A Parent's Hope

I have some pictures of Gwen, because she turned 9 months old yesterday, but I haven't uploaded them yet. In the meantime I was going to share a couple tidbits about Zeke.

If any of you know the PBS show"Super Why", you might know the predictability of it. Many of the same quotes and scenes and such. I'd bet making a show doesn't cost much. Anyway, one of the lines that the story book characters will always say is that they can't change a situation because "That's what it says in my story." For example, Goldilocks cannot stop making a mess of the bears' home because that is what it says in her story. So Super Why changes it to get a different outcome. Zeke has taken to giving me the excuse that he is saying or doing something because that is what it says in his story. It isn't usually used maliciously, so I find it to be rather cute. But it also tells me that show is on too frequently in our home...

Zeke got invited to his very first birthday party. His friend named Armour, turned five. So we've been making sure that he understands as much party etiquette as a four year old can learn. He did almost as good as can be expected. Thanks to a hot tip from a friend I knew about Super Mario (Armour's latest obsession) T-shirts at a store. I just wonder if Armour's mom also knew about them. Oh well. And thanks to a mom who was giving things away, I fixed up a Super Mario costume to gift as well! That was luck. I'm really glad I happened upon it, because I think Armour liked it.

I took Zeke with me to three different stores. The first was to Aldi (a grocery store with inexplicably low priced food), then to the next store for the T-shirt, and the to Jo-Ann's fabrics to pick up a couple things to fix up the costume. Aldi went well. He was a great companion to have at my side. The next store he would run and dodge between clothing racks and stuff. That's fine. I knew he had energy to burn and he returned whenever asked. As we were getting in the car he mentioned the sucker he had in his pocket. WHAT? I marched him right back into the store and instead of putting it back where he found it, we made our way to the customer service counter to explain and frankly embarrass him because I thought that would be a more effective parenting method! Store number three. Jo-Ann's. He was a bit too frisky here. I had everything I needed to check out, and before I could stop anything he had busted a couple $10 pumpkins. I was unhappy, and he knew it. Aaaahh!!! I was going to spend $2.50, and he broke $20 dollars in merchandise! Crap! We don't have the money for this! Crap! I grabbed all the pieces and charged to the front of the store to see if there were coupon adds. Because if I have to buy what I brake, I gotta save what money I can. Well, the cashier said we didn't have to buy it. I said, "But we broke it." She insisted that we didn't have to buy it and got confirmation from another cashier. The second cashier was really kind. She said that they'd take it back, fix it, and then put it on a clearance shelf where I can come back tomorrow and buy it for 75% off. I was so relieved! So was Zeke, I'd say.
I hope we are doing right by our children. I yearn to be the example they need me to be. We pray they grow and develop as they should. That they're happy, and doggone it I hope they possess integrity.
Anyway... How was your weekend?
~ The Hoveys