Mama Byrd

Responsible parents know that it’s completely inappropriate to laugh at your kids when they say things that are disrespectful. Unfortunately, sometimes they say things that are so funny, you have to hide your head in a pillow to try to desperately hold onto the title of “responsible parent.”

Phillip (age 3) is going through a phase of calling anyone who disagrees with him “a liar.” He has also picked up the oh-so-mature habit of calling them a “Liar, Liar, pants on fire.” He started in on his daddy this morning, while we were still in bed (he’s our alarm clock), so in Lannie’s defense, he was still pretty groggy. The conversation went something like this…

Phillip: Liar, Liar, pants on fire.
Lannie: My pants aren’t on fire.
Phillip: You’re a liar, and your pants are on fire.
Lannie: If my pants were really on fire, I would hope you would put out the fire.
Phillip: I would get a bag of marshmallows and roast them.

I see an impeccable sense of comedic timing colliding with a long string of junior high school detentions in his future.

Filed under: Phillip, funny kids, kids, parenting on August 15th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

We celebrated our last week of summer this week with a trip to the zoo, several visits to the neighborhood pool, and Phillip’s first dentist appointment.
Phillip had a wonderful visit, despite the fact that he promised us over breakfast that he would not open his mouth for anyone.  His successful visit was thanks in large part to my friend, T.K. Crabtree, who has the patience of Job and somehow convinces all three of my kids that a teeth cleaning is more fun than a ride at Disney World.

We took our second trip to the Little Rock Zoo (in 9 months) this week. Compared to the Memphis Zoo (which we visited at least 2-3 times a month while we lived in Memphis), it is a big disappointment; however, the visiting bird show was almost worth the price of admission. I’ll admit, the kids and I were both awed and terrified of the hawks and vultures that tapped our ears with the tips of their wings as they flew past our heads.

We didn’t sleep in as much as I wanted this summer, but we definitely visited the neighborhood pool more times than I can count. This may be the first time I’ve had an authentic (read non-tanning bed and non-tanning cream) tan since I was in middle school. The highlight of the summer for me came when Phillip learned to swim by himself (with his lifesaving vest), so that I could move from wrestling with him IN the pool to sitting on the side of the pool, thereby allowing my legs to see the light of day (at least from the knee up).

I am looking forward to starting our third (!) year of homeschooling on Monday, but I will miss the easy pace of summer. We’ve all gotten bored a time or two, but it has been a nice change.

Filed under: Homeschooling, Little Rock, Memphis, Phillip, hot weather, kids on August 14th, 2009 | No Comments »

I’m in the process of thinking about updating my blog. We’ve lived in Little Rock for nearly 8 months now, and I still have a picture of the Memphis skyline in the masthead. I will work on designing something new in the coming weeks. I hope to get in a regular habit of blogging again before school begins in a few weeks. At the very least, I have a goal of posting once a week. I should be able to keep that up!

Filed under: Kids and Blogs, Little Rock, Memphis, technology on July 21st, 2009 | No Comments »

I have long been a fan of Facebook, but my husband the technology wiz tells me that Twitter is the way to go.  I gave in today and set up an account.  We’ll see how long I use it.

I think I can set up my tweets to go directly to Facebook, so I should be able to continue to use both.  Lannie will have to show me how.

Lannie insists that Facebook is on its way out since it’s now open to everyone.  I mean, literally, everyone.  In the past couple of weeks, I have received friend requests from my mom, my dad, my mom’s cousin, my 9-year-old neice, and my 6-month-old nephew.  The last time I saw my nephew, he couldn’t sit up by himself, let alone type, so I suspect his mom runs his Facebook page for him.  The point is, Lannie insists that Facebook is no longer cool, but I still like it.  Very much.

If you’re a Twitter fan, you can follow me @honeybyrd75.  I think I wrote that correctly.  I’m not sure.  Lannie will tell me if it’s wrong.

Filed under: Facebook, Twitter, technology on March 5th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

We were riding in the car today, when Phillip said, to no one in particular, “I really need some super powers.”
I bit back a smile and said, “Really, Phillip? Why?”
He looked at me as if the answer were obvious and said, “I can’t fly.”

Filed under: Phillip, funny kids on February 14th, 2009 | No Comments »

“Circle, circle, dot, dot. Now you have a cootie shot,” said Elizabeth, teaching her little brother how to give them.

“Mom, does a real cootie shot hurt?” she asked me.

“There’s no such thing as a real cootie shot,” I told her. “They’re just pretend.”

