Tag: parenthood

children, mommyhood, parenting, terrible threes

Stubborn Streak

WFAM

Mad Dog surprised the family and came home early enough that we could all go to dinner. We picked the boys up and headed to eat pizza outside. Little T.Puzzle was feeling the unfortunate need to continuously test his limits and by the time dinner was over, Mad Dog had certainly reached his own kind of limit.

T.Puzzle was being difficult and wouldn’t get in the car. He kept locking his legs and simply refused to sit nicely in his car seat. In frustration Mad Dog says to him, “Do you want to go to Box Seats or do you want to go home and go to bed?”

T.Puzzle sticks out a defiant chin and replies, “I want to go home and go to bed.”

Yeah, right! My children and their stubborn streak never cease to amaze and baffle me.

I magnanimously offer to take little T.Puzzle home as I will gladly bypass the sports bar, video car-racing experience. However, both Mad Dog and T.Puzzle relent.

Shucks.

All I know is that if Mad Dog had asked me, I would have chosen to go home and stuck with it.

I guess I’m stubborn, too.

children, life in pictures, mommyhood

No Help

WFAM

Every parent of young children knows that the hours from about three p.m. until roughly seven or eight p.m. (assuming your children go to bed at a decent time) is a tough stretch of the day. Especially if your kids are super active (like mine) and you already have had an extremely busy day.

I turned and asked Mad Dog, ” What are we doing with the rest of our day?”

He didn’t have a good answer and then proceeded to fall fast sleep.

Not helping, not helping at all.

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, gratitude, parenting

All Mine

WFAM

I love baseball. My Mom loved baseball. So, to play baseball with my boys is pretty awesome. Mad Dog had purchased some whiffle balls, a bat and some cones for bases and we all took turns batting out in our cul-de-sac.

Of course the dream in my head of idylically playing America’s past-time did not quite match up to my reality. It was hard for the boys to take turns (make that impossible!),  T.Puzzle had to be in time-out three times, and then Full Speed was angry because T.Puzzle threw a ball at him.

It still was awesome.

It ain’t perfect but it’s all mine and I love it.

children, life in pictures, marital blissishness

Mohawks!

WFAM

Mad Dog and I rarely see eye to eye when it comes to the boys haircuts. I am forever scarred from when he took Full Speed for a haircut and Full Speed returned hairless and sickly looking. Full Speed’s hair used to be more blond than it is now, so if you buzzed his head, he didn’t look so good. Then, Mad Dog did the same thing to little T.Puzzle on a separate occasion. I have never fully healed from these experiences.

Sometimes, I don’t have the energy to fight. So, when we took the boys for a trim and Mad Dog said, ‘mohawks!’, I was too tired to argue.

I’m actually kind of glad I didn’t fight it. They look awesome.