Caiden Quotes

A brief post that will - hopefully - make you smile.

We took the boys overnight last week and two conversations with Caiden made me laugh.

Before I brought the boys home, I was putting Caiden in his carseat (the van was parked in our driveway). Then this transpired:

CAIDEN: Jesus said we can't go in the garage.
LAURRYN: We were in the garage last night, remember?
CAIDEN: Yeah, but Jesus said we can't go in the garage.
LAURRYN: Jesus didn't say anything about garages.

On the way home, I pointed out how pretty the snow looked and this is what followed:

LAURRYN: Look how pretty the snow looks! It's like God took a big jar of glitter and dumped it out all over the ground.
CAIDEN; Laurryn, God is mean.
LAURRYN: No, he's not! God is very, very nice.
(Pause)
CAIDEN: He is big?
(At this point, I'm pretty sure that Caiden is picturing God to be a big dog, like our "big dog" - Caiden's words - T'Angelo)
LAURRYN: He is very big! He is everywhere.
(Pause)
CAIDEN: He will come to ours house?
(I'm afraid that he is now terrified of God, who probably resembles a certain German Shepherd)

:)

I Had Style, I Had Flair, I Was There

That’s how I became the nanny. As you probably know, I get to spend two days per week (and countless random hours on the other days) with four amazing boys. My best friends here in Kentuckiana, Carlos and Kristen, have blessed me by letting me spend an obnoxious amount of time with their kids. Matt and I get to steal the boys overnight sometimes and we have a blast.

Camden is six years old (he’ll be seven in May) and is a genius. Colson is four years old (he’ll be five in February) and is the cutest kid alive, basically. Caiden is two years old (he’ll be three in March) and is hilarious. Christian is five months old and is absolutely adorable.

My “official” time with the boys includes meals, homework (they are homeschooled), chores, games, and naptime (actually, my unofficial time with them often includes the same). So I’m getting a great glimpse into my (as I hope) future (oh, you didn’t know that I’d love to be home with five kids? Now you do). As I stand in Carlos and Kristen’s kitchen, downing coffee and smiling at four kids (Camden and Colson are doing homework; Caiden is begging to color-code the fridge magnets, which undoubtedly will result in removing all of the magnets from the fridge, placing 6-10 magnets on the fridge, and saying, “I all done, Laurnyn;” and I’m holding the baby), I’m thinking, “Yeah, I love this. I could do this.”

Though there are days (often involving sickness, potty training, disobedience, or a combination) that I think I could NOT do this. Nevermind. What was I thinking in the first place?

Then I think that I should put this pseudo-parenting skill to good use! After all, it’s useful to “shhhhh” the seatbelt beep in our car, right? You know, it’s going off because I’m not yet buckled but driving more than five mph. I say “shhhhh” as if the beeping is Colson, making an annoying noise, and my passionate “shhhhh” will actually do something.

Or what about my innate desire to discipline others’ children just as I would those four boys? I find myself in public, nearly saying, “Do you need a timeout?” to random fussy toddlers. And my clients. And my dogs.

And I LOVE folding kids’ clothes. If Carlos and Kristen get behind in the laundry, I get giddy. Seriously. And don’t tell me to get a job at Gap Kids. It’s not the same.

I also like to sing songs while cooking. And I make the boys’ string cheeses dance at lunchtime. As long as the boys provide the music, an excellent dancer appears in the form of a string cheese. But, once the string cheese is opened, he usually exclaims (in a high-pitched voice) that he’s cold. Giggling ensues. Then, when the first bite is taken, the string cheese usually shouts, “OUCH!”

But I think my ability to turn most anything boring into something fun is pretty awesome. For example, the other day I was thinking about things that I needed to buy on my next shopping trip. Oh, I need a new toothbrush. Noothgrush. Suddenly, I’m reciting Dr. Seuss.

But that noothgrush
on my toothbrush
Well, some are nice
but he is not.

I do the same with counting. I sometimes think:

One, two, three, four
five, six, seven
eight, nine, ten.
He has eleven!
Eleven!
This is something new.
I wish I had
eleven, too!

(Can you tell that I like One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish?)

One of my clients loves to hold her monitor’s hand as they walk down the hall together. The first time I supervised her visit, she asked if she could hold my hand. Of course you can! Then I suggested that we skip, too. So we did. I came into work the other day to hear that, when she had another monitor, she requested the monitor hold hands and skip with her. The monitor said to our coordinator, “What’s up with that?” “Blame Laurryn,” our coordinator replied. Inciting fun? Guilty as charged.

