Struggling

I am an honest person, so I can admit when I am struggling.

That would be now.

Often.

Daily.

More often than daily. That would be 20 times a day. At the least.

I am struggling in my patience with Ella Beth. Lately, everything is a battle with her.

everything.

We are reading an ABC book of Bible verses together (when she will cooperate long enough to get through one letter).

For "A" the verse is: "A soft answer turns away wrath." Proverbs 15:1.

That verse is for ME. I am the one who needs the soft answer.

I am the one struggling not to lose my mind (i.e. lose control over my tongue) when dealing with her behavior.

Scott and I have read one parenting/discipline book recently...but as much as we are applying the strategy, it's not helping to change Ella Beth's behavior.

I can totally see that many of the things she is doing is to get my attention. To combat that, I am trying to schedule 1:1 time with her. But what do I do the rest of the time? Times when she ignores me, or does exactly what I asked her not to do, or doesn't do what I asked her to do? Times when she is just down-right ugly in her tone or in how she treats others?

I never imagined that a 3 year old peanut could cause me such stress and frustration.

I know that there is no "fix" per-say, but can anyone suggest anything? A book? A technique? A specific prayer? (I keep praying that God will help me in the area of patience...however, He seems only content right now to test my patience. I'm losing my patience with that right now, too! Ahem.)

I am sure someone, or everyone, is going to say something like, "Just hang in there. It's a phase. It will pass." But seriously...I need someone to tell me something that's going to help get me through it! 

Shortcake

Shortcake came into our family by chance. Pebbles was dropped off at Scott's parents' house on July 15 (his mom's birthday). Shortcake and three other kittens were born on July 31.

Ella Beth and Landon fell in love at first sight. Shortcake was the runt of the litter, which made her even cuter to all of us.

We brought her home last week. She has had no lack of attention or hugs or kisses.

Aren't her whiskers just insanely white?!

We have actually started to worry a little whether Shortcake is able to walk on her own. But I think it's just because we rarely see her doing it.

And, I do mean rarely. ;)

But, Shortcake is a good great sport. I don't think she minds all the attention all that much.

A Day in the Life...

So, what is there to do on a Saturday while Daddy is working? 

==

5:30 a.m. - Ella Beth is standing at our door way whimpering. I bring her in to snuggle...after all it's only 5:30 on a Saturday morning.

6:20 a.m. - Landon is singing in his bed. Scott goes to get him. Lucky for me, I was snuggling with Ella Beth. :)

7:15 a.m. - Ella Beth wakes up and is ready for breakfast. (This is the latest I have slept in in FOREVER. I feel like a brand new woman!)

7:45 a.m. - Daddy leaves for work (no, he typically doesn't work on the weekend, but when there's work [during this economy] he will take it)

7:46 a.m. - Ella Beth finishes her breakfast...of Chex Mix. (Don't judge me. We are letting her make choices and learn from them afterward.)

7:50 a.m. - We are singing and dancing around the room to a children's worship CD. It's fun, and there are lots of smiles.

8:30 a.m. - We go downstairs to the play room. (We inherited a kitten last week - actually 6 weeks ago - when a stray cat had kittens at my in-law's.) We let Shortcake (short for Strawberry Shortcake...wanna take a guess who named her???) in to play with us. Lots of squeals to be heard!

(This is a picture I took of our [almost] complete play room earlier this week. Scott built the storage shelves, but we haven't painted them yet. The table and chair set in the middle of the room is my mom's from when she was a little girl. Scott refurbished it and painted it earlier this year.)

9:00 a.m. - Ella Beth is hungry. I explain to her how we need to eat a wholesome breakfast so that it helps to give us energy and keep us full/satisfied. She is told that she has to wait until snack time to eat. (This is what we call a "teachable moment.")

9:15 a.m. - Landon and I go upstairs to make homemade/all natural play-doh (thank you, Megan) while Ella Beth stays downstairs to play.

9:45 a.m. - Ella Beth comes upstairs and we play with the play-doh. (Landon mostly watches; he's intrigued by Ella Beth's giddiness and laughs whenever she does.)

10:20 a.m. - We finish playing with the play-doh. Mommy cleans up the mess while Ella Beth and Landon watch an episode of Little Bear.

10:35 a.m. - Snack time. Both kiddos chose Cheez-its. Wash them down with some cold water, and that's a nice snack.

10:55 a.m. - Back to the play room. Ella Beth plays doctor. Landon reads books and plays with his piggy bank. Shortcake dive-bombs our toes and we all laugh.

11:55 a.m. - Lunch. Cheese sandwiches, applesauce, and water. (Left over fajitas for me.)

12:25 p.m. - Nap time for both kiddos. Landon is asleep in approximately 37 seconds; Ella Beth is asleep in approximately 10 minutes.

12:35 p.m. - Free time for me. I quickly snap a few pictures of what I am going to miss around the house some day.

1:36 p.m. - I realize what time it is and think, "If I want to get a shower sometime today, I'd better go get one."

See ya!

Top 10 Patience Testers

I was talking with my friend Angie the other day and sharing with her how I have really been struggling with patience lately. Ella Beth especially seems to push all of my buttons, and Landon has moments when he can push them, too. (Usually, he pushes the same buttons Ella Beth is pushing because he is "watching and learning" everything she does.)

Drum roll, please:

Top Ten Patience Testers

10. Ella Beth refusing to nap about 50% of the time now. I almost always need a break during the day, and I have relied on nap-time for this said break. When she won't nap (or won't just play quietly or read in her room)...Mama is at the end of her rope!

9. Landon and Ella Beth fighting over a toy or book in the backseat of the car. (Of course, neither wanted THAT toy until the other decided s/he did.)

