Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Santnigalas and other little-known Christmas Carols

Saja wrote a list of Christmas carols to sing while we cleaned up yesterday. Mondays are our new "Scrub the House" cleaning days. It's exhausting. I didn't find the list until dinner, and it gave me a much needed laugh. Included are the following:

Joy to the world
Hart the hrrld
Jingrldells
DingDong meralion hie
Gotell it on the mountin
SiLinnight
O Chrismas tree
Old Santnigalis

Oh how I love this age... the beauty and delight of a 6-year-old mind thrills my heart.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Potty training or potty playing?

So, I tried potty training the twins in July at 18 months, then again in September at 20 months, but after seeing how incredibly difficult it was, I decided against becoming a walking mop and waiting until they were more ready. I have left the little potties out, and I let them get on the toilet for fun. I think it's adorable to see them fight over who gets to sit on the toilet. Tobias has always been able to pee on command, but he doesn't go when he has to go. Tyler has not once, in this entire 6 months, actually done anything in the toilet.

Until today.

Tyler took his own clothes off, retrieved the little potty, sat on it, and did his business without any adult attention whatsoever.

Praise God, I hope it's this easy. Maybe we'll try again in January after things settle down a bit from the holidays. I would love to make you all jealous with my incredibly easy potty training stories. =)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Unscathed escape

David always makes me wonder, "How do we ever make it to adulthood?"

Last night, my household helper took a leave of absence. This morning, the kids and I spent three hours cleaning various parts of the house. We had just finished the girls' bedroom when I decided I should start making sandwiches for lunch. As I sliced the hoagie in half to share with Chris, I heard the most enormous crash from the living room. Rushing in, my mind raced with speculation as to what could cause such a loud, long, tinkling, lingering crash. All the lamps tied up together and dragged across the ground? A baseball through the window? The television pulled to the floor?

Alas, the real culprit actually never entered my mind. There David sat, on the loveseat, somewhat in shock I think, staring at what used to be our glass-top coffee table... in shards... all over the floor. When I say "shards," that's exactly what I mean! Large, long, lean, pointy pieces of glass scattered across the floor, and some lay caught in the decorative metal on the table, pointing straight up.

I had no idea what to do except what any good wife would do. I yelled (some might use the word "screamed"), "CHRIS!" To my amusement, he came rushing out of the restroom, zipping on the run. He guided David to safety and coralled the kids into the playroom. When he returned, I asked for a cardboard box to put the pieces into. He retrieved one for me, then suggested I go find some work gloves (which I was unable to find), and then retreated to his office.

While I feel emotionally drained and sad to have lost my nice coffee table, I am relieved that David survived unscathed. I think a little scratch might have done him good, because he's showing very little remorse, or even the ability to put the cause and effect together. None-the-less, I firmly believe that God works all things together for the good for those who love him, and I'm eager to see how wonderfully God will use this in our lives. I believe angels were guarding my sweet boy today, and I thank God that the only thing we lost was our table.

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