Dirt is fun

Cooper discovered dirt - he just kept rubbing it all over himself. He was very proud of himself! I have new knitting that I need to post about, but it's a gift for my friend Hills, so I can't post about it until she gets it - and in order for her to get it - I have to send it! I'm such a bum!

Misc.

Cooper was being silly last night, so I grabbed the camera to snap a few shots, but all I got after the first picture, are shots of him trying to touch the camera. He kept saying, "but, but" meaning he wants to push the button. I may have to find a broken camera or buy him a kiddie camera for him to play with.

What in the heck am I going to do with all these dishcloths? Hi! My name is Lisa...I'm addicted to knitting these dishcloths.

And here is my $1 yarn! It was only a buck - I had to buy some, but now I have to figure out what to make with it - probably a scarf.

Mother's Day

In my opinion, the greatest Mother's Day gift cannot be purchased. Each and every day, I get the greatest Mother's Day present from my boy - every time he turns to me with his arms in straight up in the air and says "Mama, mama" - just melts my heart.

Need to vent a little...or maybe a lot

I called my MIL today at 3:45 pm to check on my boy. She said that she was waiting for him to wake up from his nap. She informed me that she hadn't gotten him dressed yet, because she didn't want him to cry. He's really giving everyone a hard time about the shorts/pants thing. But I asked her to tough it out and try (he was dressed in shorts and t-shirt when I arrived home - better late than never I guess). Then she said that she did a load of towels for me and put them away - I told her that she didn't have to do that, but she said that she didn't have anything to do while Cooper was asleep. Then she said that she did a load of Joseph's laundry. I said, "I really wish you wouldn't have done that" to which she replied, "I don't mind". I told her that wasn't the point. The point that I am trying to make is to teach Joseph some responsibility and consequences. She responded that she did it because Joseph is only here every other weekend and he shouldn't have to work when he comes over here. I almost lost it. I told her that I wish she would respect my wishes - since it is my house.

I'm going to side bar here - being a step mom isn't easy - and typically step kids aren't easy on them either. My step mom and I get along great now - but in my teen years, we didn't. I wasn't exactly a dream child. My step mom and I weren't always kind to each other back then, and we have both acknowledged that to each other - all has been forgiven and we don't bring it up - unless we are joking around. We have a love for each other as family - and a respect for each other as women. Having said that, the "tough love" she (and my own mother) taught me growing up made me the person I am today. Carol (my step mom) taught me to do my own laundry at the age of 12, and I've done it ever since. That also taught me some responsibility and consequences. For example, if I didn't do my own laundry, magic fairies we not going to fly in while I slept and do it for me. If I didn't do it - it wasn't going to be done. I learned quickly, that if I wanted to wear my favorite Outback Red shirt to school, I needed to make sure it was clean. This also taught me responsibility and consequences in other areas as well. Both my mom and my step mom did a great job of helping me learn these life lessons on my own. I'm sure it wasn't easy on any of my parents to sit back and watch me make mistakes, but they were mistakes that I learned from and usually never made again. I've made such a big deal about this because Joseph's mom does everything for him - but not in a good way. She tells him what to wear, what to eat, how to cut his hair, she doesn't let him do laundry or even load/unload the dishwasher by himself - hell, I tought him how to use the microwave a couple of years ago! Because she does all of this for him, he can hardly form an opinion on his own!

Which is why I decided to give him ONE task - his own laundry - while he's with us. He would have to learn that if he didn't have any clean socks, it was nobody's fault but his own. I really felt I was right about this - but my husband sided with his mom. He's only here for a short time, blah, blah, blah. This upsets me three ways: 1. My MIL thoughtlessly did something I specifically asked her not to do, without talking to me about it first - in my own house, mind you 2. It underminded any authority I thought I might have where Joseph is concerned and 3. My husband sided with his mother against me. The first one hurts - but number three really stings.

This is why I think that being a step mom is harder than being a mom. I want to teach Joseph to be a responsible member of society, but because he isn't my kid - I can't do it the way I would like.

I realize that this all came about because of some laundry - that I didn't even have to do - but that's not the point. My point is that this is my house. I would like my house run a certain way and my kids raised a certain way. There is one too many adults in my house!!

The Brooks Boys

Look at all this family fun! Don was playing "ride the horsey" with Cooper and Joseph was laughing so I suppose Don was feeling nostalgic - so he made Joseph get on the horsey, too! Then Joseph put Cooper on his knee and it was just too cute. Silly times this weekend.

Cooper was so funny this weekend. He learned "OK". I would ask, "do you want some juice?" and he quickly respond "OK!". He said it everytime I asked him a question - really cute!

Cooper also kinda freaked out about his shorts. He was in the romper in the picture above, and he kept trying to pull the ends of his shorts down to his ankles saying over and over again, "pants, pants, pants". He was a little distressed about it and there was some anxioty in his little voice. Don and I kept telling him that everything was OK, and that there is no evil in shorts, and it did take some convincing. My MIL kept telling me about him doing this, but when I put shorts on him on the weekends, he didn't make a big deal about it. I wondered why when I came home from work everyday he was in sweat pants! I put all his sweat pants away and just put shorts, t-shirts and other summer clothes in his drawers. Hopefully, the MIL won't give in and put sweats on him - it's going to be 90 today!!

It's been a full week on the sippie cup and all is fine with our boy! He has only occasionally asked for a bottle, but takes the cup just fine. The key to this success, I believe, was hiding all the bottles from my MIL!!