Anyway, I pretty much love spending time with these four. And my clients. And kids in general. So here’s a collection of funny quotes and conversations that have brightened a number of my days:

-Scene: Colson is “helping” Caiden on the potty. I hear Colson tell Caiden he’ll be right back, and Colson comes out to me in the playroom.

COLSON: Laurryn, “pan” and “pig” sound the same.
LAURRYN: They have the same beginning sound.
COLSON: It’s “p.”
LAURRYN: You’re right.

Colson smiles at me and returns to Caiden.

-Scene: It’s lunchtime.

CAIDEN: You are a dolphin?
LAURRYN: What about a dolphin?
CAIDEN: My daddy is.
LAURRYN: Daddy is a dolphin?
CAIDEN: Yeah!

- Scene: Helping Colson with homework on the computer. Caiden runs up to me.

CAIDEN: Laurnyn?
LAURRYN: Yes, Caiden?
CAIDEN: Um, I don’t know.

-CAMDEN (to me): You smell like coffee.

-CAIDEN: My Laurnyn, I love my Laurnyn.

:)

Um, I Love My Job.

This isn't going to be a long post, just a little post to tide you over until I get to some longer upcoming posts.

I have had a pretty great last couple of weeks at my job. I work as a visitation monitor for supervised visits between parents and children. Sometimes, our clients have been separated by family services; other times, domestic violence between the parents had occurred and the parents are no longer together. These kids have experienced some serious abuse or neglect, or they may have witnessed some awful interactions.

If you didn't know, I LOVE kids, so I love my job. This week, the highlights of my work week are as follows:

1.) One of my male clients, six years old, decided to take my blood pressure with the play doctor set his brother had received as a Christmas present. He told me that my blood pressure was fine, but prescribed two Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal pieces for medicine. Yummy!

2.) Two of the girls I monitor, two and five, love to bring me items from the play kitchen. They bring me everything that they can, expecting me to balance it all on my lap. Often, something goes tumbling. This week, they also brought me two babies that I was expected to feed. They keep me busy!

3.) I was able to leave early one night last week. I regularly monitor a particular visitation (a five-year-old boy). When I left, the mom was sitting in our waiting room and I let her know that another monitor was with her son. "She's even better than I am," I told her. "I doubt that," the mother replied. "He really likes you."

4.) Last week marked the close of a case that I had monitored from the start. There had been serious domestic violence between the parents and one of the parents is mentally ill. The little girl (three when visits started, although she turned four during the course of our visits) was absolutely adorable. She was one of my favorite clients. It broke my heart to see her go, but the parents were able to arrange unsupervised visitations. It made perfect sense that this would happen - I would provide a safe environment for the child to interact with one parent and, eventually, she would start visiting outside of our agency. Still, it hurt to see her go. As she hugged me, I couldn't believe I wouldn't see her again. I had looked forward to her visit every single week. She and the parent she lived with waved to me as they drove out of the parking lot. I nearly cried - what a bittersweet moment. But I guess it's the kind of moment that I'll have to get used to in this line of work.

Matt's (Not So) Top 5 Christmas Wishlist

I'm (Laurryn, as usual) taking a break from the last two (or three) assignments of the semester to bring you Matt's (Not So) Top 5 Christmas Wishlist! Matt has passed onto me the links to all of his desired holiday gifts (well, some of his desired holiday gifts) but he has indicated no particular order to them, so I'm throwing them together for your enjoyment! Each picture has a link to the product page for your (potential) shopping ease.

5. Backpack - Admittedly, it seems like a pretty COOL backpack. If you like a backpack void of buttons, sparkles, or polka dot ribbon.

Oh, right, this is Matt's wishlist. Not mine. Hm. Anyway, I know that Matt likes the number of pockets on this backpack - a cheaper one had as many pcckets as my school backpack has (quite a few less, and I scored my backpack for $10 or $15 at Walmart, so...). I can say that I would quite like for Matt to get a new backpack for his random police crap because a.) his random police crap ends up everywhere, b.) he has had his current backpack forever and it is kind of an eyesore, and c.) his current backpack has a hole in it, which makes me loathe it and want to buy a new one immediately.

4. Knife - I'm pretty sure that Matt told me that this is the same knife that our friend (and current housemate) Billy has. Matt admires it greatly. How is it possible that Matt doesn't already have such a knife, you ask? He reminded me recently - it was misplaced during his trip to Peru earlier this year.

