Praise Him Anyway!

This morning was absolutely terrible at our home.

Ann Catherine has been begging me to let her wear a dress to daycare. I usually say no, because they play outside and I don't want it all dirty. However, she has a cute little dress that isn't so dressy, so I decided to let her wear it. She was ecstatic.

The next thing I know she comes running into my room, arms flailing and screaming, "It doesn't twirl!!"

She was mad because when she spun around, the dress didn't spin with her.

Seriously. A meltdown of epic proportions because her dress didn't spin.

Fine, I say. Wear something else. It really wasn't worth all of the hassle for me.

But for whatever reason it just set her off. AC wakes up so happy in the mornings, so it's really out of character for her to be so grumpy. But boy was she. I finally made her sit in a corner because her attitude was so bad.

At least Lily was in a good mood, right?

Not so fast.

It came time to put Lily's clothes on and she starts screaming, "NO MOMMY! I WEAR MY MINNIE MOUSE JAMMIES!"

Okay - I pick my battles as a mom. But Lily had a doctor's appointment (just a follow-up) and I was not about to let her wear her pajamas. I'm not that cool of a mom.

So she wrestles and cries the whole time I'm changing her. I'm telling you, it was miserable. By the time we got in the car, both of my girls had puffy red eyes and were doing what I call "snubbing." You know, when they have cried so hard they are still trying to catch their breath five minutes after they stop.

So I put them in their car seats, turn on their Wiggles DVD and then crank up my new praise CD. I'm telling you, I needed some divine intervention. So I am driving down the road just singing at the top of my lungs (I'm sure I looked like a complete idiot to other drivers, but I didn't care).

Next thing I know, "You Never Let Go" comes on. Those of you who have read my blog for a while know that my kids love this song. If not, click here to read.

Ann Catherine says "Mommy, turn this down!" and I'm thinking she means my music. I'm about to let her know that Mommy has put up with screaming and crying all morning and if my music is too loud she's just going to have to get over it. As I turned down my music to say some variation of that, she said, "No, Mommy. Turn down my DVD. It's 'You Never Let Go!'" and Lily shouts out, "It's my song!"

So I turned down their DVD and looked in my rear view mirror and she and Lily were just belting it out. I couldn't help but laugh. An incredibly crappy morning was turned around thanks to this song. By the time we got to our destination, they could not have been happier. I know that praise music improves my own attitude, but I never thought how it can also affect our kids. Pretty cool.