Boys vs. Girls

Nathan is into EVERYTHING all the time!! He won't keep his clothes on and is constantly taking off his diaper. When he goes down for a nap, he just strips naked and plays with his man bits. The other day we noticed he was very quiet and figured he was playing in the bedroom. How right we were....he had found my fingernail polish and was sitting buck naked in the middle of our bed (on our white sheets) and he was painting his man bits hot pink! I'm saving that story for his future girlfriends---payback for messing up the sheets. ; )

Now we're duct taping his diaper on...that doesn't really work either. He just takes his clothes off and takes the tape off too. I've tried putting him in onesies or one piece pj's, but he figured out how to strip those as well. I'm embracing him being naked...for now. Maybe I'll even try to potty train him since his bits are already out there.

We're not only duct taping his diaper, but furniture and other items as well. He constantly takes the cover off the vacuum so we've taped it shut. A few moments ago he came and handed me the tape. So much for that idea. We taped his drawers shut on his dresser because he kept going in after the lotion and diaper cream so he could squirt it around the room. That didn't work either..the tape just came off. I know about the child locks and all that, but those didn't work either since they leave a slight gap in the drawer big enough for his little hand to fit.

The kicker is that this is all new for us. Our daughter never got into anything...we really didn't even need to childproof much since she would just listen when we told her to stay away from things. She played quietly in her room or in the family room with her toys or books. She still does. Now I'm adjusting to having an almost two year old that is ALL BOY!

I miss my friends

My family and I decided to leave the church we've attended and been members at for seven years. Since late October we've been looking for a new church home, but so far have had no success. Week after week we discuss which church we'd like to visit next. They are always too big or too small or their beliefs don't line up with ours. The children's programs are very important to us since we have two children. I really want to go somewhere with other young couples with young kids so we can make friends in the same season of life as us. We also want a church that is more contemporary than traditional. I personally don't like the 'church in a box' that meets at a public location. We visited a church that meets at a community center and I just can't do it. I feel that it hinders my ministry. With a building you are able to have gatherings at any time without going through making reservations at a restaurant or something.

I really miss my friends at our old church and our daughter misses hers as well. I don't feel like we can go back without some people acting smugly toward us like we just couldn't do any better. I feel like that church family that we desire to have is out there somewhere. No offense meant to our friends from our previous church. They will always be in my heart and hopefully my life. If you are reading this, please pray for our family as we continue to search.

Wal-Mart crazy

It happened again. We went to our bi-weekly grocery trip to Wal-Mart and had dinner at Subway as usual. Everything is going fine. The kids are behaving as much as they can while trying to get attention. Then the crazy started. Nathan started wiggling in the buggy so I took him for a walk while Larry got the rest of the items on the list. Nathan decided he didn't want to walk and decided to start crawling on the floor of the Wal-Mart. I immediately picked him up only to have him wiggle his way out of my arms. I threw him over my shoulder and marched him back to the buggy. When he saw Larry he calmed a bit.

That's when the crazies hit Lia. We were standing in line to check out and I looked down and see that she's pulled down her pants. Her little moon was shining for everyone in check out lines 10-17 to see. I gasped and then she decided to start spanking herself. I could have just dug a whole right there. I snatched up her pants and told her to stop. I would have spanked her, I think, if I wouldn't have had Child Services called on me. She just laughed and did a little dance. Larry had gone to get something we forgot or I would have taken her to the bathroom and 'disciplined' her or taken her to the van. By the time he came back the moment was gone.

What do I do to make sure the kids behave in the store? We make sure to take them after nap and make sure they've eaten. They just turn into little crazies when we get in public. HELP!! Is it a full moon or something??!!

Halloween

It's here! The spookiest time of the year. I don't know about you, but we've enjoyed ourselves at several community Halloween events. We've gone 'Trunk or Treating' twice, visited the city's 'Halloween in the Park' and tomorrow night will end up at the 'Fall Festival' at our church. I can say I've gotten my money's worth on that $14.99 costume!

I hope you have a spook-tacular evening and enjoy your little goblins!


Lia is a Fairy Princess and Nathan is "Super Pooper"

Little men and women

I noticed our kids this week are suddenly grown ups trapped in a little man and a little woman's body. Lia is 4 going on 20 and Nathan isn't even 2 yet and already has an attitude. Lia has her expectations of how things should be and will fight for what she believes in...even if it's slightly distorted in her 4 year old mind.

Sunday we visited a different church and spent time with some friends. We told Lia we were going somewhere different and her first reaction was.."Will my sparkle sweater and jeans be okay or will I need to wear a dress?" She's FOUR, so why does it matter to her what she is wearing?? It just shows how our society is already affecting her innocence. I try my best to protect her, but that's all I can do. Thankfully her next thought was that she would make new friends. I reminded her that if they were going to be her friends that it really wouldn't matter to them what she was wearing. She smiled and agreed.