Learning to Order Her Food

We're at a restaurant and Courtnie tells me what she wants to order... er... what she wants ME to order FOR HER.  I very gently remind her (as I always do) that she can order for herself.  This doesn't go over well.  It never does.  She immediately takes a deep breath, opens her eyes wide, kicks her feet very nervously and tells me she doesn't want to.  I know her heart is racing.  I encourage her to order for herself and rehearse with her exactly what to say.  She shakes her head no and says she doesn't want to.  But I stand firm and make her order.

Here's the deal... I know EXACTLY what she is thinking, feeling, and going through.  I did not like to order for myself as a child either.  What if I said something wrong?  Or mispronounced a word?  What if they talked to me and I couldn't understand what they said? What if they couldn't hear me and asked me to REPEAT my order?  Then I'd have to speak TWICE!  What if...  What if....

There simply aren't many other things that could possibly go wrong while ordering your food. But these irrational thoughts are what always went through my mind when my own mother made me order for myself.  And I used to hate it!  I always smile after Courtnie orders because the next few moments she does the exact same thing I did to my mom.  She very nervously orders her food while staring at me (and I watch and nod my head as if to say good job), slouches back into her seat, and for only a few seconds hates me for making her do such a horrible thing as ordering her own food.

My poor baby girl.  Right now she thinks there is no good reason to have to order for herself.  She thinks I'm being mean by making her speak to someone and ask them to get her choice of food or drink.  She doesn't understand that this simple process is a stepping stone to learning to communicate in the world about things yet unseen.  She doesn't understand that the anxiety she feels is not rational and she will be okay.  She hasn't quite learned yet that she has survived after ordering her food all those other times!

But I don't tell her any of these things.  I just remind her that she is capable of ordering for herself, I tell her I am not ordering for her, and then smile when she has accomplished this task.  Then I wait for her to calm down and not be mad at me anymore.  But all the while, my heart hurts for her inside.  I know it pains her do this simple thing.

I know one day she will understand all of this when her own little girl begs with fear in her eyes to not have to order for herself.  Courtnie will look across the table with a gentle smile and encourage her daughter to do the same.  It is then she will remember these days and be proud of herself for learning to push past the anxiety, trust in her mom, and order her food.

Praying

On our way home tonight from youth there was an Amber Alert for a 6yr old boy. Courtnie told me she prayed for him right after the alert. It makes my heart so happy that she knows and trusts God to hear her prayers and that she calls on Him immediately when a need arises.

Belts and a Blessing

Yesterday, I took Courtnie shopping for a new belt.  She knew exactly the belt she wanted and to my surprise it that dang belt cost $30.  My reaction may not have been the most sincere, but no way was I going to spend $30 for a belt that she hides with a hoodie.  I just couldn't do it!  I simply could not bring myself to pay that much.

So we went in and out of every store in that mall looking for a belt suitable for school.   After about 1.5 hrs of belt shopping, I started justifying the $30 for the belt, after all, it was cute.  It definitely beat the belts with the marijuana plants, the skulls, or the dog collar chained belts.  And trying to find a solid colored black or brown belt was nearing impossible.

And then it happened... we found a belt we BOTH LIKED!  It was only $15 and super cute.  And the best part was when we were checking out a lady frantically stopped and gave me a coupon for $10 off any purchase.  Thank you dear Lord!  That was neat to see my children SEE a blessing like that.

I want Courtnie to know that it wasn't that I just didn't want to spend $30 for a belt.  Times are tough and money is tight and $30 is quite a bit of money for a belt.  I can barely put gas in my car without having a coronary because gas prices keep rising and trying to feed this household under an acceptable budget is becoming impossible to say the least.

Thank you Courtnie for not pouting and accepting my decision to not purchase a belt for that cost.  I am proud of the both of us for our composure, patience, and willingness to persevere in the belt shopping.  If we hadn't done all of these things, we would have missed out on one of God's blessings.  Sweet girl, we had the opportunity to SEE someone bless us.  What a reward!

