, it's just a phase and won't last forever.

We've had a good bit of snow and the kids got to play, but unfortunately I had to sleep. I'm hoping the hubby will take a few pics that I can post. But if not, they've had a lot of phone regardless.

Have a great week.

The dreaded belt

Today was the day.

The day I have dreaded for such a long time.

The day when it finally became apparent that disciple was not longer time out or taking things away. The day when we released, duh duh duh.......the BELT.

Since Tuesday Ryan had been having trouble at school. Mostly not wanting to complete his work, so he missed 5-10 minutes of recess finishing his work before playing with his friends. We have had multiple talks about this, and every day get the same answer, "I'm just tired. I can't sit still" And every day, we put him to bed between 8 and 8:15. He awakens on his own, watches a cartoon or two, eats some breakfast, and off to school he goes. Then came Friday. I was in ACLS finishing up day 2 when I checked my phone. There was a missed call and voice mail from a number I did not recognize. When I listened to the message, I was outraged. Ryan had smarted off to the student teacher and was being very rude. I immediately called Mike to go to the school since I couldn't. He smoothed things over with Ryan and the teacher-he apologized and appeared (key word APPEARED) better. Well--that didn't last long. After Mike and I had lunch and decided to go grocery shopping, my phone rang AGAIN. This time his teacher informed me of yet another incident requiring him to be removed from Chinese instruction (yes they teach Chinese in kindergarten where he is). I was livid!!! I don't think I've ever been so upset with him before. Needless to say, I stopped what I was doing, and Mike and I headed to school. When we walked in, his teacher's assistant said, "oh it's a double whammy" And she was so right. I pulled him out of his class and took him home. Granted it was an hour early, and that causes a tardy, but I didn't care. On the sign out sheet reason I put "discipline". He sat in silence the whole way home. Any time he attempted to breathe a word I informed him it was in his best interest to keep his mouth closed. Upon arriving home he went to his room where we had a "Come to Jesus meeting" about his actions. He was crying and upset, but not as bad as when Mike pulled out the belt.

Yes THE BELT.

I got it when I was a child and so can he. A few swipes on that backside made a world of difference today. I hated to do it, and my heart was breaking the whole time, but it had to be done. Time outs don't work. Taking something away doesn't work. So in addition to the licks with the belt, he also lost ALL of his toys. He had to help Mike and myself move them to our bedroom--every last one of them. He has to earn them back one by one. If he has a good day, he earns one back, of my choosing. If he acts up and gets a straight or frowny face one of those returned becomes mine again. I don't really like all of these toys in my room, so I hope he gets it this time.

I try to be a good mother and raise him correctly, but he's making it difficult. I know God will give me strength to do this. Thank heavens, because today I wanted to wring his neck. I'm praying the next few days will be a little easier. Only time will tell. Lots of prayers headed to God for things to go better.

So that's part of, a day in the life.....

not me Monday

So, I've never done this before, but I'm going to give it a try.

Alex really loves to read, mostly his Bible, which is highly adorable. He begged to take it to bed the other night. I didn't let him, no not me. If I had let him I wouldn't have woken up to this:



Because of this I didn't have to spend 30 minutes on Sunday morning re-taping multiple pages of his Bible back together. No not me. I was just able to close it up and take it on to Church. NOT!!

big boy's day

So today being a holiday from school, I opted to keep Ryan home--to have a little mother, son time. It's not very often we get to do this anymore since Alex came along. We took the little man to daycare and then headed out for a day.


It started at Monkey Joes inflatable play yard. It was absolutely crazy at this place today, but was a lot of fun.



There were kids everywhere, but Ryan had a blast!!

After two hours of jumping and playing, we headed out for lunch. Being the picky eater he is, we ended up at Waffle House. It doesn't hurt my feelings one bit because I love the place. After filling up on scrambled eggs and waffles, we headed off to the movies. Granted I didn't pay full price-we did the dollar theatre, but it was fun nonetheless. We saw a little animated film called Planet 51. A little cheesy, but had quite a few funny parts as well. I don't think Ryan got them all, but that's okay. He thought the movie was "adorable".

