Growing with Your Children

Several times this past year, I have felt like I am at my wits’ end with the kids. I began to have suspicions that it had something to do with not adjusting my parenting as they grew older.

For four years straight, I would annually create new charts for chores, school schedule and consequences according to their personalities, struggles, and abilities. But the past two years have been such an upheaval, that I never got around to it and thought that it would be okay if I skipped a year. I missed it again at the beginning of the year. I was paying for it.

A few weeks ago Ricky watched the kids one day and let me regroup. I made three new charts for chores, screentime rules, and consequences. They have really helped bring me some order, relief, and peace. Kids need age-appropriate expectations.

I won’t be skipping next year!

Revolving Doors

• April: We had lots of guests, dinners and cookouts, taxes, our birthdays, annual cabin adventure with friends, and my mom coming to help us prepare for our 8-week trip around North Carolina (and a little into South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky).
• Ricky’s social media posts will have to do for our recent 8-week trip around North Carolina: Instagram and YouTube. I need to upload the pictures from Instagram of our trip because we took most of the pictures Ricky’s phone, which died during the trip.
• Last week of June: My mom helped us unpack and get settled; a friend watched the baby while we all went to see Aladdin; Ricky taught VBS at a local church; we had three other appointments and four parties, including a moving party as our church finally got to move into its building (after meeting in a high school for 18 years)!
• Raphael's romps: His vocabulary is beginning and growing! First words (not in order) — no, stop, don’t, wawa (water), nunna (he calls all food banana), mama, dada, whoa, duhdoh (all animals are dogdog),wats dat?, meme (Mommy’s milk supply), bawl (ball), buh (bug), book (but the ‘k’ is silent)...

• School verses: Micaiah -- Psalm 23:5-6, Joshua 1:9, Matthew 7:7, John 14:6, John 13:34, Philippians 2:14-15, Psalm 119:11 ; Aolani — Acts 17:25, Matthew 6:20-21, Matthew 6:31-34, Mark 12:30-31
• Verses I memorized: 2 Chronicles 7:14, Matthew 28:19-20, Rev 1:5-8, Isaiah 50:4-5, Titus 3:3-7
•  Trip quote log:

“Mommy, can I bring my whole Lego bin... my whole big Lego bin? Can I Mommy? Can I bring that?” Micaiah 

“Her face talks.” friend MJ, about Aolani. 

"Is this Florida?" Micaiah

"Mommy, I think me and Micaiah got Daddy’s silly genes and not your serious genes." Aolani 

"Daddy, I think I’m going to be a smart butt. I don’t know that I am, but I think I am." Micaiah

“All I heard in the car was [crunch] [crunch] [crunch] [crunch].” Aolani

“Mommy, do you know what day it is?” Micaiah “Is it the day I die?” Aidan (wishfully)

“That’s my daddy. He’s hilarious.” Aolani 

“You’re trying to make Alli [our friend] lose her brain.” Micaiah  

"Have you ever killed anyone, Ms. M?” Aolani 

“I’m becoming a night owl, but I don’t want to. I’m trying to stop.” Micaiah 

"Daddy, I know where everyone is going to sleep, okay? I got sleeping rituals." Aolani 

“I’m about as tall as collegers. People that go to school are short. People that do school at home are tall.” Micaiah

"I’m a good forest doctor." Aolani 

“I can’t wait till a robber comes to our house.” Micaiah

"Daddy, does bargain mean you don’t want to listen and you wanna throw up? That’s what Micaiah said." Aolani 

“Now I know it doesn’t take two people to lift those blueberries.” friend MB

“Every time I wake up in the morning and I watch TV, I don’t like it. I get lazy.” Micaiah 

"My real name is just too hard. You can call me Lizzy.” Aolani 

"I’m a grown-up boy, Daddy. I don’t like watching TV, I’m picking up, I'm obeying, and I get my sleep. Watching TV gets me bored." Micaiah 

"Did you get Micaiah’s diaper bag?" friend MB

“This guy—he’s a later.” Aolani 

"I love watching his little feet run." Micaiah 

"You mean, I can do that (kick someone in the nuts) when someone robs me? Aolani "Yeah." Daddy "I can’t wait until someone robs me." Aolani 

"You guys are such good parents." Micaiah 

"Mommy’s breath smells like strawberries. Your breath smells like a wrap with pickles that’s been overcooked." Aolani

"It’s just life, Daddy. It’s just life." Micaiah, on losing his thumbuster AGAIN 

"Places that end in 'world' are way better than places that end in 'land'." Aolani