The power of the young mind.

Independence is when a little person's brain realizes that he/she has a mind of his/her own. When a child comes to this realization, they feel powerful. They can do anything they want, without any consequences. Nothing is in their way, and nothing will get in their way. Nothing can stop them.

Addy has come to this realization over the past two months. She has been a sweet little terror. No matter what she does, no matter what kind of punishment, she laughs in my face. Just the other day, I made oatmeal for Addalynn. When I told her to eat her breakfast, she did okay in the beginning. But she started to stir the oatmeal. Then she picked up the oatmeal and started dropping it back into her bowl... while doing this, she is getting the goopy stuff all over the counter, her chair and not to mention herself!

So , I looked at Addalynn and told her to stop, otherwise she would go to time out. She just stared at me. Then she started to laugh. While laughing, she started blowing bubbles into her oatmeal. It was as if I wasn't even there! I told her to stop one more time, again she looked at me, and started taking spoonfuls of the oatmeal, while watching me with no smile, and dropping the oatmeal on the counter. Fuming, I grabbed the spoon and bowl, and while I was at the sink getting a wash cloth she smeared the oatmeal not only on the counter, but into her hair and on her clothes.

I almost went nuts my friends. I did not even care she was filthy, I picked her up and put her in time out. Well, time out did not go over well. She was wriggling around, sliding down the wall and crawling across the floor. I mean seriously, time out was for two minutes and during this time I was wrangling her just to get her to stay in time out. After a minute she was screaming on the top of her lungs as if I was beating her. I was so mad... I lost it completely! So I took her into the bathroom, closed the door, and walked away for two minutes.

At first, she just kept screaming. So I sat there waiting. When she finally went silent, I opened the door... and yes, it only got worse. There was toilet paper everywhere. Liquid soap was dispensed all over the floor, and not only was she sticky, but completely wet. I walked away for two minutes, and she manages to destroy the bathroom! At that point I had no idea what to do. I was lost. I felt like crying. So I sat down on the floor and did exactly that.

About 30 seconds later Addy was crying and came over to me, she gives me a huge hug and cries out her sorries. My anger and frustration melted away. Even though I had oatmeal on me and that morning started out crazy, one thing I knew for sure... Addalynn loved me. She did not mean to start a crazy morning, she was just testing her boundaries. And really who can blame her. After all, she is two and learning about the world and what's around her.

Even though that morning was one of the hardest mornings I ever had with her, I knew Addalynn learned something. She knew what she did was wrong and when to say sorry. I can not say that she stopped pushing her young mind into the depths of open waters known as boundaries, because that would be ridiculous. But I can say, even though she is hard headed, she is sharp and has the best hugs in the world. Ones that makes even the roughest of mornings better.

Kisses...

It seemed only natural to post something about kissing this close to Valentines Day, but I am not talking about the normal types of kissing. So here it goes.

There are many types of kisses, each one ranging at different levels and different intensity... but the most valued, most pure, most coveted of all kisses are the ones given by mommies to owies. Yes, the Boo-boo Kiss is in fact the most powerful kiss one can receive. Children know this, because it is only natural to run to their mommy in a time of horrid tragedy and cry out, "MOMMY! AN OWIE! KISS IT!"

Now, you already know that a Boo-boo kiss cures owies, bumps, bruises, and yes the occasional paper cut. But what some do not realize is, that not only does it cure those hurts and owies, it also cures tear streaked faces, broken spirits and the heart of a whimpering child. A child in itself is already so delicate, that only the most special type of person with the most special type of kiss can really lift their suddenly gloomy day.

The Boo-boo Kiss has special qualities because of the love that it is backed up by. When a mother sees that her most precious treasure is hurting or crying, it is not only the child's heart that breaks, but the mommy's too. Mother's have such a close connection to their children because of that instant connection when they are born. To hold them in your arms after long hours of waiting, is not only magical but the world is put on pause. Whether you have your child because you had to wait 9 months, 2 years or even wait for a wonderful mother to pick you, that connection is by definition magical.

