Ryen's Room: April 2008

April 30, 2008

Training Madelyn

Maddie was ready to be potty trained a year ago. Unfortunately, I just wasn't. I blew it. I missed my window. Now, she is anti-potty. I've tried everything. I tried everything with Ryen and eventually had to resort to the nudey method, which worked beautifully- for her. For Madelyn? Not so much. The plain truth is, she just doesn't care where she goes to the bathroom- as long as it isn't in the bathroom. I've tried M&M's, ice cream, parades, stickers, even a special princess crown she gets to wear on the throne. Nothing. If anyone has any brilliant suggestions, I would love to hear them.

April 29, 2008

Passing on the savings...

I just LOVE Shutterfly's photo books. Right now they are on sale for 20% off, but with this link, you can get an 8X8 photo book for 30% off. I'm not sure if you can combine that with the existing sale or not, but either way it's a great deal on a product I loooove. Plug your pictures into a ready-made book (like the super cute one above) or make your own from the pages you've scrapped yourself. These books are so much fun!

April 25, 2008

Raising Daughters

Warning: I am about to rant and rave...

There is something that has been really bothering me lately. It started with a playdate my daughters had with another little girl they know from church. I was shocked by how grown up this little girl was! During a car ride, I overheard her talking to my children about the "birds and bees" and several other things that made me want to pull the car over and wash her mouth out with soap right there on the spot. At our home, she laughed at my two little girlies for the way they dance (mostly hopping up and down and spinning in circles) and started to teach them the "right" way to do it- when I sprinted for the off button and hastily ushered them outside for some sidewalk chalking. It would have made me slightly uncomfortable to see dancing like that in a club, but performed by a 4-year-old, I was beyond stunned.

Since that incident, I have become much more aware of the way our young children, especially our daughters, are bombarded with things MUCH too grown up for them. From the sexual to the simply age-inappropriate, I must now officially label myself a concerned parent. As frustrating as it is for me to see my children incessantly bombarded with things much too mature for their years, I am equally frustrated with parents who seem to view these things as "cute." After all, 10 is the new 15, right? I know this may sound rude, but I just really don't see how a 7-year-old with a cell phone in her hand and the word "hottie" displayed across her tush is cute. Seeing a toddler in a bathing suit I would expect to find in a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is not cute. If you let young children wear make-up and listen to adult music, can you be surprised when they want to get their tongues pierced when they are 9 and feel ready to date when they turn 10? Not only are parents setting their children (and themselves) up for some very difficult years, but they are putting their daughters in very real and serious danger.

Sometimes I feel like a mean mom because Ryen and Madelyn ask me if they can wear my make-up and I hand them chapstick or because I won't buy them a Bratz doll. Sometimes what they ask for seems harmless at first, but I have to think about it for a minute and ask myself what it would be teaching them. I owe them that. But, mean mom or not, my daughters are happy, innocent, confident individuals... young individuals. And I will do everything I can to keep them that way.

"Time passes quickly. Many parents say that it seems like yesterday that their children were born. Now those children are grown, perhaps with children of their own. “Where did the years go?” they ask. Time is a gift, a treasure not to be put aside for the future but to be used wisely in the present." -Thomas S. Monson

April 20, 2008

'Tis the Season

...Strawberry season! We took the kids to our favorite u-pick farm this past week to load up on strawberries. Ryen and Madelyn are fiends when it comes to berries! It's the very beginning of the season here so the crop isn't as sweet as it will be in the coming weeks, but we still had a blast! I really love this tradition.

April 18, 2008

Our Little Activist

Last night, a really sweet woman from our church brought over some homemade bread with a container of honey. When Ryen saw the honey, she was beside herself. Thanks to "Bee Movie" Ry is under the impression that the honey was STOLEN from bees. She refused to eat it- and was pretty disappointed in the rest of us for not being concerned about this outrage.

Ryen really likes to watch American Idol so we sometimes let her stay up for that. We watched a tiny part of their charity show last week- the portion featuring Forest Whitaker's trip to Angola to help children who are dying of malaria. I worried that it was a bit too heavy for our little almost 5-year-old, but it was already too late by the time I realized that. She looked at me with so much concern in her eyes and said, "Mom, I am really worried about those children." It opened up a great discussion and opportunity to teach Ryen. When she discovered that the disease can be prevented with a $10 bed net, she immediately asked me how long it would take her to earn that much money. She has since worked very hard to earn enough allowance to help the children in Africa. I love my daughter for a million bazillion reasons, but one of my favorite things about her is her gentle and compassionate heart.

