Mr. Spoon....

Lately, Sawyer has been really acting out. It is a fight with him from the moment he gets up in the morning, all day, and sometimes even in the middle of the night. It has just started up about 2 weeks ago, when I got back from Texas from work.

Now let me explain the demeanor of Sawyer. He is not spiteful in nature. He is a sweet child and he had seemed to in the past, to really have a conscience. He always tries to do right and he listen fairly well for a 2 year old. So, that is until the evil twin of Sawyer came to live at our house.

Let me explain what a typical day is. I hear him cry Mama in the morning. I go up there to see him laying in his crib, not even looking at me. I go over to say good morning, and he starts the whining. I tell him to stand up so I can get him up. "NOOOOO". So I tell him that I am going to leave him in there. The whining starts up...."Nooooo, mommy, nooooo mommy."

I turn around to get him out and he stands up so I can lift him up. I then proceed to undress him from his PJ's and tell him he needs to go to the potty to pee-pee. He then goes limp, screams and says he doesn't need to pee. Now this has started happening after 3 months of him going dry all night and not peeing on himself. I proceed to undress him to find out that he has a pull up that is full of pee that is sometimes leaking on his PJ's. I then drag him in the bathroom, force him to stand on the stool to pee. He pees while he is whining the whole time. He sometimes even aims the pee on the wall because he knows that makes me upset.

Then I dress him, wash his face, and tell him it is time to brush his teeth. (NOTE: while dressing him, he is fighting me to because he doesn't want to wear those socks or those pants or that color shirt.) I proceed to put toothpaste on the toothbrush and PRY his mouth open so I can brush that morning breath mouth. (Background, I am using fluoride toothpaste now, and he has been really good at spitting it out for a month or so... until now.) He then decides that he wants to swallow the toothpaste because I told him not too. I tell him that his teeth are going to turn brown, and he tells me that his teeth are not brown! It is the rebel stage coming out at 2!!! If I say it is white, he says it is black.

So anyway, to continue my story. We go downstairs to eat. Whatever I suggest to cook or fix for breakfast he doesn't want. So I tell him that he is going to be hungry because I don't have anything else to fix. I start fixing me and Braxton something, and he then whines because he wants that. I then give him the food I fixed,and he doesn't want that anymore, he wants something else. I tell him that I am not going to fix him anything else, he can eat what I fixed, we are not wasting food. This is how all our meals, snacks, drinks, etc is all day. A FIGHT.

To make a long, 10 page, version of this story of ONE DAY, shorter... here are a few other examples. He screams and goes limp when it is time to take a bath, take a nap, go to sleep at night, or come back inside from playing outside all day! He wants to go inside when we are going to go outside. He wants his shoes off when it is time for his shoes to be on! He wants a different pair of PJ's, or more CHOCOLATE in his milk..... you get the picture. It has been so frustrating that I don't know what I am going to do with 3 kids!!

Scott and I have really try all means of punishment. Putting him in his bed, putting him in time out in the corner, spanking, taking away something he likes, we even love on him and tell him how sad it makes us.... but whatever the punishment, it works for 2 minutes and then he is whining or doing something bad again. Obviously, some of it is jealousy, but some of it is just plain being spiteful!

SO, I decided to take a good friend's (which will remain anonymous) approach to punishment. "MR. SPOON"

Mr. Spoon has not even been to work on Sawyer at all... and it is working!!! He is so scared of Mr. Spoon, he does whatever I ask him to as soon as I bring his name up!! So to make him more intimidating... I drew a mean face on Mr. Spoon.

Here he is: The one and only Mr. Spoon! We will see how long this works!

PS. Update from when I started posting this a couple days ago.... HE IS JEALOUS! He is showing all signs of jealousy, wanting to be held, doing things just to get attention, when I hold Braxton he runs over to me and about knocks me over to get me to hold him too, pushing Braxton when he is near me. I am just ready for this stage to be OVER with!

Sawyer's first pet from the wild....

Today Grandma and Grandpa came to see us for the day! Since it was such a pretty day, we decided to go out side and play. We went out on the playground, and Scott found this beautiful creature that looked like a.... well, to but it bluntly, a TURD. (See pictures below).

