Good-Attitude-Shanda

I woke up this morning with all the intentions of being a good. . . even a great mom.  Great attitude.  Great attitude.  Great attitude--in that order.   Here we go!

Garrison had purchased easter eggs from the dollar store with his tooth money and asked if he could have an egg hunt.  Good-attitude-Shanda said "yes. . . what a great idea!"  Good-attitude-Shanda made hard boiled eggs from Simon's breakfast because he asked for them.  Good-attitude-Shanda smiled when she asked the kids to be quiet because Noel was still sleeping (thank goodness!).  Good-attitude-Shanda made homemade lemon pudding and didn't get upset at all when Noel promptly declared that she didn't like it.  Good-attitude-Shanda smiled when she didn't get a shower this morning and proudly put on a pink hat.  Sadly, Good-attitude-Shanda died a horrific death to crabby-ass-Shanda.  C.A.S. (crabby-ass-Shanda) yelled loudly.  C.A.S. got angry at little people for little things.  C.A.S. tried to use the bathroom without being bothered.  C.A.S. tried to sit down and eat breakfast.  Yeah. . .not so good.  Don't worry, Good-attitude-Shanda will kick butt promptly. . . after a little time-out.

Being up for two hours with a child who will not stay in her bed and who climbs into bed with her sister repeatedly and cries, shouts, and hollers and then laughs in your face is fuel for C.A.S.   This mama tried everything she had in her bag of tricks.  Then her bag was empty.  Not one idea left.  Do you know what I finally did?  I left her.  I shut her door and left her.  Feel free to get out of bed.  Feel free to climb on Noel's bed (I moved Noel to the floor of the boys' room.)  Feel free to play and play with the toys.  I will not make you stay in your bed.  I will not take toys away from you.  I will not stop you from climbing on top of your dresser.  I laid in bed and prayed to my Father asking Him to wake me up if my child was in danger.  I found her this morning laying on the floor in front of the door.

Good-attitude-Shanda drove to Ditto (second hand store) this morning with a huge box of clothes.  Yesterday morning I cleaned through my closet and took out everything that I don't wear or that is too big.  As I boxed it up this morning I struggled with giving it away.  What if I gain weight again?  What if I lose the memories associated with these clothes?  What if I somehow need them?  I could still wear them big, especially shirts--they cost a lot of money and the thought of spending money on clothes doesn't excite me.  I really like that black sweater.  I really like this sweatshirt. . . . I actually thought about this blog and the encouragement I've received.  I thought about getting rid of stuff in my life--500 things remember?  So, the clothes are gone.  It didn't make sense to load everyone up for a very short trip.  It needed to be done so that I didn't change my mind.  Plus, it was good for all of us to be buckled in and listening to music and looking for red cars.  Garrison kept track.  It was especially good for C.A.S.--I think she got lost on the way.