There's a new sheriff in town

And her name is Sheriff Mommy.  
Seriously though, I have been cracking down on Liam (aka T.O., named by my family for the massive amount of time outs this kid wracks up each day) lately and I think I might be winning.  Might being the operative word.  Liam is very definitive in what he does and doesn't want to do and we have been embroiled in a power struggle for 3 weeks now over who will be the boss of the house.  As of today, I am happy to announce that I am relatively sure the boss is me.  Sure I have to count to five and threaten a time out, reminding him to make a "good choice," every time I need him to behave, but I am finding myself doing that less and less these days.   Added bonus, he is so good at T.O. now that I just have to tell him to go take a T.O. and he grumpily trots to the bottom of the stairs and sits himself down.  He also comes and tattles on himself after doing something to make Laney cry, slinking in the room covering his eyes with one hand muttering naughty.  Maybe Liam is capable of impulse control after all.  The jury is still out...

Liam vs the babysitter

I dropped the kids off at my mom's house this morning so I could go work out at the gym.  Upon my return, Sonia reported that both of the kids were pretty good, although she did mention an incident with Liam.  It got too quiet in the house, and she found Liam in the living room STANDING ON TOP OF THE GRAND PIANO!  When he spotted her, he shook his finger at her and said "NO NO NO NO!"

Even he knew he was being naughty.  Oh Liam...

What do these things have in common?

rock

fork

wooden puzzle piece

sippy cup

8 loveys

straightening iron

q-tip

Kindle

plastic broccoli

flashlight

glasses

Carmex

Answer?  These are all things I found in bed with me after letting Liam get out of his crib at 6:15 this morning.  We share one big room in Tahoe, so I knew that I could keep an eye on him {sort of} while I tried to catch a few more zzz's.  Leaving a one year old to his own devices is an interesting social experiment, and I am still scratching my head over where the fork came from...

Laneyism

We were driving behind an older car today that was belching out black smoky exhaust.  Pretty soon our car was filled with the delicately scented aroma of burning rubber.  Laney asked me why it smelled so bad and I told her that the car in front of us was really stinky.  She then announced that the driver in front of us really needed to give their car a bath so it would smell better!  How cute is that??

Having 2 kids is like...

Having two children under age four in the house is like having two very small ninjas follow you everywhere you go, booby trapping anything they think you might touch.  I realized as I made breakfast this morning that I operate under the assumption that everything is about to leak, spill, or explode on me {and usually does!}  Note to whoever unscrewed the syrup lid enough to make the it fall off while I was squeezing the bottle onto Liam's waffle:  I'm onto you.  I've narrowed it down to 2 candidates and I know where you live.

Now, it's time for some wipees and a mop.

Halloween costume?????

Sadly, our son makes a fairly convincing Elton John in Laney's pretty pink heart sunglasses...

Family Elton outfits this October?  It's on the radar now!

Beautiful poem about children

"Your children are not your children.
They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 
They come through you but not from you.
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the make upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness.
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He also loves the bow that is stable.” ―Khalil Gibran