I'm a Proud Mama!!! Not to mention relieved.

In the last year or so, I have noticed my kids getting more and more unruly and disrespectful. And after talking to several other moms, also complaining of the same things, David and I decided it was time to grab ahold of the reigns and be the parents again. I have been praying for the right methods, books, techniques, people.....you name it....to come along that would help me be a better mom for my kids. Tatum is the poster-child for strong willed. ( Not too far off from her mama! This brings it's own set of challenges.) And Eden is so "sweet" that it's hard for me to punish when she needs it because she is just too "cute." (And yes, I do mean she puts on the "innocent" face when in trouble.)

This past weekend while in Branson, I went into the Christian Book Outlet to browse around. I saw this book by Dr. Kevin Leman. "Have a New Kid by Friday: How to Change your Child's Attitude, Behavior and Character in 5 days." A miracle cure....right. But, my mom had told me about Dr. Leman and his funny, no nonsense tips to parenting and I was intrigued. I bought the book and read it in the first 12 hours. NO KIDDING...instant results! My kids have had an almost 180 degree turn around in manners, sibling love and obedience. David and I are amazed. The best part is that we aren't stressed at all. Our family is becoming so much closer because we are aren't yelling or threatening each other! Go figure!

The icing on the cake was tonight at church....and I wasn't even there to witness it! I was feeling bad this afternoon so David and the girls went on to church a little early. Before we parted ways I called the girls over to me (they came on the FIRST call) and I told them that because I wasn't there they needed to be extra good for daddy while he had to give the devotional. "Okay mom! We will. Hope you feel better." Off they went to church. After church, one of our friends pulled David aside and told him that Eden was SO good in class AND Tatum had used such nice manners. (All of this was unprompted! And about "preacher's kids" at that! :) hehe!) David called just to tell me all of this.....he's proud too! I might sound like a babbling mom...but a week ago I was ready to pull my hair out. This week, I have new RESPECTFUL kids. I have always loved them.....but now I LIKE them! :) hehe!

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a way back to being the parent. (It would actually be a good book for teachers too!!!) I am sure that we will continue to have our ups and downs, but for a family that has tried LOTS of "methods" and failed......I found one that has great results! Yeah!!!

Dr. Kevin Leman has several other books that are pretty good. ( I have all of these...but never realized who wrote them until I read this most recent one! :))
Sex Starts in the Kitchen ( obviously a book on marriage!)
The Birth Order Book
How to Make Your Children Mind Without Losing Yours

I hope that you will find time to read some of his books. They really are funny!

Huh?

This past weekend we went to Branson, just the four of us. About the time we were pulling onto 76, the girls were getting pretty antsy in the back seat. Apparently, Tatum was bugging Eden and then all of a sudden we hear Eden yell at the top of her lungs...." I hate you Tatum! I wish I had a brother!" Other than the obvious, "You don't hate anyone, especially your sister" speech, David and I didn't really know what to say. It was really funny. A brother? Do brothers not annoy you as much as a sister?

The English Language According to Tatum and Eden

I have been trying to compile a list of "cuteness" words that my kids have made up. I think I might have enough to make a post worth while.

"Pepper Coke" : This is probably not too hard to figure out. The funny thing is now David and I

Refer to Dr. Pepper as "pepper coke." (Courtesy of Tatum)

"Chicken Land": This refers to one of our favorite places to eat.....Kentucky Fried Chicken.

(Courtesy of Tatum)

"Glittering" : What you are doing when you throw trash (or cigarettes) out your window.

(Courtesy of Eden)

"Bridge-ledges": This is what is taken away when you don't finish your chores or throw a fit.

(Courtesy of Tatum....while "lecturing" Eden on the importance of cleaning.)

"Chunk-a-cheese": Again, not to hard to figure out. My favorite is when they refer to "Chunk"

himself. :) (They both use this one!)

""Puter": This is the computer. Favorite website is "nockin".com (Noggin).

(Tatum again.)

"Boobie-Bathingsuit": This is any bathing suit that has either a triangle-shaped top or a bikini.

We are pretty strict on bathing suits.....easy to say no now, than when

they are 16 and wanting to prance around in a string! :) This is great until

we are around other children who are allowed to wear such "boobie suits"

to swim....it can get embarrassing when my kids point it out. (Tatum!!)

"Favrick": This is what I use to make purses, drapes and sometimes their clothes! (Fabric)

(Courtesy of Eden.)

"Storm-ado": This is what has had us in hiding on a weekly basis the last 4 months.

(Courtesy of Eden) Actually a pretty accurate name for it! :)

:Hal-ley Dishelle": Our good friends baby girl. Her real name is Hadley Michelle.

(Courtesy of Eden)

"O-gur-rat": This actually has two definitions

1. Yogurt

2. Refers to the cartoon "Rugrats"

"to-ma-to": (Imagine in a very British accent) You guessed it...the red veggie/fruit that we eat.

(Tatum again.)

"Bammed": This is what happens when you play around at bedtime and fall out of bed...you bam

your head on the dresser.

(They both use it.)

