Weekly "I AM"

Outside my window... my trees look sad and droopy. Like me, I don't think they were prepared for this terrible heat. It's just so darn hot out. The cottonwood trees are letting go of their annoying fluff. It's like a dandelion being constantly blown in your face. blah!

I am thinking... What a great week I had last week. It was the Knox Family Reunion at Lake Tenkiller. I had the best time! My kids had so much fun. It was just one of those weeks I will remember for a long time. My kids, the older two, are coming into the age where they are fun to take places. We didn't have to hover over Chloe while she was in the pool because she can control herself in her life jacket now. Cooper, well, Matt had to snatch him out of the hot tub once because he got in without anyone knowing, scary. Colbie and I hung out in the cabin during the day because it was a little warm for me, but it worked out well because of the other babies in the family. I am so lucky to be part of the Knox's. Love those people.

I got Matt into geocaching. If you have not done this; do! It is so fun and so addicting. What's great is if you have a smart phone you can play. You just need a GPS. Basically, I won't go into the lingo, but basically things are hidden all around you by people. These 'caches' are there to be found. I created an account on geocaching(dot)com and starting hunting. We found our first 'treasure' as Chloe calls them, after church yesterday under a tree near our campus. Look into it. There are things hidden, literally, all over the world! Matt and I really want to go to Colorado, one because of the heat, but two because we want to geocache. He's become an addict.

I am planning to cook... I'm cooking a pork chop thing in the crock. I'm too lazy to go to the Tasty Kitchen site, copy the link and post it. I hope it's good. It's a new one and I get a little nervous about brand new recipes. The rest of the week we'll have regular dinners, chicken burgers, tortellini soup and Matt found some "Product of USA" cod at our local meat market, so we'll have that. Am I going to eat the cod? I might. hehe

I am reading... The Ambition by Lee Strobel. My mother in law told me about a book called, You Can't Make Me, but I Can Be Persuaded. I stumbled upon a podcast with the author of the book. I realize that Cooper is my Strong Willed Child!! Those podcasts were life changing. I am not kidding. I have been parenting Cooper ALL WRONG!! I have been telling him what to do, and that doesn't work, it hasn't been working! The author said, you have to word it differently. For instance, here is what I would normally say, "Cooper pick up your toys." He would in turn tell me "NO!" So now I say, "Cooper, I know you love playing with your toys, let's pick them up, okay?" It works! I am still learning how to word what I want him to do, sometimes takes me a few tries to get him to comply, but once I get the wording correct, he always says, "Ok, mom!" I tried to buy the book on Amazon, the wait is 1-3 months. It has changed my attitude. I now feel more capable with him, I don't feel so lost in parenting him. So I am trying to not change his strong will but guide him. So great!

I am wearing... shorts and a t-shirt... surprise surprise.

I am hearing... People's Court ending, I just turned it off. It's the one show during the day, I really enjoy watching. I'm weird I know. I normally hear Colbie, but she's napping. I guess her waking up at 4am then 5am has worn her out.

I am learning... how to parent Cooper better. That Colbie is so much her own person I sometimes feel like I am doing something wrong because she won't do certain things. For instance, I tried feeding her 'real' food the other day. She's 6 months, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Here's how it went...... it didn't. She refused to open her mouth. I am not kidding. The girl refused to even crack her lips! She's 6 months old people!!! I tried applesauce, thinking the natural sweetness in apples would be better than that icky rice cereal. Here's how it went....it didn't. She dry heaved then refused. I am foreseeing another SWC (strong willed child) BUT the author of the book says, "If you have been blessed with a SWC, you have been complimented greatly by God."


I am praying... there's a lot of things on my prayer list, but one that may seem trivial to most is the heat. I know it's nearly summer, but it's not summer and I'd really like to enjoy June if possible. The heat just makes me feel so darn dizzy. I wore my vest to church yesterday and it was so nice. I guess she'll (vest) be my new BFF for the next 3-4 months.