A B C's...

A: Age: 28

B: Bed Size: Queen

C: Chore you hate: Putting away clothes

D: Dad's name: Harold

E: Essential start to your day item: COFFEE!!

F: Favorite actor/actress: Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Graham

G: Gold or Silver: Silver

H: Height: 5ft 6in

I: Instrument you play(ed): flute and drums

J: Job: Substitute Teacher, SAHM

K: Kids: 3 girls (Ryann, Elle, Morgan)

L: Living arrangements: me, brett, kids, dog

M: Mom's name: Carol

N: Nicknames: none really......except "Mon" back in high school

O: Overnight hospital stay other than giving birth: tonsils out in 4th grade

P: Pet Peeve: people who beat around the bush instead of just saying what they mean

Q: Quotes you like:

"Without music, life would be a mistake." Friedrich Nietzsche

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it 'The Present'" Eleanor Roosevent

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." Dr. Seuss

R: Right or Left-handed: Right

S: Siblings: 2 sisters, 1 sister-in-law, 3 brothers-in-law

T: Time you wake up: Ryann is usually up before 7, but I usually let her watch TV while I doze for a bit longer

U: Underwear: what does this mean? do I wear them? YES

V: Vegetable you dislike: pretty much any cooked vegetable except corn

W: Ways you run late: I don't think I have been on time since having kids....or really very often before having kids. I am rude like that!

X: X-rays you've had: ultrasounds, EKG, broken nose

Y: Yummy foods you make: LOTS! I make pretty good cookies and bars, coffee cake, banana bread. Pretty much anything I make off of Pioneer Womans blog is awesome!

Z: Zodiac: Aquarius

Wow...that was not as much fun as I thought it would be.....

My Smart Little Girl

I have to brag.....sorry, but I just do. Ryann can draw! Just like Brett - I am sooooo glad! I had to post these pictures she drew this morning. She even asked how to spell the animal names so she could write them down.

She is practicing the difference between capital and lowercase letters and has been using them interchangeably (weird - I just looked up how to spell that word and it looks really weird). She asks "A big "N" or a lowercase "n"?" all the time. It doesn't really matter what I tell her because she just decides herself when to use capital or lowercase. Oh well, it doesn't really matter!

Here are the pictures she drew and labeled this morning:

Just Like Mommy

Lately I have come to realize just how similar Ryann and I are. I get so frustrated with her so often, and yet I am so mad at myself for getting frustrated. I am getting frustrated with things that I do myself. She always wants to talk, asking questions all the time. Instead of answering them, I often snap at her. Not cool, because I talk all the time, too! She also gets frustrated really easily. She obviously learned this from me, as I have no patience and do not hide it very well. She cries at the drop of a hat. She has very little pain tolerance, and cries any time she even slightly gets hurt. Well, I am also very sensitive and can cry easily. I also overreact when I bump my elbow my stub my toe. We are both very clumsy, so injury comes easily. And just tonight she came out of her room after she went to bed and said that she just couldn't fall asleep. When I asked why, she said "my brain is keeping me awake". Now, most people would laugh at this and think that she was using every excuse in the book, but I TOTALLY know what she means. I often have the same problem! I lay in bed awake for hours sometimes, because my brain won't "shut off" I like to say. It seems that Ryann has the same problem, and all I ever do is yell at her for it, instead of trying to comfort her.

I am trying to think about what I would have wanted when I was a kid. I always felt like I was annoying, and was even told so by some people. I do not want to do that to Ryann. I really need to change the way I react to things in front of Ryann. And when she wants to talk, I need to find the patience to let her, because I don't want her to feel like she's annoying. And when she wants to be comforted at night because she can't fall asleep, I need to be there for her because that's what I need when I can't sleep. I am just so hard on her for no good reason. If my mom had been as hard on me as I am on Ryann, I would have been miserable!

I NEED TO BE PATIENT.

That's all it is. I need to listen to her, let her ask her questions, help her with things, and comfort her when she needs it instead of feeling annoyed all the time.

Any advice on how to do this???? It's like I know what I need to do, but I can't find it in me to actually do it. Half the time I feel annoyed with Ryann or yell at her, in my head I am telling myself to quit it and just be patient. But I can't. I don't know. I really need to make a huge change to my attitude.......

PLEASE HELP!