Yesterday morning my house was visited by the candy fairy! To adequately explain this occurrence, I need to back up a bit.
A couple of weeks ago I had a bag of chocolate that I took to my Young Women activity. Amber had asked if I would save her a piece of chocolate. And I had told her there probably wouldn't be any left over. Well, I got home that night, she was in bed, and I had a little bit of chocolate left. But I didn't want to wake her. So I had John put chocolate under her the girls' pillows. In the morning they found the chocolate and I told them the candy fairy had visited and left the chocolate under their pillows! I had to do some fast thinking when Timothy felt left out. So I dropped a piece of chocolate next to his bed and told him he had just knocked it off his bed when he moved his pillow during the night!
Okay, so fast forward to yesterday morning. Everybody was supposed to be getting dressed and ready for the day. I was in the kitchen making breakfast and all of a sudden Amber comes running out, "Mom, the candy fairy left smarties for Emma!" Then she ran to Timothy's room. "Timothy got some too! And there's some for Micah, and I got some too!"
At this point I thought John had been sneaky and left the smarties for everyone while they were downstairs looking for clothes. But then why was there candy under my pillow and under John's pillow? Still I thought, John was just being funny and trying to help the kids improve their moods a bit.
But my assumptions were wrong. John had not played candy fairy. I had not played candy fairy. So who did? The evidence points to Amber! I guess Amber has picked up on the fact that the candy fairy was fired recently and she took over the job! Gotta love her. She didn't tell me what she was doing, she just did it. I am in awe over how grown up Amber is becoming!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Tooth Fairy Adventures
Amber lost a tooth on Sunday. To say the least, I was not prepared for this occurrence. I knew she needed to get that tooth out as the new one had started growing behind and looked to be growing too far back. I had John work on the tooth and he eventually pulled it out!
But this created a problem. We weren't prepared for a visit from the Tooth Fairy! Oh no. What do we do? Amber wants to put her tooth under her pillow and she will be severely disappointed in the morning if she doesn't get anything from the tooth fairy that same night. So yes, I lied to my daughter. I told her the Tooth fairy doesn't work on Sunday so she might as well wait until Monday night to put her tooth under her pillow.
I think I will be forgiven for telling this lie to my daughter. I had to. I had to prevent the attitude stemming from the disappointment of not being visited by the tooth fairy.
But this created a problem. We weren't prepared for a visit from the Tooth Fairy! Oh no. What do we do? Amber wants to put her tooth under her pillow and she will be severely disappointed in the morning if she doesn't get anything from the tooth fairy that same night. So yes, I lied to my daughter. I told her the Tooth fairy doesn't work on Sunday so she might as well wait until Monday night to put her tooth under her pillow.
I think I will be forgiven for telling this lie to my daughter. I had to. I had to prevent the attitude stemming from the disappointment of not being visited by the tooth fairy.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Small (or big!) miracles
I did not realize how long it has been since I last posted. Life has a way of pulling me in so many directions and unfortunately the blog has fallen to the wayside.
At the moment I am awestruck with my eldest daughter. She has become so much more grown up and I am just noticing, I guess. She absolutely amazes me sometimes. On Saturday she received a little bit of money so she wanted to pay tithing. She found a donation slip and an envelope to put her tithing money in. As she filled out the donation slip, she noticed the line that said "Perpetual Education." She asked what that meant, what that was for. So I explained to her that in some places there are people who do not have the opportunity for an education like she has. I explained that we can donate money to the Perpetual education fund to help these people get an education. I fully expected that after hearing my explanation that she would just let it drop. I was shocked and amazed at her response. She turned to me and said, "I want to give money for that too!" Her eyes lit up and there was pure innocence on her face. How could I deny her the opportunity, in her own small way to do something for somebody else? There was no way I was going to tell her no right then. So she went to her bank where she keeps her pennies, and carefully counted out ten pennies! Ten cents is not very much, but to me at that moment, ten cents could change the world!
On Sunday morning I had told Amber to get three bowls out for the three kids who would be eating breakfast. Being insightful and observant, she realized that it was Fast Sunday and John and I would not be eating breakfast. So she turned to John and asked what it means to fast. John explained to her that we go without food or water, and that we pray for specific things and that by fasting we are more receptive to the spirit. He also told her we have the opportunity to donate the money we would have used on the meals we do not eat that day to help others who need a little extra help. Once again, I thought she would accept the answer and go eat breakfast. But she turned to us and told us she wanted to fast with us. I think my jaw hit the floor and I had to catch myself in my response. I started to say no because I didn't think she could handle it. But I stopped before I could get the word out. After all, I didn't want to discourage her. It was her decision. She wanted to participate in a fast. So why not let her try? So I told her that if she really wanted to, then she could. So, with a spring in her steps she went to the kitchen to get out two bowls instead of three.
Have I mentioned how much she amazes me? Despite the tantrums and the attitude, I really am proud of her. While we were enjoying treats after Family Home Evening today, I took the opportunity to tell her how proud I am of her and how much she has impressed me. She was positively glowing. If her smile had gotten any bigger, I think her face would have split in two!
I then took a few moments to tell Emma and Timothy why I am proud of them. Oh my, do I really not praise them enough? They soaked up the praise and were so much more willing to do what I asked after the few moments I spent telling them how wonderful they are!