8. Ella Beth refusing to "mind me" when I ask to do something (e.g. please put your jammies on, please put your shoes on, please STOP HITTING YOUR BROTHER...oh, sorry...my patience was waning.)

7. It never fails that when we are out to eat and I have [finally] started eating, Ella Beth needs to potty. I can't think of the last time I've eaten a hot meal at a restaurant. (Can anyone tell me why she NEVER needs to potty during breakfast/lunch/dinner at HOME???)

6. The noise level of having two very young children. If one makes a funny noise, the other copies even louder. Then the first one, not going to be out-done, responds even louder. Not to be under-done by the second...I can't even scream loud enough to get their attention. (Not that I've tried. Of course. Ahem.)

5. Ella Beth's sassy three-year-old attitude. Hands on her hips. Testing her limits in action and in word.

4. Landon not using his words. The boy can talk, but the boy likes to point and "uh, uh, uh." Oh My Word. Just tell me what you want b/c when I don't understand "uh, uh, uh" and don't do the right thing...I seriously have little patience to want to figure out what "uh, uh, uh" means after the FIFTH try!

3. The "I want Daddy" when I don't get my way from Mama. Give me a break!

2. The messes everywhere. I vacuum; they eat. I pick up toys; they drag everything out. I vacuum; they eat. I fold and put away laundry; Ella Beth goes through her entire wardrobe and leaves it on the bedroom floor. I vacuum; they eat.

1. They fight constantly. It just won't stop. Ella Beth takes something away from Landon; Landon screams. Ella Beth lays down to read a book; Landon tackles her and Ella Beth screams. Landon is playing on Ella Beth's bed; she pushes him off; Landon pulls her hair; lots of screaming. Landon says, "Uh oh" three times in a row; Ella Beth yells, "stop saying Uh oh!"; Landon says, "Uh oh."

(#1 is really never-ending. I do see how they love each other, and they can play well together when [Ella Beth] wants to. However, our current stage is play well together seldomly and fight OFTEN.)

Whew...I can feel my blood pressure rising just proofing this post!

My kiddos, they are a growin'

It's official :: My kiddos are growing! Of course, they are growing at their own rate...but they are growing nonetheless. :)

We took Ella Beth and Landon today for their 3 year and 18 month appointments. The kiddos did great, and we heard nothing but positive things about them and their health! This is a FIRST for us, and we went out for ice cream afterward to celebrate!!!

 

Ella Beth weighed in at 26 lbs even, and is 35 3/4 inches. "Touching" the chart for weight, and 8th percentile for height!!! She's touching the chart! Her little dot actually bumps up against the chart. We are so proud. :)

 

Landon weighed in at 21 lbs, 9 oz; he is 32 inches. He, too, is "touching" the chart! His little dot came up a lot since his 1 year appointment -- it's definitely from all that bread that the boy eats! He is somewhere between the 25-50 percentile for height. Mommy is thankful to hear that, and continues to pray that he will get height from the Castleberry side of the family. :)

It really was such a blessing to take both of our kiddos to the doctor for Well Visits. Together. We are so thankful that Ella Beth and Landon are doing well and are thriving. After such a scary start to this year, we can truly appreciate having our family healthy.

I sure do love these two!

Are they twins?

I can not tell you how many times in the last two weeks that I have been asked if Ella Beth and Landon are twins. In this picture, you can clearly see that Ella Beth is taller than Landon...but not by much any more. When our kids are in the stroller (as in today when I was asked 3 times while we were at the outlets) or last week when our kids were riding in the kart behind my bike, it is very hard to tell that they are not the same size.

Pretty soon, it's going to be impossible for us to convince people that they aren't twins because little Landon is catching up quickly to his "big" sister.

Love this picture in color, too. :)

Fun in the sun

Can I start off by saying that I really wish I was still on vacation?!?! Ella Beth does, too. When we were packing up to leave HHI yesterday, she started to cry and said, "I don't want to leave. I want to stay on vacation forever." Don't we all. ;)

We had an absolutely wonderful week. Scott's parents and my mom went with us...and let me just say that I don't foresee us doing any long vacationing without the grandparents in tow! It was a lot of work (back and forth to the beach...with all that STUFF), and it was an added blessing to have extra hands. Not to mention that Ella Beth and Landon love their Mimi, Nana, and Papa; they had lots of love showered on them non-stop for a full week.

Without any further ado, here are some (read: lots) of pictures. :)

--

Our rides to the beach. Our condo was right off the beach, but with four little legs and tons of stuff to bring down, two bikes and two karts made our hike to the beach much easier.

 

Landon's favorite beach activity was playing with his bucket and shovel. He would carry them everywhere, dig, pour water, you name it!

 

The boy also loves bubbles!

 

Mama loves the boy's backside. (Yes, his shorts kept falling down...so we just rolled them, tag and all!)

 

Ella Beth and Landon playing together. Nicely. Made my day.

Love these shots

 

 

We found a few starfish; Ella Beth wasn't too sure about them, but Landon was fascinated.

 

Mommy got in a couple of photos.

 

 

Scott and Landon feeding the birds. Love how they are doing the same thing!

 

Ella Beth in her polka-dot bathing suit and ponytail.

 

 

Landon running to keep up. Don't forget your bucket!

 

We participated in a turtle race at the condo one afternoon. Both kiddos had a blast!

 

 

 

One (pretty) nice family shot.

 

And, my favorites from the week.

 

Now that may seem like too many a lot of pictures for one post, but I assure you that this is just a tiny sampling of the hundreds of photos that were taken. 

We are already talking about and looking forward to next year's vacation!