New eyes

It's actually quite different to how I expected third time around.

I remember thinking while pregnant with number two that I don't know how I could love another child as much as I love my first born. Of course as soon as I had Sweetness she won me over without a fight. It was actually quite hard to figure out where Princess fit. Suddenly she seemed so big to me and this new baby was such an easy baby which made it exceptionally easy to delight in her. To be truthful it took awhile to figure out how my new relationship worked with Princess.

Being pregnant with number three I didn't think about my ability to share my love with all three but I did wonder how this would change my relationship with my older two girls again. I wondered if I would ignore them, after all a newborn does need so much more attention and people love to just look lovingly at a newborn sleeping so even more attention is given to them.

Well actually in many ways the opposite has happened. While I enjoy my newborn, it has given me a new delight in watching my older girls grow. Princess shows such maturity and Sweetness is so independent its so fun to watch them play and to play with them.

It is certainly not easy to fit a newborn into your life after you start to discover the new joy of having older children, not that four and two is old but there really is such a difference, I know this is a very obvious statement to make but watching it close up is just, as Princess would say, a curious thing.

I can't help but think about what it was like for God to bring Jesus into this earthly life and to watch him grow. I get more and more joy from my children and I have no doubt that God would have felt greater and greater pleasure in watching Jesus grow from that babe born amongst the animals to the toddler and boy that revealed great wisdom and distinction from other boys. I hate to use the word 'proud' because it can carry many bad connotations but I can imagine that feeling in your chest when your heart just swells with pride when you look at your child who has just displayed generosity or just showed someone great love or sacrifice.

This spurs me on. This gives me a desire to live my life in such a way that I give God reasons to feel that way about me. I know so many times I disappoint and cause such sorrow but I want to grow and mature and produce works in my life that brings that same joy that I feel for my big girls.

I enjoy my children, especially because I have so much to learn from them.

You just blink

I never would have imagined this happening, I don't know why I was so naive afterall Sweetness is a little monkey and climbs everything and anything.
Last night GH walked into Sweetness' room and found this


It wasn't just her, her sister was also covered in the lovely water-resistant cream. Sweetness had climber onto her change table, which is actually quite high. She opened up the drawers and just climbed up them. The two of then then decided to find the most difficult to get off cream and rub it all over herself, her sister and all over the furniture.

But do you know what is most hmmm interesting. Look at this t-shirt



Someone else had the exact same t-shirt on. This was a little over two years ago.


Little girl number three will not be wearing this t-shirt, ever.

When you're not looking

After reading Kelly's Korner blog, she has a funny photo of her little girl breaking into the Oreo's from the pantry when Kelly was just putting the washing in the dryer. It reminded me of my own experience.
This young lady was meant to be asleep in her room but she decided to explore other things in her room instead. So funny and I am so glad I got the photo too. Although when I took the photo she was quite fearful of what trouble she was in. It turned out not much in the end as Mummy failed to keep a straight face.

She stopped taking her day time naps not long after this.

The second is Sweetness from just Sunday. It was pouring outside and I was having a rest in the bedroom and I came out to see GH and Princess colouring in together. My question was short- "Where's Sweetness?" And nearly before I had finished the question I had the instinct to look outside where the rain was pouring down as hard as could be. And this is what I was greeted with. She was in play clothes since church because she ran out into the rain there as well.


We checked that the lightning had all gone and then let Princess join her for a while. Afterall since the two of them have been born we have had little rain so for them its still quite the novelty.

Funny things she has said

This happened quite a while ago but I really wanted to record it so that I would be able to remember and laugh at the funny things Princess has said.

One evening while GH and I were sitting on the couch Princess was climbing up on the arm rest and jumping onto the couch and in the process sometimes hitting sometimes narrowly avoiding us. After a hit to the lower abdomen GH tells Princess that she is no longer allowed to 'jump' on the couches.

So obedient as she can be she stops and starts to read some books which lasts for about 5 minutes. She then decides there is more fun things to be doing. Very subtly she climbs the back of the arm rest and stands up. Before either of us can stop her she has jumped off and onto the couch.

GH says "Princess we told you that you are not to 'jump' on the couches"

And as quick as can be her response was-
"I wasn't jumping Daddy, I was 'leaping'.

Such a quick wit. Gosh I love her.

Winner

I haven't used this blog in a while so I thought I might try to remember to use it for funny stories that has happened in our house.

Of course Princess by the age of four has a good idea about winning and losing, enough that she brags to everyone about being the "Winner'.

But what was a shock was when the other day my Sweetness at 23 months was in a race with her big sister walking along the rocks in the back yard. Well Sweetness realised that she wasn't winning the race on the rocks so she jumped onto the grass and proceeded to run past her big sister to the winning platform. She was hardly past her big sister when I heard the words coming from her mouth- "I win, I win, I win".

Princess was not impressed, but I must admit I kind of was. Of course it was cheating and bad sportsmanship but I couldn't help but be impressed by her creativeness and of course her desire to 'win'. Gorgeous Husband laughed and believes it only the beginning.

This is Sweetness on said rocks one year ago. How time flies

Reasons not to yell or scream

Following on from my last post this is an issue still at front of mind for me. So to remind us (me) why it isn't a good technique to yell.

1. It is going to allow children to think that it is acceptable behavior.

2. If a crisis situation arises and you yell at you child to stop them from being in danger that won't respond because they are too used to hearing you yell.

3. Think about your poor neighbours listening to your family have regular conversations about where the clean socks can be found.

4. How do you come across when you are yelling, is this the type of person you wish to be remembered as?
5. Yelling can be quite ineffective compared to a soft voice. My teaching days taught me that if you whispered to a student the whole classroom would go silent in order to hear what you were saying.

Well these are all excellent reasons to stop screaming, the best reason would have to be for me though is the fact that i am Christ's ambassador on this earth and this was not the way Jesus acted. If I am living my life trying to become Christ-like then I should stop, think about the level of my voice, the tone I am about to use and most importantly the words about to come out.

AHHHHHHH- STOP SCREAMING!

My idea for this blog this year is that it will my parenting issues, realisations and general stuff about my life as a mum and my other blog will stick to more general issues although being a SAHM (see now I have labelled myself after 3 years)alot of my issues are parenting ones.
Anyhow as you can see from the title it has only taken me three whole years well really 29 years to realise that it is not a good idea to yell back at your child for yelling.

You know what I am talking about, sadly I guess I have been one of those mums you see in the shopping centres that have the child running around being generally noisy, Princess doesn't screaming horribly (unless its a meltdown) but she does sing at the top of her voice but rather than quietly telling her to quieten down I am the mum who will say in a rather LOUD voice "YoU nEeD tO bE qUiEt". But you know what it is even worse at home. I will hear my Princess yelling at her Sweet sister or squealing in a pitch almost only heard by dogs, and what I should do is get up and move in a close proximity to her and tell her in a gentle voice that she should speak in hushed tones. But, you know what's coming, from the other side of the house I will yell out "QUIT THAT SCREAMING..."

Very effective parenting, what is sad is that I have always known this to be a bad idea, I even understand that Princess has learnt this darling trait through her banshee like mother but it some how didn't go in.

What really is funny is that I was listening to a children's cd just this morning and it is talking about all of 'mum's' lovely characteristics and one of them was "She only whispers and never yells" and I thought that's not my girls' mum.

And so ladies and gentlemen I have decided that this
is something that must change, unless I want Sweetness to also learn this delightful trait, and that I need to re-calibrate my way of responding- wish me luck.