Already Five Months!

Folks, we have a FIVE month old in the hoouuussse!! And she is the light of our family! Clayton and Maecie adore her.... always playing with her, telling her stories and singing her songs. 

Lucie has eaten her first oatmeal cereal and is still learning how to work the spoon!

She knows how to stop people in their tracks ... when we go places, there are (at minimum) 3 people that comment on how adorable she it. It MUST be the hair! But who am I to say she is anything but the most adorable princess ever!!

My First Graduate

We are the proud parents of a preschool graduate! And we have the pictures to prove it!!

Clayton in the back, middle, singing a song with his class.

Clayton and his teacher, Mrs. Gibson. She was awesome!!

The "graduate" himself ... and the awesome part is they gave us the cap with tassle. So cute and sweet!

The Happy, Busy Family!

My Best Efforts

Being 35 weeks pregnant, with 2 kids, rearranging the house to make room for baby, leading an after school chorus program and various church activities, leads to an exhausted mom! So needless to say, little things (like this blog!) fall by the wayside. So here is my attempt to catch up for the past month:

Making bread makes me extremely happy these days. Something about fresh-from-the-oven yeasty goodness brings a smile to my face!

Clayton got a new bed ... it's a loft bed so we could have maximum space in his new room! He's quite excited!

The "terrible twos" have reared their ugly head and I'm hoping it doesn't last long! This is what happens when you go on a walk and Maecie wants to hold the dog leash, even though it will result in her falling flat on her face, and you don't give in immediately. She knows how to work that pitiful look!

My Valentine's Day attempt. Tried to show some love and that's about all that I could come up with. We were on a low-key celebration this year. But Clayton thought it was the best! And sometimes, that's all that matters.

When all else fails, give them a laundry basket and see what they come up with! Entertain themselves and let their imagination flow!! Here, we are rowing the boat.

So just 4 weeks left, and I'm ready to go. We don't have a definite name (hoping it comes to us soon!) and I don't have all of my newborn clothes out yet. Nor have I bought diapers. (Pitiful, mommy!) But if she came tomorrow, I would be okay with that.

Smiling

Just a few of the things that have made me smile today:

I had just put breakfast on the table for the kids and was in the kitchen making my breakfast, when I hear this:
Clayton - Wait, Maecie! We have to say the blessing on the food first!
Maecie - okay
And then Clayton says a very sweet prayer over the food and for a good day. There are many times when saying a prayer can be a struggle. But when they actually want to do it on their own, without me even having to be in the room or prompt them, I can't help but smile!

Later, I offer Maecie a piece of banana. When she takes it, she says "Tank you, Mama!". This little girl is getting so big! And I love when they begin to put sentences together!

Even as a sit here and write this post, a smile crosses my face, because little Beare #3 is kicking away. She loves to let me know she is still there. And I'm excited to see her sweet face in less than 11 weeks!

I can't help but smile, because I am blessed with sweet and well-mannered (most of the time) kids!

4 Year Old Friends!

Bodo, Ephraim, and Sam ... these are the names of Clayton's imaginary friends!

Bodo was the first and came from his shirt. Bodo is a spitter, is very small, and sometimes gets stuck in trees. One day we had some friends come over to the house, one of which was a 5 year old girl. The kids were in and out of the house, playing. At some point Bodo got stuck in the tree. The 5 year old girls was so concerned she even came inside to tell her mom she was helping Clayton get his friend out of the tree. However, she was having a hard time finding him!

Ephraim and Sam, more affectionately known as Clayton's brothers, came after pre-school started. At first I thought they were classmates of his. Then I noticed the names hanging on the door outside of the classroom. Unfortunately none of them were named Ephraim or Sam. So I began to ask Clayton who these people were. "They are my brothers mom! We are going camping and need to pack my suitcase. Will you help me?" Of course, I oblige my son and he proceeds to take a blanket and toys outside to the driveway where he plays for a while before returning to the house.

I didn't realize how important these friends were to Clayton until this month. At school, the teachers made a big turkey and the feathers were used to display what the kids were most thankful for. Clayton's response? My brothers! Where some kids have cute, sweet tributes, such as their mom and dad, their favorite foods, etc, my kid has his imaginary friends! Today, his teacher asked if he might actually have brothers. You know, sometimes there are extended family members or adopted siblings and such. However, I had to smile and respond that Clayton just has imaginary friends.