3. Conditioning Vest - I couldn't get a photo of this one up, but it's a vest to wear during exercise in order to work out with more weight.

4. Krav Maga - If you been with Matt for an extended length of time, he has probably said the words "Krav Maga." I know that if I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase, I would not have to post a Christmas wishlist, that's fo' sho'. So he has requested this book to learn alllllllllll about it.

5. Advanced Krav Maga - Oh, no, regular Krav Maga isn't quite enough for my Mateo. He needs to know the advanced moves, too.

*Bonus Books (i.e. someone doesn't follow directions): Secrets of the Russian Breath Masters?! I don't...I don't even know. Let's move on.

Oh...Parkour. That's cool. Mmkay.

*Bonus DVD (i.e. someone REALLY doesn't follow directions): Some DVD that Matt wants; he has another one in the set and seems to really enjoy it. Mmkay.

So there you have it! Matt's (Not So) Top 5 Christmas Wishlist and my comments! (That's what happens when you send me links to what you want with no order, comments, or extra information.) T'Angelo and Tumbler are still working on their list, although they have told me that it should be done shortly (I reminded them that they are not giving their family members adequate time to purchase gifts. Sometimes they forget about all the stuff that humans do since they're, you know, dogs).

Thanks for reading!

Update on Laurryn's Top 5 Christmas Wishlist

I (Laurryn) have an update on my Top 5 Christmas Wishlist! And while I keep prodding Matt for his Top 5 Christmas Wishlist, he has yet to compile it. I'll try some more over the next few days!

Anyway, I got a ton of Christmas shopping done when a very patient BFF came to town last weekend. While out shopping, I realized that I could get the sweater I've been dreaming of (and a super-awesome gold sequined skirt that I could have designed) for less than the sweater if I took advantage of the buy one, get one half off sale and the $30 off coupon that I had conveniently tucked into my purse. So, after a conversation with Matt that involved a lot of smiling and disbelief on my part and a lot of "you won't wear anything until Christmas?" on Matt's part,I took the plunge. The patient BFF can attest to my enthusiasm about the purchase. I may have actually skipped out of the store, swinging my New York & Company bag.

The next night, Matt and I were taking care of a few other Christmas presents on amazon.com and Matt showed me the steam mop that he'd been scoping out. The man did his research - he had read a ton of reviews and checked the ratings on this steam mop. So we ordered it! And it was gracing my living room when I got home from work last night. I can't wait to use it!

So I've already gotten two of the items on my wishlist. I thought I should update you in case you were planning to get some shopping done soon ;)

The McDaniel Top 5 Christmas Wishlists: Post 1: Laurryn

Are you done with your Christmas shopping? I’m (Laurryn, because Matt really doesn’t do any of the Christmas planning, shopping, wrapping, etc.) not quite finished, but I have gotten a lot done in the last two months. I always do my Christmas cards early so that I don’t get overwhelmed and start crying in a heap on the floor, surrounded by blank Christmas cards and a variety of red and green stickers. I get things done early so that I can enjoy the season instead of make last-minute shopping trips in a desperate attempt to find the "perfect" gift at 6:00pm on Christmas Eve.

Anyway, I thought it would be a great idea to share with you the McDaniel Top 5 Christmas Wishlists. I haven’t told Matt yet that this is the plan, but I will. My list is already ready, so I’ll post this today and have Matt post his when he’s done compiling it. I’ll get T’Angelo and Tumbler’s lists whenever they get around to putting them together for me.

5. Book - I read a very, very funny book while on vacation in Mexico. The title is In the Event of My Untimely Demise and the author, Brian Sack, has a humorous blog, http://www.banterist.com/. Brian’s book is a variety of life lessons for his children, sprinkled (or appropriately pummeled) with a perfect amount of humor. I found myself stifling laughter while on a plane or sitting by the pool on vacation. The classic lessons and the humor make for a great read!

4. Sweater – You may be asking yourself how I could want a sweater more than a book that brought me so much joy and laughter. Well, just look at this beauty:



I know, right?! Gorgeous. So if you actually clicked on the photo and reviewed the price, now you’re thinking one of two things: 1.) “Holy cow, that sweater is nearly $60. That’s ridiculous!” or 2.) “I wonder which color she’d prefer.” Here are my responding thoughts, respectively: 1.) “$60 is not cheap; agreed. However, I did once (on a post-Bears-Camp-I-actually-have-money shopping trip) purchase a sweater for $50. Let me tell you – I love that sweater and smile every time I look at it (which is often because it’s right in my closet) and I take great care of it.” and 2.) “Well, I actually have a sequined black sweater (although not nearly as awesome as this one, as it’s shorter and less sequined…Oh, and I have a sequined black zip-up hoodie, too, so black sequins abound in my closet) so the white sweater would be preferred.”

