kids – Page 22 – Writes for all Mommies

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

The Real Deal

26/11/201230/11/2012 WFAM

The day has finally arrived when Full Speed asked me point-blank about Santa Claus. While he has had suspicions in the past, these were easily overcome by simple explanations. Now, as the reasoning parts of his brain, along with those of his second grade class, are becoming more sophisticated, so are my explanations. I didn’t mind dropping an occasional fib here and there about the ‘realness’ of Santa. I’m started to become uncomfortable as my web of lies expands as Full Speed throws more and more complicated questions my way.

How long do I hold out before I have a sit-down with him and he knows the truth once and for all? Unfortunately, this is feeling like sooner rather than later. Right now, Full Speed is content to hold on a little longer even though physical evidence seems to indicate there isn’t a Santa. In his words, “Maybe Santa is invisible. Just because we can’t see him, doesn’t mean he isn’t real.”

Isn’t faith in anything believing even when it seems impossible and all evidence points to the contrary?

If this is the case, Santa is real. He is very, very real.

Full Speed busts out is best Santa impersonation…

T.Puzzle Santa impersonation — T.Puzzle’s soapy Santa version.

children, family, gratitude, humor, kids, motherhood

Thankfulness is the Game (Happy Thanksgiving!)

22/11/2012 WFAM

I am thankful for each and every one of you that takes time to follow my little blog. Whether you are inclined to so because we are related, because you are my friend or because we share a similar experience in life, motherhood or otherwise, I am thankful for you. I am thankful for a husband who accepts me as I am, on good days and on bad ones, too. I am thankful for my boys who continue to amaze me. Sometimes this aforementioned amazement borders on mind-numbing frustration depending on the day you ask me. Most days are awesome and some days are not and should never be mentioned again (blogging about them is the exception of course!).

I don’t know if this motherhood thing is going to get easier. I have a sneaking suspicion that in some ways it will and in others, it will only increase in complexity.

I’m game if you are.

ry=400 — What do these guys have in store for me next?

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

A Dinosaur Tail

06/11/2012 WFAM

I walked Full Speed into school today to help him drop off some canned goods for the school’s annual food drive. He asked if it was okay to stop by one of his teacher’s rooms to choose his prize for a great report card he recently received.

Why not?

Naturally, he chose the biggest, brightest, most obnoxious looking stuffed dinosaur I have ever seen. The kicker is, he was too embarrassed to carry it (and it was too massive to fit in his backpack). I couldn’t make him choose something else because the night before Mad Dog and I declared that if he was the one earning the good grades, he could choose whatever he wanted (this is before we knew giant dinosaurs were a prize option). Since my back was up against the wall, I decided to set a good example and own it. If I showed him that I didn’t care that the entire school was staring at me, then I could show him that what others think about you, isn’t so important.

I was so proud of myself. Look at me walking through the halls with my dino pal proudly on display. Of course I was in sweats and had not an ounce of make-up on, and let’s be honest, my hair was barely combed into place. I didn’t care. When the sixth graders gave me a shout out of, “Nice, dinosaur!”, I said, “Thanks!” and kept on walking with my head held high. Of course, the younger students treated me like a rock star. This only bolstered my resolve.

I managed to walk my shy, self-conscious self all the way to the front of the school and was home free. That is until a teacher stopped me and pointed out that with each step I took, the dinosaur’s tail swished back and forth behind me as if I was waving a flag of attention to myself. It was bad enough that I shook my ‘tail’ the entire length of the school (believe me, this school is big and the hallways are looong), but to have an adult call me out, it was hard to maintain my composure.

Is it bad if I hope Full Speed’s next report card only gets him into the pencil and small eraser section of the prize closet? All it took was one dinosaur to make me a fan of underachievment.

children, family, health, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Birthday Emergency

22/10/201222/10/2012 WFAM

Full Speed turned 8 last week. I’d like to say it was uneventful. I’d also like to say that my boys are calm. It’s just isn’t possible.

It started off fantastic. We celebrated Full Speed in a myriad of ways. We had dinner with family, cupcakes at school, presents galore and planned to head to the beach for the weekend. My personal highlight was when Full Speed’s birthday wish was, “I hope T.Puzzle’s birthday can be just as awesome as mine.”

Once we were at the beach, before we made it even out the door to the ocean, we had to make a quick detour to urgent care. T.Puzzle had a swollen ear that need to be looked at. Two hours and an antibiotic later, we were cleared for action. I have to admit, playing soccer ocean side is pretty awesome even if your skill level is questionable at best (like mine!). Both boys played with their usual intensity. You wouldn’t have thought anything was amiss. That is until we hit midnight and Mad Dog and T.Puzzle set out for a late night ER adventure (T.Puzzle developed uncontrollable chills, spiked a fever and seemed a mess). Turns out he had bronchitis to boot. The next morning he recounted crazy tales of having to pee in a cup (he thought this was ridiculously funny) and there was not one single person at CVS besides the pharmacist (imagine that! 3am isn’t a happening time for crowds).

T.Puzzle snoozes while receiving a breathing treatment in the ER.

All in all, Full Speed declared birthday number 8 as being one of the best on record (he only was sort of concerned about his brother’s health status) and T.Puzzle has made a full and quick recovery. Mad Dog and I took a little longer to recover. Thankfully, the Buckeyes pulled out a miraculous win on Saturday before we left. Otherwise, that would have been the longest ride home of my life. Go Bucks!

children, eyesight, family, health, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Eye Am Happy That’s Over

13/10/2012 WFAM

I have come to accept that the boys’ annual dilation of their eyes is a challenging appointment. To prepare for our afternoon at the children’s clinic, I discussed with them that while eye drops are not pleasant, they are necessary for the health of their eyes. It is okay to be frustrated. However, it is not okay to scream and cry like they are on fire or to physically lash out at the poor staff member administering the drops (we have lived through both these scenarios).

When it was time for the drops, I made T.Puzzle go first. I figured he would be the most belligerent and wanted it over as quickly as possible. My instinct was right. He acted as if we were burning his eyes with acid. He cried and screamed. I had to physically restrain him while the nurse pried his clamped lids open and precariously aimed the drops in the general vicinity of his eyeballs.

Of course, Full Speed sat quietly in the corner watching this whole scene unfold. I gambled that while seeing his brother freak would be unsettling, he is old enough to reason through that eye drops don’t maim you. When it was his turn, he bravely took his drops. He tried so hard to keep still and even squeaked out a ‘thank you!’ when the nurse was done. It was the sweetest, cutest ‘thank you’ I had heard in a long while.

As a reward, I took the boys to the snack shop where we could wait out the dilation process and they could choose anything they wanted from the vending machine. As we sat at our table surrounded by Skittles and potato chips, the boys wanted to know how I thought they did. I said that Full Speed did amazing and T.Puzzle’s outburst was a bit over the top. Full Speed turned to me and said, “It’s true he did scream and cry a lot, but he didn’t try to hit the nurse when she gave him the drops. He didn’t kick her either.”

cool shades — T.Puzzle shows off his winning smile and awesome shades worn to protect his dilated eyes. He promptly took them off about two seconds later.

I couldn’t be more proud.