Monday, May 18, 2009

Oh my...

You know, I know that I tend to be overprotective of my children. And I have a mean, nasty temper. The temper thing is something I've been working on for many years (sometimes it's better, sometimes it's worse), and will most likely continue to work on until the day I die. But when you combine the two - my children + my temper = bad circumstances. I love my kids, and I want them to stay kids as long as possible. Short of locking them in their rooms for the entirety of their lives, I'm not sure I can do it... but that doesn't mean I won't try. Ask anyone who really knows me, and they'll tell you that I'm the type of person who throws myself against the wall until I stick.

What does all of this have to do with anything? I'm getting there.

My daughters are all unique and possess many different individual strengths. For example, my oldest is super outgoing and social, and it takes a lot to hurt her feelings. My youngest is the comedian of the family, and is always out to get a laugh. But my middle baby? She is affectionate and shy, but is by far the most sensitive, and all it takes is a harsh look to make her cry. She is the main reason that I want to try and homeschool my children next year.

I've already said that I'm overprotective of my girls. Now you know that my middle baby is really sensitive. So when I hear someone talking to her (or my other girls) harshly, I'll be honest with you - it makes my temper rise. It burns my butter. It ticks me off. Yeah, I get REAL angry. When I hear that a boy in her class kicks her every day when they're in line, it makes me want to go to the school and teach the kid (AND the parents) a lesson. When I hear that someone calls her names because she has freckles, I want to turn them over my knee and paddle their bottom. (Ever hear the Natasha Bedingfield song "Freckles"? If not, you should give it a listen. Brilliant.) When a friend of the family makes comments to her, it makes me want to smack some sense into them.

But my daughter? She never retaliates. And I think we all know that I can learn something from her. Just like Jesus taught, she turns the other cheek. Does it hurt her feelings? Of course it does. Does she seek revenge on those who do her wrong? Never. She just doesn't see the point. And I wish to heaven that I was the same way. If someone hurts one of my babies, I am ready to go on a rampage. What I should be doing is falling to my knees and praying - not only for help with my own quick-to-anger temperament, but also for the person hurting my child. God knows that I thank Him for my daughters every single day. Nothing in this world means more to me than them, or being their mommy. I just need to open my heart a little bit more and be an example for them, instead of it being the other way around.

This blog is now being posted to Facebook too, so for those of you over on Facebook who are confused... I just discovered today that you can do that, and that is why you see old blog posts of mine showing up in the "notes" section of my profile. Sorry 'bout that. If you want to see the real blog in its entirety, go to http://4bakergirls.blogspot.com.

My youngest must be going through a growth spurt. It seems like all she's wanted to do for the last two weeks is EAT. Literally. Her day is breakfast, snack, snack, snack, lunch, snack, snack, snack, snack, snack, dinner, snack snack snack snack!!!! And she doesn't get small portions of food, either. Don't worry, she's not being overfed, and she's not getting high sugar/high fat foods, either (except for the cocoa puffs that she loves so much). I'm grateful that she now eats a pretty wide variety of foods and is relatively easy to please - now I just wish my middle child would take her lead. :(

Friday, May 15, 2009

My new best friend

This is my new best friend. It heats up to 32 oz. of liquid in less than one minute, and retails for $9.99 at Walgreens - but I got it for free. Amen.



Please ignore all the tea in the background. I told you guys I was a junkie - it's not my fault if you didn't believe me!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

100 things about me.

As if y'all ever needed (or wanted, for that matter) to know this much about me... still, I haven't been a faithful blogger for a while (I tend to have waves wherein I am interested, then lose interest, then get interested again. Truth be told, I am too busy reading other peoples' blogs to keep my own up-to-date).

