I work with a younger girl, not quite of the age yet where she's ready to settle down and have kids, but she wants to at some point. I tell her all of the fun stories about what happens with my boys, she laughs and says that every day is an adventure in my house, and I promise that when she's ready to have kids, I have all kinds of fun tips I can give her. So I decided to start writing some of them down before I forget. Cause you know .... I have "mommy brain."
Tip #1 - Don't plant tomato plants where toddlers can reach them. They WILL pull off all of the green ones they can reach, throw them at you and yell "BALL!" really loud. And that is promptly followed by the 10-month-old trying to eat them. I'm still waiting to find a half-eaten green tomato in the toy box sometime soon.
Tip #2 - If you can't find your cell phone, the first place you should check is the toy box - it's probably right next to the half-eaten green tomato.
Tip #3 - When you work from home, don't leave your laptop sitting in reach of anyone under the age of two. Inevitably, even if you're only gone for 10 seconds, you will get an instant message from one of your coworkers saying "You're IM to me just came through as '8r45f@%%sow(3a s@*dWO)^$F' - did you need something?" Yes, yes I do.
Tip #4 - If you slave making a wonderful meal for the whole family, they won't eat it. Keep plenty of Gerber Graduates Meals on hand. We clean out the shelves of the Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes every time we go to Target. It's like the toddler version of crack in my house. Those and Twizzlers. And fruit snacks. B stands in the kitchen, pointing up to the cabinet yelling "nack, nack, nack" on a daily basis now. Usually just before dinner time. Which he then refuses to eat in exchange for his Gerber meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
That seems like a good place to take a break. For those of you who haven't had kids, take some time to sit back, drink a nice glass of wine, and absorb that info. And for those of you who have had kids, you're probably shaking your head and thinking "yep, been there, done that" while you're drinking a nice glass of wine. I on the other hand told that same coworker above today that my version of a bubble bath and glass of wine consists of Jake and the Never Land Pirates banana scented kids sudsy bath and a box of Juicy Juice. Nothing but the best around here.
Stay tuned for more entertaining tips from Mom ...
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Nature or Nurture?
Kids will be kids. We all know that. And how much of it is nature vs. nurture? I've always hoped that I can raise my kids to be polite young men who grow to do great things with their lives. It scares me to see what some parents go through when their child rebels or goes down what a parent would consider the wrong path. Kids will test their boundaries, I know. And B just turned 2 yesterday, so I know I have a long way to go.
But I received what I consider a compliment yesterday that makes me think we've at least gotten off on the right path. B started preschool last month - he's going on probably week #5 now? And he's doing really well. He's one of the few who didn't cry at all during the first two weeks when things are typically the hardest and they focus on things like separation anxiety and learning to follow new rules that their teachers give them. The very first day of class, one little girl cried for literally 80 minutes out of the 90-minute class. But the teachers are constantly commenting about how mellow B is. He definitely has his moment when he's with us, but the teachers say he's pretty much the most laid back kid in his class.
William takes B to school each day. I get both boys ready so when he comes home from work he can change clothes and throw them in the car. Then he stays there with P, keeping him entertained while B is in class. Since yesterday was B's birthday, I took the day off work and took him to school. After I took B up to his classroom, I went back downstairs to the office to pay B's school fees for next month, and Becky, who runs the front desk, commented to me about how well B is doing. She also commented about how well behaved P is when he's there with his daddy staying entertained. I told her that they are both really good boys and that we got really lucky. Then she looked at me and said, "or maybe it's you." That's the second time someone has said that to me - maybe it's not that we got lucky and got kids with easy demeanors - maybe it's our parenting techniques that GIVE them that demeanor. I like to think that I'm a good parent, but I know I'm far from perfect. I definitely have my moments where I feel like I'm going to explode at any minute and wonder what in the world we were thinking. But then there are moments like yesterday when someone gives William and me credit for our boys' easy natures and it really makes me wonder. If it truly is William and me, I just hope that we can continue to raise our kids to be successful, personable young men that people like to be around. I'm sure we are going to have our fair share of challenges, but we seem to be on the right track.
But I received what I consider a compliment yesterday that makes me think we've at least gotten off on the right path. B started preschool last month - he's going on probably week #5 now? And he's doing really well. He's one of the few who didn't cry at all during the first two weeks when things are typically the hardest and they focus on things like separation anxiety and learning to follow new rules that their teachers give them. The very first day of class, one little girl cried for literally 80 minutes out of the 90-minute class. But the teachers are constantly commenting about how mellow B is. He definitely has his moment when he's with us, but the teachers say he's pretty much the most laid back kid in his class.
William takes B to school each day. I get both boys ready so when he comes home from work he can change clothes and throw them in the car. Then he stays there with P, keeping him entertained while B is in class. Since yesterday was B's birthday, I took the day off work and took him to school. After I took B up to his classroom, I went back downstairs to the office to pay B's school fees for next month, and Becky, who runs the front desk, commented to me about how well B is doing. She also commented about how well behaved P is when he's there with his daddy staying entertained. I told her that they are both really good boys and that we got really lucky. Then she looked at me and said, "or maybe it's you." That's the second time someone has said that to me - maybe it's not that we got lucky and got kids with easy demeanors - maybe it's our parenting techniques that GIVE them that demeanor. I like to think that I'm a good parent, but I know I'm far from perfect. I definitely have my moments where I feel like I'm going to explode at any minute and wonder what in the world we were thinking. But then there are moments like yesterday when someone gives William and me credit for our boys' easy natures and it really makes me wonder. If it truly is William and me, I just hope that we can continue to raise our kids to be successful, personable young men that people like to be around. I'm sure we are going to have our fair share of challenges, but we seem to be on the right track.
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