Being 5 is hard... being a mom to a 5 year old is even harder.

It's the age-old problem that every mom faces. Mom tells the child to clean up his/her room and/or mess. Child either refuses, stalls or finds every way imaginable to get out of the task. Mom persists, child resists.

It's the battle that gives me my grey hair, makes me lose my cool, and drives me absolutely insane every single time the battle ensues.

Right now TJ is sleeping quite peacefully in his room. He was sent there after I lost my battle with him cleaning up his art supplies from the table in the computer room. Actually, the mess was all over the table and the floor around his computer. It was a complete freaking disaster. I tried SO HARD to make the job simple.

"TJ, put the trash in the bag. Everything else goes in your art box."

That wasn't simple enough. Nope. To top it off, no threat was great enough to get him to actually follow through on this task.

The battle ended with me telling TJ that if he didn't go to his room, I was going to be hauled off to jail for child abuse. Yes. Honestly, I was that angry. Thank God I had enough sense to send him to his room... where he sleeps (and it is only 6pm).

I read these books and articles on how to deal with children like TJ. It doesn't help! The child isn't defiant, he isn't lazy... he just doesn't like to clean. That and he hates to be told what to do -which he comes by honestly. I've fought the battle every way I know how... and not one has been a successful strategy that's ended in a victory.

I tell TJ to do one thing - for example: "TJ, just put the trash in the trash bag." And his immediate response is joy because he then thinks that's ALL he has to do. No matter how many times I've told him that no, that is just step one - he knows how to negotiate and guilt trip and these might be great in battle for him, but not for me!

I've done the negotiating, the give-and-take, the calm talking, the loud talking, the threats, the spankings, the sending to his room and it never seems to sink in... I JUST WANT HIM TO CLEAN UP HIS MESS!

I have faith that what he lacks in follow-through he will make up with age further down the road, which will help him gain some patience and understanding... at least enough to CLEAN UP HIS MESS!

For now, I'm left with the mother-guilt for making it a bigger deal than it is... probably carving another scar that will make him crazy when he is older (or something of the like). It really bites to be a five year old, but I promise it bites even worse to be a mother to that 5 year old.

But I sure to love him... I love the peace and quiet of him asleep too... but I love him tons more!

And now Dateline on NBC... unless you are in the south

Football takes precedence over ANYTHING in the south. I promise you, it's Auburn or Alabama... and the evil outsiders are Tennessee fans. This is well known here in the Rocket City, the River City, the big cities, the little cities... you name it.

Even High School Football is of the most dire importance on Friday Night. So much so that our local NBC affiliate decided to preempt the Dateline NBC episode they've been promoting all night. Instead, they replaced with with an old Rodney Dangerfield movie from the early 80's. Why? I assume (and even assume I am assuming correctly) that Dateline was going to run two hours - all the way up to 10pm. Friday Night Fever begins at 9:45pm. God forbid we pause the Fever for 15 minutes while Dateline wraps up.

So, for those of you with no DVR, no TiVo, no decent VCR, you are screwed. They are airing Dateline at 3am. See the thing was, there was NOTHING else on that I wanted to watch. Dateline was it. I had my baby in one hand, a Corona in the other and was ready to watch the boob tube (yes, we still have a tube TV and I know that I just described a very red-necky situation - I don't care). Nope - instead I am subjected to real crap. Couldn't they have at least run something else? ANYTHING else??

So, instead of enjoying what I had planned on enjoying all week long (after all, they've been practically telling me I HAD to watch it after the hundred and six times they aired the commercial for it), I gave my dogs a flea bath. Yep. Exciting, huh?

STUPID WAFF 48! And the thing is, I don't watch CBS, ABC or Fox for news. I watch Robin Meade on CNN Headline News for all of 15-30 minutes in the morning, but otherwise it is 48 and then the Today show. After the crap the other day with the presidential motorcade and now this.... 48, you are on my shit list this week!

The VP on the Parkway doesn't make breaking news!

I recognize the fact that we don't get many presidential or vice-presidential visits here in the Tennessee Valley. And yes, it is interesting. However, is it REALLY necessary to cut into regular programming just to show a Secret Service vehicle parked downtown? Need we break from our regularly scheduled programming to show the motorcade driving through the county? Really? Is that not News at Noon, Five, Six and Ten worthy? If I am subjected to this for a ridiculous amount of time during the day, do I REALLY need a recap of it in the evening, too? No! Just keep it on the scheduled news programs and I am sure many of us will be happy.

A simple break to let us know the Veep has arrived and is traveling to Adams St. is good enough. For those who care about Dick[head] Cheney, they can step out and view it for themselves. I don't need to stare at the Parkway for 15 minutes waiting for the possible viewing of a motorcade.

It's just stupid. I would rather see Hoda and Kathy talk about strawberries. Yes, even Kathy Lee is more interesting than a presidential motorcade.

