Noise

I remember my mother singing on a daily basis when were growing up that "Silence is golden."  I agree and get what she meant by this now that I have children.  However I only feel silence is golden when my kids are sleeping or out of the house.  Because silence with them awake equals disaster!

Picture this....I have both kids in the car and we were on our way to take Audrey to Sunday School.  Ayden was given the special job of holding the thirteen paper towel rolls Audrey needed to take with her for a project.  I turned on the radio and the kids began to complain about the songs in the radio and we literally go through every station, they get to hear the tail end of a song and Ayden begins to scream because he wants to hear it again.  Sorry buddy, it's the radio not a CD.  After about two minutes of screaming and Audrey trying to add to my talk to Ayden they chaos dissipates, but not for long.

Ayden has now changed his focus from music to noise.  Not little noise, but loud, obnoxious noise.  He has the paper towel rolls and is pretending to be an elephant, and of course he is so great at sharing he gives his sister a couple of rolls and encourages her to scream like an elephant as well.   I know elephants don't scream, but if they did my kids have the noise nailed.  At this point my eye begins to twitch and I have two choices to either loose it like a crazy person or breathe.  I was going to take the first route and scream that horrible phrase "Shut up", but then the noise turned to tears and Audrey is trying to talk Ayden through a crisis.  Yes friends, Ayden got the paper towel roll stuck on one arm and he did not know what to do.  Audrey kept yelling pull it off Ayden and Ayden kept crying that he couldn't and I needed to help.  Sorry buddy, I am driving.  It was at this point I just laughed at our loud obnoxious event.  Ayden gets the roll off his arm, to then get it stuck one more time.   Who said kids learn after their mistakes?  The elephant screams pick right up where they left off and continue until we arrive at church.  At this point the noise is done, and so are the paper towel rolls and Audrey.  This is when I begin to think that it sure is quiet.  I then turn on the radio and Ayden begins his critiquing of the radio stations, and our noise chaos begins again.

Here is the thing, I can't handle a lot of quiet during the day.  I think I can because I am constantly asking my kids to use an indoor voice, but at the same time I find peace in their loudness. Without the noise I am either fearing my kids are into something or that things aren't okay. Therefore, bring on the noise, and more than likely I will be that lady with the obnoxiously loud children in the store, but that is okay because it is my one way of keeping tabs on them and gauging in on how they are doing as little people.