This magic is carried on throughout the years by the mothers. It is a necessity to have, for when that day comes that your child cries out for you and your heart breaks, the only tool you have is the only tool you need... your instinctual magical mommy Boo-boo Kiss.

Back In The Saddle Again.

It has been a long time coming, this post... I just have taken my sweet time writing it. Yes ladies and gentlemen I am back on my weight loss path. No I am not doing the same ol' crazy diet fad as I was before... stupidest thing I have ever done... but I am doing it the good old fashioned way, eating right and exercise. This has been an amazing journey so far. Oh yes, I have been doing this for 5 months and so far I have lost 26 lbs! Yay me... hold the phone...

Addy is coming in and out of my room carrying little white things and throwing them in the trash...? What is she up to? Lets investigate!

Alright folks, I am back... looks like little Addy decided it would be fun to pull out the wipes one by one and throw each one into the trash bin. Doesn't she know that she is wasting money by the pull! Jeeze, kids are wasters of good hard earned cash! What am I going to do with my little super cutie?

Anyways, back to what I was saying. I have decided to lose in total 80 lbs. So far I am proud with myself! I am a little over a quarter of a way there! I have been working very hard by running and eating the way I should, also I have had help from the kind people over at Weight Watchers. It is a great program. Also, I have good friends who are doing this with me, and that kind of support is always nice to have. So soon, hopefully I will be a skinnier and sexier me!

Now I am not saying I want to look like a stick with no curves, because lets get real... what man likes a woman that has no boobs, no butt and a sexy pair of legs? Not my man! He loves it all, he even likes a little bit of extra goodness as he calls it. I wont go into further detail, because lets face it, he is a man and men tend to go a little overboard with descriptions of a sexy female. Not saying women do not talk... because oh we do! We have lucious talks of men... but always in the company of other women. Men will stop and stare when a pair of ripe boobies are in view. Tisk tisk. No tact.

See you need to be like my friend Karen... this girl is not afraid of anything. She will speak her mind, tell you how it is and what it is like the drop of a hat. But the girl has style and tact. I learn much from the ways of Karen. How to do a craft made straight from tulle and ribbons or how to discretely tell your BFF how your husband is so hot and you want him now. Yes this girl knows it all.

I know what your thinking... "Megan, how is what your saying being discrete?" Well, honestly, I am not and I don't care. It is a blog and it came to my mind, not everyone reads it, just my friends who show interest in my life... and those people are usually the ones who laugh right along with me.

But this is way off track, as I was saying, I do not want to be scary and thin Paris Hilton or fake boobs Megan Fox, I want to look like me just thinner. Dont get me wrong I would love to look like Scarlett Johansson, because even I have a crush on the girl. But then I would not be me, and I always want to have my gorgeous voluptuous curves.

Ear, nose, and throat infections! Oh my!!!

Like all children, my baby got sick. Yes, a swollen throat, runny nose and achy ears prove it. She was running a fever last Thursday, and when daddy took her to the Doctors the proof was in the pudding. Now I know this is a lame topic, because lets get real... kids get sick. It wasn't the first nor will it be the last. But taking care of her is the real story...

Remember how I said she is starting to distract? Well, she learned to manipulate the situation from the best manipulator ever... me! Yes, when I am sick I am so groggy and a down right pain. Spencer must really love me to put up with me, because I ask for this and for that, lay in bed and moan... I am as bad as a man with a sniffle!

But back to Addy, even though she was sick she made me laugh. Addy was laying in my bed with her Pedialite and stuffed monkey, and she turns to me and says, "Mommy, Elmi please." By the way, Elmi is Elmo, she cant say the O for some reason. So anyways, I pop in Elmi, and she cries out "No!". So I figured she wanted another Elmo dvd, so I pop in another. Again, "No!"

Well I was running out of options, because we only have three DVDs, so I put in the last one. This time she starts bawling. Big ol' crocodile tears running down her face and the biggest tantrum I have seen yet! I ask her what is the problem and she just moans and cries, "Elmi... Elmi... Elmi". So the last thing I could think of was going online and seeing if she wanted to watch a clip of Elmo.