I had found one of these around the swing set before, but I took a leaf, scooped it up and threw it a long way away because I thought it was... well, a turd! So anyway, Scott gave it to Sawyer to see if he would hold it without screaming... since normally Scott will try and put it on me first and I scream and Sawyer then copies me. So I told Scott to give it to Sawyer first before he put it on me to see if he is really scared or if he is just copying me. Sawyer took it right away! (It is always nice and reassuring to know he is ALL boy.) The "turd" was moving around, but Sawyer thought it was really cool! He came over to me proudly and said,

"Look mommy, what is it?"

I said, "It is a turd."

He screamed, "Awwwww!" and he threw it on the ground! (Sometimes I just want to laugh at what my children will do when I say stuff like that. )

So, I fixed the situation by giving the "turd" to Braxton, knowing that Sawyer would really want it then. I told him that Braxton could have it now. Then Sawyer grabbed it away and held it close to him. It was now his turd!!!

I asked Scott and Grandpa what they thought it was. They both thought it was a beetle that was going to hatch. Then Sawyer went to visit Grandma and Granddaddy Batten and show off his new pet, and Granddaddy thought it was a cocoon for a butterfly! WOW, so this "turd" might not be so bad. But it still left a question.... What is it really???? Is it some kind of gremlin that might hatch tonight and come in our house and take over? Is it some nasty maget of some type? Is it a butterfly? I had to find out!!!

But in the mean time, I wasn't sure if the thing was alive anymore after Sawyer had been tossing it in the air, throwing it on the ground, and squeezing it in his hands... but I convinced him to let the "thing" sleep on the newspaper, and the "thing" started moving again. So it was alive and okay... even after a 2 year old handled it for 30 minutes! Pretty tough "turd" if you ask me! Grandma gave me a container to put the "thing" in, and we put some mulch in it when we got home.

When we walked in the house, I went out on our back porch and found a safe corner for "it" and went inside to research. While I was googling different things, Sawyer runs in the office and ask....

"Mommy, where is my turd?" (I about peed in my pants.)

"Well, Sawyer it is resting outside in the container we made for him. We can see him tomorrow."

Back to researching... come to find out, the "thing" wasn't that bad of a thing. It is a Oakworm Moth! (I think). And when it hatches from it's pupa (learned that too), it will become a beautiful MOTH! So the turd, will look like this:

Not to bad to look like it did before huh????? So, for now, it is on our back screen porch as Sawyer first pet from the wild. At least it is not a snake or a frog.... so I guess I am lucky, FOR NOW!

My handsome boys

Sawyer does not cooperate when I want to take pictures... so this is the best one I could get of them two together!!! We had pictures for the church directory this week and I put their handsome twin outfits on, and off we went! The pants were a little too big... hanging below their diapers/pull ups like ghetto, but other then that..... HANDSOME!

Braxton does like the camera right now... he always says.... "CHHHEEESE"

Again, my camera shy boy.... I had to snap this one really quick before he turned away!! Just like daddy!

IT is 10:30 AM and it feels like 10:30 PM

I got up this morning thinking that today had to be a better day then yesterday. Yesterday, Sawyer threw up 4 times and one time on my nice rug that i have managed to keep throw up proof until yesterday.

So, I got up this morning, gave Sawyer some dry toast. At 9:00, a hour after he ate, everything seemed to be okay. Good, things are looking brighter today. Then, all hell broke loose. I looked outside and their were two men outside in my yard, going behind Scott's barn, and I didn't recognize them. So I called Scott to make sure they were not someone he knew. NOPE... He did not know who they were! I go outside to see who they were and what they wanted. All I could think about was someone trying to see what we have or going to try and steal something. Well, I did end up knowing them, and they were chasing a dog that had gotten loose. No big deal!

I come back inside, and I couldn't find Braxton. I called for him...and I hear the little pitter patter of baby feet UPSTAIRS! He had gone upstairs in the midst of all this chaos! So I went up there to get him down stairs, and started to read him a book. Sawyer came over and sat beside me and Braxton... on my nice rug.... and on page 3, "BLLLLAAAAHHHHHH". Sawyer looked like he had an explosion of the mouth. Not only that,but the book was covered with throw up, I was covered with throw up, Braxton was covered from head to toe, Sawyer had it on him... and my beloved rug, covered!!! I undressed them, undressed myself, cleaned them and me, then the floor, and THREW THE BOOK AWAY. I can get another "goodnight moon."

