Christmas Nana

Emma was so excited yesterday to pick up Nana. The house was a real disaster Saturday morning. It had been a couple weeks since I had done a very thorough cleaning. But, the family was very helpful in getting ready for the arrival of Nana. Emma's room could not even be stepped into, it was so messy. I told her to clean her room and a look of dismay clouded over her face. So, I tried a different approach. I said, "Why don't you clean your room since we have to pick up Nana today." She got the biggest smile on her face! She said, "Yeah, we have to get Nana so we can have Christmas."

We've been getting a lot of gifts in the mail over the last few weeks and Emma's been helping me wrap them. Since Jason is deploying before Christmas, we decided to have an early Christmas for just him. We got his gifts and he's getting ours. Nana Karen is involved in this early holiday, as well, since she happens to be here. Nana's arrival was the best gauge I had for telling Emma when we would be able to open the gifts. She's been a little confused though, because I've also been getting a few gifts for regular Christmas. I told Emma we would open those gifts when we were with Jammy. So, yesterday morning Emma kept saying we were going to have Christmas with Nana and then we were going to see Jammy and have Christmas with her.

I've always tried to be careful when I give Emma good news about something because I don't want her to get disappointed when something falls through. And as it turned out, while Nana was still coming, I told Emma way to early. We didn't have to go pick her up from the airport until the evening. We had several errands to run through out the day and every time we got back in the car, Emma said, "Let's just go get Nana." By three o clock, the house was very clean and we had three hours to wait before we could leave. So, Emma had to play with a minimal amount of toys for three hours straight. She did a pretty good job, though. And it was great having the Nana excuse. "No, don't get that out because we have to go get Nana." And every time I would say something like that Emma would regain her excitement. She was a very giddy girl all evening.

On the way to the airport, Emma slept. I was thankful she was getting in a little nap. The drive is two hours so it was a pretty good rest for her and she definitely needed it. She was starting to get grumpy and sassy towards the end of the evening. We left earlier than we needed to out of boredom and now that we live in Anacortes it doesn't take as long to get to the airport. So, we arrived really early and had to wait in the waiting lot. I had a nasty headache by this time and Jason was exhausted. Emma, however, was wide awake. Jason and I tried to get a little nap in while Emma sat patiently in the back for us to make our move.

Fortunately, Nana's plane arrived early. Poor Emma thought we were going to be getting on a plane. So  she was a little disappointed when we simply pulled up to the curb. There were these rent-a-cops on these little scooters directing traffic right where we were supposed to pick up Karen. So, we couldn't park it and we didn't see her at first. We drove off to drive around again and as we were driving off we got a phone call from Karen saying, "Wait! I'm here!" (Those are my words.)

We finally picked Nana Karen up in the truck. Emma was beside herself with glee. She was giggling uncontrollably and, of course, talking up a storm. There was so much she had to get Nana caught up on. The life of a three year old is so busy. I had to chime in every so often to explain the context of what Emma was talking about. As her mother, I've never felt confused with our conversations; but as she talked with someone who isn't around much it was amazing how "in the know" I am with Emma's ramblings. I had to explain how when Emma says "yesterday" she simply means, it happened in the past. It could be as early as an hour ago or a month ago. If you aren't around her that often, it can be hard to decipher.

Emma's main topic of conversation was how she was scared of owls. She had lots of questions as to whether Karen was scared of owls when she was a kid and she proceeded to tell Karen that God will keep you safe from the owls. I also had to explain Emma's thinking on God, though, because as Emma was telling Karen about God, I realized how confusing it could be if you didn't know Emma. She went through this owl phase (which I thought was over) where every night she was waking up scared of owls. I told her that if she woke up scared, all she had to do was pray to God and ask him to watch over her and keep her safe. Emma would complain about how that wouldn't work because God isn't here. So, I explained how God is here, though we can't see him. I told Emma that he lived in Heaven which was part of the sky, but it was so high up past the clouds that we couldn't see him. Emma took that to mean, the Moon. Since then, I'm starting to discover that Emma is less scared when the moon is out. If the moon is hidden by the clouds or not there, she asks a lot of questions about where the moon is and corresponds it with God. It's kind of cute. And I think it's precious the way her mind is trying to figure out God. I think the connection she has made with God and the moon is kind of neat and I can see how as a kid, it would be comforting to think of it in that way.

