argh...these kids!

I heard through a friend at church that the teenage girls were talking about babysitting and said "Oh the Viets girls are the best - they're so easy to babysit"...and it really made my day. I was flattered, patting myself on the back for having such good girls, but then I came to my senses.

My kids just suck up to teenagers because they think they're cool. But for their mother, they are NOT easy.

 

Case in point: Scarlett & Hadley (aka "Search" and "Destroy")

Scarlett wears a new outfit every 2 hours. And she cannot get dressed without searching through and emptying the entire contents of her drawers and bins in her closet. Hadley will destroy anything in her reach. She is especially cruel to homework assignments, projects, books, ...anything that she can tear or write on.

 

Lydia and Claire are no angels either. A friendly game of hallway soccer almost always ends up in a fight. A physical fight. Slapping, punching, and wrestling to the ground. Then the whining, screaming, and tears.

(notice Claire's perfect handprint on Lydia's back)

 

And it's not like I'm ignoring them, and not doing things with them. Just last week we were out sledding all afternoon after school.

And it was cooold that week.

 

I take them to dance classes, church activities, and we have tons of playdates. Claire is even taking piano lessons now, which I love.

(But I do NOT love that kids want to bang on the piano when the baby is sleeping. Ugh.)

 

My kids are also stubborn. Frustratingly so. Claire has horrible baby teeth that NEED to come out, but she won't let anyone help her. We finally got one of the bottom ones out, but it took almost all night.

 

And Scarlett took a bad fall off the trampoline at her friend's house. She claimed it hurt so bad that she couldn't raise her arm to get dressed or do anything herself. So after babying her all morning, I cancelled my plans and took her to the hospital. Guess what - she could move her arm fine.

 

Oh and my kids also love to steal my cellphone and drain the battery making movies and playing games. They also fill up the memory by taking tons of photos

 

They like to make messes all day, and this is their response when I ask them to help me clean up.

So they aren't always easy, or helpful, or kind. But at least I can laugh at all of this. It's hard work, but they are funny, and fun, and sometimes they are actually very sweet and will help out. But all of the time, I know they feel loved, and we do too.