To Mothers of the Rising Generation

So I was just thinking, which is something I do...

My little 17 month old has learned how to throw fits when she doesn't get what she wants. In other words, she's a toddler. Duh. But despite her efforts, which I attribute partially to her older sister (who is the master fit-thrower), she doesn't win very easily. She's still able to be distracted now and again. Other times, I have to let her just fall to the ground and have her screams. It would tear me apart inside had she been the first to do this, but it's kinda old now since Lexi does it MANY times...on a daily basis.

Does this make me a bad parent to let my children throw themselves on the ground and scream?

No, it does not.

Fact is, we all want to do that. We all want our way. But we don't get it. And sometimes, someone is preventing us from doing what we think we want. And usually, it's for the better. We just don't see it. Especially if we are 17 months or 3 years old.

I did not take the job as a mom to create girl friends. If I'm lucky, when they are my age, they will think of me as one of their best friends. But I do not seek for that right now. My job is to raise them to be virtuous women (and when I have sons, righteous priesthood holders) and so sometimes, I have to be the "bad guy". I do not love it. I hate making my kids cry. Does that mean we let them do what they want? NO! (Carissa would definitely have less fingers if I let her play in the utensil holder of the dishwasher, which she so desperately wants to do... ALL THE TIME!)

I look at myself and others my age that I've known for either a long long time, or maybe just a few years, and it is absolutely clear to me that I will continue to put my foot down. I know there were times I felt like my parents were soooooo unreasonable. Like they didn't trust me by telling me "No". By giving me boundaries. Now looking at where I am, I am so grateful for those moments of "suffocation". I hated having to say,"No, I can't go", but I didn't really miss out. I had great LDS and non LDS friends, and when it came down to it, I loved my teenage years. I made so many memories that I will cherish, and all of them kept my standards in tact. And now, looking at where I'm at in life, I couldn't ask for more. My husband is a righteous father and priesthood holder, and I was worthy to be sealed to him for eternity... long before we even met. Neither of us had to change anything we were doing... and that right there makes me grateful to good parents who not only taught the gospel to their kids, but actively lived it! Living the gospel can be fun, and I knew that because I had been doing it since the day I was born.

But some of my friends didn't have parents like me. They were more relaxed. Let them make mistakes and learn from them... yeah... Some even thought my parents were too strict. They were as fearsome as pudding.

Sorry, but it's so much better to miss out on the "popular" choice and wake up knowing you have no regrets than to have to sink so low that true repentance is your only hope. It's not an easy thing, and anyone who makes it seem like it is, is kidding themselves. (that's a touchy subject so we'll just leave it at that.)

I think it's a small sacrifice to deal with my kids thinking I'm "so mean". I'm not stone...I do cave. But not on things that may be harmful to them in the future. (what mom hasn't stopped a public meltdown with sugary snacks?) I'm trying to be the best mom to these girls, not their buddy. Fortunately, even when my girls have a rough day because they chose to scream instead of listen, at the end of the day, they still love me. If I drop the ball, will they still love me when they're teenagers? Young adults? Mothers? I don't know. There are no guarantees in life. But if I don't teach them the right, who will?

I am hugely blessed to have the gospel and know wrong from right. I hope my children can trust me to guide them down the right paths and know that everything I do is because I love them. I don't want them to fall. No good parent does. If they stumble, I'll be there to pick them up, dry their eyes, and wipe the dirt from their knees. It's a daunting job, being a parent in these days. For all you moms out there, just keep chugging along. Don't give up on teaching them how to stand for what is right. Be that firm hand that you know you should be... because if they ever need to reach up for help, it's a lot easier to grab than pudding :-)

Keeping me smiling :-)

So to maintain a bit of sanity, every stay-at-home mom needs to find the humor in life's little situations. Especially when she's about to burst of exhaustion or snap from the backtalking of a little girl. I'm trying hard in that area.

(Okay, it was kind of funny when Lexi woke up screaming at 5:45 the other day, seriously upset because someone had stolen her black panties... I was stinking tired all day, but come on! Dreaming about your underwear being stolen at 3? What kind of dreams is she going to have when she's older???)

Other times, they just naturally make me laugh. I've always thought my kids were smart (what parent doesn't? I mean, honestly...), but they like to remind me here and there.

Example A: I'm vacuuming up broken Goldfish on the carpet with my little handheld dustbuster, passing over the whole ones since Lexi is suppose to be picking them up and putting them back in the bowl. I watch as she pushes one in my direction, but I move on to another area. She picks up said fish, and sets it down near me again, and points at it. I look and say "Oh no, Lexi, I'm just vacuuming up the broken ones." And then I watch her face, understanding what I just said, look down at the fish, and CRUNCH! stepped on the fish... "Ok, it's broken now!"