Karen decided to spend the first night with us in the RV so she didn't have to check into her hotel late. Our pull out couches don't pull out right now. We took away that feature so that we could have a more comfortable couch. So, she bunked with Emma last night. As Jason and I laid in bed doing our nightly routine, we hear Emma chattering away at Nana and for all the traveling she did, Nana seemed to be pretty cheery in her responses. But, then Nana got quieter, Emma was singing, then Emma was talking, then back to singing and finally silence. So much exciting, new activity for our little Tiny. The next ten days are going to be a whirl wind of...Emma. She gets so overwhelmed with excitement and energy when Nana visits. Jason and I look forward to our free and very willing babysitter for a couple date nights while she's here.

Now, how will I explain to Emma that, though Nana is here, we still can't do Christmas for a few days?

Questions about Dad

Found some questions to ask Emma about Daddy.
1. How old is Dad? Big

2. What color is Dad's hair and eyes? Hair: black Eyes: Green (I think she's right. I don't even know ha ha)

3. What does Dad like to wear? Ships, when I go to Jammy's and I see my cousins.

4. What does Dad like to eat? Chicken

5. What makes Dad smart? Laughing

6. What does Dad work hard at? Ship

7. What does Dad always tell you? Get a time out (he doesn't say it that often, but I guess it stays in her mind lol)

8. What makes Dad happy? Laughing

9. Where would Dad go if he went on a trip and what would he take with him? He would go on a boat and take Emma (so, sweet)

10. What do you love about your Dad? Not going on a trip

11. What would you give your Dad? Chicken and bread

(I asked Emma number 12 and she said, "Oh, my mother's calling" and ran off. I called her back.)

12. What is your favorite thing about Dad? Time outs.

Sometimes it just has to happen

I'm getting tired of allowing other people to affect my mood. And, sadly, it happens most often on facebook, a place I should be able to control. I don't really like people. I'm sorry, but it's true. I never have. I have always been an animal person. I will take a good pet over a friend any day of the week. I like a little companionship here and there, but I like it on my terms. I don't like keeping up with friends and frankly, there are few people out there that truly believe and think the same way I do. Trying to hang out with someone who doesn't share the same thoughts and ideas is just annoying. I'm a very opinionated person and I have no qualms about telling someone exactly what I think. I've learned how to be nice and tone it down for society, but at the end of the day, if your simply irritating me to no end, I'm just going to tell you. If you decide that my comments warrant that we can't be friends anymore, I hate to break it to you, but I don't care. That's just one less person I have to be annoyed by on a daily basis. I speak frankly right now because sometimes it's just time to say, "That's enough!"

And the time is now. I've had enough of liberal thinkers who want everyone to be treated fairly with no feelings hurt and get offended at every turn. I'm sorry, but that's just not the way it is. We were all born sinners. God sent his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. We have the free will to accept that gift. God gave us the Bible as a guide. The Bible says "Let no man offend, thee." It also says no where that life should be fair. It's extremely clear. Heaven or Hell. God's way or man's way. And he even gave us the means of living a perfectly happy life with a happy ending in His Word. We have, but to put our selfish, carnal nature aside, believe it, accept it and do it. I struggle to do God's will every day. But I know His ways are true and right and I'm no longer going to be letting liberal thinkers affect me or my family.

