A Subtle Reminder

I was driving Ben to school this morning, after having dropped off Mitchell and Claire at Suzi's house, and he reminded me of something.

I was frustrated already, because in my rush to get out the door this morning I had forgotten the diaper bag, so I had to make an extra trip to Suzi's house. I was driving on a road that had a speed limit of 45, and the person in front of me was driving at 35 MPH, much to my agitation. I did what I usually do in that situation- talked to myself (since the driver of the other car can't hear me), and said, "The speed limit is FORTY FIVE. FORTY FIVE people. Come ON!!!"

Ben, from the far back seat of the car, very quietly said, "Mom, you don't have to get mad."
Me: "What did you say buddy?"
Ben: "You don't have to get mad. It doesn't matter."
Me: "I know, but it's really frustrating."
Ben: "Mom, it doesn't matter if you're driving, it doesn't matter if you have enough money or not, it doesn't matter if you have a house or not, what matters is that you have a family. What matters is if your family is good or not."

My frustration immediately died.

Ben is spot on. Nothing that frustrates us in a given day really matters, unless we lose sight of what's really important in our lives. I thank my Heavenly Father for the real blessings in my life- my husband, my children, all of our extended family, and friends who give us such support and love.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Two observations tonight. First, I have extremely intelligent children- almost too smart for their own good sometimes! Second, that they are also very strong willed sales people.

One example: a conversation that I had with Claire tonight. She had been using potty words (like poo), and I had to put a little hot sauce on her tongue to remind her that was not acceptable. After this, she cried and screamed ( despite the drink of milk and piece of bread to put out the imagined flames). Later in the evening, I had to remind her once again the consequences of using that type of language. She responded, "Mom, time out is worse than hot sauce. Really. I scream and cry every time! You should put me in time out instead." This clued me in to the fact that I truly had found the right thing to persuade her to behave.

Ben is the same way! He has been grounded from chewing gum until June, because he's taken to spitting it out in odd places, like the bathroom floor, or the back seat of the car. When I reminded him of the fact that he was grounded, he said, "Mom, you seriously think you'll remember that for that long? I'm only six, and I can't even remember what happened last month. What happens if you forget?"

I love it when I get to hear their minds working. :)

Welcome to 2012!

A few days before Christmas, our family was watching Elf, and Ben's wheels started turning at the part where Santa tells Buddy that some people don't believe in Santa, and that "There's a rumor going around that it's the parents."

Buddy: "That's impossible- parents couldn't do all that in one night!"

Shortly after, he said, "Mom, is it really the parents?"
I asked, "Well, do YOU think Dad and I could do all that in one night?"
Ben's response was, "No. I think Santa really is real." And that was the end of the conversation.

Last week, Ben lost a tooth. I told him that if his tooth wasn't under his pillow, the Tooth Fairy couldn't come and give him money for it.

Ben: "Mom, are you the tooth fairy?"
Me: "Ben, why would I want your lost teeth?"
Ben: "Well, it just doesn't make sense. How does she get under my pillow?"
Me: (thinking fast) "She has a force field. That way she doesn't get squished!"

Ben caught Josh in a secret yesterday, after the Easter Bunny came.

Josh: "Wow, these are really great squirt guns!! Daddy did a good job. . . I mean, the Easter Bunny did a good job on them, didn't he?"

Ben: "I caught you, Dad! You just told the secret!"

Then, this morning, Claire asked if she could go see the Easter Bunny. I told her she could when she is ten. Ben got all sorts of excited, and asked if he could meet the Easter Bunny too, and Santa too, when he is ten. . . It makes me a little sad that Ben's already starting to question things like this. The good thing is he's got a very active imagination, and he's sharp as a tack!

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Claire's animals have started marrying each other. And she's pretty worried about who she's going to marry, too.

Claire: "Mom, my Dottie is a boy, and Ben's Blackie is a girl, and they are married. And my Cookie is a girl, and my Tiger (side note: Tiger is actually a lion) is a girl, and they are married."

Claire: "Mom, I'm gonna marry Dad when I get big."
Me: "I already married Dad, so you'll have to find someone like Dad instead." :)

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Mitchell has learned to use leverage to get himself where he wants to be. Whether it's a fist full of carpet and a push from his foot, or grabbing the couch or laundry basket that's close by to pull him around- he is now officially mobile! And so stinkin' cute, I just can't stand it!!