Dirty Mouth?

I love these... and have to share them because if you haven't seen them, you've really missed a new kind of commercial art!



Wife: You son of a biscuit-eating bulldog!
Husband: What the French toast?
Wife: Did you think I wouldn't find out about your little doo doo head cootie queen?
Mistress: Who are you calling a cootie queen? You lint-licker!
Wife: Pickle you kumquat!
Husband: You're overreacting.
Wife: No, Bill, overreacting was when I put your convertible into a wood chipper, Stinky McStinkface!
Mistress: You Hoboken.





Guy one: Well, hello Percy - feather plucking cheater!
Percy: Eat spatula and die, spittle stick! We're here fair and square!
Guy one: Then why is our fuddy-duddy cheer book missing, booger breath?
Percy: I don't know, why don't you check your donkey door?
Guy two: Oh, Why don't you check your donkey door?
Guy one: I'll pineapple slap your ascot!
Percy: Bring it on, dookie head - poo poo face!
Ref: Hey, you cankle bandits! Knock off the pumpernickel!

Three Months & Counting!

Katie and Lauren are 3 months old! I can't believe the first three (most hellish) months have flown by. OK, may not "flown" (there were plenty of sleepless nights that crawled along), but time sure does fly, doesn't it?

The girls are doing SO well! As you can see here, sporting the onesies Raney made for them, they are growing and growing! Katie feels like a sack of potatoes when you pick her up. She is quite a bit heavier than Lauren! We have a four month check up next week, so I am really looking forward to seeing some numbers!

Both girls are sleeping through the night and have been for quite a while. It's been pretty darn nice! They are both full of smiles and although they haven't quite mastered cooing just yet, they are on the verge of it. They are somewhere between the 2 and 3 month mark for developments, which is right on target for their "adjusted" age. Being born a month early sets everything back a month... and just about every preemie mom will tell you just how much this bites!

Last night Lauren was taking her bath and was actually having fun with it. She was kicking and moving her arms like a pro swimmer. It was super cute and fun to watch. For someone that normally voices her dislike for bath-time, it was nice to see her having fun!

As for TJ, he is doing SO well in school! Apparently there are quite a few kids in his class with behavioral problems and TJ manages to stay on green all the time. This makes me SO happy, because if we did green/yellow/red at home, he sure as heck wouldn't be green all the time! He just has SO much energy! He gets PE in the morning, so that probably helps him in school, too. He also gets recess in the afternoon, so that has helped ME a little.

TJ is also going through a growth spurt. He's been super hungry (sign #1) and sleepy (sign #2) and then last night, like clockwork, he woke up with leg pains (sign #3). I've actually been waiting for this because in about a week I will mark his height on the wall where we've been keeping track. I can't wait to see how much he's grown since May!

The Squirrel, a Tooth & the Fairy

On Thursday, I came home from dropping TJ off at school and was greeted by a baby squirrel trying to snuggle up next to the riding lawn mower's tire. At first I thought it was a rat or a baby possum, so naturally, I was quite startled.

I called my pet rescuing aunt Nancy and she said to try and feed it some sugar water. I picked it up (with protection), gave it a nice towel (nice for a squirrel, that is), and a box to call home until Nancy could take it. It fed a little off the medicine dropper with sugar water, but was more interested in nesting in the towel.

Nancy found a wildlife rescue to come and take the squirrel. They will "raise" it until it can be let go out into the wild. I was so sad about the baby squirrel and couldn't let the neighborhood's free-roaming dogs and/or cats come find it and kill it. I still have no idea how it got there, though! At least (for now), I know it is safe, warm and is being taken care of!

Also on Thursday, TJ lost his first tooth! I had been wanting to yank it out for a couple of days, but refrained from traumatizing my son. He was actually upstairs watching Indiana Jones (again) on our TV when he was playing with it with his tongue - and it came out on its own. The tooth next to it is a little loose too, so I guess the Tooth Fairy will be making many trips to the Towle house over the next decade or so (I am figuring in 5 years the girls will be losing their teeth, too!).

It is actually quite bittersweet for me. My baby started Kindergarten and just a few weeks later, he lost his first tooth. So many milestones in so little time!

And finally, I got a picture with BOTH girls smiling. Next goal - both smiling and actually looking AT the camera!

I uploaded some more pictures to the PhotoBucket account:
CLICK HERE

I took some pictures of the Hummingbirds that keep coming to our feeders. I looked and looked and I can't figure out what kind of Hummingbirds we have. They don't have red throats, so it can't be the Ruby Throated Hummingbird... and from what I can tell, not too many other ones (if any) life in this area. I took the pictures via digital zoom through a double-paned window what was dirty on the inside and outside - so the pics are the best quality. If you know what kind of Hummingbird it is, please post a comment and let me know!