100. I LOVE coffee and all things coffee-flavored.
99. I am a tea junkie. Every time I go to the grocery, I buy a new box of flavored tea bags - though Earl Grey always has been, and always will be, my favorite.
98. I never wanted kids until I met my stepdaughter. Now I have 4 (including her). LOVE YOU TAYLOR!
97. When I get interested in something, I jump in with both feet.
96. I am going to attempt to homeschool my children next year.
95. I miss my mother more than words can describe.
94. I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen.
93. From Kindergarten to 12th grade, I wanted to be an Archaeologist. I still regret letting my mom talk me out of that.
92. I love anything to do with the Ancient Egyptian culture.
91. I love music of all kinds - from Michael Buble to Jay-Z, I have varied tastes.
90. I often feel compelled to write. Whether it's nonsense, a story, or otherwise - I love to have a pen and paper with me at all times.
89. I take an average of 40 photos per day. (NOT an exaggeration, as the DVDs full of pictures can prove)
88. Grocery shopping is my favorite kind of shopping.
87. I fear being robbed or having my home broken into.
86. I can stay in the bath tub for 2 hours or more, because I read while soaking.
85. I have serious anger issues.
84. Someday I want to go to Bluefield, WV.
83. Even though I have 4 girls, I sometimes wish I had one more, just so I could use a family name for her.
82. I have 91 framed photographs on my walls.
83. I cry at the end of Steel Magnolias every single time I watch it.
82. When I'm sick or generally not feeling well, I watch my favorite movie of all time - Breakfast at Tiffany's.
81. I hate it when people remake movies or songs.
80. I would be lost without my planner.
79. I love to plan parties.
78. I am a perpetual list-maker.
77. I love having long hair, but I hate the way hair feels on the back of my neck, so I usually keep it short.
76. I wish I had more friends.
75. I am often saddened by the fact that old friends aren't friends anymore.
74. I wish my Dad lived closer.
73. I wish I got along better with my siblings (I was not raised with them).
72. I wish my stepdaughter didn't live on another continent.
71. I would love to call my mother-in-law "Mom" but I wonder if she or her daughter would feel strange about it.
70. I love staying at home with my 3 yr old, but regret that I couldn't for my other two children.
69. I don't want my daughters to resent me the way I did my mother when I was a teenager.
68. I feel like I've done more growing up this last year than I have in a long time.
67. I want my daughters to love books and reading as much as I always have.
66. I suffer from insomnia.
65. I like SpongeBob so much that I watch it even when the kids aren't around.
64. I love shoes but hate shoe shopping because I wear such a large size.
63. I am addicted to Mario Kart on the Wii.
62. I used to smoke, but quit in 2000.
61. I am allergic to dogs.
60. I love David Boreanaz.
59. I get super upset when a movie or TV show completely ruins a book (or series of books) that I like.
58. I wish there were more Harry Potter books coming out just so the kids and I could go to the midnight release parties.
57. I once lived in Iowa for 2 months.
56. I have gone to 5 different colleges.
55. I own over 50 different bottles of nail polish.
54. If I like a specific kind of soap/lotion, I buy a lot of it in case it gets discontinued before I can get back to the store to buy more.
53. I wish my mother had taught me how to make some of her signature dishes before she passed away.
52. I love my church, but wish I had more friends there.
51. I love Audrey Hepburn movies.
50. I watch too much TV (Bones, all 3 CSIs, Criminal Minds, Crusoe, The Mentalist, Big Bang Theory, etc etc).
49. I am terrified at the possibility of my children or I contracting a disease through bug bites.
48. I have a terrible memory, and my children call me swiss cheese brain because of it.
47. I love taking family vacations.
46. I love camping and wish we did it more.
45. I am terrified of the dentist and needles of any kind.
44. I would rather give birth than spend 9 months being pregnant.
43. I have osteoarthritis in my knees, and can't climb or descend stairs very well because of it.
42. I have chronic back problems as a result from being pregnant 5 times.
41. I love purses.
40. I love pens and have a ton of them.
39. I don't like basketball because of the noise sneakers make on the court.
38. I love pro football and check NFL.com every day.
37. I like to scrapbook but rarely find the time to do it.
36. I am totally in love with my daughters, and they are the center of my world.
35. Whenever one of my kids can tell me a Bible story or verse, it makes me cry.
34. I love my mother & father in law just as though they were my own parents.
33. My sister in law is one of my best friends. So is my stepdaughter.
32. The one household chore that I loathe is doing the dishes.
31. If I had a million dollars, I would buy some land, and have 3 houses built on it - ours, my mother & father in law's, and my sister & brother in law's.
30. I hope my children learn from their parents' mistakes.
29. I love getting mail.
28. I read magazines in the check-out at the grocery, but never buy them.
27. When I get money (even as a gift), I always wind up spending it on the kids (I love to see their little faces when they get something new).
26. I wish I could go back to Florida on vacation.
25. I have come to realize that, though I would love to travel, I would never want to live anywhere else than where I am now.
24. I hate it when I take the kids to a playground and other parents don't watch their own children.
23. I can barely stand to visit the cemetery because all I can do is cry.
22. My favorite candy: Twizzlers. A close second? Peanut M & M's.
21. I don't stand up for myself to certain people, even though I know I should.
20. I hate having my picture taken.
19. I hate that the majority of my family members only get in touch with me when they want something from me.
18. I love to read & write fanfiction.
17. I love it when it rains, and love listening to it.
16. I love the snow, and sometimes wish I lived somewhere where it snows the majority of the year.
15. I could spend whole days at the zoo, or a museum, and still want to go back the next day.
14. The only good popcorn comes from a movie theater.
13. I have had the same backpack since 1995.
12. I love to drive and find peace in it (as long as it's not rush hour).
11. My favorite colors are yellow and blue.
10. I don't believe in ghosts or psychics.
9. I hate talking on the phone, except to my mother in law or stepdaughter.
8. I am constantly afraid that the people I love think poorly of me.
7. I don't always feel like I'm a very good mother.
6. I don't cry a lot, but once I start, I can't stop.
5. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone says they'll do something, and then they just don't.
4. I wish I could talk to my mother one last time.
3. I'm trying to work on a family tree to leave my children, but my family is so confusing that no one seems to be able to help me with it.
2. In the last 4 years, I have owned at least 6 different digital cameras.
1. I would love to be a professional photographer or baker.