Bad Parenting Technique #34: Reasoning with a Toddler

Here is a play-by-play of the conversation with Cody this afternoon. Keep in mind that it is 2pm - we just got home from being at church all morning, Abby had just thrown up everywhere and Cody is 2 hours overdue for a nap. I just want to get a bite to eat and take a nap myself.

Cody: Juice!

Mommy: OK (Mommy gets the sippy cup out)

Cody: No...don't want it. (referring to the cup) This. (pointing to Abby's bottles)

Mommy: Big boys don't drink from bottles, they use big boy cups.

Cody: (Meltdown starts) Whaaaahhhh!

Mommy: (Thinks to herself) What's the big deal its just a bottle? (Gets a bottle and starts to put juice in it.)

Cody: No.....Milk!

Mommy: But you said you wanted juice. Fine. (Pours juice back into container and rinses out the bottle and fills it with milk.)

Cody: No....don't want it. Juice!

Mommy: What? I made you juice first and you said you wanted milk. So this is what you are going to drink!

Cody: Whaaaaahhhh! (throws body on the floor and screams louder) WHAAAAAHHHH!

Mommy: Look Cody, I'm pouring the juice in the bottle for you. (really just pretending with the lid still on the juice)

Cody: No!!!!!!!!

Mommy: (in a sweet tone) Oh Cody, look its special "milk-juice" just for you!

Cody: (not buying it, continues to scream) JUUUUUUICCCCCE!!!!!!

Mommy: Fine. (gets a second bottle and pours juice in it)

Cody: (stops crying) Thank you Mommy.

He took turns drinking both milk and juice and is perfectly happy now. I'm sure there are plenty of things that I did wrong in this situation, but the crying has stopped momentarily and I'm thankful that these days are only for a "season".... I hope. : )

So much to say...Dave Matthews is coming!

Ok...here is something that many folks may not know about me. I L-O-V-E the Dave Matthews Band. Loved them since college and still go nuts when I hear "Dave" on the radio. I can't tell you what it is about the music, but it just makes me melt. I have seen the DMB live in Charleston, WV and in Pittsburgh. He is even better live than on CD (....if that's even possible!).

Well, Dave Matthews is coming to Charleston on the 4th of July and tickets go on sale tomorrow!!!! Obviously, I will be purchasing 2 tickets for Clay & I to go, but I was wondering if anyone else may be interested in going. What would you say?

www.chellefazal.com

too busy?

Sometimes I feel like I have too much on my plate or I'm juggling too many balls at once...can anyone else relate? I thought so.

Confession: I love being busy. It gives me something to really focus my energy on - but it can become obsessive and I find it hard to unwind. I even have trouble finding things to do for "fun" on my day off. Clay doesn't understand why I have such a hard time with that and has to remind me to "do something fun today". How funny!

Just the other day I thought about how I probably miss all sorts of really cool moments because of all the stuff I have going on in day-to-day tasks. I have to remind myself to take time to take it all in and not be so focused on work, cleaning, schedules, etc. For those of you who feel that you are juggling too many balls in your life, this is a great video that can show you exactly what can happen if you are too focused on tasks at hand. Enjoy....

Easter 2008

Easter was a little hectic this year. We had 7 services at the Long Point campus this weekend, so I spent the majority of my time at church. I was able to sneak away for a few minutes to spend time with Clay & the kids at Lee & Martha Ann's house.

Here are a few quick pictures we were able to get before I had to leave. I really was hoping for one good family photo, but again no such luck. Maybe next year!














Here are some pictures from church. The halls were decorated with kids' artwork. here are some of my favorites. One was created by using Dum-Dum wrappers!












We had over a thousand kids this year....not exactly sure what the final count was, but it was fun seeing all the families dressed up for Easter. We had a drama in the elementary dept featuring the Anti-Easter Man. (Don't worry - he changed his ways in the end!) Mr. Scott gave a powerful easter message to the kids. The worship was amazing (grace) - good job Melissa! Brittany, Jessi & Lauren all gave stellar performances in the drama. I wish we had videoed it - I think we forget to do that every year. I even got to have a part in one of the shows. I played a country girl - it was a real stretch for me! : )










All in all, it was a great Easter! And I'm so thankful for a day off to rest today. : )

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Easter

10. You absolutely love the movie, "The Ten Commandments".
9. You look really, really good in yellow.
8. You just went on a low cholesterol diet and didn't want to waste all those eggs in the fridge.
7. You figure any Holiday that starts with a "Good Friday" can't be all bad.
6. You love to bite the heads off chocolate bunnies.
5. It's a good time to check out your neighborhood church and not be noticed.
4. You have this bunny suit you love to wear, but are too insecure to wear it without a reason.
3. Even though you don't know what it is, you really like the sound of going to a "Passion Play."
2. You figured since Jesus went to all THAT trouble to make it to the first Easter, you'd give it a shot.
1. As a Christian you celebrate the resurrection every other day, why not Easter too?

HAPPY EASTER!

Captain Poopy Pants

Captain Poopy Pants is potty training with his loyal sidekick Princess Poopy Pants!

the price of tea in Charleston

I follow the news pretty closely and have been well aware of the price of oil topping the $100/barrel mark that analysts have been warning about for some time. I had no idea that the price of sweet tea had skyrocketed as well...check this out! Here is a picture of a McDonald's sign on Savannah Highway. Wow! : )

Abby pictures

Sweet Abby has 2 teeth now on the bottom and I think she is working on some on the top.
She loves eating her baby food and tries feeding herself from time to time...mostly making a big mess. she still looks cute even with a layer of sweet potatoes on her face.







These are some pictures from Palm Sunday. She was working on her super model poses for the camera....action Abby, serious Abby, solomn Abby, happy Abby....

....this last picture is Abby giving Cody "the look" for interrupting her photo shoot. That look on her face is priceless!

Slam on NewSpring

A few months ago I went with some friends to visit NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. You can read my post about it here, but to sum it up - I loved it! The series was called "Crank It Up" and they opened with the song "Money" by Pink Floyd. They went straight into some great Christian music and even had a sermon - imagine that! Well, not everyone loves contemporary church styles - Pastor Steven Anderson from Arizona calls it "liberal" church. Watch this video to hear his take on NewSpring Church. NewSpring is starting a series on Easter weekend called: Sex, Money & Power: The Man Series...I wonder what Pastor Anderson thinks about that?

march madness

Abby has been playing quite well with Cody now that she is able to sit up and crawl where she wants to go. She loves playing with all of Cody's toys but he's been struggling with the whole concept of "sharing". Here is a great example of how he can go from being sweet big brother to a wrestle-maniac. Poor Abby just thinks this is the way of life. One day she'll be able to fight back. I guess this is our version of "march madness".

Clay & I got a chance to go out for dinner tonight....we went to Dragon Palace (my favorite). Hannah came over to watch the kids. I was so excited that we had a couple of hours to ourselves. I asked Hannah to take our picture so I could remember the moment....here we are!

the way you dance with me

Many people have been asking me to show them how I swing dance & lindy hop. Well, here is a great video that shows how Clay & I used to dance (before kids)....

...that's not us in the video by the way!


...this will be us in 50 years!

So an indian, a princess and a cat walk into a church...

March Mania (not to be confused with March Madness) is going on this month in Kidscoast. Here are some fun pictures from this weekend.