children, mommyhood, terrible threes

Shocker

WFAM

Do you ever have one of those motherhood moments where you actually can’t believe you are doing what you are doing? For instance, I couldn’t believe this morning that I was fighting with little T.Puzzle over him not wanting to eat his McDonald’s pancakes. Why, you may ask yourself, am I attempting to force my son to eat something that contains little to zero nutritional value? Broccoli, sure but pancakes, really?

It all has to do with trying to make a point. Little T.Puzzle is so adamantly entrenched in the ‘no- I never’ stage, that I can’t let much slip past me. If he says ‘no!’ to wearing a Cars shirt (which is among his all-time faves), you better believe he will be wearing that shirt. If he says ‘no!’ to watching Dinosaur Train (because what three year old boy does not love all things dinosaur or all things train?), guess what Mommy’s putting on the tube? And, therefore, if he says, ‘I not eat pancakes!’ (which in every past, pancake-related situation, he has devoured them so quickly I’m surprised he did not ingest his plate as well), guess who is going to eat his pancakes? Yep, you know it. Little T.Puzzle will be eating those pancakes. It may take a threat or two, a rough stint in time-out and the promise of losing his beloved Brutus and Doggie for the day, but he will eat it. He won’t be happy at first. He will moan and sigh and generally let it be known that he DOES NOT want pancakes. If Mad Dog and I ignore him long enough and he realizes our feathers are no longer ruffled, he gives in and eats them. And wouldn’t you know it, he winds up enjoying them just like 99% of everything else he says ‘no!’ to.

What. A. Shocker.

children, happiness, mommyhood

International Dinner

WFAM

The boys’ school hosted an international dinner. I took Full Speed as my date because he is super-cute and when it’s just him, he is a lot of fun. We dined on Chinese, Brazilian, Jamaican and Italian food. Our last stop was American and he topped off his dinner with pretzels.

Overall, he was a good-sport and tried almost everything I gave him (except the Jamaican curry chicken). It was one of the best dinners I’ve had in a long time. Thanks, Full Speed.

children, mommyhood

Advanced Apology

WFAM

Have you ever done something that may indicate that you are spreading yourself a tiny bit thin? Oh, like I don’t know, accidentally throwing away your children’s spring portraits (yes, a brilliant money making scheme done at the boys’ school that clearly and cleverly exploits the cuteness of my children). I searched my house for forty minutes (FORTY MINUTES!!) to no avail. I kept thinking how much of life is wasted looking for stuff? Eventually, I was faced with my only logical option. I had to explore a less than hygenic bag of kitchen garbage and found the missing photos. They are a little curled on the edges, but are mostly intact due to the plastic envelope that encased them. So, if you happen to get a wallet-size photo from this batch in the mail, I apologize in advance if they smell like gym socks.

happiness, kids, life in pictures, parenting

Kung Fu Fighting

WFAM

A lot has happened in the past 24 hours. First and foremost there was some serious kung fu fighting. I think these post pictures will prove that my boys could cause serious damage with bow staffs. I am allowing them to use nerf swords with the stipulation they only play against Mad Dog one at a time. The sparring matches were hilarious. The boys may have a ways to go in terms of technique, but they have the spirit of true warriors (just a note, Full Speed’s eye is patched for vision issues, not an injury sustained during the fighting).

For a lady who enjoys quietly sitting on her lanai watching birds as a favorite pastime, it was a bit much. I was more than ready for bed by day’s end and I didn’t do any of the fighting. Unfortunately, little T.Puzzle’s allergy symptoms had other plans for all of us. He was incredibly fussy and couldn’t be soothed by the normal routines. He wound up in our bed late in the night and the only way he would sleep is if his head was nestled in the crook of my arm with his face smashed (and yes I mean SMASHED) up against mine. He also could only lie in a mostly perpendicular angle to me and had to (and yes I mean HAD to) have his feet resting on Mad Dog’s back. Little sleep was gained by anyone.

I took him to the doctor the next morning and prayed (and yes, I really did pray) that he would be cooperative. Shockingly, he was an absolute angel. Maybe he was just too tired to be feisty. Turns out he is on the verge of a sinus infection and was prescribed an additional allergy medication to use as part of his daily regimen. Because not only did he inherit my incredible kung fu skills, my little T.Puzzle inherited my allergies. Now, if only he could inherit my love of sitting quietly. Then, we’d be on to something.

children, mommyhood

Teacher Tears

WFAM

As you all know, yesterday at Target was a complete disaster (see Duck and Cover). I called in reinforcements for the afternoon because little T.Puzzle’s behavior remained naughty throughout the whole day. Our babysitter came in the afternoon so I could pick up Full Speed from school without having to take little T.Puzzle. Then, Mad Dog and I would go on to have a lovely date night in which we saw the movie ‘Date Night’. In my opinion ladies, Mark Wahlberg steals the show. Check it out.

So, as I make my way to pick up Full Speed, I feel a few minutes of freedom from my  T.Puzzle-related anxiety disorder and savor my five minute solitary car ride. When I reach Full Speed’s classroom he is out on the playground. His teacher always chats with me about his day and upcoming classroom events. As she approaches she says, “Oh man, I almost cried today.”

My heart drops. Oh no. Don’t tell me Full Speed had a bad day, too.

“What happened?” I anxiously venture.

“He just looked so grown-up in his cap and gown for graduation pictures I couldn’t take it. He is such a little man.” (Yes, there is a graduation for voluntary pre-kindergarten. I know, it’s a bit much.)

I let out a long breath that I hadn’t realized I had been holding. “Oh, thank God he had a good day,” I say.

If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been the only one holding back the tears.