I Wonder....

I wonder....

I wonder if my children will know how much I love them?  Or if they will remember me as just a stressed out, loud and mouthy, dictator?

I wonder if they will ever see the sacrifice their parents made on their behalf?  Or if they will just think we were strict and uncaring to their current desires?

I wonder if my children will get along when they are older?  Or if they will be so bitter with one another, holding resentment and and unwilling to forgive, that they go separate ways and never speak to each other again?

I wonder if my children will ever realize that rules were not set to make their life miserable but to teach them right from wrong and how to be a strong leader and Christian in life?

I wonder....

Mom wins!

Me to child: "You know how I feel about that but if you want to keep running your mouth we can see how that'll work out for you." Thursday can only get better!

Cheerleader Dad

Comic relief one night.  Man, the family had so much fun and such a good laugh.  My belly was on FIRE we laughed so hard!

Homeschool Day 1

Day 1 of homeschool - Coach Gautreaux claps hands to wake up sleeping 9th grader barking orders to get up and get ready for PE. This is gonna be a BLAST!

Allergic Reaction

Cameron woke up Saturday with one of his lymph nodes about the size of the golf ball bulging out of his neck. He couldn't talk, turn his head, or move. It appeared to be an allergic reaction but he hasn't yet had anything to eat or drink and he wasn't itching and didn't have a rash anywhere. Another part of me wondered if it wasn't a terrible case of strep. So Jason and I took him to the ER totally prepared to stay awhile with the flu epidemic. But we were the only ones there and were taken right back. They weren't too convinced it was an allergic reaction but treated him for it anyway with Benadryl, Pepcid, and Prednisone. Within in minutes we literally watched the swelling decrease to nothing, he was moving and talking, and felt so much better. We have no idea what it was but are prepared with our epipen in car it happens again.

This is how Jason occupied his time in the ER. It kept Cameron and I entertained for sure :)  In case the volume is hard to tell, he is teaching us how to protect ourselves from hospital intruders.



and another....

Happy 8th Birthday, Colton

This day 8 years ago, I had just given birth to my youngest baby. My first contraction at 17 weeks, lots of bedrest, and so much support from family and friends, we carried him to 36 weeks. Born at 6lbs 3oz with red hair and refusing to follow the first rule of life... to breath. He is the same today as he was then - follows the beat to his own drum, says and does anything that comes to mind (good or bad), and makes his own rules. LOVE this kid!! Looking back at his pictures today has brought tears to my eyes. He was such a hard child to raise and still his sometimes, but his beautiful eyes and extravagant personality shine so much brighter than the trials. I can't wait to see the path God leads him on!

The Toy-Box that Talked

If my kids' toy-boxes talked, they'd surely request to not be a trashcan or dump.  They'd ask that the only thing they store for little Gautreaux children would be toys and nothing but toys.  The toy-box would request that things inappropriate not be hidden inside or shoved into crevices between toys.  They'd give this following list of things that are NOT acceptable for toy-box storage.

• the two missing wheels to your toy-box (check that picture above)
• socks without a match
• trash
• kids meal toys
• random wheels that don't seem to belong on any car owned by the child
• food or candy
• food or candy wrappers
• dress-up clothes, because those go in a special place for better protection
• loose limbs to Barbies or action figures
• loose heads to Barbies or action figures
• books
• broken sunglasses
• old cell phones
• shoes
• crayons
• toothbrushes
• panties and underwear
• game pieces
• schoolwork or craft projects
• Mom and Dad's keys
• anything liquid, especially nail polish
• tangled jewelry
• wadded up duct tape (this could be an entirely different blog topic)
• DVDs
• electronics, including iPods

The toy-box is something to be cleaned when your child is not around.  I read the above list to my children and they admitted to the above items.  They even justified some these items for very important needs!  I admit, the toy-box is one thing I will not miss when my last child outgrows his toys.