What a beautiful day we had today! Hayley, Collin (my friend Suzanna's son) and I went to my friend Venessa's to swim and play cornhole. Venessa has our new puppy Izzy's sister, Allie. So, we decided to take Izzy with us. Allie is quite a bit bigger than Izzy, kind of makes me think we're not feeding Izzy enough. Or maybe Izzy is just the runt? They are about 12 weeks old now. The puppies did pretty good together...like typical sisters one minute they were fighting and the next minute they were playing. Allie is definitely more agressive than Izzy. Venessa has another dog as well, so I'm sure that's one reason Allie is a little more fiesty. We put Izzy in the pool...I think she liked it. :) Venessa has two children, Lexi and Dylan. All of the kids had a good time. I think I'm just as big of a kid as they are when it comes to playing cornhole. :) I'm happy to say Collin and I beat Dylan and his friend, Chase. (they beat us last time we were there) Hayley's attitude was okay today, but still not great towards me. I guess it's always going to be a work in progress. This evening we went for a two mile walk with Suzanna, Collin and the Wambold clan. (for those of you who don't know Sophie Wambold was Chloe's best friend, her mom is Sarah and she has a little brother as well as two older sisters, Kelsey and Sydney) Hayley and I have been walking with Sarah and her girls for several weeks now. We've come to realize the girls do better on our walks if we walk throughout the neighborhood instead of walking at the highschool track. When we walk at the track they complain about the distance, when we're just walking without doing laps they complain so much less! I say "they" but really it's mostly Hayley who complains. Walking isn't her exercise of choice...she'd much rather be swimming or playing tennis. :) I think we are going to try to start going to the Y more often...there is so much to do there. I even managed to get some housework and laundry done today. Only thing I didn't get to do much of, was spend time with Aaron. He worked pretty late and doesn't do outside well....at least not when it's this hot. I'm really hoping he and I can start spending some better time together. When the weather is cooler he'll probably start walking with us. :) So, I did enjoy my day off......yay, for that! It's nice to have a day off that is fun and productive. I hope everyone has a great week!
3 comments:
I like the new look! Now you can keep changing your layout and stuff.
How cute that Izzy gets to visit her sister!
Hi, Christy,
I'm just catching up. You are a great blogger. You are also healthy and wise. I think it's smart to keep blogging and not a bad idea to add something other than cb. I can't believe they have a ladybug background now, btw. Too cute for your special girl. I think you are doing the right thing to put limits on Hayley. It is such a critical time as she transitions to teen years. They say that kids today are often crying out for someone to take the time to tell them no and stick to it. They feel more love when someone cares enough to stop them from getting out of hand. They need parents to be the parent (not necessarily "best friend"). Respect is so critical. So many kids aren't getting that and it causes them so much hurt later as they will have problems in relationships outside home. If Aaron backs you up, it will go a long way toward helping Hayley have a healthy relationship with you. Maybe when you take things away from her, it might be easier to manage if you took one electronic thing away at a time, or two. But I should stop trying to be a psychologist. I have read some things about this and have, of course, experienced it with my kids, neices and nephews and the kids at church, but that doesn't make me an expert. Keep up the good work, Mom. I wonder, too, about the lingering effects of the trauma Hayley has been through. My sister, Melanie Thompson, and I lost our mom when I was 6 and Mel was 18 months. Even though Mel was too young to remember, she and I both later continued to experience grief at different stages of our lives. And, as you know, different people express it different ways. I truly believe our family did the best they could to get us all through it. (Our step-brothers also lost their dad.) God has provided healing for us and met our needs over the years. Yet, looking back, we wonder what it would have been like if we had the opportunity to deal with it a little more openly. Or maybe even have some follow-up counseling as we reached different maturity levels in our life. It was hurtful when everyone moved on as if it never happened. It's a balancing act to handle it the healthiest way, I guess.
On a less serious note, your puppy, Izzy, is precious. They had weiner dog races in Evansville recently and the pictures were funny. And since I'm not from IN, I've been wondering why cornhole is called cornhole. Isn't it a beanbag game? I've got to get this regional stuff down since I've lived here almost nine years!:)
Love,
Heather
Hi Christy,
I just read your blog about the time you're having with Hayley. I remember being told that you have to love your kids enough to make them hate you. You might have to look at it that way with things being as they are between you and Hayley. Kind of a tough love thing. I know that worked with our daughter, it's hard to do but it was worth it. Some of the best advice I ever received as a Mom was when my best friend told me if you tell your kids you are going to ground them or take privileges away, you have to carry through because if you told that same child you were going to buy her some she really wanted, you'd follow through and the kids would demand that of you. I've thought that a hundred times over when they were growing up. I now use that same theory with our grandkids. I admit being a Mom is the hardest job I've ever had, and they didn't even come with directions! But it's also the most rewarding job. I hope things get better for you and Hayley. Earning respect from our kids is like potty training them. You take them to the bathroom, over and over again until it becomes second nature to them. You tell your child no over and over until they understand that you mean business. It's so stressful when there is conflict with our kids. Hang on, this, too shall pass. You're a good Mom, Hayley is just testing the water to see how far she can go with you. Typical of most kids.
I think Izzy is so precious.
I'll be thinking about you and your ups and downs with Hayley. People need love most when they deserve it the least. I think we always love our children, sometimes we just don't like the way they are acting.
Thanks for blogging, I enjoy reading your blogs.
LIVE LOVE LAUGH!
Love, Mary
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