I'm also doing away as best as I can with the uneducated and the insecure. These types affect my day to day thoughts and attitude even more so than the liberals. I could just scream at the parents who won't teach their children. The public school system is not cutting it. It gets worse by the year, though I won't rave too much on this matter as I haven't done all the research. But, I've done enough to know that future generations are simply doomed if left to the "public" to school them. Teenage mothers, drugs, and insecurities is what our future generation gets in public school, to name but a few. And even if you could teach your children to stay away from those things, education in it's self is in the dumps. A teenage girl called my phone by accident the other day and I was appalled by our conversation. She mumbled so badly that I could hardly understand her. She spoke as if she were on drugs and her attitude was that of rebellion to anything proper. I would have thought she was a 10 year old girl by the way she spoke with out any education in her speech at all.  I don't keep up with many online social groups, but I can tell just from facebook that no one knows anything about the English language anymore. And it's not surprising when half the game isle in Walmart is full of Spanish only games, kids TV programs are in English and Spanish as well as schools, airports, and other overly populated areas with spanish speaking people all catering to the Spanish language by putting Spanish translation first instead of English. I have a hard time finding the English directions anymore on anything I buy including food products. I'm all for learning another language, but lets master our own English language first. I do not speak as properly as English was meant to be spoken, but, I'll be damned if I don't at least teach Emma how to speak properly as well as writing properly. There's nothing more annoying than reading someone's uneducated letter, text, comment ect. Why, oh why don't people find this important anymore?

I'm also far less concerned with whether Emma has friends or is socially expectable than I am with her coming up with insecurities. Uneducated people (among others that I won't go into) like to prey on others by placing thoughts of insecurities in a kid's mind. People make fun of me because I say good grief, be quiet, that stinks and other "nicer" terms. Uneducated people want to feel smart (I guess) by trying to make you feel like an idiot if you don't swear or use the slang of the day. Emma is going to be smart, beautiful, firm in her foundation and firm in her beliefs. And when someone makes fun of her she's going to know how to handle it. I'm still deciding what I'm going to teach her to do or say. I wasn't bothered by bullies when I was a kid. I had a few bullies, but their taunting didn't keep me up nights. My parents, somehow, where able to teach us to be sure of ourselves. To this day, I really could care less what anyone thinks of me. I wear what I want to wear. I say what I want to say. And when peers pressure me I usually laugh at them because I know that all they really want is for me to dumb down to their level. When I was a kid it was nice to blame the parents, but as an adult I realized that I didn't want to do those things anyway. I won't even get started on Alcohol and how it's just a product used by uneducated people to make them feel better. If you don't drink too, then you're the idiot? The weird one? Correction: I'm educated and sure of myself and I can have a good time while being myself with out the help of some drug. I've never succumbed to the dumbing down of our generation and I will never allow Emma to be involved in it either.

Up until now, I've put up with these groups of people. I try to be nice. I try to understand. But, I don't understand. And I don't care about their feelings. I want to tell them they are idiots and move on with my day. I don't think it's very Christian like to tell someone they are an idiot, though, so I won't take it that far. But I can control other parts of my day that allow these groups of people to affect me and my family. Jason is just as fed up with it as I am. And I'm so proud of the lady I know Emma is going to become! I can hardly wait to start teaching her how to be a lady and stand above the idiots. :) It's going to be fun. We'll do lady classes and protocol classes. She'll have one or two good friends who encourage her in the right way and we'll be one happy, stress free family.

Questions I asked Emma

Pinterest had this fun idea to ask your kids a few question about yourself. Her answers at 3 years old were hilarious. I want to try and remember to do this each year.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Daddy

2. What makes Mommy happy?

Bad

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Happy (I don't think she understands these emotions lol but she knows her opposites)

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
After asking this question Emma just started laughing hysterically.

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Walked to the store

6. How old is Mommy?
3

7. How tall is Mommy?
Huge (and she held her hands high in the air)

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
school (kind of true)

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Be Grumpy (lol little does she know I go off and sleep and eat chocolate)

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
time out's (ha ha ha)

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Princess Celestia (A my little Pony character which was sitting on the table as I asked these questions lol)

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
flowers, plants, crowns, headbands, and hairties (huh, I thought I was pretty good at that stuff.)

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
books (kind of true)

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Speghetti-o's (her favorite)

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Helping her with her pumpkin

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Princess Celestia

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
school

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
tall (true)

19. How are you and Mommy different?
puppies.....(ok)

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
hugs (and she proceeded to hug me)

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Washington (what?! It's probably the only "place" she knows to say lol)