Category: motherhood

children, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

A Pick Me Up

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We have officially survived the first week back at school.  I realize it is going to take some time to get smoothly back into our routine.  Overall, the boys fared well and we are off to a great start.

One of the challenges of Full Speed’s school is the pick-up and drop-off.  There are over one thousand students at his school and until some kinks get worked out, pick-up especially is kind of a nightmare.  You throw in some good ol’ Florida heat and it can turn miserable pretty quick.  There’s not a lot of shaded areas to stand and wait.  It isn’t very fun.

Full Speed has noticed that this pick-up situation is getting out of hand.  He had a flash of brilliance and announced, “How about I walk home by myself?”  He’s a fairly confident kid and he did his best to keep this thought going.  Then, slowly, the doubt and fear of walking home alone shadowed over his face.  “Well, maybe since I’m in first grade I’m still kind of little and the cars wouldn’t be able to see me.  I might get run over.”

He was so cute trying to problem solve.  He was even more cute when he realized he may not be quite as brave as he initially thought.

So I’m resigned to continue this pick-up for the foreseeable future.  To cope, I’m applying lots of sunscreen and hoping some patience falls my way.  Oh, and I’ll do my best not to run anyone over.

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

First Day 2011

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Yesterday was the boys’ first day of school.  The hardest part about it was the logistics.  Since everyone and several of each child’s close relatives were there to help celebrate the first morning drop off, it could only be likened to a human zoo.  The parking lot overflowed with cars going off-road.  Parents were shoulder to shoulder as we marched are children to their fates.  Patience was in short supply.

I allowed myself to be swept away by the noise, the crowd and generalized anxiety I was feeling.  This was how I coped with the changes upon us.  My stoic exterior finally began to crack once Full Speed was successfully dropped off and I was taking T.Puzzle to his first day of pre-k.  It was eerily quiet in the car.  He was calm and his biggest concern was where I had put his backpack.

“I’m so excited to start school!” he exclaimed.

And that’s when it hit me.  He is more than ready for this next phase of his life.

I am more than ready to not really be ready.

I know I should be thankful both boys handled the first day so well.  In a way, it almost makes it harder for me.  It shows me that they are two independent kids who are comfortable being out in the world and away from me.

Now all I have to do learn is how to be comfortable out in the world without them.

Somehow I think they got the better end of the bargain.

bad day, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Next?

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It’s official.  The internal struggle is over.  I am ready for the boys to start school.  This home stretch to their first day is taking a toll.  Every day I strive to keep them physically active.  Every day I work with them to keep their minds growing.  Every day I make sure all of their needs and most of their demands are met. 

I am doing my part.  Apparently it is not enough.  No matter how much I have planned I get asked by the boys ‘What are we doing next?’ about 557 times a day. 

If I get asked one more time today this same question I’m pretty sure my head is going to explode.

Believe me the irony will not be lost on me when after it explodes I will have to clean up the mess myself. 

Inevitably one or both boys might say, “After you are done cleaning up that mess, Mom, what are we doing next?”

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

Grocery Stories

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I’d like to take full parenting credit that my boys were excellent for me during checkout.  Instead, I owe it all to the technological era of our time.  They knew if they acted like crazy monkeys they would not get video game time when we got home.  Therefore, they were downright angelic.  Oh sure, there was a point when Full Speed somehow got attacked by the grocery cart and nearly had his ear ripped from his body.  And of course T.Puzzle couldn’t get over that there were no sprinkle cookies left.  He approached a meltdown and with his head hung low rather ungraciously accepted a plain sugar cookie.  The only thing that saved him was he remembered his manners and said ‘thank you, ma’am’ to the very accommodating woman handing out the cookies.  After a few more seconds of nonsense he got over himself, ate the cookie and promptly declared, “That was delicious, I would like to have a second one, please!”

All in all, not a bad day at the store.

I don’t particularly like to resort to all out bribery to get my kids to behave.  I also don’t particularly like to have my children’s pictures on the grocery’s red-alert watch list.

To bribe or not to bribe?

Today, I chose bribery.

You’re welcome, America!

children, gratitude, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery

Watch and Learn

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I had taken the boys to the pool and sat back and watched as they energetically tackled the slide and sprinklers.  At the top of the slide are two attached water cannons.  When the slide gets crowded these cannons become quite popular.  A boy a good head taller approached T.Puzzle and attempted to yank the cannon from T.Puzzle’s grip.  I had to coach myself to stay put and let it unfold.  As much as I wanted to leap to his rescue I decided to see how T.Puzzle would handle it.  Turns out years of assertiveness training from his older brother paid off.  T.Puzzle stood his ground and as the older boy continued to try to intimidate him with words and a few swings of his arms, T.Puzzle didn’t budge.

I learned a valuable lesson.  The minute you stop trying to control something, especially the behavior or circumstances of your children, these are the moments when they begin to show you who they really are.  If you are really lucky they may show you something unexpected.  They may show you that bullies are only as powerful as you allow them to be and sometimes a four year old can handle a confrontation without hesitation.  That’s when you realize maybe you need to start taking notes from your kids instead of always insisting on being the one who is teaching.