April 16, 2008

Smarty Pants

I took Ryen to her new elementary school this afternoon for kindergarten assessment. She jumped right in with her usual eagerness and flair and scored in the 99th percentile. What a smarty pants she is! I am so proud of her.

April 15, 2008

The Girliest Girl

Madelyn amazes me daily by just how extremely GIRLY she is. Each and every day we fight the same battle over what to dress her in. I have way more clothes for the girls than they will ever wear or need, but even I only have so many skirts. Each day is a compromise. Sundays are the worst because she gets to wear a fancy dress, but then has an epic melt-down when it is time to take the dress off. I remember doing the opposite- throwing tantrums because I had to wear a dress or skirt. Seriously, where did this child come from??? Yesterday she was reduced to tears when I told her she couldn't wear a hot pink tutu and high heels out to lunch with some friends. She is so determined when it comes to style. In her defense though, she has pretty darn impeccable taste and can pull together some rockin' little ensembles. (I sure as heck couldn't accessories like that when I was 2!) I am dreading the day she discovers high end couture.

April 12, 2008

Still Kickin'

I haven't posted anything about my pregnancy in a while so I thought I'd give a little update. I had an appointment with our doctor this week and everything seems to be going well. I'm almost to my 3rd trimester. I feel very blessed and pray every day that this baby will be healthy and that everything will go okay. We still don't have a name picked out. We like several of the names suggested and discuss them almost daily. I don't know why deciding on a name has been so hard for us, but please keep the ideas coming! There isn't much to do to prepare for this baby, but I did let myself buy a new crib set and a dress for her baby blessing so that each of the girls can keep theirs and pass them on to their own children one day. Besides that, I'm just waddling along. :) Thanks for all of your love and support!

April 11, 2008

Happy Birthday Caity

I love my little sister more than words can say. She is an amazing woman and an incredible example to me. Here are just a few things I love about Cait...

*She isn't afraid to do her own thing- even if it hasn't been done before
*She is always there for others and one of the first to step up and serve
*Not getting the recognition or credit she deserves never slows her down
*She is an optimist to the core- believing the best of life and others
*She is a loyal and loving friend
*She loves her children and knows how to make them feel special
*She is entirely supportive of her husband
*She loves the Lord and lives her testimony
*She is one of the most forgiving people I have ever known
*I get to live every day knowing that if I need a true friend, my sister is only a phone call away

Happy birthday Caitlyn!!!

April 9, 2008

These 2's Shall Pass

Though I don't consider myself one of those parents who think their children can do no wrong, I try my best to never say negative things about them. Having said that... Sometime in the past few days, a little monster has crept into our home and taken the place of my sweet and loving little Madelyn. She doesn't have a fever, there are no teeth to come in, no big life changes. She's just a GROUCH. She's like a killer kitten- scratching poor Ryen and bullying her to the point of tears. I have never seen anything quite like this. The tears... the tantrums... such devotion and stamina! I hope it is just a fluke and she will be back to her sweet and cheery little self soon. I'm running out of turtlenecks to put on Ryen.

April 8, 2008

8 Down...

...Forever to go.

April 5, 2008

Water Baby

Madelyn is part fish. She really is. Every time I turn around, she is in the bathroom with a sink full of water and a mischievous smile on her face. She loves to splash, spray, and SOAK. To save our bathroom from her wily water ways, I bought a sand & water table... hold the sand. Whenever the weather is nice, I take the girls outside, throw a t-shirt on them (I learned my lesson after the first time) and just let them go to town. Maddie is totally in her element!

April 3, 2008

Ocean Fairies

Every year I take Easter portraits of the girls, but this year it came so fast! The flowers weren't quite ready for us. :) So, I decided to take the girls' pictures at the beach. Is there such a thing as an ocean fairy? That's what Ry and Maddie looked like to me. Just look at those two sweet girlies of mine! I am so blessed.

April 1, 2008

Hi Ho Cherry-O

My kids are obsessed with this game right now. Since I grew up playing games like this, it's pretty cool to see them so interested. Ryen understands all of the rules and doesn't really need any help, but poor Madelyn just doesn't understand how to play and usually ends up screaming and throwing little plastic cherries across the room. It's hard to be the youngest.