Kids

"What is a home without children? Quiet"....(Henny Youngman). I just love kids. They are so honest about what they want and how they feel. My four year old Austin has called out to me at least 10 times over the past half hour. He wanted milk, then a new DVD on, the lights off, etc. Finally I said to him, "Who do you think I am, your slave?" His response, "No, you are my servant." I had to laugh! At Disney World I had a button pinned to my purse that said, "1st time (at Disney)." Austin notices the button and says, "Hey mom, it's your purses first time to Disney World." Several years ago we were on vacation in the Bahamas. I was getting ready to go to dinner and I was wearing black shorts and a black shirt. My oldest looked at me wide eyed and said, "Are you heading out to see clients?" I was surprised and told him, "Of course not, we are on vacation." His response, "Well you are wearing your uniform, so I thought you were going to work." Because I wear so much black to work, he thought that black clothes were my uniform! My youngest also thought that I had a part-time job at the gym because I always head out at night to workout. He thought that workout meant I worked there. Last week my husband was being silly and flexing his muscles like the hulk in front of the kids. Austin said, "Hey daddy, you can kill monsters!" On vacation, my mom thought the kids were being rude by throwing their clean clothes on the floor, which she had washed and left on the beds. I said, "Mom, they are kids, they don't care about clean clothes.....they just wanted to jump on the beds." Right now, my other two angels are fighting upstairs over the remote. They better get use to that battle because it will carry through into adulthood with their spouses. My daughter dumped an entire bowl of popcorn on her brothers head, just for fun. I'm so glad we have hardwood floors throughout the house. It's pretty much a must when you have kids, because it's so much easier to clean up the numerous messes kids make. I think that sibling relationships are early practice for marriage. Siblings love and hate each other, sometimes all in the same breathe. Sure sounds like marriage to me. As siblings, you have to learn how to negotiate, be heard, share and compromise. Hopefully the battles balance out the love and affection. My kids were hugging and joking in line at Disney. A surprised gentleman in line behind us asked if they were siblings. I said yes and the man told me that he too has kids at approximately the same ages and was surprised at how well my kids were getting along, because his kids fight all the time. With that, my daughter smiled and punched her brother. I guess she just wanted to make him feel better about his own children. My daughter Taylor likes to snag money she sees lying around. She's an honest thief since she always fesses up and gives the money back. When I was pregnant with Taylor I ran into a friend of mine (who happens to be a psychic) and he told me she was going to be a strong girl and give me a run for my money. I was telling Taylor this story and she said "How did he know that I was going to steal your money!" I thought this was hysterical. My kids cannot understand why the tooth fairy gives different amounts of money at each house. I think there should be a website listing the standard going rate for teeth, so that all the tooth fairies everywhere can be equitable and fair listed by each state. When I am having a tough day, my kids will inevitably say or do something that makes me smile. Sure, there are also days where they will also test every limit, fight incessantly and complain endlessly. The rewards far out way the stresses however when you watch them blossom, learn and grow and when they tell you,"I love you and your the best mom ever," unsolicited. Our children teach us about the true meaning of life and love each and every day. "We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body"...(Ralph Waldo Emerson).