Exercise Ball

This is my last post for today, I promise. I was just realizing as I looked through my pictures how far behind I am. I took pictures of this because it absolutely cracked me up. I blogged a couple of weeks ago about wanting to start exercising, etc. I bought an exercise ball, actually to sit on for my back, but it came with an instructional DVD. I tried it a little bit but got intimidated and gave up after a few minutes. Little Sissy, though--she was into it. The exercise ball was too big for her to manage with her little legs, so she got a little Nerf softball to exercise with. Hilarious!!!

Bumbo Bathtime

Hubby is working evenings this week, so I've figured out how to get all the kids a bath by myself. I put Little Sissy and the baby in first. When he's done I take the bath ring out and Big Sissy gets in. They play while I'm getting the baby dressed, then the baby sits in his Bumbo seat while I wash the girls. So far it's working. Tonight the girls were reading books to him in the bathroom...very cute.

4th of July

I forgot to post the pictures of our 4th of July. On the holiday itself we went to Indiana to be with Hubby's brother's family. He's quite the pyro and put together a 20-minute fireworks display on their own property. The guys spent probably 6 hours that day building boards and tying fuses. I was very impressed with the outcome, and it was great for me to put the little ones to bed and then just go outside and enjoy the show. Strangely, it was very cold that night. We made coffee and wrapped up in blankets. Seemed like it should be a football game instead of a fireworks display. Next year I'm going to set up a concession stand for the neighbors.

The weekend before the holiday, though, we went to the Bethalto fireworks in Bethalto, IL. My family attends church at Cornerstone, which sponsored the event. We didn't actually make it to the fireworks, but I hear they were really great. We went for all the games for the kids. They had clowns, pony rides, inflatables, face painting, eating contests, and other stuff--all for free. Even the snacks were really cheap. There was no alcohol allowed on the premises, and they had live Christian music on the stage (including my bff from childhood and my sister--they're famous!!!) If you're ever in the area around the 4th, you should definitely check it out.

Undeterred

Big Sissy was back at the park again today. Today I sent Daddy, and I stayed home with the napping Little Buddy. This time Little Sissy got the bloody lip when she pushed the swing and then stayed there while it came back and hit her in the face. They do take after me. :)

So the scratches from yesterday are almost gone. Don't tell Big Sissy that...she's milking the Band-Aid thing for all it's worth. You can slightly see the rubber-tire-playground-floor burn on her forehead, and the shadow across her nose is the little scratch that's left. She called herself Stripey all day. Once she stops hurting, she LOVES boo boos. They're like battle scars to her, to be worn proudly.

Hard Lesson

I have the hardest time persuading my 3-year-old of ANYTHING. She works things out in her mind and is fully convinced. She is not a people pleaser. I think I'm going to be proud of this attribute when she's mature in her faith and emotions, etc. For now it's painful. Take today, for example. I've been telling her since we got our swingset that she can swing on the monkey bars, but it's too far of a drop to jump down on her own. "It's okay, mom," she says. "I'll land on my feet." I promise her she won't, I explain how she's still pretty small and it's a long way down, etc. I reason with her. I plead with her. I sometimes even threaten her. Then I don't take my eyes off of her. But today we went to a park. Hubby is working evenings so I left Little Buddy home to nap and just took the girls. I was holding Little Sissy when I heard a scream. Big Sissy was already dangling from the bars and about to slip when she realized I might be right. You know that sick feeling you get when you can see something bad ready to happen but you can't stop it? That's the feeling I had as I tried to maneuver down all the steps, through the hoops, etc. to reach her. Of course she fell. Her mouth was bloody, she has scrapes on her forehead, her nose, her chin, her knees. She just kept crying, "You didn't make it in time. You didn't make it in time. You didn't make it in time." I wanted to cry too because I want to protect my babies from everything. I guess this is what they call discipline by natural consequence. I'm so sad she got hurt. I just hope this lesson means that next time I tell her, she'll believe me. Of course there will be more things, but I'm hoping the scale will start to tip in favor of "Mommy knows something" before she gets REALLY hurt! I'll try to post pictures tomorrow, when we've all slept and it doesn't seem so traumatic.

Family Pizza Night

We are becoming quite the predictable patrons of Cecil Whitaker's customer appreciation day. Every Tuesday night they have large cheese pizzas for $3.99. Since this is our kids' favorite food, we have made Tuesday nights our "family night." I had to laugh tonight because as soon as we walked in the door our cute little waitress rattled off our order in question form. I feel like Norm on Cheers. We get the same thing every Tuesday and end the night with both girls getting gumballs out of the fun machine.

Tonight was different in that I either encountered a person with Touret's Syndrome or the rudest man alive. There was a heavy woman who walked out to her car. He stood there staring at her with a scornful look on his face, clicking his tongue like the school librarian used to do when I was talking too loud, and saying, "waddle waddle" the whole time she was walking. I felt like I was watching a train wreck. I didn't want to watch but I just couldn't believe he was doing this out loud. The next woman who came in had to endure his gaze right at her chest. Thankfully he broke the awkwardness by making a rude comment about something printed on her t-shirt. Then I was getting a piece of pizza and he actually came over and touched the pizza, which was balancing on the napkin holder. "I just would hate to see it fall on the floor," he said. I would too, but I sure would hate it to see it on your face if you touch my pizza again.

That's all for tonight. I'm off to re-read Redeeming Love, my favorite book. I think I need a reminder about grace.

Missing Cell Phone has Returned

Thanks to the faithful search team, my missing cell phone has returned safely home. Actually, I found it this morning in the pocket of my robe. Yeah!