That Mitchell Boy

Look at this face! Just look at it! What words come to mind? Cute? Adorable? Darling? Precious? All of the above? Yeah. I know! He's the cutest toddler you have ever laid eyes on. I believe it.

Well, this adorable, little package of sweetness has an evil, sinister, and ravenous side. He has picked up the awful habit of biting, and I am all out of ideas as to how to put an end to it! We have tried everything short of reaching for the tabasco sauce. His teeth may be few in numbers, but they are sharp and when he gets them on you he has an amazing sort of death grip.

Lately he's taken to sharing this talent with the kids in the Nursery at church, and as a Nursery worker and mother I'm a little embarrassed. I know, all kids go through this stage. Yaddah, yaddah. yaddah. In the last two weeks he has bitten 3 kids. Two of those within 30 minutes of each other. The last incident was with this adorable little girl, and boy did those little chompers leave a mark. I don't even know how to react anymore! I tried comforting the little girl, and then I tried to deal with Noah, but nothing works! I finally just took him to dad, and banned him from Nursery for the rest of church.

Well, I meant to talk to that little girl's mom, but somehow I just missed her (honestly, I wasn't avoiding her). I ran into her this morning at preschool, and she asked if I had found someone to babysit my kids during my doctor's appointment this week--which is a whole other story, but here is the short version:

I've had trouble finding anyone to watch my kids--for this appointment and a previous one. Like I was seriously freakin' out cause I just couldn't fathom the thought of lugging my (precious, well-behaved) children to the doctor's office. I got to the point that I posted it on a website--kinda like Craigslist, but for my city only and where the majority of the members are Mormon. I felt like I was auctioning my kids--and felt a little embarrassed that I had to resort to this just to find someone to watch my (sweet, and loving) children. I instantly got lots of offers (all from people who do not have kids in our nursery or do not know my Noah, by the way. Coincidence?) and I felt like my embarrassment was for naught.

Back to the biting incident and my conversation with this little girl's mom: So she asked if I had found someone to watch my kids. I told her "yes" rather quickly and proceeded to inquire about her daughter's arm. And she joked with me and said she couldn't watch my kids until the wound healed. Then she said something about how someone after church had told her that it was "that Mitchell boy" that bit her daughter. I laughed, and joked about how he had a bad rap in our nursery (totally deserved). And she wished me luck in the future with him.

I walked away with a smile on my face and then I was like "That Mitchell boy?" Really? Is he that bad? How many other people are calling him that? And then like getting hit in the face with a bucket of cold water it hit me! This boy--this adorable, innocent, little boy has a reputation in our ward! The word is out on that Mitchell boy! And NO ONE will sacrifice the well-being of their children by offering to babysit him! My emails for help have mostly been ignored. Some brave souls have responded and said they were busy and couldn't, but mostly ignored. I was beginning to think my Facebook emails were never delivered or there was some kind of error. BUT NO! Those emails WERE delivered! My friends have just been avoiding me--hoping that they could spare themselves (and their offspring) the punishment of babysitting my (precious) Noah.

Oh how I hope he grows out of this phase soon! But biter or not--that Mitchell boy is MY Mitchell boy!

Snowed In

We had a huge snow storm move in to Denver last week, and the kids thought Christmas had come early--literally. The first day of the storm Lola ran outside and threw herself into the snow to make a snow angel. It took her a few seconds for the shock to set it, and she lay there motionless--unsure of what to do. You see, this is the first time my kids have been in or around snow. She was not prepared for how cold it would feel.

And mom was not prepared to dress her kids appropriately. My kids went out in jeans and cowboy boots or tennis shoes, and we quickly learned that that was not such a bright idea. Problem was, I was forbidden by Curran to drive that first day--which was not a problem cause there was no way I was gonna even try to maneuver an automobile in weather like that. So the kids would go out for like 10-15 minutes at a time, run back indoors, undress by the fireplace and put dry, warm clothes on and then head back outside a while later when their little California-bred bones were warmed. Here are some shots of the kids in the snow. In this first one Noah does have snow bibs on and snow boots--I' m not that bad of a mother!We got a few feet of snow dumped on us, as is evidenced by my snow-covered midget of a son--yes, he is standing up in that pic, and he was quite content in this spot. He fought me when I tried to remove him.

Lola thought it would be fun to dunk her whole face in the snow to get a snow beard...until it started stinging her face, then she just screamed bloody murder. (Notice the lack of appropriate snow gloves and jacket)

If this is how the rest of the winter is going to be I am about ready to pack my things up and run home to my momma!