“I thought you had to get one when you get married,” she said. “You know, so your husband won’t give you cooties.”

Filed under: Elizabeth, family, funny kids on January 30th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

I haven’t blogged much this month.  One of the downsides to using my iPhone constantly is that I hardly ever get on my laptop anymore.  I can email and Facebook from my iPhone, but I haven’t really figured out how to blog from it yet.

We are settling into Little Rock.  It seems a little easier since we moved so recently.  We know what to do, or more importantly, what not to do.  The kids were so isolated when we first moved to Memphis, so I started trying to get them into homeschool groups before we even moved this time around.  They are going to enrichment classes (art, music, creative writing, etc.) one day a week at a place called the Homeschool Academy.  They are also taking P.E. classes at Arkansas Baptist through a satellite group.  Elizabeth seems satisfied with the number of new friends she’s made, so I’m happy with the arrangement.

The only thing we haven’t been able to jump-start is finding a church.  Looking for a church is a long and tedious process– I’ll never enjoy being a visitor.  We’ve visited five churches in the West Little Rock area so far, and I think we have one more to try tomorrow.  We definitely have a “type.”  Lannie (in particular) prefers a modern worship style, and a well-organized children’s program is important to me.  I also like a great missions outreach (local and international).  At this point, one church is definitely our favorite.  The only problem? It’s not a Baptist church.  This is really only a problem for the daughter of a Baptist preacher (who now works for a Baptist seminary).

One thing that has really suprised me since we’ve moved here is how easy it has been to re-connect with old friends from high school and college.  Facebook makes it so effortless!  I’ve messaged with friends and set up get-togethers without even having a phone number.  I’ve actually been out to eat with three friends in just a couple of weeks.  That has done so much to keep me from feeling lonely.

I’ll try to do better about keeping up with my blog.  The kids have said some really funny things in the past month.  Hopefully, I can remember what they said!

Filed under: Caleb, Elizabeth, Homeschooling, Little Rock, Phillip, church, family, kids on January 24th, 2009 | 4 Comments »

The past two weeks have been unbelievably busy, with the move to Little Rock one week and Christmas the following week.  I posted some pictures of the new house on Facebook.  I will post more when I catch up with my life a little bit!

Filed under: Little Rock on December 30th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

I am NOT cut out to be a single mom!  Lannie comes home for the weekend today, and I am SO glad.  The kids have been extra emotional with their dad gone– especially Phillip.  It took me two days to get him to calm down.

Caleb and I have noticed that Phillip acts especially crazy right before each meal.  I’ve finally figured out that if I keep snacks on-hand for him to grab himself, it regulates his blood sugar and keeps him from acting insane.  That was no small victory this week!

Elizabeth’s emotions have manifested into sleep walking this week.  Last night marked the third time this week that she has wandered into my room while asleep.  She is the strangest sleep walker– she cries at the top of her lungs for the first few minutes, then she says things that don’t make any sense.  It honestly took us a couple of times to figure out she was sleep walking.

Last night, she wandered down the stairs crying, and I met her in the hallway to keep her from waking Phillip up.  We went into the living room, and she said, “I need to go to…”

“Go where?” I asked, knowing she wasn’t going to make any sense.

She never answered that question.  Then she said, “When are you going to get in on the…”

“Get in on what?”

“Get in on the…you know…get in on your age?”

I didn’t know what that meant, so we sang Jesus Loves Me until (I thought) she woke up.  Then I told her she needed to go back to her room.  “Okay,” she said and laid down on the couch.

“No, go to your room,” I said, and she got up and kissed me, then laid back on the couch.

I eased her up and prodded her to walk back to the stairs.  I started walking up the stairs, and she started down the hall to my bedroom.  “No, to your room,” I said, guiding her up the stairs.  Unfortunately, she is too big for me to pick up and carry.

She laid down in her bed and kissed me good-night.  I left the room, and she started crying loudly again.  I went back and asked her what was wrong.  “What do you want?” she asked.  Apparently, she never woke up in that entire exchange.

I am so ready for Lannie to come home.  This is exhausting.

Filed under: Elizabeth, family, kids, parenting on November 21st, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Overheard conversation between Caleb and Elizabeth:

“Hey, Dude.”

“I’m not a dude.  If I’m a dude, where’s my mustache?”

“Not all dudes have mustaches.”

“Okay, but all dudes have hair.”

“Some dudes don’t have very much hair.”

“Okay, all dudes have hair somewhere.“

Filed under: Caleb, Elizabeth, funny kids, kids on November 18th, 2008 | 1 Comment »