Parenting Is The Toughest Job There Is

I have been going round and round with my two kiddos lately about picking up after themselves, following directions, etc.  I'm at my wits end.  I feel like throwing in the towel and saying, "Go ahead.  Knock eachother's teeth out over a Little Pet Shop toy.  Destroy this place.  I'm sick of cleaning it anyway." 

That's what I would say if I didn't love my children and am concerned with the women they will become when they grow up.  I want my girls to be good, hard-working, God fearing women.  It's my job to teach them this, but why is it so hard?  ::I just imagined myself rolling on the ground, kicking, and screaming...having an all out tantrum:::

The girls brought a ton of their toys into the living room this morning.  They had been playing with them all day.  I began cleaning and getting ready for my husband to come home.  I told them to clean up the living room.  I then went into the dining room to begin sweeping.  When I was done, I went back in the living room and they were still playing.  I told them again to clean up all of their toys out of the living room.  I then went to mop the dining room.  When I returned to the living room, they were both in Katie's room playing and all of the toys were still in the living room.  I got a bag and put all of the toys that were in the living room into the bag and put the bag on the top shelf of the closet.  Katie walks out and says, "I didn't want those toys anyway."  I replied with, "It's now time to clean up your room or the same thing is going to happen in there."  She said, "I don't like any of my toys.  You can get rid of them." 

My mouth literally fell to the floor and I could feel the blood begin to boil within my veins.  I turned around, walked outside, and immediately called my mom.  She had to call me back, so I did the dishes and prayed.  "Please dear Lord help me.  Show me what to do.  Tell me what to say."  My mom called back and said to have her choose her most prized toy(s), which would be The Littlest Pet Shop.  She said to tell her that since she doesn't care for the other toys, that we would be giving her very special toys to some very special kids that don't have any toys.  Kids that would take care of them. 

I didn't do it.  I came close, but I just couldn't do it.  So, right before her daddy pulled in the driveway I walked past her room and she was actually cleaning up.  I didn't say anything, just kept walking.  She came out a little later and said that her room was clean.  I went to check and the floor was picked up.  I told her that I was so proud of her for cleaning her room up like I had asked, but then I looked under her desk and her bed.  Toys were shoved under them.  I opened her toybox and dirty clothes were in there.  We had a talk yesterday about shoving our toys under our beds, so I know that she knew better.

I told her that all of the toys needed to be put away.  She immediately threw herself on the floor and started crying.  I had had enough.  Our town throws a festival during spring break every year.  We usually go 2 or 3 days and we spend one evening eating dinner there.  This was supposed to be the night we went.  She had been talking about it ever since she saw the rides being put together.  We can go outside in the evening and hear the rides, music, and people screaming.  I said right then, "We're not going to the festival tonight.  If you show me tomorrow that you are a big girl, and can follow directions and clean your room, then we'll talk about going."  It hurt me to tell her that, but I had to put my foot down.  We were all being punished, because we all wanted to go. 

She has been crying ever since.  Eben and Kinsley were heading out the door to go to the grocery store.  He asked Katie if she wanted to go and she said no.  He put Kinsley in the carseat and got into the driver's seat.  He started to back up, but Katie ran to the door because she had changed her mind.  He stopped and pulled forward and she threw herself down again.  She was screaming that he was leaving her.  He honked his horn and I opened the door for her to go.  She was crawling toward the door.  I told her to get up and go, but she just sat in a pile on the floor crying.  I asked her if she wanted to go and she shook her head no.  So, he left.  She started freaking out again. 

Once he left, she began to calm down somewhat.  She then came to me and told me that she was hungry.  I was snacking on peanut butter and crackers.  I told her that she could have some.  She threw herself down again.  I immediately picked up her, put her in her bed, and shut the door. 

She is now sitting quietly eating peanut butter and crackers. 

Dear Lord, please help me. 

Louvier Family Introduction

I started blogging a few years ago about the daily life of my children and our tot school, but then I got a job as a first grade teacher.  I live 45 minutes away from work and as a first year teacher...it's so EXHAUSTING time consuming.  So, my other blog Monkey See, Monkey Do got pushed aside.  Now that I've only got a few more months left of school, I had the urge to start up a new blog about our daily lives.

This blog will focus on my family, how I run my household, life, and everything in between.  I feel that having a blog is like having an accountability system or a cheerleading squad cheering you on.  Being a mom, wife, and a full-time teacher is such a pleasurable experience, but let's get serious, sometimes it's just downright rough on a person.

Let's start by introducing my hubs.  He's my love.  We're not a perfect couple, by no means, but we've managed to stay together through some pretty difficult circumstances: job losses, college, other difficulities that I'd rather not put out there, and just life in general.  We never gave up on each other though.  We wanted to upteen times.  We even split up for a period in 2008, but there's just something between us that is unexplainable and we came right back together.  Eben is a wonderful husband.  He cooks, cleans up (well, the manly version of cleaning up), washes clothes (shrinking my clothing occassionally), gives me amazing back and foot massages, and washes my car (if I could only get him to put gas in it).  He can't seem to distinguish between 2T and 5T clothing yet, but he'll get it down one day (when they are finally in the same size clothing).  He's a FANTASTIC father.  He will come home after a long day at work and wrestle with the girls.  He takes them to the park and does things with them that I wish I had the energy to do. He's also a hard working man.  He runs a local cemetery.  Yes, my husband buries people.  Kind of creepy, but it pays the bills and he LOVES it.  I'm super proud of him.  He has completely turned the park around...it used to be a ran down place with lots of problems. 

