The difference between boys and girls...

Okay, not the obvious difference. But, I have already experienced what will be a major difference between my son and daughter - the willingness to do homework (at least if it involves coloring). Camon made it through the first three days of kindergarten without a homework assignment. Last night, he told me that he had some homework to do and it was to be returned today. So, as soon as we got home, I sat him at the table and opened his homework folder. Isabelle wanted "homework" too. So, I got her a coloring sheet and wrote her name real big at the top. Camon's assignment seemed easy enough. He had to answer 4 questions about himself for a show-and-tell project today. He answered them easily and even wrote the answers in by himself (with a little spelling help from mom). However, he expected that to be the end. But, the rest of the directions said to color the pictures under the sentences. Maybe I need to back up to Wednesday when he told me that he loved school, but hated art. He said he did not like to draw or color, that was so boring. This is my child that will take a coloring book into church, and flip through looking at the pages quietly the whole service but never open the crayon box. So, this was no surprise to me. What was a surprise was how much he REALLY HATES to COLOR! The assignment that should have been completed in 5 minutes, took him 45 with all of the complaining. He hated coloring, it was too hard, he couldn't stay in the lines, it took too long to color a picture, the list goes on and on. About 20 minutes into this session, the teacher in me was saying in my head, "I want him to like homework. Keep homework fun. Homework is a necessity. Never say "can't". You can do it." However, the irritated, frustrated, impatient mother in me was fighting that teacher mentality pretty hard. I was proud of myself though. I was a calm, encourager. But, the funniest part was when Isabelle was finished with 2 coloring pages and she looked at Camon and said, "Just give it to me, and let me color it." To which I of course responded, "No. It is his work and he is going to do it." And Camon then responded, "But, wouldn't that be much easier Mom." After 45 minutes, he finally had it colored. But, I am convinced that it is going to be a long road with him. Maybe coloring will be outlawed in schools soon and I think he will be fine with the reading, writing, and arithmetic. But, until then I think our homework days are going to be tiresome.

My second child....

No, I have not forgotten that I have another child. I decided that I needed to post something about her, so that no one thinks she is the neglected child. It is just such a big week for Camon and he has sort of taken the spotlight. I thought that I would share a few things that Isabelle has said over the past few weeks...

"Mommy, we are watching Aspirin." - they were watching Casper

With suitcase in tow, "Bye-bye momma, I am going to Alaska. See you soon!". - I can not say that I blame her, 50 degrees sure sounds nice right now considering that it has been at least 95 degrees here for the past month. But, Alaska? Where did that come from?

This weekend, she came into the laundry room where I was loading the washer. And she said, "Momma, your house is dirty, AGAIN!" Nevemind that most of the things laying around are hers and most of the things that are strown that are not hers were strown by her, and the 4 pair of flip-flops laying around are hers. Let's see can I blame her for the DUST???? Sure - her stuff was in the way and so I could not dust or mop!!!!

While singing the song "B-I-B-L-E" she said "The B-I-B-L-E, yes that's the book for me. I stand outside with my mouth open wide." Which for those of you who do not know that is 2 different songs. The later part comes from a song about rain-drops. She just sings to her own lyrics. She does the same thing with "J-E-S-U-S, and Bingo was his name O".

Last night, she came in the living room in her dress and flip-flops (her standard everyday outfit), with a purse and big pink sunglasses on. She walked up to me and announced, "I am going on a Bacation (vacation)." "Really, that sounds like fun. Where are you going?" I asked. To which she responded, "Truly, I do not know." TRULY? Where did she get that from?

And last but not least, my favorite Isabelle thought for the week. She was explaining a new teacher from her school to her daddy. She said, "She is old. She has scratches on her face like Mawmaw." It took us a while but we finally realized that those "scratches" she was talking about are actually wrinkles.

The excitement is gone!

Camon has already lost his excitement about school. He did not tell me much about his day (even though I asked about 50 times). He said that he did not get any "sticks" on his chart. This is the way that the teacher disciplines. Each stick is an offense with different punishments - Camon can tell you all about the rules, which surprises me that he even listened. But, he also said that he did not get a sticker. Which is set aside for the children who were perfect that day. I asked him what he did and he kept saying "Nothing." Of course a mom's first reaction is - "My poor baby his friends got a sticker and he didn't, why doesn't the teacher like him?" Then reality set in and I continues asking what he did. And then finally, he said "Well, maybe I was a little bad." Come to find out, he was talking to his friends during nap time. Does this surprise me? No way! He has not taken a nap willingly in his entire life. I finally gave up trying to make him about 2 years ago. Anyway, so I guess that it is not too bad, since he did not get a stick over the incident. Last night when I told him to go take his shower and get ready for bed because he had school the next morning. He replied, "I do not want to go to school. It is boring." I thought oh no, not already. I said "Why?" And his response was "Because, all they do is teach!" Well, get used to it son, that is sort of the whole point of school. Hopefully, this is not the start of a long 13 plus years.

