You scratch my back..

I'll scratch yours...

Or not.

Agent P has no intention of reciprocating the back scratching, I guarantee it.

I was in the kitchen getting dinner going and I hear Agent P "Sissy, will you tickle my back - on the inside (of his shirt)". Being the little miss mama that she is, she happily lifts his shirt and scratches his back.

Mini P is a very diverse little girl.

She is an eye patch wearing, plyer using, crazy haired, back scratching kind of girl!

I would NEVER!

Friends, parenting is serious business. This is no time to be messing around! There are countless parenting books that you should read, classes you should take - and most of all - friends to get great advice from! It is important to raise kids to be good and trustworthy people.

I thought I would share the things I would NEVER do - so that you can understand how serious I take this parenting stuff. It is really up to you if you choose to "never" do these things either. But being a good parent takes lots of hard work and dedication!

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I would NEVER allow my kids to eat food off the floor if it had been there from the day before. Even if it IS chocolate.

I would NEVER carry a kiddy potty in my minivan and have my kids pee in it and then pour the pee out elsewhere. I would especially never take the potty out, put it on the ground and wait for them to use it while I load up other kids. I think that might be classified as public indecency.

I would NEVER use the pool as a replacement for a bath. That is wrong.

I would NEVER turn on the TV (to a kids show) just because my kids are making me completely nuts. Never.

I refuse to bribe my kids with cookies, gummies or candy of any sorts. Ever.

I would NEVER feed my kids chocolate chip pancakes for snack.

I would NEVER let my kids wear their PJ's all day. They have more clothes than they would need on a 30 day vacation - why not wear them?

You would never catch me taking my kids outside to let the dog clean them off - that's gross!

I am pretty sure that I would NEVER let my kids out of the house completely mismatched with hair that hasn't been combed in days. That is just irresponsible.

I have NOT contemplated "velcro"ing my kids to their beds, just to keep them there during nap.

I NEVER call my kids by the wrong name, nor have I called them by the dogs' name. If anyone you know has done this, I recommend that they get tested for Alzheimer's or Dementia.

I would NEVER skip feeding my kids dinner so that we could go out for ice cream. Kids need balanced meals and nutritious snacks every day.

I absolutely would NOT sneak a mocha from Starbucks - it is our job as parents to teach sharing.

I NEVER tell my kids "I'm going to a meeting" when I'm actually going out with my girlfriends. That is lying and lying is bad.

.....
If you or someone you know has done one or more of these things - then perhaps it's time to take a long hard look at the type of parenting that is going on. What kind of children can survive a childhood being subject to any of the items listed??
......

(and if you really believe that I did NONE these, I have a beach house in Nevada I can hook you up with! I do take parenting seriously and none of my kids were hurt in the making of this blog post. In fact, they are all perfectly happy watching Dora right now eating chocolate chip pancakes! I've gotta run, I have a meeting - LOL!)

When the going gets tough...

the tough get goin'!

And gone they are! For 3 (choke...cough) MONTHS!!!

I know, you are thinking "how could they leave on a 3 month vacation and endure all that relaxing??? What kind of person is willing to make that kind of sacrafice?"

We are thinking the same thing. I mean, really, you can only drink so many margaritas, bottles jugs of beer, glasses bottles of wine...before the whole visiting wonderful cousins (Hi Jani!), and enjoying parts of our amazing country before you just want to come back to these little sweeties...

Well, apparently 3 months.

Maybe.

You know how Gilligan's "3 hour tour" turned out.

They (even the non-pictured ADog) miss you Grandma and Grandpa - please travel safe! We all love you!

A well laid plan.

I had it all figured out...ya know, like I usually do. Agent P would go to afternoon Kindergarten. We'd have the morning all together and in the afternoons when he was at school - the twins would have a nice quiet house to get in a great nap. I would get all sorts of things done. I would work out, clean, catch up on stuff...ya know - the good stuff! It was all dreamy and perfectly choreographed!

Apparently my twins have other plans for me. We are 2.5 weeks into this new schedule and I've accomplished zilch.

I had a conversation with Mini P - because really she doesn't just repeat everything I say like Monkey does. She doesn't always agree with me and that's ok - at least I know she's got an opinion and isn't just repeating back what I've said.

So, the conversation went a little like this:

Me: Today you are going to stay in your bed and take a nap - no getting up and playing.
Mini P: But I need to talk to Monkey, in his bed.
Me: No, you need to stay in your bed.
Mini P: No, I need to read books with Monkey.
Me: During nappie time - you can read books in YOUR bed, but you need to STAY THERE. Stop getting out of bed.
Mini P: Stop getting out of bed?
Me: YES!

The conversation went nowhere from there, I'm sure it ended with me saying something like "whatever, go color". As I searched for some hard liquor of sorts.

It is Thursday in in 4 days they have napped 1 of those days. Therefore I have not worked out. I have not caught up on much. I've spent most of the time walking around in my Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones yelling "get back in bed" from all areas of the house. I figure if I can hear them - they are not behaving and are probably not even in bed.

(By the way - when I got these headphones for my birthday - Agent P and I looked at each other and were both convinced there was an airline ticket in there somewhere. Obviously they are for wearing on an airplane - and daddy was shipping me off somewhere like a remote island, or perhaps a nice quiet beach somewhere. No, he was just offering up something to help me get thru the day.)

I wear them. Every. Single. Day. Honestly.

Anyway, I (as usual) have digressed.

Here is what I found this week:

Books that were once on the shelf

Other days I have found their beds completely cleared of any friends or pillows or blankets. I have found puzzles all over the floor half completed. The list goes on and on.

So, my naptime plans have changed. I'm getting good at just wearing the headphones trying to get a 'breather' for the day. It's not real good on the hair, but whatever.

Got any ideas on how to get 2 peeps in the same room who think nap time is one big party - to STAY IN BED AND SLEEP??? I need help. Big time.

Pause for a moment.

As I about to post some more pictures, I received a phone call that no one ever wants to get.

My sweet husband called to tell me that there was an accident and one of his co-workers was killed. My husband has worked at this mining consulting company for 16 years - this has never happened to one of their employees.

As a side note, the employee that was killed (while in South America working with another of the employees) has a twin brother that we know and really like. I have not met the brother that was killed. This makes is especially heatbreaking - because twins are something special.

This is very devastating for us. My husband has worked at these mines. He has done the travel these younger guys are doing. These are his workmates. His work family. These are people I know - since I worked there for 4 years as well. I am devastated for them. I am heartbroken for the owners of this company - my husband being one of them. Recovery will not be easy. Please pray for them.

I cannot post pictures today. I just can't.