February is a month I have to just endure and push through. It just is not my favorite month. Maybe I am writing this because we all have crummy colds and it is making me a little whiny this morning. Thank goodness for a netty pot and that I am not teaching aerobics today!




We got a Monopoly game on Tuesday and have spent hours playing since then. Caleb is an exceptional player and has bankrupted the entire family in every game so far. It is neat to play it with them and see it from a learning prospective. Their little brains are working hard adding up the dice, making change, giving ten times the dice when landing on a electric company and all of that stuff. Our biggest dilemma is Annabelle. She does OK hanging out with us rolling the dice here and there and delivering money or handing out houses. BUT, as you know, the games tend to be pretty long and her patience wears thin, so she starts living up to one of our favorite nicknames we like to call her, "Sabotagie".



Annabelle has learned how to maneuver the computer mouse and loves playing on the starfall site. It took some time because she is very much left-handed but wouldn't take my suggestions on using that hand rather than the right. I decided it would be good for her to use the right instead so she can be more ambidextrous, though I didn't say a word knowing that would probably make her change her mind. I am hoping it will teach her to read and I will be off the hook on at least one kid! (just kidding y'all, but she really has learned a lot and amazes me with the activities she is blowing through)

my new favorite song

Monday was the big "unders" battle with Annabelle. Tuesday she wore them all day long with no spankings needed.....except she wore them right at the top of her thighs. That right there is proof that this is no comfort thing. It is all about control. So whatever, I let it slide. Sure she was walking a little funny but I figured that eventually (even if it took a month) she would get tired of it and pull them up. Then came Wednesday and they were at her knees all day. She was walking even stranger but whatever, I didn't sweat it. That brings us to today, Thursday. Yep, she wanted to wear them at her ankles. Seriously?! Talk about giving an inch and taking a mile! (Is that right? a mile? or is it a yard? maybe a foot because that is about the length of her legs)

The battle lines had to be redrawn earlier. She sobbed... and flipped out...... and cried and heaved...... and gagged.
New rule: they must be on her bottom and she may not touch them.

The good thing about having a long drawn out battle of discipline is that it is easier to stick with it, because if you give in, all your efforts were in vain.

I am sitting here recording this because I hope to look back in a few months and chuckle.........

I am so not chuckling now though.

It is now Friday morning and I just had to add:


Annabelle's final stand came yesterday about an hour after the repeated discipline episode to keep the panties up on her bottom. I asked her if her panties were up while she happily was playing with the boys. She pulled up her dress triumphantly and said "Yes, moma!" Then she turned around and showed me the horrible wedgie she had given herself and said, "I have them in my booty crack!" I couldn't help to laugh and after some thought just let her go on playing. I know that when we discipline our children, we have to consider what is going on in their hearts. In light of that, I probably should have made her wear them properly because she was certainly still rebelling. Frankly, I was just too tired to go through it all again so I just said, "OK honey, that is fine if you wear them like that. Just make sure they stay up." I did take a picture but decided it would be inappropriate to post so it will just have to go in the scrapbook instead.

Fortunately within an hour she gave in and was wearing them properly.
She tried again to wear them this morning as a wedgie but gave up within 30 minutes.

In conclusion, if you see my little girl out and about on these cold winter days with bare legs, please know that it is not due to her mother's negligence. I will not even try to fight the tights battle.

Just in case you aren't from around here, we have had the coldest, snowiest winter in about 15 years in the mountains of western North Carolina. Our second big snow fell this past weekend. This time was so much better than the last (although I certainly loved staying with my folks) because we had plenty of groceries and ELECTRICITY!








Friday evening was the best because our neighbors came over and we had a big ol' bonfire and did some sledding. We finally burned the Christmas trees which made these huge awesome flames that lit up the snow covered neighborhood. Then we put the kiddos to bed and Sam and I busted out some Wreckers and Ryan Adams covers.

The next couple of days were full of sledding for the neighborhood kids.

Here are a few random Christmas pictures. I can't think of much to report on aside from telling you how excited Annabelle was this year.....mostly about the decorations. She thought everything was GORGEOUS! Oh yeah, and this was the first official year the boys knew Santa wasn't real. It proved to be a real problem because any time there was any reference to Santa, they both would have to declare out loud how he WAS NOT REAL. In fact, Caleb would randomly blurt it out as I suppose it had just come to his mind. I had a time convincing them not to spoil all of the other kids fantasies.




Lastly, thanks so much for the comments and thoughts on my Annabelle struggles. I thought about all of the suggestions and considered many ideas (my favorite being to dress her in her sleep and tell her a fairy must have come in a put her clothes on. I told her that might happen and she informed me that she hated fairies) We had a rough day yesterday but I feel like in the end I stuck to my guns and she has accepted the fact that she must wear underpants. The day will go down in my parenting history though along with the battle with my 2 year old Adam to stay in his "big boy bed" and the battle with Caleb on ......well, everything.
Also, Aunt Amie gave me a cute pair of boots and she has accepted that she will wear them when we go out.


Alrighty, I have got to go practice the guitar for our church retreat this weekend. It is something I am looking forward to, but will admit I am a little overwhelmed now that I have heard the count is up to 190! Y'all pray for us to lead well so that God would be glorified.

And pray for our house to sell too.

PS Annabelle picked the colors for the blog. She loves purple pink and red!