She is Jazlyn.
Him is God.
Jazlyn has a devotional that we do everyday (or when I remember). If you have little ones I highly recommend getting The One Year Devotions for Preschoolers. There's some good stuff in it. Jazlyn calls it her Bible. This morning she said, "I want to read my Bible everyday because I love God."
At least I know I'm doing something right.
Have your kids said anything lately to make you smile?
If you are a long time reader of my blog, then you are cool, and you know that Jazlyn loves to dance. Jazlyn also loves to run, so this year we are going to let her try soccer. She is a very prissy girly girl, so I'm not quite sure how that will turn out. She might go to one practice, get a smudge of dirt on her, and decide that outdoor sports are not for her. We are going to let her try as many things as we can think of to help her figure out what her passions are. I know one of Jazlyn's passions is dance, but we want to find out if there are any others.
Isaiah is still young, but I think he might have a thing for music. Any time he hears music he stops whatever he is doing and starts clapping his hands. He is much more aware of music than Jazlyn was at his age. We'll see if it is something that keeps his interest or not.
I believe that God puts a desire or passion is us for the things that we are supposed to do in life. Some love to sing. Some love to dance. Some love sports, and some love music. My husband and I have made the decision that we are going to do everything we can to give our children the tools they need to find their passions and be successful in them, whatever those passions may be.
Everyone goes through different seasons during their lifetime. Some are in grade school, some in college. Some are expecting their first child, some have already raised theirs. Some are just starting their first job, while others are retired. The list could go on and on.
I'm loving this season in my life. There is never a dull moment with two small children in the house. Something I'm learning with two small children though is that a tidy house at all times is just not going to happen. I'm slowly learning to get balanced in this area. I have always freaked out if someone unexpectedly came over and there were toys all strewn out throughout the house. I'm learning to accept the fact that during this season in my life, there are going to be toys everywhere. If I picked up Isaiah's blocks every time he dumped them out, my family would starve. Ok maybe it wouldn't go quite that far, but you get my point. So if I know you in "real life" and you plan on paying me a visit any time soon, you have been forewarned. If their are toys everywhere when I find out you are coming, the toys are still going to be there when you arrive.
Another thing I am learning about this season of my life is that I need to enjoy and cherish it more. Jazlyn is starting school this fall so pretty soon we won't be able to spend the whole day together. *Sniff, sniff.* Before I know it, Isaiah will be the one going off to school. I know I need to spend more quality time with them while I can. In honor of quality time I might not post as much anymore. I know you are disappointed, but I am giving myself a rule. I am not getting on the computer anymore unless it is bedtime or naptime. If my kids are awake then I want them to have my attention. Someday they might not want my attention as much as they do now.
When I took Jazlyn to dance the other day I noticed this little boy in her dance class (yes she has a boy in her dance class) while we were waiting for her class to start. We will call him Sam. Sam was reading while we were waiting. They were small words, but he was still reading. Everyone in her dance class is about four or five. Sam looks four.
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You know you're a parent when...
You wake up in the morning with a cheerio stuck to your forehead.
You use the phrase "I have to go potty," even when speaking to other adults.
There is no need to buy paint for your walls because they are already colorfully painted with crayons and markers.
The floor in your car is never seen due to the mounds of toys and cheerios.
You find stickers stuck to your socks all the time.
There are five different types of fruit juices in your refrigerator at one time.
You are too busy to think, but too full of love to care.
A smile on a sweet baby's face makes two hours of sleep in one night okay.
A simple "I love you, Mommy" can make any problem go away.
It's Christmas time again. Time for celebrating the birth of Christ, putting up Christmas lights, decorating the tree, spending time with family, and Santa bringing everyone gifts.....or maybe not. Well at least not the last part, not in our house.
Yep, we are those parents. When Jazlyn goes to school next year, her friends will tell her she's wrong, those friends' parents won't like us, and we will become those parents.
I don't believe our kids are missing out on anything by us not doing Santa. Jazlyn is just as excited about Christmas as any other kid. She is still getting gifts. She just knows that they are from us, not Santa.
Jazlyn has seen Santa and she knows the story of Saint Nick. She understands that the Santa she sees out during Christmas time is only pretend. She knows that he is just a man dressed up in a suit.
