Lavender Springs

A few weekends ago we took the kids to lavender springs ranch. We try to do this at least once a year. The kids loved it this year. They picked green beans (even though we have more that we can eat in our garden), raspberries, and okra. Owen ate so many raspberries, I thought he was going to be sick. He was eating them faster than I could pick them! Here are some pictures of our fun day!

Drill sergeants...

Parenting is not easy. I am already realizing it, and my kids are still babies.(sort of) My goal as a parent is to be as prepared as I can be as my kids get older. I never want to think I am as good of a parent as I will ever be. I know that a great parent is one that can be open to change. If what I am doing does not seem to be working, I want to be willing to change. My kids deserve for me to keep working on myself and taking my job as a mom serious. y kids are the greatest gift I have ever received, and I want them to know that I think they are amazing.

I am staring my psychology classes, and for the most part I love them. I have 2 online classes, and one in class. The class I have in the classroom, is child psychology. Their are an interesting bunch of people in that class. One lady is about to drive me insane, and it is only week number two. I will refer to her as the "drill sergeant". The drill sergeant has something to say about everything. She can not be swayed, it is her way or no way. Her children are in high school, and she is a genius when it comes to parenting. She says that your house should be the way you want it, and your kids will need to learn to not touch anything you don't want them to touch. You can have breakables on their level, and if you are a good enough parent, your kids will learn not to touch the breakable things. Drill sergeant says you can never reason with a two year old, they are completely irrational and are not intelligent enough to be reasoned with.

I am required to respond in class as part of my grade, but I find myself just sitting there screaming in my head. She is clearly a parent who thinks she knows it all, and there is no swaying her, so I think "why respond"? So I will respond here on my blog where I can speak freely.

1. Who wants to live in a house where kids can not touch things? I agree they should not touch things like the stove and toilet water, but I like that my kids can play in my house. It is their house too, and I want them to always feel comfort in our home. I have taught my kids to not touch things when we go to other houses that are not kid friendly, but they are free to touch most things in my house.
2. As far as not being able to reason with a two year old, she is crazy! Two years is when you SHOULD start reasoning with them. You don't have to spank a child every chance you get to get them to obey you. I reason with my kids daily. It is SOOOO easy to tell Scarlett or Owen to do something and if they do not there will be a consequence. It works like magic. You just tell your child to do something and that is it. Watch them to see if they do what you say. You say it once, and if they do not do what you say you take something away. Trust me, the more drastic the consequence, the less you will have to work at it. It does take a TON of consistency for a little while, but they will get it, and when they do things get really easy. IT IS CALLED REASONING!

This lady and her "drill sergeant" attitude, "if you don't do what I say, I will force you to do it", does nothing for a child but make them afraid of you. Why do parents want their children to be afraid of them? I think if less parents were drill sergeants, maybe their kids would feel like they could talk to them more. I would be terrified to talk to my mom if she was like the drill sergeant. For example, when a teen girl works up enough courage to tell her parents she is pregnant, why do parents yell and tell girls that they are stupid. Some parents kick their pregnant daughters out of the house! What good does yelling and name calling do at that point? That girl needs to be loved and felt like she is not alone, because the fear she holds inside her is all the punishment she needs. These "drill sergeant" parents are to blame for a lot of lost teens.
Then there are parents who say, "well my child has no respect, they could care less about me". Well no duh! they are teenagers, of course they do not respect you. Why do grown adults get thier feelings hurt, and take things personal. Don't all kids hate their parents at one time in their lives? I can tell you this, I will not be shocked when my kids let the "I hate you" slip. I will know that they are saying it in anger, and I would never let it ruin my relationship with them. I think a lot of parents need to pull up thier big kid pants, and deal with things. Listening, support and unconditional love go a long way with kids.

I don't know If I have ten quotes this week...

1. While Owen was peeing: "Mom this is my big wiener!" Why are boys so obsessed at such a young age?
2. Scarlett: "Owen is driving me CHAOS!"
3. Scarlett: "Mom, I wish that you and dad never had to work and could stay home with us all the time!" Don't we all wish that...
4. Mike was sitting on the couch when Scarlett came out of nowhere and punched him in the stomach, and said in a devious little voice, "Bet you didn't see that coming, did you?"
5. Scarlett: "Mom, you know that place called Kenya? Do you think the lions and Giraffes that live there can walk over to our house and sneak into our house and eat us?" What, who told her that?!
6. We were listening to a song and Scarlett asked me what it meant to be a goner, and I told her that it means that someone is gone forever. She said, "Well are you sad that your paw paw is a goner?" It was sad but funny in a way too.
7. Mike and Scarlett and Owen found a bottle in Owens closet, in a backpack, from a long time ago. I guess it was a juice bottle? Scarlett said it smelled like, "Buffalo and bear poop all mixed together." Owen said it "tinked" (he only uses S's when he feels like it.