We survived!

Well, Camon had a great first day. When I got home, I asked him to tell me about his day. He said that they watched a movie and played outside on the playground. He said that it was so much fun. Little does he know that everyday will not be that way. He made a friend named Jordan and talked about a little girl who had lost a tooth, but could not remember her name. Clint picked him up that afternoon and said that Camon thought all of the school buses were cool. (He wouldn't think that after riding on it for 10 minutes in 100 degree temperature.) He said he had homework, but when I looked in his backpack, it was MY Homework. I spent at least an hour filling out paperwork that asked the same questions over and over. Oh, I guess that I should not be complaining about homework - that will set a bad example!!! When he got ready for bed, he asked if he had school again tomorrow. When I told him that he did, he said "YES!!!!" I hope that this excitement continues!!

Anyway, his second day went very smoothly. No tears at all from either of us! I was so BIG! Yesterday, we did not take Isabelle to drop him off, because I knew that my tears would only encourage hers. And, she has been crying for the last 3 weeks EVERYTIME that she goes to pre-school. I do not mean a little cry. She starts wining when we leave my house and does that the entire 30 minute drive. I think that I heard "I don't wanna go to school" 1000 times yesterday morning. Along with a few additional "I can go to your work. I will just stand there beside you." And then, when we get to pre-school, she breaks into a full fledged yelling cry. I figured that it was probably because she knew that Camon was going to be leaving her school soon. So, today I tried to let her go with me to see his school. She was perfect. She talked to his teacher, looked in his classroom, kissed him good-bye and we left. On the way to the truck, she said, " I like Bubba's new school." And then when we got in the truck, she said, "Momma, I am ready to go to my school now." And she never made another sound about not wanting to go. I thought it was too good to be true, until we got there and sure enough she kissed me and went straight in the classroom. I guess she has just been worried about how Camon was doing and where he was going. They are so protective of each other. I just hope they keep up the affection and the good morning attitudes. It sure makes my mornings go smoother.

CAMON'S FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!!!!!!!

Well, I survived Camon's first day. There were no tears - on Camon's face, that is. He was so big. On the other hand, I was the ONLY mother standing in the classroom who was unable to control the tears. It all started when I cried myself to sleep last night thinking about my baby boy. I kept thinking that it can not be almost 6 years since he was born... But, it has been and now he is a big Kindergartner!!!! This morning he got ready without complaints. We took a few pictures of him and loaded his backpack with school supplies. As we were loading it, I gave him his folders and he said," Oh no! I know what this means. Homework! I hate homework!". I have a feeling that this is going to be a long 13 years for him, considering that he has never had homework, yet already hates it. I explained that he would get out of school at 3:00 which is earlier than he has been getting out of preschool, 5:00. That excited him. He told me, "I will be counting the hours. One, Two, Three.". I did not bother to explain to him that there would be 8,9,10,11, and 12 before he even got to 1. The ride to school went smoothly. He seemed excited. Then we got to school and found out where his classroom was. As we were walking to the class holding hands and Dad following close behind, he looked up at me and said, "I'm nervous." "Why?" I asked. He said, " I always get nervous when I am around people that I do not know." There came the tears, my tears. I could not help but think about all of the people that would now be in his world, that I probably will not ever know. The teachers, students, lunch workers, principal, secretary, and the list goes on. Don't get me wrong, I intend to be very involved at the school, but on a daily basis he will come into contact with a lot of people that will have a lot of influence. I only pray that they are Christian influences. I stopped, wiped my tears and continued on to the classroom. As soon as the door opened and I saw his teacher, I cried again. Camon asked me why I was crying and all I could say was, "Because, I love you so much!" He went in, found his cubbie, hung his backpack, and found a seat at the table to play with the blocks. I kissed him, his daddy kissed him, and then we walked out. He never cried, hallelujah! I just hope that tomorrow, mommy can be BIG! As I drove away, I began to think about how I wished that he would never grow up. Never tire of our kisses, never want to move out of our house, and always think that we know what is best for him. But then I began to pray and soon realized that he is not MINE to Keep! He belongs to a Heavenly Father who gave him to me for a short while. If I "kept" him small, he may never be the man that God made him to be. There is a purpose for his life, and God knows what that is. I am just privileged enough to raise and teach him the way to go (or at least do my best to). And part of that is letting him grow up to become the person that God intends him to be. I can just leave it to God take care of him for me. There is no better guardian!!! So Kindergarten, here he is be gentle with him. He may be growing up, but he will always be my little baby!!!!