Success! So for 2 hours we sat there as I clicked on links of Elmo, with her telling me yes or no to the videos. And the one she wanted to see the most often was this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVzjoj96vs

Check it out, it is cute.

But there you go, another growing moment for both baby and mommy.

Diversion: Bath Time

Oh Addalynn. I love you my darling sweetheart.

For those who are joining us today at Club Megan are in for a treat. My adorable daughter Addalynn, the joy of my life, has started to learn the trick of diversion. Recently, she has decided that bedtime means bath time. Now for as long as I can remember these two things are not similar at all... well with the exception that both words have time at the end of it. Now you may be thinking, "How is Addy getting out of bedtime with bath time?" And that is a fantastic question! Let me tell you how.

Our house is set up where the computer room is right across from the bathroom. At night we, as a family, watch Elmo videos with Addy to get any last minute hyperness out of the way. This works like a charm, because she has her milk while chilling out with lullaby's by Elmo, Will.i.am and Katy Perry. After we are done we read scriptures and say our family prayer. But these past two nights, before scriptures and family prayer, Spencer and I made the mistake of checking our emails and Facebook and not watching where Addy goes off to.

Before we know it Addy has gone across the computer room, down the hallway and into the bathroom. She strips down butt naked and gets into the bathtub. No She does not know how turn on the tub (that would be amazing), but she sits in there calling out to us until we go and see what the fuss is about.

When we walked into the lavatory, there stood Addy, in all her glory for all the world to see. And because she is so dang adorable, we collapsed as whipped parents do and let her take a bath. No, it is not the end of the world, but I am sad that my daughter is growing up. She is smarter day by day, and that is a little hard to choke down. Call me sappy, but I miss my little baby who depended on me for everything, even taking her clothes off for a bath.

Watching Closely

My dear sweet baby girl is growing up to be a magnificent little lady. She dresses up with three purses in each hand, ten strings of pearls around her neck, and her pink Sunday hat to top it all off. Making choices on what to do and watch. She is making decisions from her clothing, to which sticker she wants to wear. Addalynn has even become aware of all her bodily functions.... and finds them silly! It astounds me to see my precious little Magnolia bud blossom a little each day.

I am sitting here, watching her closely, noticing the changes that take place every moment. It makes a mother proud to see her daughter be such an independent old soul. Yes, I say old soul because of the characteristics she displays. She knows how to pray because she watched us once. She knows what the Book of Mormon is because she brings it out to hug the book. She stares at the picture of Jesus, with that knowing look of who he is.

Addalynn is constantly growing and learning. She loves people and is not afraid to show it. I hope that when I grow up that I will have that little bit of spirit she has so much of. I want that determination to do and get anything she wants. I would love to have the gumption that radiates off her, giving her, her own beautiful personality.

I am so honored to have my little angel, borrowed from God, to raise during this time. Addalynn truly is a magnificent creature... a beautiful daughter of God in all his ways.

MOVING DAY- 33 DAYS IN COUNTING.

This move is bittersweet. For one, I hate sorting, organizing, and packing everything. Also, I absolutely HATE the cleaning up after... but the company who manages the house is Total Property Management (TPM). So I am going to skip out of the cleaning! Wahoo! Our lovely neighbors who moved on in May left their place a disaster! HA! Serves TPM right! That is were I come into the sweet part of the bitter aftertaste. I HATE EFFING TPM!!! They have literaly taken on the role as the slimiest, liar, penis wrinkling, managing company EVER. Good Show!

One has to think how does a company flounder that low? How does one small asinine company not care about their reputation, well being a penis wrinkle in all I guess that answers that questions. Not to mention they do not show the slightest amount courtesy to their tenants, or the homes they "claim" to watch after. My belief? TPM is in cahoots with either the Nazi skinheads or Satan.

So here's to moving out of a spider infested black hole of a dungeon. Cheers!