Category: happiness

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Birthday with a Bite

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A lady doesn’t share her that it’s her birthday unless she’s shopping at a shoe store that offers a birthday discount.  Then she will shout it from the highest mountain top if needed.

So, my birthday was the thirteenth.  As you can tell I was pretty psyched for my $5 off birthday coupon at the shoe store.  Before I went shopping I had a lovely breakfast with my boys.  I told them that some of the best presents I had were their Dad and the two of them.  I said that I was very lucky to have two of the best sons in the whole world. 

“I love you no matter what,” I said.

“Even if we bite somebody?” asked T.Puzzle.

T.Puzzle has an unfortunate history of biting.  I would like to say it’s a phase but if something last three years and has yet to stop, that’s more likely a life habit (life sentence?) than a phase. 

I didn’t hesitate to reply to him yet it pained me ever so.

“Yes, T.Puzzle.   I love you even if you bite somebody.”

Unless you bite me! 

 Did I say that out loud?

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

The Two Mouseketeers

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Posing in front of the Disney Dream

There comes a time in your life when you finally understand that while you may not always get what you think you want, you end up with exactly what you need.

This blog about motherhood has always been my attempt to make sense of what it means to raise two active and highly spirited boys.  I have learned that while I may never totally understand their temperaments, they are pretty amazing exactly the way they are.  There is great freedom and beauty in this acceptance.

I have never appreciated their personalites more than I did on our Disney Cruise over the Labor Day weekend.  It was an absolute blast.  The boys and their phenomenal energy and spirit only enhanced the experience.  Well, except for the few times we were confined to our cabin.  At these points, I may have appreciated considerably less energy as would any rational human being.  Despite the slightly cramped quarters, the whole cruise was fantastic.  And best of all?  I got to bring home two of the best Mouseketeers any Mom could hope for.

children, happiness, humor, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Home VS Away

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On one hand I am silently counting the days and minutes until I can send the boys back to school.  On the other hand, I’m not ready for them to go.

Every day is up and down.  One minute they are bouncing off the walls and pushing me to the brink while in the next minute they surprise me with an unexpected laugh or hug.

Full Speed is becoming quite skilled at cracking me up.  He realizes this and now makes a daily effort to do so.

T.Puzzle says random things like, “I don’t want any Mommy in the world but you” and “I love my whole family soooo much.”  He usually accompanies these statements with a downpour of kisses, too.

Maybe I can negotiate with their schools and if they are having a really great morning, I’ll keep them home.  In return on the nutso mornings I will have them promptly to school at eight a.m.

Problem solved!

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

A Really Good Week

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While Full Speed has been honing his basketball skills at camp this week, T.Puzzle and I have spent much quality time together.  T.Puzzle didn’t make the age requirement for camp so I tried to plan some special things for him and me to do.  Here’s the breakdown along with T.Puzzle’s assessment of the each day:

Monday- Chik-fil-a lunch and play time at the indoor playground

T.Puzzle said, “Monday is a very good day!”

Tuesday- Storytime at the library concluded with an art project

T.Puzzle said, “It was probably a little bit good.”  Apparently the quiet sitting and the craftiness were not truly his thing.

Wednesday- Pool time along with pizza from the Tiki Shack

T.Puzzle said, “This is probably a very awesome day!”

Thursday- bike ride to the park and playing hide and seek with Mom

T.Puzzle said, “I’m getting boring (referring to his boredom over the bike ride), when are we gonna be there?”  As for the rest he highly enjoyed himself.  Here’s a video of him ‘sharing’ a goldfish (his favorite snack) with his Dad.

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Friday- We had to stick around home as the laundry situation had reached emergency status.  While Mom tackled the laundry problem, there was still time to read some books together.

T.Puzzle said, “Friday was a really good day.”

I completely agree, except for the laundry part of course.

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

Diet Coke

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A neighbor and I were recently chatting about raising our boys.  Hers are grown, as you all know, mine are not.  We both said that in our experience motherhood gets better with each passing year.  It’s a combination of learning to accept things exactly as they are and the natural maturation of children.  Basically it’s easier to let things slide if your kids are more self sufficient, follow directions better and have more fully developed personalities to entertain you.

I was keenly aware of this conversation as I took T.Puzzle to lunch at Chik-fil-a.  It was a breeze.  He sat quietly and promptly ate his food.  He went and played independently.  Instead of endangering other kids with aggressive behavior, he actually helped a little girl who was stuck halfway between platforms.  Yes, that’s right, he HELPED her.  He didn’t bite her, kick her or punch her.  He was so proud of himself he ran out to tell me all about it.  He also lobbied that this may be a great item to include in his behavior report for tae kwon do this evening.

Naturally, there will be times today when he tests my patience.  The nice thing is that now there is more balance.  He gives a little and therefore so do I.

And for the record as I sat alone drinking my soda and watching him play, it may have been the best Diet Coke I ever tasted.