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

2, 4, 6, 8 Who Do I Appreciate?

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Do you ever wonder if your partner understands how hard you work to make everything seem easy? 

How when he may (or may not) reach for clothes for the kids, they are clean, neatly organized and always at hand?   This goes for karate uniforms, too.

Or, when he walks in the door, the kids are playing with each other in a respectful manner (someone had to teach them this and they need almost daily reminders of how to continue to do so), the house is clean (relatively speaking) and dinner is cared for (most nights).

And, what about all the learning these kids need to do that you have to help them with?  Eye appointments and doctors visits, too?

Believe me, I’m just getting started here.

Now, before you stop reading in protest Mad Dog, let me flip it around.

Do you ever feel like your partner understands how hard you work to provide for her and the kids?

How about all the long hours spent alone in an office (with no windows, mind you!) on endless phone calls trying to accomplish seemingly impossible business feats and doing so while making it all look easy?

What about trying to manage a team that is scattered across the nation that looks to you for leadership and expects nothing but excellence from you? 

Or the myriad of calamities and unexpected projects that pile up on your already overtaxed work schedule?

And what about the time spent away from your boys?  You know they are incredible and they grow by leaps and bounds every day, and you have to miss some of the really important and downright cool stuff.

You are handling all these things and doing it well even at great personal cost.  Does your partner get this?

Really?

I don’t know that I do.

Sometimes I’m so focused on feeling underappreciated in my own corner of the world that it begins to feel like a part-time job.

Are life and relationships ever going to be exactly how you want them to be?

Nope.

What can I do today to take care of myself, give myself the recognition I desire and honor and appreciate my partner in the process?

I love you, Mad Dog and appreciate you!

I guess that’s a start.

children, gratitude, health, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self care (or lack thereof)

Help Me!

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It’s not easy to ask for help, is it?

I’m trying to let go of control a little more and give my babysitter more responsibility.  I know this will get easier with time and my life might even feel more manageable.  Imagine that!

First up, I gave her a litany of instructions and let her pick up Full Speed from school.  This way I could go get my monthly allergy shots which are available at the most inconvenient times. 

She picked him up without a hitch and I survived my three shots of lord knows what and all was good.

Once I returned home, I picked her and Full Speed up and we headed to T.Puzzle’s school.  I added her to my child pick-up list and showed her the ropes.

Again, smooth sailing.  I was so proud of myself.  Look at me, everyone!  I’m letting someone help me.

It was liberating.

We get in the car and my boys were being, well…., boys.

They were chatty and loud.  They were fighting and hugging.  They were boisterous and sassy.

The babysitter looks at me.

“Well, now I know why you stopped at two,” she joked.

Smart girl.

children, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, tantrums

Soccer, Sunshine & the Stinky Face

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Disney Sports Soccer
Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday, the four of us hopped on our bikes and headed to the soccer fields.  The mail lady commented on how she wished she could join us in the sunshine as we whizzed by.

Full Speed rode his big boy bike.  No training wheels, no how.

We were golden.  We did some drills (all according to Mad Dog’s direction–my soccer knowledge consists of ‘kick the ball’ and ‘don’t use your hands’). 

The best part was when Mad Dog played ‘keep away’ from the me and the boys.  It took all three of us, intense concentration and sometimes we caught a break to occasionally knock the ball from Mad Dog’s skilled feet.  The boys loved this game. 

Then, Mad Dog tried to have Full Speed run a  ‘dribbling’ drill.  Apparently this means doing something with your feet and has nothing to do with the fine motor control of retaining saliva in your mouth.  Since Full Speed wasn’t good at controlling the ball in this manner; he pouted, cried and acted like a very spoiled two year old. 

The bike ride home was drama-filled and drawn out.  Full Speed refused to pedal (he’s not so great at riding without training wheels yet either).

At least the weather was lovely.

Eventually, Mad Dog had to coax Full Speed home on foot and I had to carry his bike while balancing mine with my free hand.  It was a long walk home.

I’m so thankful for second chances and new days.

So far so good.

I guess sometimes you need to go to the brink of bad behavior before you can return to the land of the well-behaved.
 

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mommyhood

Miracle

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Full Speed insisted his stomach hurt all day.  It was so critical at one point he had to go to the nurse’s office.

“Okay, then I guess you can lay down when we get home and you can go to bed super early to get better fast,” I sweetly insisted.

Suddenly, he felt better.

The miraculous recovery spilled over to the next day. 

“If you tell the teacher you need to see the nurse again, I will make sure you go to bed right after dinner when you get home.”

No nurse’s note appeared in his take home folder.

He is healed. 

So much in fact, check out this action: (disclaimer–T.Puzzle screams really loud at the end of this for no apparent reason so you may want to cut the audio before viewing)

[wpvideo HnBvLKDu]

So, all is well with Full Speed and he learned how to ride a bike without training wheels in one day this week. 

It seemed the harder I pushed him to learn, the less motivated he was.  I gave up the fight and six months later he got on his bike and rode off into the sunset sans training wheels.

A miracle here, a miracle there, everywhere a miracle.

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

The Movies (Again!)

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Original sequel logo, from the test footage pr...
Image via Wikipedia

The holidays went by at the speed of light. 

We capped off our family vacation with an outing to see the movie ‘Tron’.

At first we were unsure if it was appropriate for T.Puzzle.  He had mentioned being scared about going to see it.

On the morning of, we pulled him aside and asked him if he wanted to go.

“I do.  I’m all growed up now.  I want to see Tron.”

His only request was that he wanted to sit by his brother in case he got scared.

Apparently, Full Speed has become quite a protector.

As we pulled into the theater parking lot, it started to drizzle.

T.Puzzle wanted to race to the entrance.  “Hurry!  Hurry or we might melt!”

Full Speed said, “Are you made of sugar or are you a Wicked Witch?”

“No,” replied T.Puzzle.

“Then you won’t melt!”

Me?

I ran like crazy being 100% sugar and all.