Let me share why we are choosing not to have our kids believe that Santa is bringing them presents every year. Our reasoning is that we don't want there to be any confusion later in life for them over whether Jesus is real. We don't want to tell our kids for years that Santa is bringing them presents, then have them find out that it isn't true, causing them to possibly question other things that they have been taught by us. I know some kids could understand without it being an issue, but this is still the decision that we have made for our family.
Let me say(type) that I have nothing against people that do Santa. Actually, I hardly know anyone who doesn't do Santa. Even though we might not do everything exactly the same, we can still be friends, right? I don't think that my family is any better than other families that do Santa. I'm only sharing my life.
We have already told Jazlyn that she shouldn't tell kids who do believe in Santa that he isn't real. So please don't come after us for being those parents.
Merry Christmas!
~Melissa
I did it. I tapped Isaiah on the leg, kinda hard. He is crawling around everywhere and getting into everything. Anytime I tell him no he just smiles and laughs at me. Usually I just take away whatever he has, but tonight I took it one step further. I hurt his feelings and now my feeling are hurt too. :(
Disciplining my children is something I often struggle with. I know they need discipline, but it hurts me to hurt them. I'm sure many people can relate to that. I know our kids need boundaries, but it is still hard for me. My husband will easily tell you that he does most of the disciplining around here. Now that I am home with our kids all the time I need to toughen up. God tells us that if we love our children we should discipline them promptly (Proverbs 13:24).
Believe it or not, I have learned a lot from Supernanny. See, reality television is productive sometimes. One thing Supernanny helped me with in regards to Jazlyn is to make sure she is listening. Most of the time she is in her own little world and doesn't hear what we say to her. Time outs usually work very well for her. She is not too much of a problem, as long as she is not sleepy. Then she turns into some other child whom I would rather not speak of.
So I know how to discipline Jazlyn (sometimes), but I'm not too sure what to do with Isaiah right now. He needs some form of discipline. He has tried to scratch and bite me already. I'm not really sure if he realizes what he is doing or not, but either way he needs to know that it is unacceptable. As big as he is, he will be able to overpower me at two years old. That tapping on the leg tore me to pieces, and I don't know if I want to go that route again. He cried and cried and cried and cried some more. I'm not sure, however, if he would understand time out. I don't think he would. So what do I do?
Maybe I will call Supernanny and see what she suggests. I will let you know what she says.
~Melissa
I know it is a little late for this, but I am going to try to put Isaiah on a schedule. I'm only seven months behind. Better late than never right?
We have always been a go with the flow type of family. Whenever you are hungry, you eat. Whenever you are sleepy, you sleep, no matter what time of day (or night) it is. This type of lifestyle is no longer working for me. Some nights Isaiah is only sleeping a few hours, then trying to sleep all day. Needless to say, I NEED CHANGE! I'm sure some consistency would benefit everyone in our family.
My main reason for wanting to do this is so Isaiah can get on a steady sleeping schedule, but I also want Jazlyn to get on a schedule because she starts school next year (sniff, sniff). I don't want her to go to school and go into shock when she can't do what she wants when she wants.
This week I am just keeping track of what Isaiah is currently doing to see if there is any consistency at all. We are going out of town next week so I am going to try to implement the schedule when we get back. My plan is to first get Isaiah on a schedule, then Jazlyn, because I know she will be a lot easier.
If any of you know anything about this, or know of any websites or other resources that might help me, please leave me a comment. This is new territory for me. Thank you in advance because I know someone is going to help me. :)
I will keep you posted on our progress.
~Melissa
I tip my hat to single parents, especially those with young kids. My husband has been working some overtime lately, so I have gotten a taste of what it is like to be the only parent in the home. I don't work, so I can only imagine doing everything in the home, while taking care of children and still going to work everyday. There should be some sort of single parent holiday for them.
I also don't see how people work all the time when they have a family at home. To me, no amount of money in the world would be worth not getting to spend time with my family. I guess that is why the divorce rate is so high in America. There are way too many workaholics.
My husband is off to work again so I can't type anymore right now. Yay for no overtime next weekend! God bless and enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
~Melissa
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