Get it over with

Well, today is Camon's last day at Preschool. It actually was one of the smoothest mornings that we have ever had getting ready for school. The only flaw was that on the way, Isabelle was wining about not wanting to go to school and Camon said, "I want to go mama." I said, "See, Bubba is excited about school today." To which he responded, "Not really, but I know I have to do it, so I just want to go and get it over with." That was not the encouragement that I wanted him to give, but hey he was being honest.
I was proud, there were no tears, UNTIL... I got in the car and the first song that came on was a new Kenney Chesney song, "Don't Blink". It was talking about how fast time flies and how you need to be careful not to miss anything. Thanks a lot Kenney! I was doing fine without that! But, of course I cried all the way to work. I am so not looking forward to next week. But as Camon said, "I know I have to do it, so I just want to go and get it over with."

The baby talk...

Isabelle and I had an interesting conversation last night. It started innocent enough, and I guess I asked for it by my response. Isabelle asked if she had flown in an airplane before. I told her no. To which she replied, "Yes I did, when I was a baby.". I thought about it and decided that technically, she did. However, I was only about 2 weeks pregnant with her and of course did not know about her until several weeks after the trip. So, I unfortunately said, "Well, you did but you were in my belly and I did not even know that you were there yet." So, we went into "why didn't you know I was there", and then "didn't I kick you", and "wasn't your belly fat"? But then of course, "How did I get there?" I gave the traditional, God put you there. But, that doesn't work for her. "How did he get me in there?" and "Did the doctor have to put you to sleep to get me out?" "But, why?" And on and on for what seemed like forever. I was able to avoid most of the questions. And after at least 15 minutes, we got to the question that she really wanted to ask... "But, when I came out, I was soooooooooo cute. Was I?" That's my Belle-Belle!

Forget a College Fund - We need a Dental Fund

Well, last month my daughter managed to wipe out the bank account by having some major dental work done. However, I was so proud that at almost 6 years old, Camon has had no cavities (it probably has something to do with the fact that the child has no desire for sweets, but I would like to think it has to do with us taking care of his teeth). However, this weekend he discovered something "sharp" in his mouth. Much to my surprise, it is a HUGE permanent tooth growing behind his baby teeth. I must add that those baby teeth are not loose at all. So, while he may have clean teeth, I think that his fortune will be spent on braces!!!!

SIX days until Kindergarten!!!!! His cousin Aaron started yesterday and told him how COOL it was. So, he is excited about starting. I am glad he is - I have already cried twice this week. It is going to be a long couple of weeks.

What can she get into today?????

As most of you know, I have two children (two children with very different personalities). One of which is very mischievous. I bet you can not tell which one that is from these pictures....
These were taken on Saturday morning. I was doing laundry and realized that she was awfully quiet... and, that is never good. So, I went to the bathroom and began taking a series of pictures: her pouring water into her tea set from my bathtub, her trying on my shoes, her digging in my vanity for make-up and jewelry, and then as you can see her dipping a water bottle in the toilet (which was full of toilet paper, might I add). For the record, I took a quick picture and then immediately scrubbed her down and lectured her about how nasty toilets are (I wanted to be sure that no one thought I encourage this behavior). On the other hand, her older brother was quietly sitting in the recliner watching his Saturday morning cartoons. As I watched this play out, I thought back to some of the other things that Isabelle has gotten into over her short three years of life...

From the time she could crawl, I had to shut all doors and watch her every move. One day when she had first learned to walk, I needed to do dishes. Which seems like no problem, unless you have an Isabelle in the house who climbs into the dishwasher 400 times while you are trying to load it. Well, the kids were preoccupied with toys in my bedroom floor and all doors were shut to the bathrooms, so I decided to take that opportunity to load the dishwasher. I seemed to forget that Camon was big enough to open doors and of course had to potty. When he went in my bathroom, so did she. About 3 minutes into loading, I heard her coming down the hall. I turned around, to see that her pajamas were covered in pink drool, and she was steadily chewing and leaking this pink stuff out of her mouth. I panicked and ran to the bathroom to find a drawer open and an entire pack of Rolaids (paper, foil and all) chewed up. I called poison control - for the first time. The second time that I called, she had taken a bite of an Electrasol tablet from under the kitchen sink. And the third time (luckily she was at my in-laws and the call cam from that number this time) she had climbed up on my mother-in-laws toilet and gotten her fiber pills from the medicine cabinet. As you can see, she survived all three incidents, but I am so afraid that I am going to be turned in one of these days for neglect.