He's the king of the backyard!

Katie is our oldest.  She is now 5 and a big kindergartener.  She attends school where I work.  She's a bright little girl, but I wish that I had kept her out one more year.  She was 4 for 4 days after she started kindergarten.  She is the youngest in her class.  She's reading now, and even sounded out the word squirrel the other day, but I fear that since I put her in so young that it will catch up with her.  Plus, she's so much smaller than all of the other kids.  She looks too small to be in kindergarten.  She loves school though and she adores her teacher.  She's also a thumbsucker.  Wish we would have nipped that in the bud before she started.  Any suggestions on how to make the possible would be greatly appreciated.  She's very hardheaded and can be a big time B-R-A-T.  We're working on that stuff too.  She's fickle in the sense that she wants to do everything by herself until I ask her to do something, and then she starts whining and says that she doesn't know how.  She is a tomboy/princess.  She loves to dress up in her princess clothes, high heels, and pearls and then play in the dirt with the worms and rolly pollies.  She's a piglet.  She may be tiny, but man, that child can scarf food down like no other.  She eats small meals all day long.  Everytime I turn around, "Momma, I'm hungry!"  UGH!!!  It's like feeding two teenage boys.  She loves to dance, play Barbies, change clothes all day long, and have sleepovers with her cousins.  She's my social butterfly (just like her momma was).  She's my Katie Bug.  I can't wait to see what she's like when she's older. 

Gangsta princess!

First day of kindergarten!

Kinsley is my baby.  She is 2 years old.  She is spunky.  She's very independent and wants everything to be hers.  She loves to help me clean up, and will even get a garbage bag and try to put it in the garbage can when I take the garbage out.  Her only setback is that if I'm in the room, she is wrapped around my leg.  She would be attached to me 24/7 if I let her.  She wants no one but her momma.  I love it, but this momma needs a break sometime.  I can't even take a bath without her trying to get in the tub with me...LOL.  She's always naked.  ALWAYS!  In fact, as I write this, she has a t'shirt on and that's it. She also just peed on the floor.  We'll be potty training as soon as school lets out.  I leave home before she wakes up and by the time she gets home from daycare she is worn out and fussy.  I can't wait for diapers to be a thing of the past!  Kinsley loves to play with the big kids, but gets frustrated when she can't do what they do.  She still speaks Chinese, but her words are starting to sound like English...thank goodness.  She loves to play with her kitchen, baby dolls, and have tea parties.  She also loves to build things with her blocks and she also loves music and dancing.  She's my little pumpkin.

Watching Elmo Live!  She was mesmerized.

My mom likes to dress them up and take hundreds of pictures.

On to me.  Well, let's see.  Where do I begin.  I graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in December of 2008.  I'm a first grade teacher at one of the best school districts in Southeast Texas.  I LOVE my job.  I'm actually obsessed with it.  This is my first year as a self-contained classroom teacher so a lot of my paycheck has been spent on my classroom.  My hubby doesn't get it at all, but that's whatcha gotta do. 

I'm a Christian.  I'm not where I want to be in my Christian walk, but I'm trying.  It makes me sad to see other Christians verbally bashing others that do not have the same lifestyle as their own.  That's not how Christ lived.  We should not judge.  We should hate the sin, not the sinner. 

I love being a wife, mom, teacher, but I have a very difficult time in juggling it all.  I'm worn out on most days and in bed by 9:00 every night.  4 AM gets here quickly.  If I'm in bed at 9:01, I wake up at 4:30...LOL.

I have a HUGE family.  I have 4 dads, 3 moms, and 11 brothers and sisters.  LONG STORY.  I'll see if I can explain further in another post. 

I try to be perfect, but I'm far from it.  I think I'm a clean freak and super organized, but you should see the piles of laundry that are sitting next to me at the moment.

 

I love my girls, but find that I'm constantly complaining that I do not get any time to just be me for a day or two.  When someone does take them for a couple of days, I don't know what to do with myself.  Hubs and I just sit here and stare at one another. 

There's so much I want to do, but feel like life is slipping by at a very fast pace and I'm running out of time....LOL.  I'm 31 and I haven't completed 1/4 of my bucket list.

I'm a Republican.  If you don't like that...oh well.  So sorry Charlie, but I vote based on my beliefs and feel that our government should be ran according to the constitution. 

Well, that's me in a nutshell.  This blog will be used to have a written account of the lives of my family.  I promise not to be fake and to only be myself.  Like I said before, I'm far from perfect.  I will show pictures of the piles of laundry that seem to accumluate by my backdoor and the destruction that is my daughters' rooms.  We live life.  Our home is lived in.  We love hard and laugh often.  I hope you'll join us on our journey.