3.) Labelmaker or banker’s lamp - There are two things that have been on my wishlist for two years (I keep a general wishlist of movies, books, etc. on my thumb drive and update it periodically as I see fit). These two things are a banker’s lamp and a labelmaker. Matt once promised me a labelmaker that we never bought so I doubt I'll be getting it in the near future. And he always looked at me quizzically as I squealed when I saw a good banker’s lamp in the store, so I doubt he'll be sharing in my banker's-lamp-enthusiasm this year by purchasing me such a professional gift. One day, though, I would like to cross these two items off my wishlist.

2.) New mop - This is a pretty close tie for the number one spot because I hate my Clorox Ready Mop. I don’t mean that I hate mopping, because I don’t, or that I hate Clorox, because I don’t, but I really and truly do hate my Clorox Ready Mop. It shouldn’t but it DOES suck at its own job. Its job is to clean my floor and it fails miserably. Every. Single. Time. When I finally convince myself that the floor is disgusting enough that I have no choice but to mop, I typically take a deep breath, pull out my supplies for cleaning, and calm myself down before I even start. I take my time, I try to listen to calming music if necessary, and I relax. That doesn’t last long, though, because soon the pad on the bottom of the mop is falling off and I’m crying and/or cursing. Matt comes to find out why I’m swearing, sees that I’m attempting to use the Clorox Ready Mop, and retreats to a place void of my four-letter words.

When we were apartment-dwellers, I didn’t have to mop our vinyl floors all that often. Now that we have three tile bathrooms, a tile hallway, a tile laundry room, and a tile kitchen (oh, and two dogs and an actual yard), mopping is necessary. I haven’t done extensive research on awesome steam mops or anything, but I know that I want a decent mop that is not on display within three feet of a broom at the nearby Walmart. Matt is really more the research arm of our marriage, and he may have some suggestions. Until the day comes when I am blessed with a new and fantastic mop, my floors remain semi-dirty on a fairly constant basis. If you come to my house and you find that the floor is somewhat swept but dirty, blame it on the Clorox Ready Mop. With the way it behaves, it’s lucky that I let it stay in my house and sleep next to the water heater.

1.) Glenn Beck Insider Extreme Subscription - If you know me well, you won’t be surprised at that number one wishlist item.

https://members.premiereinteractive.com/ows-img/glennbeck/pages/28585/127640.htm

Such a shocker that I want a subscription to Glenn Beck Insider Extreme. These are the amazing features:

• 30-day audio archive of shows
• Webcam during radio shows (6-camera broadcast quality stream)
• Insider message boards
• 4th hour program with Stu and Pat (radio show co-hosts)
• A variety of random videos and special items available only to subscribers throughout the year

A one-year subscription is only $74.95. That may sound like a lot, but for someone who loves Glenn about as much as she loves sequins (a bold statement, I know), it’s a bargain. Since we don’t have cable now (and I can’t listen to Glenn on the radio anymore), the only Glenn that I get is through his articles and short videos that he puts out.

So there you have it! Soon to come…Matt’s wishlist!

A Crazy-What-the-Heck-is-She-Talking-About Post

This is a rather serious blog post (which is often boring; no mariachi band photos here) and I (Laurryn) have been “collecting my thoughts” about it; hence the long break between posts. And although it may seem boring, I’m genuinely curious about thoughts on the topics I’m thinking of lately.

I guess this post has two main concerns or questions. The first is about parenting for life and the second is about healthy relationships.

Thoughts on “parenting for life”: do you think there comes a time when you cease to be a parent in the traditional sense? I guess what I mean is, at what point do you stop telling your kids what to do? A lot of people would probably say that you stop telling them what to do when they move out (since you can’t use the “if you’re under my roof” argument). But what if your kids (I use the word “kids” but they could very well be in their mid-thirties; they’re still your children) are breaking the law? Morally wrong, in your opinion? Do you just let it go?

