Category: happiness

children, gratitude, happiness, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

You & Me

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This is why it is good to be a Mommy of a five year old boy.  They have yet to develop a searing need to be completely independent of you.  They miraculously even think you’re pretty cool, too.  And for a woman whose age scale has begun its inevitable tip toward the middle, any accolade of cool is much appreciated.

I took my sort of cool self to Full Speed’s class to volunteer.  It was a perfect way to meet his new teacher, she’s very nice by the way, and see what’s what.  It was an early dismissal day and there was pizza.  I helped with the food, the clean-up and with whatever odds and ends she threw at me.  Full Speed’s classmates were extremely adorable and I had a great time meeting them.

When I asked Full Speed what his favorite part of the morning was he said, “When you came in to visit me.”

And that’s when my ego grew three times its normal size.

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children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, tantrums, terrible threes

Wha?

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T.Puzzle had an interesting statement.

“I not cry at drop-off today, Mommy.”

Wha?

Did my often unpredictible, at times overly emotional, fully commited to the terrible threes child tell me he wasn’t going to throw a tantrum?

I’ve heard of out of body experiences.  This was mine.

My loyal readers will understand the magnitude of what T.Puzzle was saying to me.

My motherhood journey to this moment has been anything but easy.

And now, here we are.

Tearless drop-offs for T.Puzzle.

What’s next?

Armageddon?

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children, happiness, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Little Bits of Freedom

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Over the weekend Mad Dog and I took the boys to a big, shady park.  The weather is finally starting to be less oppressively humid and outings to parks will be back on our regular agenda.  For Full Speed and T.Puzzle this is a beautiful thing.

It has been a few months since they have been at a park.  They have grown and matured even if I can’t see it fully in our day to day life.  They actually were able to run the park without me having to follow them.  Full Speed had already achieved this status a while ago, but this was the first time we were able to let them both run free.  T.Puzzle was able to physically master all the twists and turns of the convoluted park equipment.  His every movement was no longer precarious and panic-inducing.  He also has a better handle on his emotions so the chance of him physically lashing out at a fellow playground patron has also decreased substantially.  Of course Mad Dog and I didn’t take our eyes off of either of them.  We found a bench under a gorgeous live oak tree and sat back, watched the boys play and had an actual conversation.  

I didn’t know this was possible in a park setting.  I have spent the past years chasing, climbing and begging my boys to behave.  Playdates at the park have consisted of me running around like a crazy person and occasionally lobbing a thought at the Mom who met us there.  We never engaged in a full-length conversation.  The safety of my boys and my constant supervision of them to stop attacks on other kids prevented this.

So, to sit back and watch them have fun and actually feel relaxed was extraordinary.  I guess this is an example of the little bits of freedom parents gradually gain back as their children grow and mature.

Awesome.

children, happiness, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Tag, You’re It

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Full Speed brought home a P.E. calendar that has an activity per day on it.  The goal is to complete each activity and then turn in the calendar at the end of the month for a surprise.  As Full Speed’s mother I’m all over this.  Anything that can be used to channel his energy for good and not evil is always a plus with me.

One such listed activity is play tag with friends.

Perfect.

Full Speed wanted Miss Cutie and Cute Baby to come over.

Even better.

Since T.Puzzle is still on restriction as his eyes heal, tag would be indoors.  I knew these girls, who are both very good at keeping up with my guys, wouldn’t necessarily increase the craziness level of what I presumed would be a raucous game of tag.

Unfortunately, the girls had other plans.  I relayed this to Full Speed and he rolled with it.

“That’s okay, Mom.  I’ll just play tag with my brother because he is my friend, too.”

Well said, Full Speed.  Well said.

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, marital blissishness, marriage, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Birthday

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Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes ...
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Heading into my birthday weekend (yes, I turned 36), I had the weighted guilt of bad-mommy mojo slowing me down.  When I picked up T.Puzzle from school on Friday after only his second day back, I felt huge relief that the incident memo I received from his teacher was a result of an injury.  Thankfully he had not physically lashed out at another student. It’s hard to feel like an awesome Mom when my first thought over such a thing is “Yay!  My kid tripped, bit his tongue and cried.  Oh, thank  god!”

Sorry, T.Puzzle.

What’s a girl to do?  Only thing she can, hire a babysitter and go away for the night with your husband I guess.

Mad Dog has a simple formula for a successful marriage.  Since he is married to an emotionally sensitive woman and her birthday celebration unfortunately seems to always coincide with an Ohio State Buckeye‘s game, his answer is simple:  spa, baby!

Yes, my marvellous man sent me to the spa while he hung out at the hotel’s sports bar.  It was a win-win.  Literally, the Buckeyes won.  After I returned from the spa, we went on to have a spectacular dinner and a lovely time.

Full Speed and T.Puzzle in happier times

When the fun was over and we were driving home I received a text from our sitter that T.Puzzle had bit Full Speed.  Was it bad that my first thought was to ignore the text and as we approached our exit to home, tell Mad Dog to skip it and keep on driving??

Of course I texted her how to handle the fall-out and Mad Dog and I promptly emptied our wallets for our eternal gratitude for our babysitter and any lasting emotional distress she may incur.  Anyone that survives an overnight with Full Speed and T.Puzzle is alright by me.

I’m just thankful T.Puzzle bit his brother instead of her.

Sorry, Full Speed.

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