I'm Being "Stalked" by the Jehovah's Witnesses!!

About a month ago, I was stopped on my driveway while getting out of my car with the kids by two older Jehovah's Witnesses ladies. They asked for a minute of my time and proceeded to read to me a passage from the Book of Revelation and tell me about the signs that "the end was near". Now being Catholic myself, I have read parts of the Bible and I am familiar with it's teachings (although I'm not as familiar as I should be) but, I do appreciate people's faith in God and their love of the Bible so I politely listened to what they had to say and even took the pamphlet that they offered to me and went in the house.

I should probably tell you that this is standard procedure for me with anyone that comes to my door trying to sell something (or talk about religion in this case) or calls the house asking for donations. I listen to what they have to say and then politely decline - I just can't bring myself to be rude!

Well, last weekend while Bill was in the shower two different women came to the door and again read me a passage and gave me two more pamphlets. Again I listened, took the pamphlets and said goodbye. I was glad that Bill was in the shower when they showed up because he HATES solicitors of any kind and tends to get a little nuts when they contact us in ANY way.

I didn't think anything of the women ringing our doorbell until today when they showed up AGAIN! I had just gotten out of the shower and was not dressed enough to answer the door so they left me some more pamphlets inbetween the doors and went on their way. I think that I have unintentionally encouraged them and I'm not exactly sure what to do now. I still don't want to be rude to them, I try to keep my level of rudeness to an absolute minimum but I'm at a loss for what to do next. I'm sure that I'll think of something but in the meantime I hope that if they do come back they are not unfortunate enough to have Bill answer the door!

Kids Love the Craziest Games

It always amazes me to watch the kids play with Bill. He chases them, hangs them upside down, knocks them over - and they can't get enough of it. Now when it's just the two of them and they play this way one of them is guaranteed to come to me in tears because the other won't leave them alone, but with Bill it's the greatest thing ever. It's cute to watch because they work as a team against him and one will always rescue the other. I've gotten used to how they play and normally it doesn't faze me at all but yesterday I watched in awe as they played a new game.

For about an hour and a half Hannah and Alexander ran around laughing hysterically as Bill tried to hit them with a ball. I know that you're thinking it was dodgeball but it wasn't. It was just Bill hitting them with a ball as they climbed up the slide or tried to hide under the picnic table or just ran into the garage. And it was just a small, soft, squishy ball - not anything that would actually hurt them (so don't think we were abusing them or anything!) The thing that shocked me most was that they WANTED to be hit. After Bill would throw the ball one of them would bring it back to him and taunt him! After a while I couldn't help but laugh at the ways they "tried" to get away or hide because it was just plain funny. I love watching all three of them play together but I'm a little scared of what they will come up with next!

The Secret to Being The Best Mom Ever

Tonight I have been deemed both #1 mom and the coolest mom ever by my kids. Apparently the 5 years I have spent bending over backwards for them were all in vain. All I had to do was make them their favorite dinner and surprise them with ice cream sandwiches. Who knew that it could be that easy!?!!? I'm a little disappointed that winning these titles weren't more challenging but at the same time I'm glad that I can now stop jumping through hoops for them. Yep, it should be smooth sailing from now on....right? RIGHT?!?! Guys? Hello? Anybody...?

The Countdown is On

The first day of school is about a month away and I have been busy trying to get the kids ready for it so that I am not one of the crazies running around the night before they start fighting for the picked over school supplies with the other procrastinator parents. Hannah only needs 2 more things and she is all set - and let me tell you she reminds me of this EVERY DAY! Alexander on the other hand still needs most of the things on his list but it's silly stuff like Kleenex and zip lock bags. He's only going to be in preschool so all that's really required is some crayons, a change of clothes to keep at school (in case of an accident) and cleaning supplies to help with all of the messes that 3 year olds tend to make.

To keep with my "Early Bird" mind set I took Hannah for her school uniform the other day. This is the first year that Hannah will be in a uniform and I wanted to get it so that we wouldn't have to worry about it later. Bill thought that I was insane for going so early but after spending 12 years in one private school or another I knew that waiting til the last minute to get a uniform is just about the worst thing that anyone can do. I remember sitting in one of these shops for HOURS waiting to be waited and then to be told that the last minute rush has depleted their stock and yours will have to be ordered and will (hopefully) arrive before the start of school. Of course this is a worst case scenario but I know that it had happened a few time to either my sister or myself (yes, my sister suffered through 12 years just like I did).

Anyway, we were in and out of Schoolbelles in about 25 minutes (which was great) but not without a few tears and for once they didn't come from me!! After grabbing a few shirts and jumpers Hannah, Alexander and I headed into a dressing room so that Hannah could try on her uniform so that I could decide what sizes to get her. As soon as the shirt went on Hannah started to freak out. She didn't like the shirt and wanted to take it off. She thought that it was ugly and didn't want to wear it. Then I put the jumper on her and the tears started. I tried to explain to her that all of the bigger kids had to wear uniforms and that only the little kids got to wear their regular clothes because they were still learning what school was like. She told me that she was still a little kid and should be able to wear her regular clothes too and then I had to explain what kindergarten would be like and why she's now a "bigger kid". She still thought that the whole thing was ugly and tearily told me "Everyone will laugh at me". With that I just had to hug her. I then began to reassure her that no one was going to laugh at her because everyone in her class was going to be wearing the same thing - to which she informed me that boys could not wear dresses. Alexander then provided comic relief by saying "Eww, I NOT wearing that!!" which made Hannah and I giggle. She eventually calmed down after I told her that I had to wear uniforms in school and that I'd show her some pictures and then she was really okay after she remembered that all of the bigger kids had to wear uniforms too.

After we paid for her stuff and went home she was very excited about having a uniform. She couldn't wait to show her dad and has been talking about it nonstop - she has even pulled it out of her closet and looked at it everyday. I'm relieved that she's okay with it now and I just hope she feels the same way when she starts school.

I'm glad that I'm getting all of this done now. That way the only thing I have to do the night before they start school is give myself a pep talk and remind myself not to cry!!

When in Doubt Check the Dryer

Alexander has slept with the same blankie since the day that he was born. He loves this thing and can not sleep without it. I have actually driven down to my parents' house (about 25/30 minutes away) to pick up his blankie after it was forgotten there just so that the child would stop crying and stop with the massive breakdown that forgetting the blanket caused. What can I say, he has attachment issues! It's starting to look a little ragged but he doesn't care - as long as it's somewhere that he can get to it he's okay.

Anyway, as I was putting his laundry in the washing machine this morning I decided that his blankie needed a washing and threw it in with the rest of his clothes. Alexander didn't notice that is was missing until the machine was already started. This is the conversation that followed:

A: Mom, where's my bwankie?

M: I'm washing it.

A: But I need my bwankie.

M: Sorry Bud but it's not done yet.

A: Okay.

He then walks over to the dryer, opens the door and says:

A: Bwankie? You in there? You all done? Bwan-kie? I looking for you!! Where ARE you?!?!? HELLO!?!?

Alexander and his blankie

It was so darn cute that I couldn't help but laugh! Of course it wasn't in there because the washing machine wasn't done yet but I thought that it was great that he thought to look in the dryer - even though that means that he didn't believe me. I just love watching him to see how his mind works. He's such a clever little boy!

It's Outta There!!

Hannah lost her first tooth today!!

A Day to Celebrate!

Have a Safe and Happy 4th of July!!