Then it was time for pajamas. Amber quickly put pajamas on and asked if she could read a chapter of her book to me. So while we were waiting for the other two, I sat and listened to her read about Horrible Harry and the Ant Invasion! It was actually quite amusing to hear her read the story. We stopped halfway through the story to gather for family prayer and then I told her I would come sit in bed with her while she finished reading the story to me. By this time her face was glowing and the light in her eyes was unmistakable. I think we both needed this time. I enjoyed listening to her read me a story. It was a nice change from me having to read.
Amber finished her story and switched beds. I sat with Emma for a few minutes while she read to me. When it was time to turn lights out, Emma was only halfway through the small book she was reading. So with the promise of finishing the book tomorrow, we turned the lights out and the girls got ready to go to sleep. At that point I went in to Timothy's room and sat on his bed. While I had been reading with the girls, he would sneak under John's radar and magically appear on the bed with the girls! Then with utter disappointment when I turned him away, he would shuffle back to his bed. So I sat on his bed with him. Amidst the cries of "get off my blanket" we finally got settled and he asked me to lay with him as we read a story. I read Uh Oh Max to him, which only took a few minutes. When I finished, I left a happy boy in his bed ready to go to sleep! Yay! I count tonight as a huge success.
You see, tonight was a huge success because lately I have felt extremely frustrated. I have not been able to figure out what the kids want, why they are so whiny and just plain moody. While I still don't know why, I feel as if we averted some of that moodiness for just a little bit. I am not frustrated and we weren't fighting over bedtime. Yay for small miracles in my life!
At the moment I am awestruck with my eldest daughter. She has become so much more grown up and I am just noticing, I guess. She absolutely amazes me sometimes. On Saturday she received a little bit of money so she wanted to pay tithing. She found a donation slip and an envelope to put her tithing money in. As she filled out the donation slip, she noticed the line that said "Perpetual Education." She asked what that meant, what that was for. So I explained to her that in some places there are people who do not have the opportunity for an education like she has. I explained that we can donate money to the Perpetual education fund to help these people get an education. I fully expected that after hearing my explanation that she would just let it drop. I was shocked and amazed at her response. She turned to me and said, "I want to give money for that too!" Her eyes lit up and there was pure innocence on her face. How could I deny her the opportunity, in her own small way to do something for somebody else? There was no way I was going to tell her no right then. So she went to her bank where she keeps her pennies, and carefully counted out ten pennies! Ten cents is not very much, but to me at that moment, ten cents could change the world!
On Sunday morning I had told Amber to get three bowls out for the three kids who would be eating breakfast. Being insightful and observant, she realized that it was Fast Sunday and John and I would not be eating breakfast. So she turned to John and asked what it means to fast. John explained to her that we go without food or water, and that we pray for specific things and that by fasting we are more receptive to the spirit. He also told her we have the opportunity to donate the money we would have used on the meals we do not eat that day to help others who need a little extra help. Once again, I thought she would accept the answer and go eat breakfast. But she turned to us and told us she wanted to fast with us. I think my jaw hit the floor and I had to catch myself in my response. I started to say no because I didn't think she could handle it. But I stopped before I could get the word out. After all, I didn't want to discourage her. It was her decision. She wanted to participate in a fast. So why not let her try? So I told her that if she really wanted to, then she could. So, with a spring in her steps she went to the kitchen to get out two bowls instead of three.
Have I mentioned how much she amazes me? Despite the tantrums and the attitude, I really am proud of her. While we were enjoying treats after Family Home Evening today, I took the opportunity to tell her how proud I am of her and how much she has impressed me. She was positively glowing. If her smile had gotten any bigger, I think her face would have split in two!
I then took a few moments to tell Emma and Timothy why I am proud of them. Oh my, do I really not praise them enough? They soaked up the praise and were so much more willing to do what I asked after the few moments I spent telling them how wonderful they are!
Then it was time for pajamas. Amber quickly put pajamas on and asked if she could read a chapter of her book to me. So while we were waiting for the other two, I sat and listened to her read about Horrible Harry and the Ant Invasion! It was actually quite amusing to hear her read the story. We stopped halfway through the story to gather for family prayer and then I told her I would come sit in bed with her while she finished reading the story to me. By this time her face was glowing and the light in her eyes was unmistakable. I think we both needed this time. I enjoyed listening to her read me a story. It was a nice change from me having to read.
Amber finished her story and switched beds. I sat with Emma for a few minutes while she read to me. When it was time to turn lights out, Emma was only halfway through the small book she was reading. So with the promise of finishing the book tomorrow, we turned the lights out and the girls got ready to go to sleep. At that point I went in to Timothy's room and sat on his bed. While I had been reading with the girls, he would sneak under John's radar and magically appear on the bed with the girls! Then with utter disappointment when I turned him away, he would shuffle back to his bed. So I sat on his bed with him. Amidst the cries of "get off my blanket" we finally got settled and he asked me to lay with him as we read a story. I read Uh Oh Max to him, which only took a few minutes. When I finished, I left a happy boy in his bed ready to go to sleep! Yay! I count tonight as a huge success.
You see, tonight was a huge success because lately I have felt extremely frustrated. I have not been able to figure out what the kids want, why they are so whiny and just plain moody. While I still don't know why, I feel as if we averted some of that moodiness for just a little bit. I am not frustrated and we weren't fighting over bedtime. Yay for small miracles in my life!
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