Supporting you in motherhood, one little blog post at a time
Yesterday afternoon was a ‘guys’ only situation. That means Mom was in heaven.
Mad Dog wanted to take them deep-sea diving?
Great.
How about ATV chicken fights on the beach?
Why not?
And, my personal fave, there was always the option of plundering the shores of Florida with pirates.
I say go for it.
All I asked was that no limbs were compromised and both boys were returned to me alive.
Ahoy Mateys!
The next time we head out on a road trip I need to devise a list of rules such as the following.
1. Do not throw any objects whatsoever at Mom’s head whether in a vehicle or on land. Better make that on horse, in a boat, in a go-kart, and at a magic show, too.
2. Wrestling is allowed because with two boys it is inevitable. However, wrestling 24/7 is not great. Try to limit wrestling smack-downs to only eight per day.
3. Try to go against Mommy instint at least fifty percent of time. For instance, if I had followed my initial gut reaction at the riding stables, Full Speed would not have had the amazing experience of riding a horse all by himself:
4. And lastly, always appreciate the opportunity you have been given to travel, have new experiences and spend time with the people you love.
There’s a certain balance that has to be maintained when raising children. You have to be keenly aware of keeping things ‘equal’. If you fall short a chorus of injustice will rise up from the ranks.
T.Puzzle was feeling slighted. He was well aware that Full Speed had been on multiple dates with Mom while he had only been on one.
I hopped into action and scheduled a one on one outing with him.
As you can tell from the photo, he was filled with much delight during our dining experience.
Equal rights for all!
When you have more than one child it is inevitable that you are going to compare them. In fact, everyone will compare them. This can be helpful when assessing your children’s developmental markers, predicting when their tantrum stage may end (0r not) and when trying to understand what makes each one tick.
It gets tricky when we get so caught up in labels that we sometimes forget to see what is right in front of us.
T.Puzzle has always appeared to be more timid and shy when compared to the robust nature of his older brother. I’m not so sure anymore.
Watching him lead the Tiny Tiger oath during his graduation ceremony has led me to believe I may be underestimating this kid. His punches and kicks are not as intense as Full Speed’s at this age (see, there I go again with the comparing) and he tends to move at a slightly more calm pace (ever so slightly). This doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own leadership qualities hidden underneath his rascally dimples.
Parenting should be less about labels and trying to figure out who our kids are going to be. It’s more about letting who they are unfold naturally and all the glorious discoveries we will make about them as individuals along the way.
This soccer season has not reached the level of success that Mad Dog’s and Full Speed’s first season did. I’m being kind here.
I know, I know, it’s not suppose to be about the winning. It’s suppose to be about the learning and the teamwork, right?
Who are we kidding? It’s about the winning.
Sometimes it physically pains me to watch my boys go down in the flames of defeat. It pains me even more when Mad Dog is in a less than cheerful mood for several hours following another heart wrenching loss.
There are some positives. I will never tire of watching Full Speed never tire of running the field during games. His new nickname is ‘Coast to Coast’ because the kid never backs down and will be wherever the ball is at any given moment. It is a sight to behold.
Watching T.Puzzle evolve from the first game has been humorous and heartwarming. The first several games he sort of ran near the ball but he didn’t like to actually come into contact with it. Now, he’s mastered some legitimate blocks as goalie and on more than one occasion got a foot on the ball while in play. These were proud moments for me.
Looks like I’m officially a soccer Mom.
Maybe I’m evolving too.