Example B: I got out my vacuum to tackle the whole downstairs while the girls were suppose to be busy playing. As soon as Lexi saw it, she rushes over to her crayon box, pulls out a long twistable crayon, and yells "I'm going to kill you, monster!" and proceeds to attack the vacuum and the plug while I tried to clean. Feeling her efforts were not quite enough, she grabs another crayon, hands it over to Carissa, and asks for assistance. This continue the entire time, and then when I turned it off, the girls quickly sat on it and put it out of it's misery ;-)

Example C: Ed and Carissa were out in the halls during Sunday School when Carissa ran for the nursery door and started pounding and screaming. A nursery worker heard her and let them come in for a little bit to play. (Carissa had her blanket with her because when it was time to go to church, she was still sleeping and that was the only way I was going to get her out the door, and she wouldn't let go of it when we got there) So she still had it and came and sat down next to Ed while the nursery kids were playing. A young girl came up and grabbed Carissa's blanket and ran away with it, resulting in her crying for it, naturally. BAD MOVE! Lexi heard her cry, looked at the girl, saw the blanket, and yelled "YOU DON'T TAKE CARISSA'S BLANKET!" and pulled on it. She didn't let go, so Lexi jumped onto her, and all out tackled her to the ground to get the blanket back! Meanwhile, a nursery leader saw Lexi laying on top of her, victorious with the blanket in her hand, and pulled them apart. But she didn't care. She had won. She then returned it to her baby sister with a "Here you go, Carissa". Yeah, like she would ever do anything that nice at home... but if it makes me a bad parent to say "That's my girl!" then, so be it!

Example D: We just finished a box of Caprisun juice packs. The empty box has been sitting by the garbage. Then Lexi comes walking into the family room like this:

She thought it was so fun! And so did we :-)

Example E: Carissa's new favorite pose, accompanied with hysterical laughter:

yup, my baby does yoga. Don't even act like you aren't jealous! ;-)

Example F: Lexi has been really into watercolors. I like them because it usually means I get some free time to do something without worrying about what she's up to. As I was cleaning up the kitchen/dining room, I overhear the following conversation, with her hand:

"Oh, look at that pretty picture!"

"Thank you!"

"Good job, Lexi!"

"I'm not Lexi, I'm your hand! Silly!"

And now, as I have been writing this, I've heard Lexi on the monitor saying " Ok, turn and pull... tuuurrnnn and pull!" "Ka-Chow!" and "You get the beeeeest of both worlds! Mix it all together and you know that it's the best of both worlds!"

(and that's just tonight... her quotes vary from night to night. )

Ahhhh, I love my girls.

A Funny Little Something

Have you ever noticed that some people have silly little quirks? Maybe that you are unknowingly drawn to some random thing that you just like. Can't explain it, but it starts to turn into an obsession? Maybe rubs off on those around you, like say, your family? This post is dedicated to one such obsession.

Now most people who know us know the things we like or even like a little too much, with many other people in this vast world who also share that chronic likingness (like my new word??). This isn't one of them. So although Eddie loves all things Star Wars and I used to love all things Tinkerbell,

(curse you, mass over production of my cherished loved cartoon character)..ahem, excuse me... *sniff*

We'll save that can of worms for another post, another day...

we're not talking about this. Any guesses what I'm referring to?

No, probably not.

The Thompson Family likes....

BELLYBUTTONS

It's true. Maybe it's my fault. But in my defense, they are pretty cute, right? Especially on cute little babies. But the other day, I was sitting and thinking..."Hmm we sure talk about bellybuttons more than a normal family does..." while watching this:

We love this song. Lexi will sing it along with Ed and I. It's pretty catching.

A favorite book that has more recently been added to our family library is:

by our favorite kid's author, naturally...

And then there's Lexi, who will tell everyone within earshot the MOMENT she sees a bellybutton. On a stuffed animal. On herself or her sister. On a billboard of someone who forgot to get clothes on. Or maybe a public restroom where mom is trying to get into her swimsuit really quick? "Hey MOM! I Found your BELLYBUTTON!!!"

Even Carissa can locate and poke bellybuttons. That's our girl!

And just the other day, Ed was thinking about a disturbing commercial that he had on his mind (and may or may not have been imitating... *whistling*) to which we looked up:

I guess I could go on, but you get my point.

We like bellybuttons.

Just another random post by your random Thompson Family :-)

White and Nerdy

Brace yourselves. Now introducing the World's Smallest Gangsta'

 Mini C-Dawg 

(appearing courtesy of Thompson Enterprises)

She's hard core!

Representing

Don't Mess with the 'Osh Kosh'

Check out this girl's moves... you know you're a fan already.

In true "White and Nerdy" fashion, she is carrying a Dr. Suess book about shapes.

World Tour: TBA