Swabs & Bald Seagulls

There is no question, Bryden is a very smart little girl :-) Everyone agrees...her grandparents, her teachers, her friends even say it....but most of all her Mama thinks so!!

Every once in awhile she will be trying so hard to carry on or start a conversation above the 4 years old that she is. That scenario often produces funny little "kids say the darndest things" moments. This weekend she had 2 in the same day!!

We had a beautiful, sunny weekend last weekend. It was about 80 degrees and Jim took the kids outside to play in the backyard. Soon after being out there Bryden ran into the house like her hair was on fire. "Mama!!! There are big swabs outside!!" You can imagine my confusion in not being sure what a swab was. So, I asked "What is a swab?" She tartly replied, "Mama, you know. They are so big." Still not sure I prompted her to tell me a little more about what a swab looked like. She said, "It is big and has wings."

OK, from that description I realized that it is big and that it flies. So, I went outside onto the deck to see for myself what a swab looked like. When I got out there Bryden ran away screeching "Another swab!! It can eat you!!" I didn't see a thing out there that was big and was flying nevermind something that could eat me. My brave little Hayden came wandering up and pointed and said "Mama, fly." Then I realized what a swab was. It was a WASP. At that point I didn't know which was funnier...Bryden who couldn't pronounce wasp or Hayden who thought it was a fly.

For some reason Bryden can't get her mouth wrapped around the word wasp or wasps. It comes out swab everytime. It makes me laugh everytime I hear her say it or think about her saying it. The funny thing is that she is hearing herself say wasp and doesn't realize that she is saying the word wrong.

Second funny word of the weekend. Same beautiful day, same deck outside, same sweet little girl who is so smart (thought I'd throw that in there again :-). Bryden looks up into the sky and points at a large bird. Then she says "Mama, that is a bald seagull isn't it?" I didn't have the heart to correct her so I said "Yes Bryden it is." I am sure that if God created a bald seagull he would have had them flying over our house that day.

So, when you see a swab or a bald seagull think of sweet Bryden.

The Love of My Boy

Yeah, today is Friday and it is the day that Hayden and I get to spend a little bit of time together. Landen is sleeping and Bryden is at school so Hayden and I get to have some fun.

For anyone who knows me well you will know 2 things. The first is that I always said that I would not have children (or get married for that matter). My logic was that I didn't need my own because I taught swimming lesson or coached competitive swimmers all year round. Those parents paid me to work with their children and then I got to send them home. What a good deal that was!!

The second thing is that I do not have an artistic bone in my body. My type "A" personality does not seem to allow me to be artistic and creative. Now, I can color in the lines with the best of them but I really struggle to draw anything freehand. I know that I don't do it well so I shy away from it. OK, that is an understatement...I stay away from drawing like it is the plague.

Well, this morning Hayden and I sat down with a pile of books and started reading. I love to read and it was going along very well. Then suddenly Hayden stood up and said "Mama draw". He ran to his desk and picked up some paper and a pencil and came back to me and with all kinds of anticipation in his eyes said "Fava Tuck, Mama". My initital response was "No Hayden...you draw Mama a firetruck." That did not go over so well. He said "No, Mama draw."

So, with all the apprehension in the world I started to draw a firetruck. As I am drawing I am thinking "What a lame attempt this is." When I finished Hayden said "Nice. Draw airplane." So, I drew an airplane. Then he asked for a "Nana" (which is a car...cars say nanana...that is where the name comes from). Then a "Bus"...then a "Boat"...then a "Choo Choo"...then a "Peace Car"...then a "Tuck" (truck).

As I drew Hayden smiled ear to ear...the smile that only my sweet boy can do. He didn't care that in the world of artists his Mama would receive a failing grade. He only cared that I was sitting with him...he had 100% of my attention and I was able to "draw" his favorite things.

I now know that I could never have lived my life without children of my own. I love to teach swimming lessons and I love to coach those swim team kids but I think that I was meant to be a Mama. All the years of loving everyone else's kids was preparing me for the time that I would love my own in a way that I never knew possible. I am so proud of each of my kids and I love them so much and yet so differently.

