A "just because" blessing

Don't you love it when you find one of those incredible yard sale deals?

Nearly every weekend or so will find me scouring the neighborhood for the perfect thing we've somehow been missing in our lives. But mostly for clothes.
I'm always on the lookout for "gently used" clothes for the girls, since they outgrow things so quickly.

Saturday was no exception, only we were just going to look for about a half an hour. We stopped at a few places where signs beckoned us, but without any luck.
Finally, as we were about to give up, we found one that looked promising! We got out, and I was happy to see a blanket on the ground with not only girl clothes- but in about the right sizes!
As I was looking through the clothing, the dad there was setting up some sort of play tent.

Yes, it was cute play tent, alright...and big. I quickly went back to the task at hand.
The girls, of course, had to go inside as soon as the dad walked away. When I walked on over, I saw the price tag.

Two bucks.

Yep, you read that right! It did have a rip in the tent door, but otherwise looked fine.
The mom and grandma must have sensed my amazement at the low, low price, so they grabbed the opportunity to exclaim from across the yard,
"It folds right up and fits into the little flat bag..."
"And all these accessories over here, too..."
I glanced over, and sure enough, there were four folding nylon play appliances such as a stove, sink, and washer\dryer. It had the low, low price of $2.00 for the set...a steal...but I only had enough for the tent with me. But before I could even tell them that, they said that I could have the whole shebang for the $2.

Ok, then...pack 'er up!

Just minutes after the dad finished setting it out, he promptly went back and packed everything up into the convenient carrying bag...and if that wasn't enough, when my girls each bought one item of clothing they also wanted with their own change, the mom began picking extra things out and saying,
"Here...take this too. You can just have it."

We walked away with a bag of clothes and a complete play tent (stackable washer\dryer unit and other appliances, included!) for a grand total of $2.90!

I know they apparently didn't want to make money as much as to just get rid of things...but I felt so blessed by their generosity. And I do think that sometimes God leads us to these little blessings in life for no other reason other than that He wants to see us smile.
Just because He loves us!


We set it up as soon as we got home and the girls played in there almost the rest of the day!

And guess what? We brought it into the livingroom the next day and they talked me into letting them sleep in it. Shhh...they're in there, right now, as I type!

I just love yard sales!

The Tantrum

My five year old, Lil Cherub, is one of the sweetest, most compassionate little girls in the world, and I say that without any motherly bias....(well, maybe just a little...)
But yesterday, she entertained us with a big ole meltdown.

Both girls have had colds- and no wonder after being drenched Saturday in the pouring rain! (See post below). Not only that, but their whole weekend was pretty full, and yesterday was a dental appointment. So my almost eight year old actually took a nap this afternoon.
But did my five year old? No, she did not.

Funny, I had just picked up a Parenting magazine in the dental waiting room and read how some moms always use the "tantrum room". When their little one is crying and screaming, the child must take it to "the room".
While my oldest has been more of the drama queen, her tantrums are now few and far between.
And my little one? She might get whiny when she's tired, but not really one for any out and out tantrums...
Ho hum, I thought, putting the magazine down.

Five hours later, my youngest was doing quite well without her nap. While her oldest sister blissfully slept, Lil Cherub and I were having some magical time together- just the two of us- as she told me a story and I wrote it down for her so she could make a book.
It was just like one of those N*stle Tollhouse commercials, only without the cookies...

Suddenly...the book we were making wasn't right. Suddenly....according to my little sweetheart, it was ALL WRONG.

It started out -not slowly-but like a tidal wave of pent up exhaustion and emotion as she exploded with a real, authentic, honest to goodness melt-down.

My oldest came downstairs to witness the commotion, while she herself remained angelic, having just had her beauty sleep.

Meanwhile, I actually remained very calm (I surprised myself!)
Finally recalling the "tantrum room technique"I had read about only hours before, I gently placed her on the stairs and informed her she must go upstairs to scream and cry, but if she wanted to remain down here, she must now be quiet. After much deliberation (read: arguing and wailing) she finally trudged upstairs.


As I went about fixing dinner, I was shocked to hear my normally sweet five year old screaming that "tantrum scream" at the top of her little lungs, as I forced myself to continue my tasks and take deep breaths...

Moments later, she emerged from upstairs without a sound...as she calmly said,
"I'm done crying and screaming and ready to be downstairs, Mommy."
As I stood in numb silence, she turned sat down by her sister, and said to her,
"Sorry for screaming..." then to me, "I'm sorry, Mommy."

I can count on one hand the times when my littlest had tantrums of this magnitude...they are just plain rare! But this one scored a 5.2 on the rictor scale.

But it was also some kind of record in how my little volcano vented and returned to her old sweet self. And enough to melt my heart at her sincere little contrite heart.

And enough to make me wished I had soaked myself in Calgon.

And the presidents live...Where?

Yesterday, I asked my second grader where and what Washington D.C. was.

Her answer- which I'll get to in a moment- was a little disheartening.
Just what are they teaching kids these days in school, anyway?

Oh wait...in our family, I am the teacher!

But hold on... before I give home schooling a negative image, let me say that last year- our first home school year- we did in fact go over all of this vital information and much, much more.

I was so very determined to do this right, it being our very first year, and all...
So ...we read biographies of George Washington, his wife, Martha... studied the colonies, the pilgrims, Columbus, Betsy Ross, Abraham Lincoln...and even more recent figures such as Martin Luther King.
If it was important to American history, you can be sure we covered it. Honestly!

And geography? We did that, too. She actually enjoyed having us name a state so that she could try and find it on the big map last year.
We touched on the study of the hemispheres and continents... and even threw in all those oceans, for good measure!

