Tag: love

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

Happy Valentine’s Day

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I long ago let go of the dream that my boys would ever want to decorate cookies.  The first time I attempted this activity Full Speed was three and his interest was zero.  Therefore I went into my Valentine cookie making experience with very low expectations.

I was pleasantly surprised.  They both really got into it.  It was a little chaotic and I was thankful that Mad Dog was on hand to help.  Once the cookies were bedazzled with glittery sugar and hearts, we set out to deliver some to our neighbors.

The boys loved this even more than decorating.

I was so pleased with myself.

Decorating fun?

Check.

Spreading some love to friends?

Check.

Finding common ground with my two boys?

Check and check.

That is until Full Speed for no apparent reason grabbed hold of T.Puzzle’s arm, spun him in a wicked circle and threw him to the asphalt of our cul-de-sac.  There was blood and wailing to boot.

Maybe next year will be my year.  We will get through cookie decorating AND cookie delivery without any violence.

All you need is love and a good set of Cars band-aids on hand in case one of your kids inexplicably loses his mind and tries to maim the other.

Give peace a chance.

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

Clear Heart, Clear Lungs?

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Poor little T.Puzzle.

You know he would pick his first week of Christmas break to come down with a bronchial virus.

He is finally showing real signs of recovery.  Hopefully he will lose his old man’s smoker’s cough soon, too.

He has been a trooper.  Even the night that we ended up on the family room couch at 2am as I held him upright to stave off the cough, he kept a bright outlook.  He kept worrying that my feet weren’t covered and periodically rearranged our throw blankets that I had tossed haphazardly on top of us.

I was grateful for a reason to smile in my tired early morning haze.

So, maybe our plans for Christmas break have been slightly thwarted.

At least we are together, we have a roof over our heads and we have love in hearts.

Next up?

Clear lungs I hope!

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

Two Brothers

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Originally I thought having children close in age would be ideal.  Then the reality of it set in and the long, hard road of raising two rambunctious boys began.

There were days I didn’t think I would make it.

I still have those days.

You can’t know when a child will come into your life or what they will be like.  I imagine life would be pretty boring if all of us could control the gender and type of children we could have.  I’m guessing there would be a lot of us who would choose one mild-tempered girl and one even-keeled boy.

Where’s the fun in that?

I’ll take knock-down, drag ’em out, spunk-tified Full Speed and T.Puzzle any day.

Is it bad that I’d prefer to take them to a sound-proof, padded coliseum (not the Metrodome, I really do care about their safety) and let them run free?

I didn’t think so.  If any of you spent an afternoon in a confined space with them, you would completely understand.

So, by the roll of the dice I happened to have two boys close in age that are giving me a run for my money.

The positive to this (and yes, there actually is a positive) is that after nearly four years of coexisting, they are becoming the best of friends.

Granted, best friends who periodically beat the tar out of each other, but best friends nonetheless.

I know they will always be brothers.

I hope that they will always be friends.

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

The Right Kind of ‘Yes’

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If you actually complete all your ‘to-do’ lists on a daily basis during the holiday season, it is easy to lose yourself.  Sure, you may have all your presents bought and started addressing your holiday cards, but where is the love?

It is so easy to get swept up in the momentum of holiday madness.  You say ‘yes’ to your child’s classroom teacher, you say ‘yes’ to buying more presents, you say ‘yes’ to giving all that you are and then some.

Maybe ‘no’ is something worth considering.

What if we all said ‘no’ a little bit more this season and focused our ‘yesses’ on the people we cherish most in this world?

I certainly am thinking of three guys that I would love to hang out with more as Christmas and the New Year approaches.

Who would your ‘nos’ make room for?

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

What We Did For Thanksgiving Vacation

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Whew!  Full Speed had a whole week off and T.Puzzle stayed home most of the week, too.

You know some mayhem ensued.

Oh how it did.

We were a busy bunch.

The week started with a ‘date’ for Mom and Full Speed.

The boys saw Santa with their cousin.

We celebrated Thanksgiving and Mad Dog’s birthday.  And yes, as a nation, I do believe in our entirety, we felt extreme gratitude that Mad Dog’s birthday coincided on this special day.   Or something like that.

 

Then, Mad Dog and I celebrated his birthday again as Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Pink graciously hosted our boys.  Upon our return, it is unlikely they will be invited back anytime soon.  Apparently, someone really needs to talk to their parents about their rowdy behavior.  Our apologies.

 

love you, Mad Dog!

Then, if all that wasn’t enough, we decorated our Christmas tree.  I tried oh-so-hard to let the boys do their thing without anxiously hovering about.  They seemed to have fun and I did too, just as long as all our breakable ornaments were hung at the top of the tree (by me!).

By the end of the week, we had two very tired boys on our hands.

 

So glad they have an 'off' switch.

 

When all was said and done, the thing that I am most grateful for is that I was actually sad to send them back to school because we had so much fun together.

Mothering these two strong spirited boys has not been without challenge.  To be able to say that I am honestly going to miss them as they trounce back to school is a turning point.

I am learning that even though there were days during vacation that they drove me to tears with their outlandish and stubborn behavior, I am now beginning to see the emergence of who they really are underneath.

Thankfully, they are two very cool little dudes.

Hope you all had a great holiday!