09-09-09

So, it has been awhile since I have posted, and not much has happened in our lives. School started, but my kids aren't in school so it didn't affect us much. I'm just happy some of the neighborhood kids are in school all day so they aren't constantly knocking on my door and ringing my doorbell. I'm such a antisocial person, and Tyson is the complete opposite. He is the type that would walk off with a stranger because he is so friendly and thrives on having friends and constantly playing with friends. Because he is my oldest, I am still trying to figure out this friend thing. Trying to monitor who he plays with and how much he plays with other kids. I don't see the need for a 3 year old to be playing with friends daily. I would rather him play with Tanner. When I make him stay inside he comes up with the cutest things to do and I love to hear him playing with and talking to his toys. I know I can't shelter him forever. I am trying to follow Joseph Smith's advice when he said "teach them correct principles and then let them govern themselves." Tyson and Tanner are good kids, but they have learned some not so nice things from the kids around here. Here are some of the phrases they have picked up:

• "I'm gonna call the cops on you."
• "I'm not your friend anymore."
• "You're not the boss of me."
• "You need to change your attitude."

There are a few others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. I really try to keep a close eye on them. We have a neighborhood bully that is Tyson's age and twice his size. He bloodied Tyson's nose last week because Tyson was trying to put our toys away like I had asked him, and this kid still wanted to play with our toys. Tyson didn't cry, but Tanner has been laid out a few times by this kid. He no longer plays with my children without my supervision. Being a parent is hard, but I feel more sorry for Tyson because he has to put up with me learning the ropes of parenthood.

On a different note, I started officially potty training Tanner and it is going fairly well. It will be nice to be diaper-free for a couple months before the baby comes. I'm excited for the baby, but I'm not too anxious yet. I like spending this time with my boys. Another week and I will be into my third trimester. My sister just had her baby almost 4 weeks early and I would welcome that kind of time frame for me, but won't get my hopes up. All I know is that if my appetite doesn't change post pregnancy, I'm going to have to take some serious interventions. I am a glutton and I don't know how to stop myself. I fear at this rate, the next few months will not be pretty, nor will I. The only good thing is that I can pawn most of it off onto the pregnancy and delay taking the blame. I am extremely excited for cooler weather and hope it comes soon. I have a few fun things planned before the holidays hit, but the holdidays should be way fun this year, even if I am large with child.