Organic

Again, back to edible things...Olivia and I planted a small greenhouse of tomato seeds. Kevin got the notion to put the carton in the front window sill to allow it to get more sunlight. Good idea, but he forgot to tell me:) He left for work, I go into the bathroom and come out to Kayla carrying one of the small pots and her mouth is covered with dirt. Not sure how much she ate, but hopefully not enough dirt ingested to help any tomato seeds grow inside her, lol! (Like when we were little and we were afraid to eat watermelon seeds...)

Nonetheless, I agree with being green for most things and have moved in that direction the past few years. Never so much do I advocate for it as now, having kids. Now we need organic potting soil so even when the kids eat dirt, it is pure, LOL!

This too shall pass...

Olivia does not claim her favorite color to be blue, yet she has a preference for blue when it comes to food coloring. When she was about 3, we were cooking together and she picked blue to color whatever it was. She was holding the plastic tube of blue, I turned to get a spoon and turned back around to a blue child. I had no idea they do not put plastic seals under the lids of food coloring, so Olivia had opened it with her teeth, thus spilling the blue all into her mouth and down her chin, clothes, and onto the floor. I panicked and rinsed her mouth for about 2 minutes with water, until it began to run clear. I was so afraid she was going to have blue teeth until those fell out and were replaced. The floor and her mouth cleaned up better than her clothes, but at least she did not have blue teeth for longer than a day!

So, here we are at 4 1/2 years old...we have been stuck in the house for days because it's winter, cold, and both kids are running fevers, coughing, the works. To change up, we made pancakes for dinner. I suggest adding a color, Olivia picks blue. Blue pancakes it is. She holds the blue, I (inevitably) go get a spoon, turn around and she has poured the entire contents of the food coloring tube into the pancake mix. So, we do not have pastel pancakes, no we have ROYAL blue pancakes. I proceed to cook them, we eat them and they taste fine. Kayla and Olivia eat them again for breakfast the next morning. Then, they proceed to poop bright blue. Olivia and daddy check with mommy to make sure that is ok...and it is:) I guess if that is the only casualty we have from cooking in this household, we are doing well. No burns, no flames, just blue poop! This too shall pass, literally!

On and on, my friends...

Olivia is a lover of repetition. She has insisted upon singing "He's got the whole world in his hands" EVERY night for at least 6 months. She loves music, and she loves singing, but refuses to entertain the idea of singing anything else. I used to actually like the song, lol. I am sure she likes it because you can keep adding verses as long as you can to prevent actually going to sleep. I feel like it is that song from the old show with Lamb Chop the puppet, "The song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends..." Maybe I will find something more enticing to sing soon, but for now, we are in a bedtime rut:(

If you want to be successful at dieting...

Sit next to Kayla! I'm telling you this girl is an eating machine, lol! No matter if she just ate or even if she has her own food on her plate, she wants yours. It never fails lately that I eat only about half of what I put on my plate, which works well for a diet. No need to ask for a half portion of anything, just sit next to Kayla and she will help you out. Even if I feed the kids first, then sit down to eat, if Kayla sees you with food she comes quickly. Sometimes she does not even want a lot, just a few bites to test it out and maybe to make sure she does not want more. So funny, Olivia I have to force to eat, Kayla I can't force to stop eating:) We'll see if this trend lasts!

Thank God for discretion!

Tonight at Wal-Mart, as we were running errands, Olivia has to use the bathroom. Not sure why we can't master using it before we leave home, but nevertheless...we go and of course the buggy is full: Kayla, the diaper bag, our coats, and our shopping "booty." So, I tell Olivia to go in alone while I stand (with everything else) by the door. Side note - Olivia likes the "big potty" which is aka the handicapped one. I have tried to tell her it is for wheelchairs, etc., to no avail. I assume she gets it, but bigger must mean better, so she HAS to use that one. She has even been known to cry when it is unavailable. She even has "war stories" from preschool about how she beat someone to the big potty, or someone beat her and that was just "not nice." We take turns, Olivia, even with big potties, I tell her.

Back to the point, Olivia goes in to the bathroom alone and a few seconds later I hear tugging at the door. I open it and she proceeds to tell me those potties are "too dirty" to use. Now, I was not in there, but thank God for her discretion as there is really no telling what it was, and I did not feel compelled to investigate. Luckily, nearby was a family potty someone pointed out. That was not much cleaner, likely, but at least I could somewhat monitor what she touched and make sure we cleaned our hands well. Some days you are thankful for the little things, like your child knowing what constitutes as "disgusting", lol!

The beginning...

For some reason this past week or so I have been feeling nostalgic, so bear with me. Maybe it is the holidays, maybe it is just looking back on the journey sometimes that helps you realize how far you have come. Nonetheless, I was thinking that maybe one day my kids would be reading this and would want to know history, so here goes, to tell of the beginning.

Kevin and I are both from Byhalia, MS. He is 7 years older, so we never ran in the same circles nor did we go to school together. I worked at Big Star when I was in high school, I was in the 10th grade. I was a cashier, so I was in the front door and there was a large window in front of the registers, so we could see into the parking lot. I remember seeing Kevin get out of his car...like it was yesterday...and I'm thinking 'what a handsome young man', or something like that, lol! I asked another cashier about him; she knew him and stated he is "too old" for you - as he was her older sister's age. But, I am always up for a challenge, so I talked to him briefly, and gave him my number (ok, mom, I know). Eventually he called, we talked...I lied about my age because I knew he was older. Later, I told the truth, thankfully he forgave me:) When we met, I was 15...we talked casually, eventually dated and were exclusive. I had only had like two other "dates/boyfriends" before him, but from the first time I saw him, we had a connection.

One of the more challenging parts of our relationship was dealing with our families. His, of course, thought I was too young. Mine, of course, thought I was too young. When we decided to get married, my parents (reluctantly) supported me, as did his:) My extended family was not so supportive. They really had more opposition because it was different, I was young, and mostly because he was black. Not having them support me was the hardest thing I have dealt with to date, but I think it made my marriage stronger because we did it mostly alone. We did not have many people to lean on, but that forced us to deal with issues amongst ourselves and work things out. I was told I was going to Hell, but knew God loved me...I was told I was probably "just pregnant" but did not have my first child until SIX years later. Thankfully, now our families are supportive and the brokenness mended. I wondered for the longest time if I would be able to attend another relative's wedding in which my family willingly supported, but I did not have to make that choice. Only my brother has married since (twice), and though not many of us agreed with his first marriage, we all attended to support his decision. I did not want anyone else to have to get married the same way I did, with disappointment clouding their "happy day."

Ten years later we are still going strong, though not without our bumps in the road. Our two girls are such blessings and the opposition we once faced forged us closer, making us better people and parents. I had no idea how to pick a husband at age 18, nor did I know what a challenge marriage was in general. It had to have been God and he chose for me my one true soul mate. When you have something worth fighting for, take a stand and fight, knowing you will be better for it in the end:) Love!

Tough times...

Darius Rucker's "It won't be like this for long" is now my theme song, bittersweet as it is. That song always brings tears to my eyes, but at times, a sigh of relief, lol! Having two kids now is such an adjustment, never a dull moment, never downtime. I always am saying that no one told me it would be this hard. Even if they had, I probably would have thought they were pansies. I now know first hand that this is not for the faint of heart. Thank God I had babies when I was young. We are learning more and more to go with the flow, but still find ourselves quite ill-equipped most days:) Parenting is the hardest, most wonderful thing ever! We will truly look back on this and miss it. I'm only 28, but now understand the concept of grandchildren being your reward, though I am NOT rushing that!!!