Then, one day I was taking a bath and had to lock her in the bathroom with me so that I could keep a constant eye on her - well except for that 2 minutes that I put my head under the faucet to rinse my hair. When I looked up, she had gotten into my feminine products and had a maxi pad stuck to her shirt and a tampon string hanging out of her mouth. I wish I would have had a camera to embarrass her in the future, but I think this blog will do the trick.

Then, there was this time that we were out eating with my sister and her family. Isabelle was sitting by Clint and then Me and Camon. Camon had to go to the bathroom and so I asked Clint "Do you want to take him, or watch her?" Of course who in their right mind would choose the trip to the bathroom, but this time he chose the worse of the two. Camon and I were in the stall and all of a sudden, I see these 2 little hands and a head pop under the door. Yes, they belonged to my 2 year old daughter. The very one that I left for her daddy to "watch". We finished up and returned to the table. Where he and my sister tried to play it cool, like they knew where she was all along. However, when the truth came out, Isabelle had left the table, walked through the restaurant, and opened a heavy door into the bathroom without any of the 3 adults seeing her leave. Then, they panicked and one of them ran to the front to be sure that she wasn't in the parking lot and Clint ran through the restaurant and to the kitchen to be sure that she was not in there. Finally my sister poked her head in the restroom and saw her in there and so they sat down and acted like they knew right where she was all along.

Then this past Saturday afternoon, she went outside to play. Clint was out there and so I assumed that he knew she came out. A little while later, I heard the door open and Camon went out as well. When I looked outside a few minutes later to check on them, I did not see them anywhere. I asked Clint where they were, and guess what - he did not know. I called my in-laws next door, because they are famous for seeing them outside and going over there without asking. But, of course they had not seen them. So, I started to panic. For those of you who do not know, we live on a good bit of land and our house sits pretty far off of the road. However, that road has a speed limit of 60 mph. As I began to look all over, I see this red shirt AT THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY!!! Sure enough, it was my two angels. They are smart enough to know not to go in the road, but they were too close for Mom. They turned to come to the house and I went out to meet them. After a little bit of "explaining" about the dangers of the road. I asked what they were doing. Camon said that he came outside and saw her going to the road and went to get her. When I asked her why she went that far, she said that she was chasing a butterfly.

So, now that you think I am a terrible mother. I will stop with the stories. I actually do watch my children closely, but when you have an Isabelle in your house sometimes you just do not have enough eyes and never enough locks. There is never a dull moment with her around.

Camon's Phone Conversations

Well, Camon is back from his chocolate-land adventure. He had a blast and has told us all about their adventures. While he was away, I talked to him every night, and some of those conversations were quite interesting...

Me: So, how was the plane ride?
Camon: It was COOL! It went really fast at first, but when we got in the air it went soooooo slow.
Me: Well, it was really going super fast, it just seemed slow.
Camon: That is what Mimi said, too. But, I think y'all are crazy.

After about 10 minutes of him telling me about his day, he said "Well, How's Dad been doin'?" For a minute, I had to stop and think..."Is this my grown son calling from college to check on us, or is this just my 5 year old?"

Me: "Did you and Jordan ride the rides by yourself, or did Mimi and Deda ride too?"
Camon: "They rode some of them, but Deda is a big chicken."

My parents bought them disposable camera's to take their own pictures.
So, I asked him, "Have you been taking a lot of pictures so that I can see all of the places that you have been?"
Camon: "Yes, I have taken pictures, but you can not see them."
Me: "Why not?" (thinking that he was being stingy with his experience and did not care to share the pictures)
Camon: "You just can not see them. There is not a screen on the camera."
... It never occurred to me that my children would not know about camera's with film that you had to take to have developed.

He is back now, safe and sound and full of stories to tell. I think Camon looks a whole year older after being gone a week, and I know his conversations have aged. I guess that I have to face the fact, my baby boy is now my little man.

And, while Isabelle enjoyed the time to herself, she was extremely glad to have her Bubba home again. I asked her if her cousin Aaron kept her company while Camon was gone and she said, "Yes. I like to play with boys now." I am not so sure her daddy likes that idea too much.

11 days until kindergarten.

And Isabelle moves on...

