Overcast Days, Pancakes, and STUPID

Our little blue eyed alarm clock came running into our room at 5:50am, bright eyed and ready for the day! Mom and Dad, however, were not so ready. Austin laid at the foot of our bed for a good 10 minutes until Josh's alarm went off and then I proceeded to ignore him for as long as I could until he had brought every single car he owns into bed with us.

After Dad left for work, I realized resistance was futile and crawled out of bed.

It is overcast outside today with the scent of rain in the air! We opened all the windows to welcome in the cool weather and lit a candle. Days like these are all about comfort. Days like these require PANCAKES!!! 

I love days like these. Nowhere to go, and nothing to do. Rainy days don't come around much in the desert so you can bet we will be spending the rest of this one outside!! 

Now onto Stupid......

Austin has a favorite word, and it is driving me CRAAAAZZZZYYY!!! Everything is stupid. Everyone is stupid. Sometimes stupid is just stupid. Stupid, Stupid, STUPID!!! 

We've tried everything. We were told to ignore him so he won't think it is a word that gets him attention. Yeah, that didn't work. We then resorted to spanking, yelling, basically putting the fear of God into his little soul. Yeah, that didn't work either. We've tried coming up with "better words" that are silly and more fun to say! Nope, sorry Mom and Dad, not falling for that one! 

Now that I can't stand this word, I hear it everywhere! It's no wonder he finds it so intriguing! It's in every children's movie, Disney, Peanuts, you name it! I even use it constantly, or at least I did until it became the bane of my existence. Austin is now allowed to spank Josh and I if he hears us use it, which he loves by the way :). 

I know there are far worse words to use, and yes, we have heard him mutter a few of those already.... Hence the many phone calls I've made to family members to watch their tongues, the rules on which video games are allowed, and the stricter guidelines for TV shows. Nothing made me cringe more than hearing my baby boy say, "Dad, give me a Fu**ing crayon!!" And I am prepared to do anything I have to do to keep that from happening again. Luckily it seems to have worked! So why can't I get rid of Stupid??? 

I am convinced that Austin was sent to me specifically because he is my match in brains and power of will. His entire 2.5 years of life have been a constant series of power struggles and I have never met ANYONE who can bring out the crazy in me that he delights in. Because of this, every day brings a new lesson for the both of us.