Respect, part II

I really need to feel the love, everyone! I'm having a frustrating day. 

This afternoon a certain person who shall remain nameless informed me that my house was full of crap and she wanted to send a mutual acquaintance over while I wasn't home to throw everything out. Nice, huh? This coming from a person who has held on to stuff for 37 years and has old catalogues from at least 5 years ago. This person also has a large house and an outbuilding filled with everything imaginable. I guess I shouldn't feel so insulted but I am. You don't tell people things like that. This person also snapped at Moira for saying that she thought meat was yucky. She said, "You've never even tried it!" I wanted to remind her of an evening several years ago when her spouse was shoving turkey down Moira's throat even though my wishes over the matter were very clear. 

What happened to respect anyway? I was very glad that Moira was noticed for her respect at school, but, quite frankly, she shows very little of it at home. I love her to death, but she can really be a little snot. Sometimes I feel like a horrible parent for having to lose my temper and nag all the time. Moira just doesn't listen to what we have to say. I've tried being nice, I've tried punishment and I've plain just repeated myself over and over. She doesn't get it. 

I think it's society. People show very little respect to anyone. What happened to social graces like RSVP'ing when  it's requested or saying thank you? Those are two of my pet peeves when they are ignored. It seems like those things have gone down the toilet. If somebody says that we are busier these days I will deck them. People will always make time for the things that are important to them and social graces should be important enough. They are to me. Are my standards too high? 

Respect

This morning Moira got a citizenship award at school. November's citizenship topic was respect. She got an award and a pin plus a gift certificate to a pizza place. She was very proud of herself as were Will and I.

Curly Locks

Curly locks, curly locks

Will you be mine?

You shall not wash the dishes nor yet feed the swine,

But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam

And feed upon strawberries, sugar and cream. 

Punked Out

Here is Liam's mohawk. The girls think it's hilarious when they make his hair stand up.

Kyla's New Bed

We got Kyla a new bed on Saturday. We drove up to Council, which is two hours away, to get it. We had nothing else to do and it was a nice day for a drive. So far Kyla hasn't slept in it. We just about got her to tonight, but then she announced she was done and so we put her back in her crib. I guess it was a good thing that we left it up in her room. I'm sure it will take a few days for her to get used to having a bed to sleep in. Moira had no problem transitioning, but Kyla needs more time. 

Playing silly beggars!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know that it's not a holiday for most of you who read my blog, but who says you need to have a special day just to count all of the great things in your life?  Take time everyday to be grateful for what you have. 

This year I am grateful for so many things. Here are just a few:

my family

my friends

a car that works

food in my fridge

my pets

I'm also grateful for the things that I don't have like large amounts of debt and negative people in my life. 

I hope you all have a lot to be thankful for and that you take the time to acknowledge them. 

On a more cynical note, tomorrow marks the beginning of the Christmas season. And that means shopping. This morning I pulled out the largest newspaper of the year, filled with lots and lots of ads to tempt people to get up at the crack of dawn (or earlier) to spend, spend, spend. Some department stores are advertising that they will open at 4am. I even heard that our mall is going to open at 1am, although not all of the stores will be open. There will be special sales until noon only and prizes to the first few customers in the store. I have to admit that I am tempted to get up and go shopping at 4am just to see if people really get up that early hoping for a great bargain. I guess if people get excited about Christmas through shopping then maybe it's not such a bad thing. Personally shopping doesn't do it for me. I would rather show people that I care for them on a regular basis, not just one time a year through lots of stuff. That's just me, I guess.

There is one more thing that I am grateful for - ME!

The First Snow

Let it Snow!

Let it Snow!

Let it Snow!

We woke up to snow this morning. It wasn't a lot - just enough to barely cover the grass. I was surprised to see it. I've discovered that it's a great alarm clock. When I went to get Moira up this morning for school, I told her it had snowed and she jumped up and out of bed in a real hurry. Usually it's such an ordeal to get her up every morning. 

The snow didn't last long. Even by the time I took these photos at 10 am, the snow was already starting to melt. By 1:00 the snow was gone and the sun was shining. It was pretty while it lasted. 