Well, we are now on the second day, and I think Isabelle is beginning to decide that being the only child once in a while is not such a bad thing. Of course, I think that her dad and I have a little to do with that. Not that we are better company than her big brother, but we sort of spoil her to make up for his absence. She has gotten to sleep with momma and daddy, get an ICEE on the way home from school, get candy whenever she asks (which she is usually limited on), swing on the "monkey swing" without sharing the time, watch whatever "girly" movie she wants to, read the bedtime story of her choosing, spend the night with Pawpaw and Mawmaw, play with her cousin Aaron (who otherwise refuses to pay her any attention when Camon is around, because she is a girl) and of course, talk as much as she wants without her brother's interruption. And, she still has 3 days to go. Plus, I will be gone this weekend, and there is no telling what she and her daddy will get away with while I am gone. So, I think that she will be able to survive her brother being gone (at least for a little while...)

Question for the day!

"Where is Bubba?"
I think that I have heard this question 400 times between last night and this morning. Isabelle knows the answer to this, of course, he is in Pennsylvania. She is not asking this because she does not know this, but rather, she is hoping that the 5 days that he will be gone is already over. So, her next question is "Are we going to get him yet?" It is great to have children that are so close, but can also be a problem when they are apart. This summer they have only gone to daycare 2 days a week and so they have spent ALOT of time together. I am beginning to think that this was not a good idea. Especially considering that for the first time they will be attending different schools. Not only is this kindergarten deal going to be hard on mom, but I am afraid that the separation from each other will be more difficult. Oh well! I guess that I should just be thankful that they love each other like they do. Who knows how long before they change their minds about that...

Camon's Pre-Kindergarten Trip

Well, it is now 19 days until Camon starts kindergarten. His Deda and Mimi are taking him and his cousin, Jordan, on a pre-kindergarten trip. Yes, you heard that right - maybe they will keep up the generosity and offer him a car when he turns 16. Anyway, they are leaving this afternoon and flying to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. From there they are going to Hershey (as in CHOCOLATE-land). He flew with me to San Diego when he was 18 months, but of course does not remember that trip. So, to him this is his first flight. They just called from the airport to tell me that the trip was already an adventure.

First, Jordan refused to take her backpack off at the security check-in because her momma told her not to let it out of her sight. So, Mimi had to convince her that it was okay this one time and that she couldn't get on the plane without sending it through security.

Then, when they got through security and got to the gate, they were looking out the window at all of the planes, and Camon got a frown on his face. He told my mom, "You lied to me." She thought, what in the world is he talking about? So, he continued, "You told me we were going to fly, but those airplanes have wheels."

Oh boy! Sounds like they are going to have an event-filled trip. I'm jealous!!!!

LITTLE HANDS!

Sunday night after church, we went to eat at IHOP. My children love breakfast food any time of the day. As I was sitting in a booth between the two of them, I began to get everything you could imagine dripped on me. First, Camon's chocolate milk. Then blueberry syrup, egg yolk (because they love RUNNY eggs - yuck!), a little syrup in my hair from Camon's fork, and then of course greasy fingers on my pants from Isabelle's bacon. I found myself thinking, "When will they be big enough to eat without all of this mess?" But then, I stopped and realized that I should cherish these times. Before long, they will not sit in a booth with me - I will be lucky if they will want to be seen in the same restraunt with me. And, so as I prayed that night, I thanked God for those dirty little hands that mean so much to me. Then, I wrote a little poem about their hands. I am no poet, but here goes:

Thank you Lord for dirty hands
That touch my clothes and hair
And leave fingerprints on windows
To prove that they were there

For Camon’s hands that squeeze and shake
As a superhero he becomes
And Isabelle’s hands that twist her hair
As she sucks her tiny left thumb

For needy hands that reach up high
To say “please pick me up”
For hands to hold in happy times
Or whenever things get tough

For loving hands that wrap you up
And squeeze you oh so tight
For frightened hands that grab on yours
And hold with all their might

For caring hands that stretch
From east to west apart
To say “I love you to the moon
And back to my heart”

For growing hands that learn to draw
And write those first little words
And hands that point to show you
All of the spiders, bunnies, and birds

For tiny hands that mysteriously draw
On the furniture and wall
And creative hands that paint or build
A creature oh so tall

For helping hands that pick up toys
And assist in folding clothes
For hands that do those tiny things
For which nobody knows

For careless hands that go astray
In search of something new
For hands to hold and show the way
As mothers often do

For hands that fold in humble prayer
Of thanks to You each day
And joyful hands that clap in glee
To give you all the praise

For precious little hands in which
Great faith so abounds
For silly little hands that reach
To touch a mother’s frown

And thank You for Your guiding hand
That leads me to the light
That lifts me when I stumble
And points me to do right

As their little hands reach out to me
To show them what to do,
I’m steadied, reassured, and loved
As I reach up to You