Wowza! I promised myself that the blog was going to be my pregnancy journal. That went well...NOT! The Adventures of Cupcake and Sweetie Pie needs to be updated to the Adventures of Cupcake, Sweetie Pie, Mallomar, and Moon Pie. Loving life as a very busy Mommy of four gorgeous girls. Since my last post, we have said goodbye to our furry baby, Morgan, welcomed our sweet baby girls into our lives, sold our house, bought a new house, moved in and are taking a breath as we jump into the holiday season and celebrate Cupcake and Sweetie Pie turning 5! FIVE?!?! When did that happen? I find that I am constantly being reminded, in particular, by older people to cherish this time and it goes by fast. I can honestly say that I am aware of this phenomenon every single day. There is not a day that goes by that I do not take a moment to breathe it all in and relish it. I fought so hard to have these gorgeous miracles, I refuse to take it for granted. Now, obviously, I am a busy Mom and let some moments slip past me but I challenge you to find a Mom that doesn't. Every night, I tell myself, tomorrow, I am going to be a better Mommy and some days I am. Today, I had my doubts.
For one, Mallomar has the most horrid diaper rash and I know these things happen but I still can't help but feel guilty. If I had just checked on her one more time, I would have smelled the stinky diaper and changed her before the rash could set in. :( But, alas, I was pooped (pun intended) and just crawled into bed the first chance I got.
My second parental offense involves Cupcake. This child lies just to lie. You can catch her red handed and she will still lie to your face. We used to be able to eventually get the truth out of her but now, she won't admit the truth even when you know with 100% certainty that she lying. I blame myself for this because I am in fact, by no uncertain terms, a yeller. I yell several times a day, every day. I did not yell at my kids for the first three years of their lives and I have certainly made up for lost time since then. I believe Cupcake lies because she is afraid of me. This goes back to the old adage of wanting your children to respect you and not fear you. I absolutely believe my children fear my siren shrill which does little to help them respect me. I see how sad they are when I yell and I feel like a heel because I wonder how different the outcome would have been if I would have maintained my cool and calmly explained to them for the umpteenth time why need to sit on their chair properly and why they have to get dressed.
And my final offense involves Sweetie Pie. Sweetie Pie is has her anything but sweet moments. Tonight, Cupcake went with me to run errands. While at Ikea, she asked if I would buy her a finger puppet. There were several different kinds. She asked if she could also get one for Sweetie Pie. Awww, so sweet. She was thinking of her twin even when she wasn't with her. She picked out a snake for her self and a butterfly for Sweetie with the explanation that it was red and red is Sweetie Pie's most favorite color. She also got her a free tape measure because she know how Sweetie Pie loves tape measures. When we get home, Cupcake bursts through the door and immediately calls out to Sweetie Pie. "Sweetie Pie, I bought you a surprise!" She knows it to Sweetie Pie who responds, "I don't want that, I want the snake." Huh? Where is the thank you? The Sisterly hug I envisioned? Denied! Cupcake bursts into tears, Brett immediately reprimands Sweetie Pie who then flips out on him and storms out of the room. Sweetie Pie is notorious for expressing exactly what she is thinking at any given moment regardless of feelings or appropriateness. I do think it was a very spontaneous reaction from her that she probably regretted immediately but would never admit. How do I teach her to be more appreciative of any act of kindness and to be more empathetic of others' feelings? Once again, I blame myself because I see them as a miniature representation of me.
I think it's safe to say that Sweetie Pie needs an Angry Birds Intervention. Brett let her play on his phone one time and she was hooked. She wakes up and makes her bed, brushes her teeth and puts her breakfast dishes in the sink without prompting in order to earn reward tickets that she immediately turns in for game time. She asks to fold laundry and wipe down sinks to earn additional tickets. It is both heart warming and terrifying. She now plays on the iphone or the Nook and actively yells at the pigs when she knocks them down. Here's the most pathetic part, I decided to try it out and couldn't pass the first board and this kid is earning high scores on every board. A couple weeks ago, we were at Macy's when Sweetie Pie spotted an Angry Birds t-shirt. "Oh, Mommy, can I please have this shirt? I really, really want it." How could I resist that sweet face and even sweeter request? A few minutes later, I was trying on maternity clothes and she asks in the fitting room if she could try on her new shirt and of course she wants to keep it on. Seriously, she is in love with this shirt! So I let her wear the shirt and then we head to the eye doctor to pick up Brett. He is waiting in the lobby, she runs up to him, unzips her coat and rips it off like she is Superman in a phone booth. Ta Da! She is so proud! This kid cracks me up. 
