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I can't believe I forgot to mention this... but tonight (August 29), from 5 to 8 PM, the Chick-fil-A in Southlake is again donating a percentage of the proceeds from your meals to Team Elise. Last year, 60 of you joined us for dinner (along with 63 kids) and we raised over $400!
We'll be there starting at 5:00... come and have dinner with us and you'll be supporting Team Elise as we raise money to help find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
Click here for the address.
BTW, if you're able to and you haven't made a donation to Team Elise or registered to walk with us, just click here and then click on Donate Now from any page or on Join Team Elise from the Walk page.
A big thank you to Chick-fil-A Southlake for supporting Team Elise again this year!
In the midst of this record-setting heat, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to entertain and occupy my crazy children. Every morning I wake up, take a quick glance out the window, then turn on the news to confirm my fears. It's going to be another scorcher! 1256th day in row! No end in sight!
Sometimes I wonder if this is what it's like to wake up in prison everyday.
With the walls closing in, I'm trying to find fun and interesting places for Elise and Mattias to expend their energy while making a mess I don't have to clean up. This is how I found myself at our church's indoor play area the other day.
Upon walking into the play area, I could see these girls were going to trouble. Let us call them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (or Dee and Dum for short). They had that look. The "I am so cool and better than you" look. And at the ripe old age of 4, they had perfected the "us four and no more" mindset that seems to be so prevalent here in Texas.
Elise immediately went up to them and asked, "can I be your friend and play with you?" I sucked in my breath, because just looking at Dee and Dum, I knew what the answer would be. Sure enough, Elise came walking back to me with tears in her downcast eyes.
"Mom," she said, "those girls don't want to be my friend. They said they wouldn't play with me and to go away."
Now, anytime anyone hurts my child, be they 4 or 44 , my first instinct is to go all mama bear on their ass. Visions danced through my mind of grabbing them by their little blonde braids and dragging them to a corner where I could hiss into their ears all the mean things I could do to them (starting with cutting off those braids) if they ever dared made my daughter, or any other child, cry again.
Thankfully, I am an adult (or at least act like one on occasion), and decided to instead use this incident as a lesson for Elise.
"Elise," I asked her, "why do you want to play with those girls?"
"Because they're pretty. And I like their headbands."
(Apparently looks and fashion are important to my child. I blame Fred).
"Well," I said, "sometimes people can be pretty on the outside, but ugly on the inside. Do you understand? If you act ugly, and treat people not nice, then I think that makes you ugly on the inside. And it is much more important to be pretty on the inside than on the outside, don't you think?"
"Why?"
"Because, how we act shows who we really are. If we are mean, and make people feel bad, then we are ugly. But if we are kind, and helpful, and friendly; then that makes us beautiful. And if we act like that, that will be the kind of people who will be our friends."
Her face scrunched up and I could tell she was putting a lot of thought into what was coming next. "So", she said, "if I want people to be nice to me, I should be nice to other people?"
Do unto others, people. My 3 year old daughter gets it. Then why is it so hard for adults?
Thankfully, another little girl Elise's age came into the play area and was only too happy to play with Elise. Strangely enough, she too was shot down by Dee and Dum.
As much as I hate for Elise to feel hurt, I am thankful for the lessons she is learning. And thankful for a daughter that is beautiful... inside and out.
You know you want one.
photo courtesy of Elise.
Happy 11 months to my crazy little boy. Heavy emphasis on the crazy. I love this little guy so much, but oy... he wears me out. I've discovered that if I put him down and turn my back for 10 seconds, he can get into the following:
-climbing the stairs.
-tipping over the dog's water dish.
-finding any bug/crumb/dust bunny/dog fur ball and putting it in his mouth.
-playing in the toilet.
The phrase, "where's Mattias?" is uttered often in our house. As well as; "Mattias STOP!", "Mattias, NO!", and, "WHAT ARE YOU EATING NOW???"
This month Mattias got sick for the first time since he was born. It was a pretty nasty tummy bug, and like all nasty tummy bugs, it started at 3:00 in the morning. He didn't let it slow him down, and we discovered he loves saltines!
His latest thing is giving kisses. And by kisses, I mean he sticks his tongue out and licks you. But it's cute... I promise. Especially when you ask him for a kiss, and he comes crawling at you with the most adorable, cock-eyed grin and his tongue starting to stick out.
He's babbling a lot these days, and as well as saying hi, bye, ola, Mama, and Papa; I'm pretty sure he said "Elise" the other day. While he does his Gollum-crawl around the house, you can often hear him muttering, "bucka, bucka, bucka."
We're still trying to figure out the translation on that one.
Like I said, I love this kiddo so much. He's 100% boy. He makes me tired. And a little bit crazy. But oh my is he ever-so-squeezable! Can he really be 11 months already?
Lunch time! Yeah... that IS a pink bib he's wearing... so?
Playing in baby jail
Trying to get him to sit still for a picture is like trying to herd a cat
He's hatching some sort of plot
That face sums it all up... he's CRAZY!
Watching some TV
Sweet boy
Mmmm, mashed potatoes!
Love his sweet face!
