be a better parent

I received this info from a friend of mine. I told my kids this morning that we had a voicemail from Santa Clause… he must have called when we were on the phone. You should have seen their faces when I put the phone up to their ears. They were speechless!

He said he’d call back tomorrow. This will be fun to do now through Christmas! Here’s the info:

If you have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews or you’re a big kid yourself, try calling the “800” phone number below to listen to Santa Claus. He is very jolly and from Dec 13th – Dec 24th, there is a new message from Santa everyday. He reminds the children to be good and thoughtful to others and he sounds very real….. Best of all it is
FREE!
Santa Claus
800-972-6242
Pass it on to other kids!

I read this article this morning Humble Chief Gains National Attention
and couldn’t help but think about how lucky I am to be a mother in the country we live in. I can’t imagine living in fear like the parents in Iraq do every day. Sure, I have fears, but nothing that consumes me daily. I worry about things happening to my kids, about sickos in the world, or random acts of violence.

I can’t imagine being scared everyday about my family being stormed upon and executed right in front of my eyes. I hope my family never lives to see such a day. I pray for all the mom’s in the world who aren’t so lucky to have another day with their children. I know this kind of thing happens everywhere, even in the US. Every day is such a blessing… for all of us.

I’m sure many of you have seen this, but I watched this video again this morning and am in tears. What a wonderful “team” these two make. If you haven’t seen this… read the story first and then watch the video (and have your tissues ready!).

http://cjcphoto.com/can/

Today, we’ve had our third major school shooting in less than a week. I am just sickened by this… and I know it’s not ending.

This is what makes me nervous about sending my kids out into the world these days. You never know when you drop them off at school what might be in store for them. It just makes me sick to think about these poor terrified children. You assume your kids are safe at school…. but you just never know. You never know :(

I’m struggling a little bit with my 4 year old. He has been acting so greedy lately. He wants everything, and when he gets something, he wants more. He is a very lucky child… blessed in many ways. I’ve tried to teach him the value of things… that there are people in the world who would be so excited to have just one toy and he has a room full of them. We donate toys to the poor all the time, give our time to worthy causes…but he’s just not getting it these days. He wants more, bigger and better.

Is this just an age thing?? How can I teach him to be thankful for what he has instead of always wishing for more?

How do single mom’s with several kids do it? My hat goes off to them, that’s for sure!
Nick has travels quite a bit, but hasn’t since Ella was born. 3 young kids, one parent… not an easy thing to balance. We’ve actually been sailing along quite well until bath time last night. Ella was crying, the kids were ready to get out of the bath and dressed for bed, and I only had two hands!

Jacob and Kelly are both really tired and cranky today. They are trying my patience! I just put them down for naps in hopes to have a little quiet time.

All of you parents out there, my friend Sarah just showed me the most adorable children’s book. I love it and can’t wait to get my own copy. It is called “Cookies – Bite-Size Life Lessons”
The illustrations are captivating and the lessons are priceless!

The kids were eating lunch and I took Ella upstairs to feed her and put her down for her nap. I was up there for 10 minutes when Kelly came up and said that Jacob had a bloody nose. I came downstairs to a trail of blood to the bathroom and then a bathroom splattered with blood EVERYWHERE. He said he was trying to get the blood out by spitting. Lovely…. All over the mirror, floor, sink, toilet….everywhere. It looked like a horrible crime scene. Then, Kelly gagged and threw up all over the floor.

I sometimes have to remind myself that I really do love my kids… really, I do. Thank goodness I love them so much or it would be hard to tolerate some of the things they do!

While we were gone the kids were with a friend and then with my
parents. They both went on and on about how great my kids are. So well
behaved, etc, etc.

They have been total terrors today, so they must have been saving it
all up for me. I’ve had to say the serenity prayer way too many
times today! I can’t wait for Nick to get home.

I felt like I lost my patience every second today. I hate days like this!

It’s interesting to me to see how much my perspective on life has changed since being a parent.

I have never had a real fear of flying. Sure, I’d get nervous every now and then during a flight, but I’ve never been all out afraid.

Well, my husband and I are going on a business trip next week to Louisville. We’re taking our 2 month old, but my other kids are staying here with Grandma and Grandpa. I’m having serious anxiety about this trip… going through scenerios in my head of things that could happen. I’m nervous that we’ll crash or something and I will leave my older two kids without parents.
It’s a strange feeling…I can’t describe it, but I’m dreading the trip.