Way to Make a Mom Proud

It's the little things that can make a mom (or dad) excited. Tonight Kyla used her potty for the first time. Moira sat beside her and showed her how to clench her fists and make grunting noises. I'm not sure if it helped, but it kept Kyla entertained. I'm hoping that this little triumph will encourage Kyla to want to sit on the potty more often and not just to eat My Little Pony fruit snacks!

Last week Moira had a math test and she got 98/100. It was such a thrill to see how well she is doing at school. 

I'm definitely a proud mom! (Even if I am mean!)

Happy Birthday, Kyla!

Today is Kyla's second birthday.  I spoke to my dad yesterday for his birthday and he said that it felt strange that she was only two. He said that it felt like she has always been around. It's true. I can barely remember what it was like before she was born, but at the same time I can't believe that she is two. My baby!!! I guess she hasn't been a baby for a long time.  She has so much character and is a joy to be around. She has changed and grown so much this past year. I love to watch her explore her world. 

Kyla had a ladybug theme for her birthday. Not a very good one for this time of year because finding anything ladybug was difficult. I did a lot of improvising. I made a ladybug cake and some cupcakes that were red with black spots. Moira and I decorated some red balloons to look like ladybugs, but other than that, we didn't have anything else. That's one good thing about Kyla being two - she doesn't really care too much. 

Kyla got lots of neat stuff for her birthday including a Mrs. Potatoe Head, a cute doll that plays music, a magnetic drawing board and a track for racing cars on. She is one lucky little girl!

Mean Mom

I was relating this story to my friend Amanda yesterday and she urged me to write about it on my blog to share with all of you. 

A few weeks ago I asked Moira to clean her room. (OK, I was nagging her. I get more response out of a brick wall sometimes.) She came and sat on the couch and watched me wipe down the living room floor. Out of the blue she says, "I think you're mean." I wanted to bust out laughing, but I kept a straight face and asked her why she thought I was mean. She informed me that I was mean because I made her clean her room even when she didn't want to. She told me that when she grew up she would never be mean like me and make her kids clean their rooms. Yeah right! We'll just wait and see about that.

Another time while I was pregnant with Liam, Kyla had pulled all of the magnets off of the fridge and tossed them all under the kitchen table. I wanted to mop the floor so I asked Moira if she could please crawl under the table and get the magnets for me. After she had picked them up she said to me in the nicest possible way, "I feel just like Cinderella!"

Ma Wee Man...

...isn't so wee anymore. He went in for his 2 month check up yesterday and he weighed 12 lbs and was 23" long (from 6lbs 12oz, 18 1/2" at birth). After the pediatrician finished examining Liam she laid him on his tummy while we chatted. He didn't like that too much and rolled over on to his back. That was the first time he had ever done that. I guess he just needed the proper motivation! 

Missing Tooth

Moira lost her first tooth tonight. It had been loose for a little while and the big tooth was already coming up behind the baby tooth. She is very glad that she lost her tooth today because then the tooth fairy will come tonight and leave her money so she will have something to spend tomorrow at the flea market. Does anyone know what the going rate for a tooth is these days?

Skye's Birthday

Skye would've been three years old today. I think about her every day. I remember holding her in my arms and kissing her good-bye. I wonder what she would be like. Would she be cheeky and lively or quiet and relaxed? What would she have wanted to dress up as for Halloween? Would she be a daddy's girl? What colour would her eyes and hair be now? I will always have a hole in my heart for her. No amount of love could fix it. I think of her as my newly born son cries and I mail out invitations to my third daughter's birthday party. Two lives that never would have existed if Skye had lived. It's all so bittersweet. 

These photos are what's left of my little girl. The box holds her things, including stuff that I collected for her, the quilt I made for her to sleep with and gifts that family members had sent. The box is in the living room and I put family photos on top of it because she is a part of our family. I feel that she should still be included in our daily lives. 

My Boy

Isn't he getting so big? For a lark, I weighed him on our home scale and he already weighs 11.5 pounds. I couldn't believe it. He is a solid little boy. The girls stayed so petite, but Liam is growing in leaps ad bounds. When I told him to slow down, he just smiled at me. 

Nap Time