I know some parents who have quit parenting. They still have minor children, but they are just DONE. They are wrapped up in themselves, in each other, that they seemingly decided to let their children do whatever they please. They blow off misbehavior, flagrant violation of laws, disrespect. I realize that this situation still involves minor children, living under the same “roof,” but I am really struggling with the fact that these parents are abandoning their children (save sheltering and feeding).

A few weeks ago, someone told me why they had never had kids. This is a woman I greatly respect and admire, and I had never known why she had chosen not to have kids. “I couldn’t be all in,” she said. She knew that she couldn’t give all of herself for her children, and so she chose to remain a wife, a sister, a daughter, and an aunt, but not a mother. Is this selfish? Or is this better than the parenting that’s only half-hearted (if that)?

The second thought is related to the first: is a healthy relationship one that only ties two people closer together? Because of my background with violence victims who are isolated, I cannot help but think it is not healthy, but some might argue that since a relationship is made up of those two people, perhaps it is healthy if it only ties two people closer together (absent of isolation). But I see couples that are merely concerned with themselves. You can’t reach them to lean outside of their “bubble.”

One of my favorite quotes is from a well-known French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. “Love does not consist of gazing at each other but of looking together in the same direction.” I think this quote says it all. I think a healthy relationship teaches its relationship-ers to love other more, not to recede further into “each other.” I feel that I’ve learned to love others so much more in the last few years, and I hope that those that I love feel that way.

One of my least favorite phrases is “whatever makes you happy” (also known as “as long as you’re happy” or “if you’re happy, that’s all that matters”). I just don’t agree with it. Horrible things could be making you “happy.” Unhealthy things. Illegal things. Things that may be at the expense of others.

Considering parenting, I don’t think that children benefit from “freedom” (lack of rules and boundaries). I think the parents that I mentioned “gave up” on their kids before the kids gave up on the parents. Especially in children with troubled pasts – I don’t know that it’s fair to assume that a kid is “healthy” inside if he seems it. Plenty of kids, regardless of their home environment, seem healthy when they aren’t. Ignoring problems and sweeping them under the rug is not only dangerous but I consider it to be, quite frankly, stupid.

Real life involves free will. Car accidents, infidelity, violence, sexual abuse, and any other number of horrible or seemingly unjust occurrences happen because God gives people free will. These happenings are the things from which Christ redeems us. These are the scars that He heals. These are the things that make us the people that we are. These are the things that have shaped us and formed us to be beautiful but broken witnesses for Him.

I come from a household that included violence, abuse, and alcoholism, among other dysfunctions. I can’t run from it; I won’t avoid it. I’ve embraced it and used it for the purposes of His Kingdom. Real life includes sin, and having an imperfect upbringing has made me into a woman whose scars have been healed by the power of Jesus Christ. I don’t want to hide those scars or sweep the unpleasant parts of my past under the rug. Those parts of my life have made me able to connect to others in a way that wouldn’t have been possible if my background were different. And while I will create a healthy and safe environment for my children, I won’t ignore things that need to be dealt with immediately. I won’t pretend that life is sunshine and lollipops, because it’s not. I will protect my children and preserve their innocence for as long as possible, but I will not raise naïve children and ask them to survive in this world.

Hearing that someone I loved didn’t have kids because she knew she couldn’t be “all in” made me think about being a parent. Can I do it? Can I go all in? Can I devote my time, my talent, and my treasure to a little human being and, over time, more and more little human beings? Can I deal with all that I can foresee being a part of parenting, like being exhausted, disappointed, heartbroken, weary? Can I NEVER give up on my kids, constantly try to let them know that they are loved and cherished? Can I strive to make sure they never feel abandoned?

One might expect that I would rethink my thoughts on parenting but, now, I feel even more committed to being a parent than before. And although there are no little McDaniels on the way, I know that I am ready to go “all in.” I know that it won’t be easy, but, as the saying goes, nothing worthwhile ever is.

Okay, you can’t still be reading this. This post is crazy-jumbled and may not make sense to anyone whose brain is not mine. Maybe you have no thoughts or maybe you have no idea, but I welcome comments. I will try not to make any more crazy-what-the-heck-is-she-talking-about posts.

An upcoming post may include what it’s like to be the sole female in a house of two grown men and two grown dogs. Or a day in the life of the nanny. Or a day in the life of the four boys subjected to the nanny. Over my Christmas break, I am planning to document “A Day in the Life of T’Angelo and Tumbler.” After all, you must have SO many questions about our dogs. What are their favorite toys? Where do you buy their dog food? How high can Tumbler jump? What is a KONG? These questions and more will be answered by mid-December!