We've now arrived home for a small rest before dad and the little man come home. After that it's all over. So much for the alone time with my big boy. We've had a much needed great day. These are memories that will last a lifetime. I can hardly wait for the day when Alex is old enough to do the same. But for now, I will enjoy my boys, just as they are. Savoring every moment I can and taking it all in.

Have a great week!

signature

Jeez

I realize I am not very computer literate, but I didn't think it would be so hard. But now I've got it on there and it's not going anywhere!! Yes, I have added a signature to my blog!! Yipee for me!!

Let's try this again

Okay, so I've tried something new. Hope it works.



Free Signature Generator

cake

I DID IT!!

Although that is one of Alex's favorite sayings right now, it was mine for yesterday.

I worked Saturday night, so I slept until mid-afternoon Sunday (after staying up to get the boys dressed for church). Alex was still napping and Mike had taken Ryan to the gym. It was just the peacefulness of a quiet house until..... the voices in my head were saying,

"that cake is still sitting over there"

"don't you see me?"

"HELLO!!!!"

Granted, it was a couple of days old, seeing as how I had taken it to work on New Year's Eve. I did have a piece that night, but truly didn't indulge. It was too busy to really enjoy much of anything that night. Too many people wanting to have New Year's babies. Anyway--as I poured my wonderful cup of diet pepsi (which I am trying to decrease my intake) I eyed the cake pan. As I opened the lid and began to smell it I was in love. It was just an ordinary cake, just yellow cake with chocolate icing, but it's may favorite. I took a small sliver and inhaled it like no tomorrow. Then there was the second bite, which was just as delightful as the first. Who says you can't have cake for breakfast? The longer I stood there the more guilty I felt. I took one more small bite and then...


I THREW IT AWAY!!! I DID IT!!!

For those of you who know me--that was very difficult for me. I love my food, especially sweets. I almost cried when I dumped it in the trash. I almost had a Miranda moment from Sex and the City when she got the cake out of the trash. Well, maybe not that bad, but I was thinking it was over. Boo hoo hoo. But then the good voices in my head returned.

"Way to go Renee, you really did it!!"

I felt so much better no longer having the temptation to eat it. The next thing to go is my peppermint ice cream. Granted it's "only 1/2 the fat of regular ice cream" but it's still fattening in large amounts, which I prefer! Thank goodness it's only out once a year.

So now it's about mind over matter. I did skip the gym yesterday without much of a choice. Mike wasn't home and Alex was sleeping. NEVER wake a sleeping baby. That's okay, I ate light last night. I'm going to the gym tonight for 1 1/2 hours which will do me tremendous good. I love my Turbo Kick--it always kicks me good!!

I hope this in some way keeps me inspired to keep going. I have a long road ahead of me!!

Happy Monday

Renee

Happy New Year

It is that time once again. The beginning of a new beginning. Isn't that always the case? "I'm going to lose weight", "I'm going to be a better mom", I'm going to eat healthier". There are so many resolutions floating around out there right now, it's hard to know where to begin.

I think for me this year I really don't have that many. Yes, I do want to lose weight and eat healthier so that I can live longer and be around for my children. Yes, I do want to be a better mom. Although I think I'm fairly good at it, things can always be improved upon. So this year I have made some different resolutions.

I resolve to:

1) Make sure Ryan says his prayers EVERY night and that Alex starts to learn them.

2) Write in their individual journals more often. It seems time gets the better of me and I don't spend nearly enough time doing that.

3) Blog more about our lives and just the mundane activities. Although normal, it is still OUR life.

4) Spend more time being positive and patient with my husband and children rather than so edgy. My prozac helps, but I want to be more aware of the way I react to things and do so in a positive manner.


Although this is just a few resolutions, they are big for me. More time consuming for me-which is sometimes hard. Okay, most times.

Anyway, I hope the new year blesses you all and God gives you everything you NEED, even when you don't think he does, Have a great 2010!!

Renee