Writes for all Mommies – Page 76 – Supporting you in motherhood, one little blog post at a time

children, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Bibliophobia

06/04/2011 WFAM

Steacie Science and Engineering Library at Yor... — Image via Wikipedia

Bibliophobia.

Fear of books and fear of libraries.

Yes, I have it.

Big time.

Don’t get me wrong, on the rare occasion I visit a library by myself, it is a little slice of heaven in my day. Silence and books are two of my favorite commodites.

The fear part comes in when I have to take Full Speed and T.Puzzle with me.

They love the books.

They don’t love the silence.

They do anything in their power to combat silence.

They are quite skilled.

I’m close to conquering my fears. After nearly two and half years of Florida living I took the plunge and got a library card.

Yes, it took me that long. Yes, if you met Full Speed and T.Puzzle you totally understand.

Now all I have to do is find a book on ‘How to Teach Two Strong-Willed, Independent Thinking Boys To Comply To Your Every Command’.

It’s a long shot I know.

10 Reasons Why You Should Go to Your Public Library (couponshoebox.com)

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

All week long the boys tried to convince me that Mad Dog needed to see the Dino Alive! exhibit at the zoo. They were convinced he was most certainly experiencing sleepless nights until he witnessed the wonders of animatronic dinosaurs with his own eyes.

We started out our Sunday with a cloudless sky, hope in our hearts and our zoo membership card in the car console.

I told Mad Dog to be prepared. He was going to need to carry T.Puzzle throughout the wandering path of hidden dinosaurs. I told him by the end of our last visit, T.Puzzle had his arms and legs locked on me in a death grip, Full Speed was cowering behind me and all that stood between me and the gigantic T-Rex was my steely resolve.

This outing was a little different. Both boys insisted on walking on their own through the maze of trees and roaring reptiles. Full Speed compensated his fear by staying true to his name. He would dart as fast as he could away from any sense of danger.

T.Puzzle, well, he coped in another way. He chose prayer. He clasped his hands tightly together as he willed his feet to keep moving. A step here, a step there and a prayer right here.

[wpvideo BzdGaxQ5]

He kept his hands clasped like that through our entire dinosaur adventure.

Cutest four year old ever.

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

Kick in the Pants

31/03/2011 WFAM

At the gym this morning as I was waiting for a class to start, I watched a fellow gym goer chase down her very active toddler son. He darted into a room he didn’t belong and she had no choice but to follow.

She was exasperated and embarrassed.

Two ‘E’ words I have come to know and love over the course of raising my boys.

I said to her, “He reminds me so much of my boys. I know exactly how you feel.”

She smiled blandly at me, squared her shoulders and finally overtook her little one by sheer force.

Looked like a typical Thursday morning to me.

Another member said, “So your boys were like that at that age?”

“Yes. In fact my older one was about 100 times more active than that. This kid is more my younger one’s speed.”

“Isn’t it great?,” she asked.

I looked at her and paused. She was older, closer to a grandmother’s age than my own so she clearly had some experience to back up this question.

My pause made her continue. “Wouldn’t you rather have kids full of life and personality than a kid who is dull and boring?”

And for the first time in my life it dawned on me that the answer to this question is a resounding ‘YES!

So remember that when you are about to lose it.

Or more likely, when you are beating yourself up over some behavioral misdeed of your perfectly normal, perfectly acceptable offspring.

Spirited kids are the ones who kick life in the pants.

I’ll take two please and hold the boring!

children, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Park Politics

28/03/201103/04/2011 WFAM

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Wise for their size.

Having spent spring break doing local things with my boys, we visited our share of parks. There was the park at the library, the park in our subdivision and the play area at the zoo.

My approach to the park experience, especially since the boys have mastered them in a physical sense, is to step back and let the social politics of parkdom unfold without intervening.

This is so much easier said than done.

Since the boys are older, they handle themselves well for the most part. There is less threat of spontaneous smack-downs so I can relax a little.

The part that I have to watch myself is if any of the other kids attempt to be mean to my boys. I find that sometimes even the quiet girls holed up in the cubby at the top of the slide use words that cut like daggers.

Here’s what one such little girl said to T.Puzzle when he tried to use the slide. “You can’t come up here. You can never be here while we are here. You have to go away forever!”

I heard some defensive words start to creep up my throat and as they almost toppled from my mouth, I bit my tongue and took a step back. As much as I was longing to intervene, I wanted T.Puzzle to handle it. j

He did. He sort stepped over the girl and her unfortunate minions, and slid away. T.Puzzle and Full Speed continued to ignore the girls and their ridiculous demands.

I learned a lot watching them.

The best way to handle mean people is to ignore them and live your life.

Spend time with the people who support you and slide away as fast as you can from the ones who don’t.

children, gratitude, happiness, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Cheeseburgers and Miracles

24/03/201126/03/2011 WFAM

A while back I mentioned how Mad Dog and I were amazed at the substantial overall improvement of the boys’ behavior. This improvement is most notable when on public outings or surrounded by a large group.

We attended a neighborhood cookout and our friend and host commented that she noticed a dramatic difference in them as well.

For example, neither had to sit in time-out for anything.

Not one time.

I couldn’t believe it.

Neither tried to tackle, maim, bite or wreak generalized havoc on each other or the rest of the kids in attendance.

Mad Dog and I actually got to sit back, relax and engage in adult conversation.

All over cheeseburgers, good company and a lovely March evening.

I do believe in miracles.

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