Well you know how little brother's like to copy what their big brother does, so Braxton is going around pretending to throw up around the house and spitting all on the floor, so I went right behind him with a damp cloth and cleaned it up. The next thing I know, he steps on the wet floor that I have wiped up his spit with... and BAM, his legs up in the air, his head on the floor.... and a scream like no other. So here I am with two naked babies, one that has just thrown up crying, and one that has busted his head crying! I couldn't help be laugh!

meanwhile, my phone is ringing off the hook for work... and I have one account that is mad because their order has not come in from 2 weeks ago. My kids screaming in the back ground the whole time while I am trying to fix the problem. I go in the living room and Braxton had taken all the wipes out of the box and threw them all over the living room. So, it is now 10:30 AND I have now decided that it has already been a long day and they are going down for a nap! So, I blogged this, made some phone calls for work.... and I am heading for a nap myself! Wheww.. maybe the day will start over after we wake up the second go round! :-)


But, I have to add.... God is great, he has given me two healthy children, with a sweet baby growing inside of my belly. He has given my husband and I a great relationship, we are both healthy, and we both are WORKING. So I will take throw up any day on me if he gives me all the important stuff! I really do think that it is good to get the bad stuff out of you that you are feeling so you can really appreciate the good stuff that GOD blesses you with!

Sawyer in the snow....

You are probably wondering... who is that little girl with Sawyer???



Well, that would be BRANDY, because the little boy is SCOTT and not
SAWYER! That is scary!!!

Snow pictures from 1979!

Foreshadowing

This was the title my brother came up with for these pictures....

Foreshadowing!!!




You can see in this picture, the older boys will be influencing the younger boy to do something he is not suppose to do!

"Here Brax Brax, just take a sip! Your mom and dad will never know."

The younger boy will take a chance to show off for the older boys!

The older boys think... WELL, if he can do it, I can too!!! Parker is waiting for his sip!


Joseph says that this will be happening in about 12 or 13 more years! That only puts them at 15 years old, so I am hoping it will be 14 to 16 more years at least!!! Hoping????



PS To all of those who are reading this... the CANS of Beer are empty!

Red Sunglasses

Today Parker stayed with us for the day. He walked in this morning, and he had his red sunglasses on. The first thing out of Sawyer's mouth was, I want some sun glasses. Well the slacker mother that I am, I have been telling Sawyer that we will get him some sunglasses almost everyday after I pick him up from big boy school because the sun is always glaring in his eyes on the way home. I kept telling him that I would stop and get him some from the only place he knows I shop... "TARGET".


But I just kept forgetting until I would pick him up again and the sun was glaring in his eyes. So anyway, I told him that tonight we would go shopping and get him some sunglasses.

So we did... and what color did he want? RED sunglasses just like Parker. "I want some Red Sunglasses like Parker Mommy."

Not only did we find red sunglasses, but we found Lighten McQueen Red Sunglasses! He wore them the whole time we were in Target and all the way home. I don' know if he could see anything at all since it was 9:00 at night, BUT he wore them anyway! so here he is, so proud to wear his red sunglasses... telling me that he is COOL!

PS. Lisa, if I find Parker's sunglasses, I will give them back to you!







Here is sweet Parker taking turns on the tractor. The boys did so good today... no fighting, sharing good, and behaving so good! I think it was actually easier with all three because Parker and Sawyer entertained each other so well!


Also, you see Parker was not wearing his glasses. When we when outside, he would come up to me and say, "Jodi, my eyes burn." I didn't know what he was talking about the first time we were outside. I kept asking him, "Is something in your eye?" He would just rub his eyes and say, "My eyes burn."

so the second time we went outside, immediately he closed his eyes and said, "My eyes burn." I knew that the sun was hurting his eyes and I went inside to look for the "LOST" sunglasses and they were no where to be found. Poor Parker had to squint the whole time at our house!!!

The boys Playing nice!