I did not think I could get to ten, but I got close.

Good tunes

This song by Addison Road is amazing. I am loving this message right now.
There’s a better version of me
That I can’t quite see
But things are gonna change
Right now I’m a total mess and
Right now I’m completely incomplete
But things are gonna change
Cause you’re not through with me yet

This is redemption’s story
With every step that I'm taking
Every day, you’re chipping away
What I don’t need
This is me under construction
This is my pride being broken
And every day I’m closer to who I’m meant to be
I'm a change in the making

Wish I could live more patiently
Wish I could give a little more of me
Without stopping to think twice
Wish I had faith like a little child
Wish I could walk a single mile
Without tripping on my own feet
But you’re not through with me yet

And this is redemption’s story
With every step that I'm taking
And every day, you’re chipping away
What I don’t need
This is me under construction
This is my pride being broken
Every day I’m closer to who I’m meant to be

From the dawn of history
You make new and you redeem
From a broken world to a broken heart
You finish what you start in everything
Like a river rolls into the sea
We’re not who we’re going to be
But things are going to change

I'm living redemption’s story
With every step that I'm taking
And every day, you’re chipping away
What I don’t need
And this is me under construction
This is my pride being broken
And every day I’m closer to who I’m meant to be
I'm a change in the making

I'm not who I'm gonna be
Moving closer to your glory

Top ten quotes of the week...

1. "Owen is just a pesty pest pest!"
2. While watching a guy on tv get hit in the balls, Owen yelled, "AHHH right in the tenders!"
3. Scrletts response to the above comment, "don't worry mom, he got that from Kung Fu Panda." Yes, that makes it much better.
4. During a church thing the other night, Mike played the guitar and after every song, Owen yelled, "Good job Dad"
5. "Mom, I love Justin Beaver, and I don't care if he is already married, I am going to marry him" She is just a little confused on how things work. We ARE going to teach her that being a home wrecker is not a wise path in life.
6. Scarlett asks me and my sister in law why I did not marry my brother. We tried to explain to her that brothers and sisters do not marry each other. Her response, "Well I might marry Owen one day because I love him." our response, "no, you will not want to marry Owen." In her most devious voice she says, "we will just see about that." She is still trying to figure out different kinds of love.
7. At church they showed a clip of the lion the witch and the wardrobe. Owen was sitting in my lap with a cup of ice water. In one scene edmond steps over a sleeping wolf, and the wolf growls and jumps up. Owen has seen this movie many times, but for some reason it scared him and he jumped and the ice cold water flew out of the cup and landed all over my head. Everyone around me thought it was hilarious!
8. After a worship service I listened to both kids sing revelations song word for word, "Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!
Yeah!" One of the great moments as a parent.
9. me: "Owen, sing me a song" Owen:"Mom, I can't, I am only 2"
10. Scarlett: "going to the pool makes me so dang happy!"

The Haps...

The last 2 weeks have been a little on the crazy side. Last week we FINALLY got taxes done! The last time we will ever have to do taxes for River's Edge. Yippee!! WE sold our trailblazer and bought a cute little red car that Owen calls Mcqueen. He wants us to put lucky "tickers" (stickers) on the side of it.

In other big news, I have switched my degree plan once again. I have working on a degree in business. I have never wanted a business degree, but I thought I needed it because it could get me pretty much any job I wanted in the business field. I have always wanted to get a degree in psychology, but decided not to pursue it because in order to make any money doing it I would have to go to school for 8 years. A few weeks ago I got a call from the manager of State Farm in Southern New Mexico and he said that it did not matter what degree I got. I could do my job with any degree. So I now get to change my degree plan to what I have always wanted it to be. This semester I am taking Human growth and development, child psychology, and adolescent psychology. I am so excited I can't stand it.

Last but not least, I went to the doc and had my IUD removed. I have had acne like a highschool kid who does not wash her face. It has been awful. I do reccomend IUD's and I have to say that was the only downfall for me. I have to have a birth control that is projesterone only, due to the breast cancer risk in my family. It has been great for the past 3 years, but now I am ready for different possicilities.