Kindness and Genius

Today, I was making lunch for the kids and the boys were calling each other names. We had a conversation about name calling, and I asked the boys if they ever heard Daddy and I call each other names. They said no, and I told them that in our ten years of marriage we have never called each other a name. So, I continued the conversation asking them how they think it feels when they call someone a name, and they said bad. So, I asked how they feel when they call someone a name, and they said bad.

I told them that when they call someone a name, that person just gets upset with them, and not only is the person that got called a name is upset, but they try to get back at the person that called them a name.

I went on to talk about how Delaney often says to me, "Momma, I love you. You're awesome. You're a princess. You're sweet." etc. I asked the boys how they think it makes me feel. They said good. I asked them how they feel when I say things to them, like, "I'm proud of you. You're awesome. You're great." etc. They said good. I told them that I felt good when I said those things about them, because they look so happy and I know that I made them feel good.

So, they said a few nice things to each other and hugged each other, and then they went outside and played.

A short time later, I overheard Zane saying to the neighbor boy that was kicking a ball in his back yard, "Christian, that was a really good kick." That was a proud moment for me.

Also, I babysat at church today and Ryan and Zane were fighting when we were outside. I made them sit in a timeout and they were still bothering each other. I took Ryan and made him sit inside where I could see him through the sliding glass door. He did not want to sit there, but he asked if he could come back out when he was done with his time out, and I said yes. When they were done with their time outs, I told them that they had to apologize, and give each other a hug and a kiss. They looked at the kids on the playground and said, "Not in front of them." They asked if they could go inside behind another set of sliding glass doors, and I said okay. I made sure they stayed in my eyesight. They apologized, hugged & kissed and then came out and said, "Don't tell anyone!" The other adult that was watching kids with me said to them, "We won't." LOL It was really cute, though.

And finally, when I was putting Delaney to bed tonight, she said to me, "My boys think I'm a genius." LOL. The way that she said it sounded like she felt like she was pulling something over on them. It was hilarious. I said, "Oh, yeah? How's that?" She said that she balanced something that she was building with cardboard blocks. It's hard to explain in writing, but it was really funny.