kids – Page 20 – Writes for all Mommies

children, family, humor, kids, marriage, motherhood, parenting

Moving Day

16/01/2013 WFAM

“Hurry up and get your shoes on. I have something I want to show you and the boys,” Mad Dog declared as he walked in the front door. The boys and I grabbed some shoes and zipped outside. I thought maybe the car was newly washed and shining, or there was a cute, tiny bird that he thought we would want to see.

Nope.

It was a snake.

My life flashed before my eyes, I saw stars and my spirit left my body, hovered over me and watched as I attempted to hold my crumbling emotional exterior together. The boys held their breath as they watched and waited to see how Mom was going to respond. Mind you, they both had beared witness to Dead Lizard-Gate 2012 and could sense things were about to go south.

The snake was slithered up against our garage door. All I could think was, ‘it’s going in my house, it’s going in my house…’. I couldn’t verbalize it because I had lost my ability to speak. In a flash the snake vanished out of sight. Not only did he vanish, but he vanished in the direction of my garage.

At this point, I lost hope. I got very quiet and very sad because I knew the only logical course of action was to pack up and move. Oh, how I am going to miss my house! T.Puzzle, who normally is compassionate towards other forms of life, started marching to the front door shouting,’Kill the snake! Kill the snake!” So much for raising a level-headed, life-cherishing leader for our future. Sorry, America!

What was most difficult for my adrenaline-addled brain to comprehend was why on earth would Mad Dog think I would want to see a snake. To be clear I am terrified of snakes, dead lizards, fire ants, heights, massive crowds, sudden noises like balloons popping or fireworks, and realistically scary movies (I’m talking to you Contagion). Please spare me the knowledge if one or more of these things manifest in our driveway ever again.

Mad Dog I love you. I’m sorry we have to move. We had a good run. I’d write more but I’m pretty sure there’s a snake right behind me. Even if there isn’t, I have a feeling there will always be the memory of that snake watching me and waiting for our moment to get reaquainted. Save yourselves!

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Losing It (Soccer, Teeth and Otherwise)

13/01/2013 WFAM

In the first game of our 3v3 season in U8 soccer, our roster of four (consisting of one eight-year old and three six-year olds in a division against seven and eight year olds), we held our own. While it ended in a tie, it was hard-fought and everyone gave their best effort. T.Puzzle even managed to score his first ever legitimate goal. In his selective remembering, it is his second goal. He is under the impression that last fall he scored. The truth is, and we haven’t had the heart to explain it, he had kicked it in the direction of the goal and while he had turned away to run his victory lap, a teammate actually nudge it in the last couple feet. So, we all celebrated as he got his ‘second’ goal. Naturally, before it even crossed into the net, he raced down the field with his arms victoriously extended in World Cup-like enthusiasm. His joy was contagious.

The second game our World Cup dreams were quickly dashed as an opponent, who it’s very possible drove himself to the field because he seemed adult-sized compared to our team, drilled goal after goal into our net. The younger kids kept on going while Full Speed broke down. When you are a passionate competitor like Full Speed, losing is like taking a bullet. In this case, it was like taking bullet after bullet. Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch….

In the end, I didn’t mind that we lost and badly. It turned into a great opportunity for the boys to learn about life. Sometimes things don’t go your way. It doesn’t matter what the outcome is as long as you handle yourself with dignity. Yes, Full Speed was crushed but he survived. Our focus in the future is to teach him that win or lose, life goes on. However, it’s a lot more fun when you are the one scoring all the goals…just ask T.Puzzle!

In addition to scoring his 'second' and 'third' goals, T.Puzzle lost his very first tooth. Quite a day for this World-Cup future phenom! — In addition to scoring his ‘second’ and ‘third’ goals, T.Puzzle lost his very first tooth. Quite a day for this World Cup future phenom!

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

The Return of Quiet

09/01/2013 WFAM

My boys finally(!) returned to school from their winter break this morning. They were home for nineteen straight days but who’s counting? The noise level in my house has decreased by about 1000%. So this is what silence is. Oh, how I’ve missed you!