"Mister-sippy": This would be the last state we lived in. (Mississippi...Just in case you didn't

know.) (Tatum again.)

"Lift-gloss": What you put on your lips to make them shiny. (Eden's!)

"Ober-awl": Another two definition word. ( I don't see the similarities at all! :))

1. bra

2. Overalls

"Boppie": The name of Eden's (very sad looking) stuffed rabbit.

"Wessilin Sizzlin": Western Sizzlin (Tatum!)

That's all for now...I will periodically update as new words are added to the repertoire.

What funny names do you have around your house??? Please share!

More "Severe Weather."

I feel like all the posts lately have been about some natural disaster. Well, here is another one. :)

Saturday afternoon, we decided to do our Mother's Day dinner with my mom, because Sunday's are rather difficult in the life of a minister. We went to Searcy to meet up with the rest of the family. We were at Lindsay ( my sister) and Steve's house trying to decide where to eat. After lots of back and forth and no decisions.....it was late so we decided to stay and eat in Searcy. (Partly because the weather was looking a little rough, and we didn't want to drive in it.) We decided to eat at Roma's. As we were finishing up our dinner, David's phone rang. It was our friend, Dale. (If you recall the flood post.....he is the same one who told us about the water! We would be in a world of hurt if not for Dale and his meteorologist skills! :)) Anyway, Dale told David that we should watch the weather because a "tornado like" storm was headed towards Searcy. My dad went out to the car to get his weather scanner so we could keep tabs on the storm. A few minutes later, Dale called back and mentioned that we should be seeking shelter in 4 minutes. Luckily, we had already decided that we needed to go.

When we got out to the cars, my dad told us to follow him. We were headed to Harding's Admin building. It didn't take but 3 minutes to get to Harding, but it seemed like an eternity. When we turned down the road to Harding, there sat 2 funnel clouds in the sky. I promise they weren't 100 yards away. It was then that they bottom fell out of the sky and we could hardly see the road. We DID make it to Harding, but we could already tell the pressure in the air had changed a little.....and the sky was BLACK. ( A little too familiar from the February 5th tornado.)

Needless to say, we hauled it into the basement of the admin building and ended up soaking wet and nauseous. But, okay. Fortunately, no tornadoes touched down in Searcy.

I think that I could handle all the weather issues if it weren't for my kids. They have really taken this weather the hardest. The slightest drizzle or wind, and they are at the door with shoes on ready to head for shelter. I hate that I can't control this for them. Goodness knows I would. I know mine aren't the only ones that are traumatized by the recent storms. My prayer is that God would grant peace to all those children out there who have seen, and lived through, the destruction that is caused by tornadoes.

Off to the theatre!!!

My mom went on a field trip with her class a few weeks ago to go see If You Give A Mouse A Cookie at the Little Rock Arts Center- Children's Theatre. She was so excited that she called me, while still on the field trip, to tell me that she was buying tickets and she was bringing the grandkids. So she did. For crowd control I decided that I was going to go too. When the ticket buying was done, David and Steve were going too! ROAD TRIP!! So we loaded up in the Trailblazer and headed to Little Rock.

When we got there I just laughed because we were rubbing elbows with the "creme de la creme" of stay at home moms in LR. All the Jack and Sally's running around with thier finest theatre attire on. I turned and looked at my kids and they were pretending to be "art" on the sidewalks....striking poses and such. It was REALLY funny. ( I have some adorable pictures of that too!! Darn USB cable!)

Right before they let us into the theatre, they had a "craft" for the kids to do. It was decorating a cookie. I am not sure if any of the cookies made it into mouths though. Icing, sprinkles, candy toppings....oh my. Too cute!

Anyway, we got into the theatre and got perfect seats. Front and center! The set was so cute in that it made you feel like you were a mouse on the floor and the kitchen was HUGE. The whole show was just a little over an hour...and I don't think any of the kids blinked the whole time. It was the cutest thing I have seen in a long time. Then after the show they had a question and answer period for the kids in the audience to ask questions. Piper, my niece, asked a question....."Can I hug the mouse?" Of course the answer was yes, and she got to go up on stage and hug the mouse. Precious. When we were leaving, my girls got on stage and I got a really cute picture of them with the mouse. (Again....USB!) I loved this show! It has made me want to keep track of the Children's Theatre schedule and go to all of them! :)

The next show is Ramona Quimby......I LOVE RAMONA! I grew up reading all about Ramona and her big sis Beatrice! I can't wait!

If I find the cable I will post the pics! So cute!!

The Cook Adventure Continues.........

Well, if you have been following us the last 4 months...you will know that we are on house number three since November. :) We are now house sitting for several families from our church this summer. We are just getting started on building our home...which I am VERY excited about. What I am NOT excited about is living other people's lives in the meantime. After the tornado, rental properties are non-existant. So we either comute an hour or live in someone's house. We chose not to drive.

Please send a prayer up for us....more specifically my children. They like to have stability and lately....between the tornado and us moving around.... the only stability they know is our love. Thank goodness that counts for a whole lot more than a house! Right?

Stay tuned for the next chapter in "David and Bethany's Big Adventure!"