Category: parenting

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Merry Christmas Eve

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ry=400-3This 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!

children, family, happiness, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Spaghetti Love

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To start off Mad Dog’s vacation time, we took the boys out for a celebratory dinner.  The hostess and the waitress both  commented on how polite and well-behaved they boys were.  I guess when Santa is watching it is in everyone’s best interest to remember your manners.

When the food arrived, T.Puzzle dove into his spaghetti and meatballs with such fervor, it appeared as if he had not been fed in weeks.  He was quite entertaining to watch as he lovingly slurped up each sauce covered noodle.

“Don’t eat too much or your stomach might hurt,” I warned him.

He let out deep sigh.  “It’s hurting already but I’m still going to keep eating.”

How’s that for commitment?

Yum!

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

All I Want for Christmas

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All I want is peace and quiet.  I want to sit, put on some Bing Crosby and gaze upon my beautiful tree.

I attempted to do this.  Soon, I had tackling boys join me in the room by the tree.  At no point had I said, “Hey, guys!  Get in here quick and start wrestling like maniacs!”

I tried oh-so-very hard to ignore them.

Impossible.

I knew my moments of silent reflection were slipping away once T.Puzzle decided to run speed tests on his backwards running ability.  FYI, backwards running is not one of his shining strengths.  Thankfully, he holds tightly to that wonderful six-year-old mentality that he is hands-down amazing at everything (or is that a trait inherited from Mad Dog?!?).  

Full Speed added his two cents by creating this ‘Deck the Halls’ gem:

“‘Tis the season to listen to your Mommy… fa la la la la, la la la la

‘You better listen or she will punish you… fa la la la la, la la la la”

He is clearly showing signs of being an astute and accurate lyricist who can capture a moment in time beautifully.

Quiet and Christmas just aren’t meant to be at this juncture in my life.

Honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

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Introducing my two favorite holiday entertainers…
children, family, humor, kids, marriage, motherhood, parenting

Happy Anniversary/Birthday/Christmas to You!

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I was chatting with a friend and we were discussing our December wedding anniversaries.  We both realized that at the time of our weddings, December seemed like an awesome to wed.  There were holiday decorations everywhere and it made us feel as if the whole world was celebrating with us.  However, subsequent wedding anniversaries smack-dab in the middle of the demands of the holiday season (which grow exponentially with children), are not always easy to make special.  Never one to keep things simple, throw in T.Puzzle’s sixth birthday the day after this year’s anniversary, and let’s just say, romance may very well have left the building.

T.Puzzle gets ready to make a birthday wish.
T.Puzzle gets ready to make a birthday wish.

In the midst of all this, Mad Dog and I were lucky enough to have an evening to ourselves (thank you, Grandma!).  We reminisced about our fateful third anniversary where instead of going out to dinner, we opted for the maternity ward of our nearby hospital.  I gave birth to T.Puzzle in the wee hours of the morning.  To be honest, I would take anniversary jewelry over labor any day.  Of course, hands down, once I was through the labor stuff, T.Puzzle has been my favorite anniversary present of all time. 

Mad Dog and I marveled at the speed of these past nine years and how thankful we are that we are still standing.  I believe the secret to our marriage is simple.  I talk and he listens.  He doesn’t always agree, he may even zone out to football scores/standings in his head, but he appears to listen.   At least that is what I plan to tell Mad Dog.  Whether or not he actually listens to me is hard to know.

children, family, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Cupcake Parenting

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Unfortunately I have yet to master the art of successfully shopping with my boys (see ‘On Second Thought).  Even though I know this, sometimes we end up in stores anyway. 

After a lovely lunch ocean side this weekend, Mad Dog and I decided to spontaneously grocery shop with the boys on our way back home.  As we walked in the entrance of the store, the boys must have been confused and thought we were at a sports arena.  They started to race each other and I immediately began throwing penalty flags.  I grabbed each one by their face and threatened that they better get it together.  They squeaked a ‘yes, ma’am’ through their squished cheeks and we moved forward. 

I’m not sure, but somewhere near the frozen section, they started to lose it again.  Mad Dog reprimanded them and I did the only logical thing I could,…I headed straight to the bakery to find some cupcakes to help me cope.  I landed on a lovely set of vanilla dazzlers with a crown of glorious, whipped icing.  As I placed them lovingly in the cart, the boys came over and peered longingly at my selection.

“Are we going to get one for a treat?” they asked.

“I’m guessing by your behavior, probably not,”  I said (more for me!!).

Magically they transformed.  They became polite, thoughtful and dare I say it, even quiet.  Yes, that’s right folks, they became quiet.  I’ll give you a minute as the shock of this settles over you…

They acted as if they were the most normal and calm children in the world.

And all this time I’ve been trying to discipline them with structure, expectations and privilege dispensation.

Who knew all I needed were cupcakes?

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