With this kid, there is never a dull moment! And I never know who will be entering our family next!!

Beare's Say the Darndest Things Part 2

The other day, Clayton rode to the Auto Parts store with Dad and Papa. They had fun and blah blah blah ... well the next morning Grandma came to pick up the kids for a fun filled day. When I went to put Clayton's carseat in the van, our conversation went as follows:

Clayton: I don't need my seat, Mom. I can just sit on this seat with a seatbelt like a big boy.

Mom: No, you have to sit in a carseat. Those are the rules.

Clayton: But when I ride with my Papa, he lets me sit here without my seat.

Mom: Are you telling off on your Papa??

Clayton: Don't tell my Dad!

Hahaha ... I love that he tells me things and then says, "Don't tell my Dad!" as if he is going to get in trouble! Love that kid!

Because I Said So

These four words were a dread to me, growing up. When I asked my parents why I couldn't go out with my friends, or why I had to clean my room, and their response was "Because I said so," I would just roll my eyes. I even swore I would never repeat those words to my children!

Because I said so. What does that mean anyway? That's just a cop out so you don't have to answer the question! All I wanted was a reason for something to occur. Was someone coming over and that's why I had to clean my room? Were we going somewhere as a family and that's why I couldn't go out with my friends? Come on, mom ... what was the real answer? I never knew since all that was said was "Because I said so."

Well as my oldest grows older, he loves to know the reason behind stuff. Like why the ants march in a line. Or why do we have to water the garden. For these questions, I give answers that explain as best as I possibly can.

However, there are times when he asks questions, and even when I give the appropriate response, he is still not satisfied and asks why. For example, when we had to search for the dog, I asked Clayton to get in the car. To which his response was, "Why?". I tried to explain that we couldn't find Daisy and needed to get in the car to find her, so please get in your seat. "But why do we need to find the dog?", he asks. And my explanation continues. This goes back and forth a few times and I was losing my patience. I needed to find the dog and he needed to do what I asked him to do. And before I knew it, the dirty words escaped my mouth. "Because I said so! Now get in the car please."

I had stooped down to that level! I answered my child's question with the most vague of answers. And I wasn't that upset about it. I didn't bite my tongue and think that I had turned into my mother (which isn't that bad of a thing to begin with!). It actually felt kind of good and Clayton's response was much more favorable than I thought it would be.

Yep, "Because I said so" is a pretty good reason after all. Why? Because I said so!

Babes in Arms

Tomorrow my little princess will be 14 months old. She is growing incredibly fast and I am often wanting for her to go back to a different stage or at least slow down. She has brought so much joy to our family, that I am wanting her to stay small forever.

When Maecie was about 9 months old, she stopped letting me rock her to sleep at night. She wanted to be put in her bed when she was tired. I could close the door and walk away and she would just fall asleep! Clayton was a good baby, but he was never this way. He still wants to sleep in our bed sometimes, even though he is almost 4.

I was really pretty excited when Maecie would do this. How cool that this little girl would want to go to bed and not fight it!

However, the older she gets, the less I like this. I want to hold her, to rock her, to snuggle her. Since she is always on the move, these things don't happen often.

The other day, Maecie was extremely tired. Probably over tired and over stimulated with all of the activities we had going on that day. She was ready for a nap, but after I layed her down, she screamed! I mean, she screamed and screamed and was making herself hoarse! So I went back in. She then picked up her blanket and reached for me. So we sat in the rocking chair and rocked. She snuggled in close and fell asleep. I didn't want to wake her up if she wasn't out, and let's face it, I didn't want to give up this moment, so we rocked for a while. I hummed songs, stroked her hair, and savored each minute.

How do these children grow up so fast? How do they know just what they want at the exact minute and so easily communicate this to us? And how do we make the most of each moment?

I don't know the answer to the first two, other than this is the plan and the way it works. But for the latter, I just know that I have to slow down and enjoy the moments I do have. Rock Maecie to sleep when she will let me....let Clayton climb in my bed in the middle of the night once in a while ... laugh at their jokes and their quick wit .... and wipe away their tears when things don't go their way.

Beares Say the Darndest Things!

