Patience

What worked for me in the past sure isn't working for me now and I am slow to catch up. I don't really want to catch up because then all the rules will change again. I don't know how it is with anyone else but I sure have a lot more patience with my children when they are younger. Ben is giving me fits lately, real literal screaming fits. I used to be pretty lucky when shopping with my kids in stores that we have had very few fits. I have only had to remove them from the store on two occasions. Yesterday we went to Costco to buy Anikka a coat and to look at what kind of pajamas they had. They did not have the one pair of jammies in Ben's size that he liked. There was another style and he started whining about the one he liked. He has been whining A LOT lately so I put the jammies down and said when you whine you do not get anything. Then we proceeded to leave the store with Ben screaming but we had to buy the coat first so we stood in the thankfully short line for a short period of time. We were the ones everyone was looking at and probably judging. It was embarassing but the biggest problem is I don't think that Ben got that when he screams like that he does not get his way. He is still screaming and whining today about everything. If I ask him to clean his room he answers with a screeching wail. I also don't know what good "time out" does. It just doesn't seem to work for my kids. Discipline is so hard. Ben is 90% of time a awesome little boy and he is so reverent in church except for this last Sunday when I had to take him out from the chapel for a fit. Maybe it is just this week? I am hoping it is a growth spurt that has him all onery like this and in a few weeks we can get back to our old way of doing things. I hope I can learn to develop more patience with my kids because they are all only going to get older.

Pajama Day

Today is a pajama day. It is snowing and I am so tired and we don't have any thing else going on. I really like these days. It started too early. I think the wind woke up Mac a 5 am and he woke up crying about spiders and he did not go back to sleep until 10:30. Ben and I woke up at 5:30 and he was able to go back to sleep and I was not. I have never been a good sleeper when I am pregnant and it just gets worse as I am further along and worse when the baby gets here. I like these pajama days and I will take them as often as I can.

Last week while driving in the car Anikka asked Ryan who he loved more Ben or Mac. Mac starts chanting, "Mac, Mac, Mac, Mac" at the top of his lungs. I start laughing and Ryan successfully did not laugh when he answered that he loved both of them equally. Poor Ben sure has to put up with a lot with his bully of a little brother.

Hard Day

I went to a funeral today. It was for my college roommate's older brother. He was killed by a drunk driver during the Las Vegas Ragnar Race. My roommate is such an amazing person and they come from such a wonderful, close-knit and spectacular Family. They are from Star Valley, Wyoming. I love that place and am forever grateful to have roommates from there that could introduce me to such a great place. I wanted to post this so that I could remember the very inspiring words that were spoken today. My roommates father got up to speak and the congregation sniffled throughout his talk. He spoke about how difficult this has been to bury his only son. He said that if he had known that this was coming He would have done everything in his power to stop it, He said that is a gulf of difference between him and our Heavenly Father. He said he needed to grow more like his son to become more pure of heart so that he will be able also to see the face of God. He spoke of the comfort he recieved from being inspired to memorize scriptures 3 weeks ago not knowing then what he would need it for. The scriptures were D&C 101, 14-16. I am grateful to have known and know that amazing family and I can only hope to raise my children half as well as they have raised theirs.

Good News

I had my ultrasound appointment yesterday and there was a little baby in there and I was even able to hear the heartbeat. What a relief, and this has been the absolute weirdest pregnancy I have ever had. I am grateful for this good turn of events. We are happy to be adding to our family and I really would like to have another girl but we will take what we get.

Giving My Kids a Complex

4 times in the last 6 days our smoke alarm has been going off and it is so loud and there is also an annoying voice that repeats "fire" over and over again. We figured out that it is steam from the shower that is setting off the alarm. Ben is so scared. Sunday night he was up 6 or 7 times in the night saying he heard the alarm and that his alarm keeps going off since the light changes from green to red occasionally. This morning the alarm went off and woke Ben and Mac up with tears. Ben accused me of taking too long of a shower, He said that I need to get in the shower, wash my hair and get out. On the plus side the children are suitably scared of the alarm and it did wake them all up. Hopefully we can get it all figured out soon and without having to take 5 minute, really cold showers.