Beware Of Parrot

Today I discovered yet another humbling aspect of children. Toddlers, specifically. They repeat EVERYTHING they hear that sounds "fun" to them. Fun to them apparently means anything said with emotion and emphasized. No!, Stop chasing the dog!, Don't wipe that on your sister!, I'm not your napkin!, Ewww! and so on. Also, toddlers are gross. Moving on. They struggle with sh, ch, st, ck, etc. type sounds as they just got their teeth and haven't quite figured out how they work in speech and where the tongue comes in. It's fun. Especially with words like stick...where the st becomes sh and the ck becomes t...and we all giggle under our breath trying not to make a big deal out of it and praying there are no sticks to be found at church...

They also repeat things you didn't realize were said and/or heard. Today was one such instance. I have a big dog (Pyrenees) who laments being apart from me from time to time (daily). If I put him in the field to play with his brother and mom he has fun for a bit then howls endlessly wanting to be reunited with his human family. Once he gets started all the others join in. It's kinda funny and kinda sad. I admit, I have a little less time for him than I did pre-kids, but I do try to make my time with him count. I miss my time with him, too. He has a very soothing, calming, nature to him. Anyway...He started up this morning with the others joining in. All of the sudden my 21 month old, golden curled, blue eyed blessing of a child (you know... as much as a two year old wannabe can be. HA!) said "SHUT UP!" Three times. I've been adamant about others not saying that around her, to her, to her sister, etc. knowing that wasn't how I wished to raise my girls. Hush would suffice. Nope. Apparently she heard it from someone. Who knows, in my sleep deprived state one morning it could have been me. It got me thinking. Hard.

How many things do you say out loud that you shouldn't? Even if no one is around to hear them...or you think no one is. It doesn't have to be cursing. It can just be something judgmental, some prejudice, anything negative, sarcastic (I do love my sarcasm...), apathetic, etc. Now, I don't believe we live in a world full of sunshine and rainbows, but I do wish to create a safe space at home for my girls, my husband and myself to come and semi-escape the anger, bitterness, negativity, etc. of the outside world for a while. I'm even trying to come up with a code word for when my girls are feeling down/attacked/weary from all things around them that they can say and it automatically shifts our gears into a different mindset to give them that peace for a moment. Be it a hug, prayer, some alone time, music, art, etc. Whatever it takes to  bring us back to each other in a loving way. If it is an argument, misunderstanding, etc. we can come back to it after we've taken a "moment" so we can approach it in a rational, loving way. Do I think I will always be successful? No way, but with prayer, God's help, teaching them this from the start and knowing my husband has my back I think we'll have a pretty decent shot at it.

So be thinking about what comes out of your mouth and how you say it. There are always ears close enough to hear you and hearts that are being affected by your attitude. That's frighteningly sobering for me. How about you?

They done me wrong!

One of the very best smells in all the world? Cookies baking in the oven. With a 19 month old and a 2 month old, homemade just ain't happening. I chose to bake the "break and bake" kind as I had a hankering for cookies and milk this afternoon. 

My 19 month old always gets "SNACK!!!" (she cannot say it without screaming it, as food is one of her very favorite things). Usually it's crackers, fruit or a combination of the two. Today, after her fruit cup I thought perhaps today was the day to share my love of cookies and milk. I presented her with a sippy cup of cold milk and two tiny, yet glorious, chocolate chip cookies. Oh her eyes lit up after the first bite. It was love. Big love. Her eyes shone as she grinned through her chocolaty smeared face. I know that look all too well. I get that way over certain things, too. Usually food. That's my girl. 

Then the unthinkable happened. My sweet, blue eyed, golden curled child became something else. Something non-human. A monster unlike any other. She was horrible for the rest of the day. She was into EVERYTHING. Wrecking what little calm I still had after the 2 month old's nightly escapades. I was getting used to being tag-teamed by the two of them. I was getting used to the older one knowing only how to run from the time she woke until bedtime. I was getting used to her being smart enough to get out of any baby gate she encountered. I was used to the extra energy fruit gave her. 

I was not, however, prepared for the cookie high. I had never been so wronged by a baked good. I felt so betrayed. How?! How could something so delightful become so venomous?!  I knew sugar rushes. Or so I thought. I had never before factored in the toddler coefficient. That's a monumental game changer, folks. If I were a drinker, I would be schnockered tonight just trying to recover from my nightmare. Alas, I'm not - so instead, you get blogged. Pray for me people. Pray that she will awaken tomorrow as her delightful self. Pray that I will awaken less zombie-esque. Pray that I NEVER forget this moment. 

One last thing, my peoples. If anyone offers my beloved children sugared candy, cookies, etc.,...we may no longer be friends. I may even go so far as to collect a gaggle of toddlers, sugar them up hard and lock you in a minivan with them... 

I'm not even playing.