Mommy Monday- An Amateur

Why is it that despite being a mother for 12 years and having four children that they make me feel like an amateur mother?

I love my kids, I really do.  Their teachers love them, they are good in public.  I swear though that once they climb up our metal stairs and into our home, something clicks in their brains and they turn into little monsters.  I guess it means they feel safe to act however they want.  It also seems that their ears stop working. I have to ask them to do things three or four times. Even when I use love and logic, I still have to repeat myself over and over again.

Then suddenly, one of them will run over and give me a hug and a kiss. They tell me that I am the best mom ever and my heart just melts. And everything is right with the world.

Blackberry Revenge

The blackberry season is coming to an end.  The clouds have rolled in and we are preparing for perpetual fall around here.  When the blackberries start coming out my kids are transformed into savage beasts in which the only thing that can placate them is the lure of the blackberry.  Luckily, there is a row of blackberry bushes just down the hill from home.  So, I often send them out to pick blackberries to their hearts content.

You would think that the bush would stand no chance against four rabid salivating creatures, but alas it has its own natural defenses.  The first defense is sharp thorns similar to that of the rose.  Often the most large and desirable berries are located behind a forest of thorns and guarded by a witch turned dragon.  Okay, there really is no dragon but the thorns are there.  The second defense is the juice itself.  Once you plunder the berries they seem to vomit their juice all over the attacker, which then leaves a stain that the murderer can never undo.

Exhibit A:

When you are poor as dirt it is difficult to part with clothing that has been stained by the blackberry.  I have however found a solution for my youngest daughter's shirts that have been a victim of the blackberry's revenge:

Tada! I just crocheted some flowers in a coordinating color and hand sewed them over the stain.

What? I didn't eat any blackberries. -A2

Now to figure out what to do with my boy's shirts. Somehow, I don't think they would appreciate a strategically placed flower on their shirts.

I got this fabulous idea after finding this on Pinterest: http://www.aestheticnest.com/2011/06/crochet-pretty-posies-tutorial.html  Thanks, Anneliese.