Best Christmas Presents

Well, it's been over a month since Christmas and all the lousy gifts are lost and the kids haven't gone looking for them.  A few really great gifts are still around.  Which ones are they?  Here's my list.

1.  Alex Water Flute:  These things are awesome.  The best thing is, they stay in the bath tub so they're not cluttering up the house.  No, I'm kidding, that's not the best thing.  It is up there though.  They're really great. You can fill each one to a certain note and the kids can play songs on them.  They're fairly pitch-accurate (which my husband with perfect pitch appreciates) and they really sound kind of pretty.  Not gonna lie...I play with these myself.  They also come with song cards which will be great when my 2.5 year old is more like...8.  This is a long-term toy.  They're well made and I think they'll last until then too.

2. Hand-Me-Down Lego Train Set: My husband grew up playing with a Lego (the big Legos, not the little choking hazard ones) train set.  It has the tracks and the train and people and TONS of blocks.  It's been sitting in our garage and then in our basement and has been through all manner of disgustingness in the past five years.  Three days before Christmas, we pulled them out and threw them in a tub of bleach water to get out all of the grossness, wrapped them up, and gave them to my 16 month old.  LOVE at first sight!  Plus, she and my 2.5 year old can both play with them.  This is yet another toy that will grow with them for years and BONUS...it was free!  :)

3.  BOOKS!  My girls LOVE books.  They got several for Christmas and they are NOT lost.  It's so nice to have more books to mix in the, "read this one again, Mamma  mix!  My favorite that they got is Madeline.  Fun fact:  Did you know that Madeline was published in 1939?  And it's still a totally awesome book.  

4. Little Hoover: This puppy gets pulled out every time I'm vacuuming.  It lights up, makes sound (loud enough to convince the kid it's running, but quiet enough to not be terribly annoying), and has a hose and tools.  The tools fall out, but other than that, it's great.  Plus, I got it at a consignment sale for a whopping $5.  Yes, please!  I can't find a link to the one I have, but it's so cool too because it looks so realistic.  Not pink, no smiley faces, just a regular, blue Hoover.  Just like mine.  

And that's really it.  Clothes are great and the girls got a couple crocheted hats that I LOVE, but as far as toys go, those were the winners this year.  Not to say they don't appreciate and even play with the other things they got (toy phones were a bit of a hit), but these are the things that have really stood out as favorites.  Hope that helps all you mommies for next year!

Oh wait!!  I forgot one!!

This is probably the biggest favorite!  The girls ask to watch it at least once a day (I do limit it to only watching it once a day, but they may ask for it multiple times!) and it is full of great songs about Jesus!  Is it a little annoying?  Yes.  Is it as annoying as other kids shows?  Nope!  I really like most of the songs it's just the kids and the Donut Man that are a bit annoying, but my girls LOVE it and I love that they're learning about Jesus and His love.

Being a SAHM is Hard

Being a stay at home mom is hard.  And sometimes, I just need a break.  This morning, I had the joy of scanning in (with a new scanner that I've never used before) all of our documentation for Medi-Share and emailing it to them.  In the mean time, my girls were getting hungrier and grumpier.  H ended up in a screaming time-out for lying.

She told me she didn't have anything in her mouth.  I didn't even ask if she had anything in there.  Just just volunteered the lie.

Five minutes later, I notice her turning something over in her mouth. It was a rock.  A rock she didn't want me to know about.

So she sat in time out...screaming mad.  I went in after a few minutes and went through the whole process and talked her through why we don't lie and how God wants us to be honest.  She said she was sorry and prayed and told God she was sorry.  I thought it went really well.

I closed with, "I love you, H."  And she replied with that cute little sly smile,

"I don't love you."

"That's not very nice, H.  I know you're teasing, but that's not a very nice thing to tease about."

No response.

"H, can you be nice to Mommy?  Mommy loves you."

No response.

"Okay, fine.  Come see me when you're ready to be nice."

And I walked out.  And the crying began again.  (Hers, not mine.)

So...I know that probably wasn't a good way to handle things.  I'm not perfect; I can admit it.  Eventually, she came out and said she was ready to be nice and told me she loved me.  The whole thing was ridiculous since I knew she was just teasing, but I just don't want not loving someone to be something we tease about.

(And then...I wasn't able to finish this blog.  So the rest of this is written the next morning.)

All this and we hadn't even had breakfast yet.  During all three meals yesterday, I was reminded of the line from A Christmas Story where Ralphie says, "My mother had not had a hot meal to herself in fifteen years."  Okay, so it hasn't been fifteen years for me, but probably two.  I really wonder if I'll ever have one (when I'm not out on a date with Brian) ever again.

I can think of several other stories to tell about my great day yesterday, but I'll spare you.  That's not the point of this anyway.  The point is, while I was making lunch, I was thinking about how hard this is.  I often have a chiding voice - Satan's voice - pop into my head while I'm feeling sorry for myself that says, "You said you wanted this life."  It's a condemning voice.  Usually I just ignore it, but yesterday was pretty bad.  I found myself thinking,

"But I didn't know what I was getting into!"

And that thought was enough to pull me out of my funk.  Of course I didn't know what I was getting into!  No one does!  But you know what?

I wouldn't trade it for the world!