Aiming Low

When I saw a new blog site called Aiming Low, I felt like I had come home. That's what I do! I am a professional er...low aimer. I can list five instances from last night where aiming low was my method of survival.

1. When I got home from work last night, my kids were covered in mud. They had been playing outside and were as happy as three little hogs in the sunshine, or mud hole or whatever makes little hogs happy. Molly's little tan pants that she was wearing were completely covered in mud. (Sorry, sister in law, those pants are not coming back down the pass down lane) I looked at her and at Matt and at the other happy children and said "you guys sure are having fun outside...Awesome." Then I went indoors to find the bottle opener and the wine.


2. When I was putting pj's on the kids last night Matt pointed out that one of "my children" had carved some drawings in the wall with a pen. Not drawn...carved. I went over to look at it and said, "That's a very good A. At least she didn't write it upside down."

3. My oldest daughter told me she hated the new reading books I just bought her. She loved them for 5 days and then two nights ago, she "hated" them. I put them up and last night when she was looking for them I told her I threw them away. She started getting pretty upset and I reminded her that she told me she hated them so I didn't think she wanted them anymore. After about 30 seconds of sadness and torture I gave her the books back. Does that count as aiming low...or just a low blow.



4. My youngest daughter will be one on Monday. She takes medication for her heart three times a day. When I was first started this I freaked out because I can't even manage to take one birth control pill a day. How was I ever going to get three doses of heart medication into my young child, at regularly scheduled times throughout each and every day of my life? Without another option, I have become very good at this routine. Sometimes she takes the medication happily, acting like it is a special treat. Other times she absolutely refuses and I have to hold her little head and put the medicine into her mouth while she screams and protests. (not my favorite method) Anyhoo... last night she was taking the medicine pretty well. We were on the floor reading books and I left the medicine in her line of sight. When she saw it she reached for it and I squirted it into her mouth. It takes about 4 squirts to get the whole dose so I was being patient and taking it slowly so I could avoid the clamped head method. Right after one of the squirts some liquid landed on my arm. I thought to myself, is that medicine or drool, and then I licked it to check. It was drool, that's great, wouldn't want her to not get her whole dose of medicine. Then it occurred to me...my standards for have hit an all time low.

Hmm, that's only four examples...guess I should have aimed lower.

MINE

Last night I was tucking Marlin into his bed and Alivia came in and announced that the glow worm that he had was hers. They argued and I showed her that it was indeed his and made her give it back to him. We couldn't find Alivia's glow worm anywhere. I'm pretty sure dreams of glow worm envy danced in her head all night because this morning...

I went upstairs with Molly to find clothes for her and when I came back down the stairs Marlin was screaming and chasing Alivia. Alivia was running around the house with Marlin's glow worm in her arm. She was holding it as high as possible in case Marlin actually caught up with her to ensure he wouldn't be able to reach it. She jumped up on the chair, he got close, then she jumped down and ran to the couch, Marlin go close again and off she went. It was a two person game of keep away and my sweet Marlin was losing miserably so I stepped in.

"STOP! give me the glow worm." She hands it to me and prepares to be sent to the corner as usual for her time out (well worth the pleasure of 1.5 minutes torturing her younger brother)

"Here Marlin" I handed him the glow worm. Then I turned to Alivia "and you go to the..." I could see in her face that she was ready, it didn't matter and she would do it again. The time out was not going to be sufficient. So instead, I turned to Marlin, "here is what we are going to do."

Alivia came over to check out what my next move would be. "Alivia, I am tired of you taking Marlin's things from him so he is going to pick one of your toys from your room and he gets to keep it for two days."

I led Marlin into Alivia's room and it took him .00007 nano seconds to make a beeline for her stuffed horse that has a pink purse it fits into with a saddle, a bridle and a brush. He picked it up and I led him into his room and said "you get to keep the horse until tomorrow."

Alivia screamed, she jumped up and down, it was unbearable (and perfect) that Marlin could have her horse. She made several attempts to go into his room to reclaim her possession in her fit of rage but I didn't let her. There is a door between their bedroom and I saw her start to sneak through there and I went in the other door saying "you are going to be in big trouble!" She backed away. I looked at Marlin. He was sitting on his bed with the horse out of the purse slowly combing its long mane with a tiny little grin on his sweet little face. It was priceless.

After the rage passed the bargaining began. "I won't take Marlins things any more."

I responded, "Great, you can have your horse back tomorrow."

Aliva: "Please can I have it back now."

I told her that this was a lesson she had to learn because it didn't feel good when people take your things. She finally calmed down and went into her room to get dressed. (because this is all happening before 8am...the things I do before my first cup of coffee)

I heard her sincerely tell Marlin that she was sorry. Then Marlin said "ok, Wivia, here is your horse." I heard him give it back to her piece by piece and then he said "I sorry I took your horse Wivia" (insert: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW)

Oh my gosh! Can that get any sweeter?

lellow

Marlin says "lellow" instead of yellow.

Here is how our conversation went last night.

Marlin: I want the lellow crayon

Me: say yellow

Marlin: lellow

Me: say Yep

Marlin: yep

Me: say yeah

Marlin: yeah

Me: say yellow

Marlin: (singing) lellow lellow lellow lellow lellow lellow



ok I get it, he isn't interested in improving that word. Maybe later. Actually Marlin's speech improves every day. He is using his S sounds at the beginning of words a lot more now and he is getting so big.



He seems to be doing a lot of boundry testing lately. He tells us no and says things like "I am NOT going to sit in the corner!" He is still so sweet under his little attitude. A simple time out corrects him and turns him back into my sweet little man. So far this little rebellion stage is no big deal.

THe big deal is that Marlin has been taking his pull up off in the middle of the night. I think he pees in it and then takes it off. Sometimes he puts on a new one. Last night he went through three. Sometimes he just sleeps naked and ends up peeing all over himself. Im guessing this may be a signal that it is time to try to get him to stay dry at night. If he is not liking being in his wet pull up. I don't really feel up to changing sheets every day right now so I am ignoring that signal and hoping that it will go away...is that bad?

Bedtime Stories

Last night the kids were high on sugar from the Valentines candy they got from the babysitter. It was bedtime and we needed them to wind down so we turned off the lights in the living room and told them it was quiet time. They snuggled in on the couch with Matt and wanted me to tell them a story. When I started my usual tale of two kids living in the forest Alivia interjected and said she wanted a ghost story. I didn't want to scare them so I didn't think that was a good idea. They wouldn't let me tell any stories I started so I let Alivia tell one.

I can't remember the details but the ending was that the ghost ate all the people.

Marlin wanted to tell one next
"Mommy will you help me"
Matt whispered something into his ear.
Marlin: "Its about a sheep"
Me: "What did the sheep do?"
Marlin: "It ate all the people."
Marlin: "The big bad wolf is in Mommy and Daddy's bed"
The kids love the three little pigs story so I improvised and told a version with Marlin going into our room and saying "what big eyes, ears, teeth you have" the wolf jumped out of the bed saying the better to eat you with and big sister Alivia ran in and punched the wolf and threw him out the front door saving her brother and living happily ever after.

That may not have been the best idea. When we put the kids to bed, Marlin cried loudly about 3 minutes after we left his room. I went in there and he was sobbing. "I don't want the big bad wolf to come into my room." Poor little guy, we left the light on for him and he recovered pretty quickly but that may not have been the best bedtime story.