At breakfast this morning, I asked the boys what they were looking forward to about their return to school. I took recess off the table as an option because that’s what T.Puzzle always chooses. I wasn’t going to let him off easy.

Full Speed said, “Math!”

Then, it was T.Puzzle’s moment to share,

“Lunch.”

Why didn’t I see that one coming a mile away?

children, family, gratitude, humor, kids, marriage, motherhood, parenting

The Year in Review (Happy New Year!)

31/12/201221/12/2013 WFAM

T.Puzzle transitioned from Pre-K to the big dance this year. While he flourished in kindergarten in many ways, his attitude towards me has shifted dramatically. I went from being his ‘best friend forever’ to… not. Trust me, my ego was ill-prepared for the loss of my little ‘Mommy’s boy’. It helps when I think about what growing up is like for him. He must get awfully tired of being told what to do every second of the day and he lets me know it, too. It’s okay. I’m a tough cookie. I can take it. No matter what he tells you, he’s always going to be my ‘baby’.

Full Speed continues to fulfill is pre-ordained destiny of being Mad Dog’s clone. His mannerisms, his physical attributes as well as his attitudes about life and sports are all a spot-on mimicry of Mad Dog. Thankfully, Full Speed couldn’t have a better role model. Well, it might be nice to tone down that competitive streak but let’s be real, that isn’t going to happen. All I can do is sit back and watch history repeat itself.

Mad Dog is painstakingly building a soccer empire right here in our cul-de-sac. His intense coaching sessions even pushed me to win most improved at this year’s family soccer classic. Trust me, after playing against Mad Dog, I know how to bring the hurt. Even on the days when he scores a million goals on me, and those days do happen, Mad Dog remains my biggest supporter. He trusts me to always give my best no matter what I do (soccer and otherwise). This helps me to trust in myself.

As for me, first I want to share a blog secret with you my dear, faithful readers. You may think that I have the most photogenic children on the planet. This is simply untrue. The key to my photographic success is that I average about a thousand pictures for every one, hidden gem that I post.

See what I mean?

The other part I want to share with you is this year I pushed myself to face my fear of horses and have taken some riding lessons. The first time my horse cantered, I about passed out from fright. I held onto the saddle horn as if my life depended on it (I guess technically it did).

I’m slowly learning that fear cannot stop us. We are the ones who stop ourselves. I hope by facing my own fears, I can help my boys be fearless. I have a feeling these guys are well on their way.

For me riding horses is a lot like motherhood. It’s unpredictable, frightening, joyful, exhilarating and absolutely the ride of a lifetime.

Look out 2013! We are coming for you!

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Merry Christmas Eve

24/12/201224/12/2012 WFAM

This Christmas is extra special for our whole family. We welcomed a brother-in-law and his son to our clan. Each year we seem to grow in love and blessings. When all the young cousins get together on Mad Dog’s side (all boys!) there is a lot of spirit, Christmas and otherwise to be had. I imagine at some point they will manage to get together and it will be calm and mannerly. Or, I’ll be so advanced in years at some point, I’ll politely put my hearing aids on mute to deafen the roar.

If you join in this family, you have to participate in our now annual family soccer classic. Naturally, playing against Mad Dog is not for the faint-hearted. He always wins. It’s as simple and annoying as that. Thankfully, for the health of our marriage we were on the same team this year. At one point Mad Dog executed a perfect defensive slide to deny our opposition a goal. He almost took me out in the process. If that had happened, this post would have had a much darker theme to it.

Even though Mad Dog is one of the most competitive people on the planet, I wouldn’t trade him for anything. Sure, his offspring are a little rough to manage at times but obviously, they have amazing potential to be anything they want to be.

I hope that you all are surrounded by people you care about and who care about you. Winning isn’t everything (ignore Mad Dog), but the love you have in your life is.

Merry Christmas Eve to all!