Tag: kids

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This has happened to me countless times.  I’m on an errand of some sort with the boys that inevitably places us in a too small, overcrowded waiting area.  This week it was for my allergy shots.  Part of the problem is I stubbornly refuse to use electronic devices to keep them entertained and quiet.  They each are allowed to pick two hotwheels cars and must use their imaginations to pass the time.

It quickly becomes an experiment on a sociological level.  I am able to divide the people in the waiting room into three categories:

1.  People who think my lively boys are adorable and highly entertaining.  Which naturally they are.

2.  People who have never raised boys, who rarely are around boys and who clearly wish that the world was child-free. These are my favorite category of people.  They are so bright and cheery.

3.  People who don’t care.  No, wait, these actually are my favorite category.

Small spaces, big spaces, crowded or deserted, none of this changes that my boys are who they are.

Thankfully I happen to fall into the first category so it works out.

children, gratitude, humor, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

The Not So Grand Canyon

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The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided gorge carved...
Image via Wikipedia

Through the years of my motherhood adventure I often find it difficult to relate to my boys being that they are, well, boys.  Thankfully as they have gotten older I am finding more ways to feel connected to them.  One activity we all enjoy is doing learning activities together.  They actually like worksheets (for the most part) and I like helping them (for the most part).  It’s a great way to keep them entertained, quiet and every once in a while they actually learn something.

As Full Speed and I were working our way through some sentences trying to determine what the proper nouns were, he was fascinated by the name Grand Canyon.   Once he correctly identified it as a proper noun I told him that I had visited the Grand Canyon and it was spectacular.

“How cool!  How big were the cannons Mom?  Were they everywhere you went?”

“Not exactly, Full Speed.  There aren’t actually cannons.  A CANYON is a great, gaping hole in the ground that can go on for miles and miles and is enormous.  I have pictures of the Grand Canyon if you want to see.”

“No, thanks.”

Apparently if there wasn’t heavy artillery involved, he wasn’t interested.

Go figure.

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

Welcome to Our Special Show

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Apparently since T.Puzzle and Full Speed are thoroughly enjoying their summer vacation, they would like Mad Dog to join in their fun.  On a ride home from errands Full Speed asked me if I knew Mad Dog’s work number.

“Why?” I asked.

“Maybe we can call his bosses later and see if they will let your husband have a week off.  Then we can make him feel very special all week long,” he replied.

I liked his idea.  I also enjoyed how he referred to Mad Dog as my husband and not as Dad.  I think he was trying to be more formal sounding so Mad Dog’s bosses would take his request seriously.

I didn’t want to dampen the sincerity of his spirit so I quickly devised a plan.

“Why don’t we make a video for Dad’s bosses and we can send it to Dad to share with his bosses later?”

T.Puzzle and Full Speed were quite happy with this notion.  They enjoy the art of video as much as a wrestling smack-down.

Here is the result:

[wpvideo 4QCF3zz3]

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

Fight Club

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If I could describe my perfect holiday weekend it would include things like quietly reading or blogging.  Maybe I would go to a non-violent film about love and redemption.  I would get a pedicure, go shopping or have a nice glass of wine with a fancy dinner.

Never in my wildest imagination would these plans include a knock-down, drag-out pillow war.

It is clear to me that my boys and I are very different.  Not bad different but maybe slightly crazy different.

Either way, I’m running for cover.

children, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery, tantrums

Bring It

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T.Puzzle and his glorious smile

Denial is a wonderful coping mechanism.  I’m learning it lasts for as long as a delicate psyche needs and then collapses when you’ve reached a head space that allows for the truth.

When T.Puzzle was born and he screamed louder than any newborn has a right to, I clearly remember thinking, “Hey, wait a minute.  You’re suppose to be my easy kid.”  I had made a silent agreement with T.Puzzle while he was in utero that he was going to be a milder version of Full Speed.

In some ways this was true.  He actually stayed put long enough for me to on occasion hold and snuggle him.  He broke into easy smiles with his incredible dimples a-blazin’ and he actually played calmly with baby toys for extended periods.

Other signs that T.Puzzle would be ‘easier’, or more likely helped feed my denial, were his slightly more sensitive nature and his skill at reading and reacting to other people’s emotions.  Early on we labeled him ‘our little social worker’.

Great.  This was good.  I rolled along and headed into his ‘terrible twos’ feeling like I was finally going to have an upper hand.

I was completely wrong.  He tantrummed with the same passionate zest as his brother before him.  The only things that kept me going through this were the glimpses of his social worker nature and my dear, sweet friend denial.  No matter how ugly the tantrums became he would always quickly win me back with his, “I love you, Mommys” and loving hugs.

Then came this summer and that’s when denial packed up its bags and left me for good.  T.Puzzle has continued his tantrumming phase well into his fourth year exactly the same as Full Speed.  Unfortunately for this latest phase of summer tantrums the gloves are off.  He is proving that he can run with the big boys and has shown such a ferocity of independence that it is at once frightening and awe-inspiring.

All I can say is bring it T.Puzzle.  This ain’t my first rodeo, kid.