I will NEVER be an artist in the "real" world but in the little "Palmer World" this Mama can draw firetrucks, buses and boats with the best of them. The love in my son's eyes is what tells me that. I hope that he can see the love in my eyes staring right back at him.

The Way to Hurt a Mama's Feelings

It happens all the time to my kids. People stop us and comment on how beautiful their auburn hair is or how cute their curls are or how pretty their smiles are. On the outside I smile and say "Thank you". On the inside I am crying because all three of my children look JUST LIKE JIM!! It isn't fair. I carry these precious children for 9 months (Bryden was 9 1/2 months) and they don't look a think like me. One would think this was odd since the Harvey genes were so strong in our family.

The nice thing is that no one (other than family...which doesn't count) has ever made a comment about the children not looking like me. That is until we went to the mall a few months back. A nice little old lady came up and said "Oh, your children are beautiful." And I said my usual "Thank you." But she continued. The next words out of her mouth were those that no mother wants to hear. "They must look like your husband."

Now, while I know that is true I DO NOT need a sweet little old lady to remind me of it. So, I am not in therapy for this but I am tackling it head on. YES, MY CHILDREN ALL LOOK LIKE JIM AND NOT ME!! There, I said it and I am OK with it but it doesn't mean that my feelings aren't hurt just a little bit :-) Maybe I should try one more time to have a baby that looks like me :-) So, below you will see what I am talking about and you can draw your own conclusions.

The first picture is Hayden at 21 months old and the second is Jim around the same age.

The above picture is of Landen at 6 months old (well almost) and the picture below is of Jim with Michele at about the same age.

Well, there I have posted these pictures for all to see. Uncanny isn't it. Imagine how I felt in the delivery room when they hand me these babies that I know came from me but don't resemble me at all. I hope now everyone feels sorry for me and will always tell me from here on out how much my kids look like me. I will know that you are lying but I promise not to care :-)

Bryden & Hayden - First Haircuts - Pictures

Bryden holding her "hair bag" and not being very pleased with the process. Hayden is more than entertained with the sucker that he got. My boy sat still!!
The end result is 2 little kids that look better than when they got up this morning!!

Our 1st Haircuts

Today was a big day in the Palmer household. Bryden and Hayden had their first haircuts. I know...Bryden is 4 and Hayden is almost 2 1/2 and it seems odd that now would be their first haircuts. Many children get a haircut in their first year of life. Well, my children didn't have enough hair in their first year of life to have a haircut. Sad isn't it?

People thought that Bryden was a boy all the time because of her short hair. She has such beautiful naturally curly hair (thanks to Daddy) and I was really afraid that cutting out the curls now would cut them out for good. That is what happened to my sister so this was hard for me to do. Due to the curls her hair looks like a rat's nest more often than not. No matter how much conditioner we use or how often we brush it the tangles return. The poor child cries every morning before school because I have to brush her hair. She has been asking for a haircut for a few weeks now.

Hayden, on the other hand, was looking more and more like a girl according to Jim. He also has naturally curly hair (thanks to Daddy) and I loved the little curls at his collar and around his ears. Jim thought that enough was enough and it was time for Hayden's hair to be cut as well.

So, off we went to the mall. There was no wait and we were ushered right it. At that point Bryden started to cry and said she didn't want to do it. Being the mean Mama that I am I sat her up in that seat and saw to it that we went through with the hair cut. I would rather deal with a few minutes of tears (due to fear) than tears every morning (due to pain). When all was said and done we actually got a smile out of Bryden. Maybe the sucker had something to do with it.

Hayden was my brave boy. He climbed right up into that chair...also with the bribe of a sucker...but at least there were no tears. He sat really still and let the nice lady cut his hair.

So, the end result is that after some apprehension (on my part) and some tears (on Bryden's part) we have children who are more beautiful than when we started the day. That from a biased Mama but you can look for yourself :-)