I took Clayton to the grocery store with me tonight. He needed some one-on-one time with mommy. He did so good throughout the store and when he behaves, he gets to ride "Harry the Dragon". At checkout, he met a ballerina friend and she talked to him during his ride. Their conversation went like this:

Ballerina: Hey, I want to ride that thing!

Clayton: Do you have any money?

Balleria: No, but my mommy does.

Clayton: Well, next time you will have to bring some money. You have to have money to have fun!

While I was making dinner, Patrick and Maecie were standing in the kitchen with me. I tend to have music on while making dinner or cleaning the house. It makes things more fun! So Patrick proceeds to start dancing. Maecie looks up at him with a curious look on her face. She then puts her head down and runs to me! Apparently Daddy's dancing was too much to handle.

Later, he dances again, and Maecie put her hands over her eyes! Haha! I guess you don't have to be more than a year old to have your parents embarrass you!

Cool Mom or Crazy Woman??

I belong to a group called "Married Single Mom's". This elite group is generally comprised of stay-at-home mothers who's husbands work extremely hard to pay for and provide for their families. Their hard work generally calls for them to be away from home for long periods of time, causing the mothers to care and nurture for the kids on their own.

Summer time is the most difficult time of year for me, as a MSM. My husband is a heating and air conditioning contractor, so, living in the south, he often works 16 hour days. In order for my family to achieve some sort of vacation, I generally have to take the kids alone. If my husband can join us half way through, then he will. Otherwise, it's just us.

This week is Spring Break for many of the nearby schools. It's the first time I'm not teaching and no one else is in school. So Spring Break would not seem to mean much. However, we are getting Spring Fever!! So my fellow MSM-ers and I decided to do something about it.

Just last week, we tossed around the idea of heading to the beach. We found at least 5 other moms who were interested, so we looked for a condo to share. JACKPOT! We found an 8 bedroom condo for a great deal! We would each have our own room, with a full kitchen, a game room, within walking distance from the beach, and a swimming pool.

So tomorrow, I will pack up my kids and we will be heading to the beach with 5 other moms and their kids. No husbands are going to make it. And there will be at least 2 children to every 1 adult. We plan to visit the beach and play in our swimming suits for as long as possible. We might go out to eat one night and definitely order in another night. We plan to play games, visit the outlets and have an overall ball!

My question is ... 6 adults ... 10 kids (5 of which are 4 and under) .... 1 house ... at the beach .... for 3 days and 2 nights .... COOL MOM or CRAZY WOMAN?!

Espanol and Crushes!

When Clayton was about 18months old, he would walk around the house saying, "Blow my nose!" It was the funniest thing cause I couldn't quite understand why he was saying it or what he meant. Surely no kid wants to blow his nose!

Then one day, while he was watching Dora The Explorer, he said it again. After paying close attention, I realized he was really saying "Vamanos!" This was when I realized he could memorize cartoons.

Clayton goes through phases when it comes to his favorite shows. I think we have just about made it through every kids-friendly show on Disney and Nick Jr. Lately he likes 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates', as well as 'Little Einsteins'.

Little Einsteins has 4 main characters, one of which is a ballerina named June. In the store the other day, he found a Little Einsteins coloring book. He held it and told me, "Mommy, I miss my best friend June!" Then, after watching an episode, proceeded to tell me that "June is cute!" Can kids really have crushes on cartoons?! Maybe he just has a thing for brunettes!

The Cutest Kids EVER!

I think I have the cutest kids ever!
Yeah, I'm sure all parents think so ... but mine really take the cake!

The other day, Clayton was inside the house while Patrick, Maecie, and I were outside. I went in to check on him. When he heard me coming, he hid. This is how I know he's doing something not-so-good. Then I looked and noticed he had my make-up in his hands. This is what I saw next:

When I asked him why he had my make-up, he responded with, "I wanted to look beautiful like mommy!" How can you not smile at that?!

Then we have the most adorable little girl! Even when she's not feeling 100%, she is cute enough to make everyone stop and smile. We went to the doctor today for a follow up visit and nurses, receptionists, and even other patrons were doting on her. Then we ran some errands where people couldn't keep their eyes off of her smile. We even went through a drive thru and the 20-something guy at the window was putty in her hands! Check her out sitting in the big chair at the doctor's office:

Yep, pretty sure mine are THE CUTEST!