And let's not forget that "talking globe" that her little sister got last Christmas. Nothing beats a little mini-world you can steer a plane around, as you learn about geography to the tune of putt-putt sounds.

And in my daughter's defense- she's actually a very smart girl. She even seemed to be enjoying hearing about pioneer kids or life with the Pilgrims, while all the time excelling in those faithful subjects, math and language arts.
Not to mention, memorizing all those Awana Bible verses!

Sometimes, I would even test her after we studied a subject, just to make sure she remembered it. And she almost always did!


Oh, where then, had I gone so terribly wrong?

After thinking this through the past twenty-four hours, I've decided that maybe...just maybe...she was able to retain only some of all the wonderful knowledge we gained last year. Um...after all...she was only in 1st grade. Hello? First grade!
My husband likes to say that he was just learning his ABC's how to tie his shoes in first grade! (And he has two degrees!)

Honestly, though...in my defense, it wasn't as if I completely overloaded the poor girl. Please don't envision me standing over her, tapping my ruler while I drilled those states and president facts. Our biographies were truly those kid-friendly kind.
And yes...she even had time to play with her My Little Ponies and watch mindless Disney movies on the side.

My other realization was that, just recently, her little brain was taxed this week while learning a new math concept. We're talking 2 digits multiplying with 2 digits, people...even my brain gets taxed just correcting the work!

So, I'm taking all of this into consideration as last night, at the library, I calmly added a children's learning video entitled, "Learning about Washington D.C." to the top of the stack.
I'm just so creative like that.

And, now that I've had time to think on all this, I am so much less flabbergasted at her answering what and where Washington D.C. is by saying,

"Isn't it that mall we went to?"

But at the time, my mind reeled...Huh?
Um...I'm remembered that there is the mall with the similar name as the capitol of our great nation, but no....try again.
"You know, Honey..." I urged. "All of our 50 states have capitols. But Washington D.C. is really important...and it's the capitol of somewhere very big..."

"Texas?"

SIGH...At least her granddad, born and bred in Amarillo, would have smiled.

Twin Sister Week

Lately, my girls, five and seven (almost eight) have become the quintessential "Bobbsey Twins".

Suddenly, it is of the up most importance to wear similar, if not identical, clothing and to even do up their hair the exact same way.

Now, first of all, the fact that my five year old is suddenly asking me to do her hair is monumental for me. She is the one that if a brush so much as touches her fair tresses, she screams from the torture. Fun little do-dads and ponytails that mommies love to put in little girls' hair?
Are you kidding?

But this past week, she is not only allowing me to fix her hair....she's asking me to! Both girls will come to me with their identical do-dads and ask me to make their hair the exact same way.

One day, they will ask in unison if I can braid their hair ....and perhaps the next day, it's an identical ponytail they desire to sport.

And it doesn't stop with hair...clothes count big time, as well.
For example, it won't do if only one of them is wearing a dress- both will absolutely have to. And it helps if the colors in the dresses both have the same nuances of mauve.

What I find interesting is that it seems to be equally important to each of them!
It's not about my youngest wanting to emulate my oldest...no, it is about each of them wanting to be twins- pure and simple.

The other day, smack in the middle of "Twin Week" here at our household, we were driving somewhere while they were talking amongst themselves in the backseat. Suddenly, my youngest cried,
"Mommy, she wasn't being sweet to me- and I'm her twin!"

So it hasn't been without a few problems. Getting ready to leave somewhere on time, without the required similar clothes, has resulted in a few protests when told to hurry and put on something....anything! How could their mommy be so unjust as to do this to them?

Must.Be.Identical.

Nearly every day this week, they come downstairs dressed alike and stand before me, grinning. My oldest bends her knees and scrunches down, as they ask,
"Which one is which?"

"Um...I just don't know!" I say, looking bewildered. Well, except for the height thing, they do sometimes look an awful alike.

Once this week, my oldest got hurt outside and my youngest was hugging her in sympathy longer than usual. Too sweet...I know.

My youngest told me earnestly, "I feel so sorry for her- she is my twin, you know."

Why this sudden desire to be joined at the hip? I'm honestly not quite sure. I know last year, it was just the opposite problem...It was- Move Over, I'm sitting on Mommy's Lap. Or, the ever-popular- I Sat by Daddy First!
Followed by rude elbows and pushes.

Yep, it was every girl for herself!

All that usual asserting of the independence that occurs was certainly in full bloom last year.

But now...unity is the word of the day.
Yes, they have still had a couple spats (see above un-sweet -twin- in- the- car reference) but it's now all about being the same.
All-For-One-And-One-For-All...or, should I say Both.

I guess having my two girls traipsing around like a pair of identical twins with a slight height problem could be a lot worse. I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Because I know we will most likely see more phases of head-butting in the future...especially when one heads into puberty first.
I have a feeling that the twin thing might not be viewed with as much enthusiasm when this time comes.

Having never had a sister to grow up with, though, I cherish watching them chum around. I kind of get to live vicariously through their relationship, and it's wonderful to watch it change and grow through each stage.

My oldest still remembers when Lil Cherub was a tiny baby...but now....

now she is her best friend.
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I won't be posting again until after the weekend, but I hope to be online off and on to visit some of you...
We plan on visiting the cemetery and picnicking with extended family....and generally enjoying this incredible Memorial Day weather that we are blessed with this year!

A wonderful Memorial Day weekend to each of you!

Wordless Wednesday... Incognito

Getting new Dollar Tree sunglasses leads to playing "movie stars" all day long.