Stinky-ness

There are all kinds of stinks in a world where children exist. From the get go there are diaper stinks, milk stinks, the clothes have been left in the washer now for three days straight because we are all delirious from lack of sleep stink. Then soon enough comes the other toddler/small children stinks - does anyone else smell something funny when you stand near the couch? What's that? A petrified piece of banana buried in the cushions of the couch by an 18 month old storing up food for later??? That stinks pretty good. Let me tell you another mystery we (I) solved recently. Something in our living room stunk. I sniffed high and I sniffed low. I moved furniture. The stink remained. I washed slip covers. The stink still hung in the air. I crawled on my hands and knees going up and down the living room carpet in straight rows so I would cover every square inch of the surface area of our living room. I stuck my nose to the carpet. I sniffed. "What is mama doing?" asked a wide-eyed 7 year old little girl. "I am not sure." Jamey replied. "But perhaps we should just let her be." as he leads her away from me - my rear stuck up in the air and my hound dog sniffing continuing.
There was nothing that was going to keep me from finding the source of that awful smell. 

There are other stinks too when it comes to kids. Spoiled rotten in the worst kind of way. Kids who demand what they want and when they want it. And if it doesn't meet their criteria, tantrums, screaming, crying and kicking commence. 
Kids who don't say thank you. Or that say(scream)  things like " I don't eat this." or who assume they will be first at everything. Kids who seem to float along in their own little world of stuff and wants and demands. Kids who play their DS at the dinner table EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. Kids who can't hold a conversation b/c they are "bored".

All of this to say - I guess one of the main goals of our parenting - is to raise kids who don't stink. There is no denying my kids have it much better than most kids around the globe. Came home from the hospital in a car to their own room in a house with insulation. They have never had a day without food. They have more toys and books than they could play with in a week. They have traveled. Alot. They are blessed. WE are blessed. As public school teachers, we will never spend without worry or skip balancing the checkbook for a few months. But we have what we need.
We want our kids to know that. To see what we have. And to give back. To WANT to give back. This is easier said than done. How do you create an internal desire to help others within someone else? And how do we teach that it is ok to want nice things, to travel, to have great experiences, while at the same time balancing gratitude, awareness of others and humility?  I am not sure. So we are going to try. We are far from perfect and we have not hit the mark every time. We try to show our kids through our actions, our words. I hope it sticks.

oh yeah - and want to know what was stinking up our living room????? We have a chair in our living room that has sides that go down into and under the seat area. A piece of cloth is under there for some reason. To catch things maybe? Like remotes or cell phones...or maybe even a Cars insulated cup that may or may not have had orange juice in it probably poured sometime 6 or7 weeks prior. Sigh.
At least I found it.