I know it sounds too easy to be effective. It’s not as easy as it sounds, if you’re a person who likes to keep the house clean and accomplish usual household tasks. Step one is forgetting your chores and putting tasks on hold. As my mother in law (mother of thirteen,) always says, “There’s always tomorrow!” But, for me, it takes a lot of effort to keep the cleaning products in their cupboard. Step two is forgetting that you’re an adult. Think like a child. What did you like to do as a youngster? Help your kids think up some fun ideas or just let them have the reigns for the day. Step three is letting yourself experience unrestrained fun. Forget the merriment inspired messes, the fact that you’re way too old to have a tea party and just live in the joy of the moment.

 I understand that this type of behavior is not feasible on a continual basis, as the functionality of the household depends on your consistency. But one day of unadultrated play time and chore shirking will do wonders for your inner child and your outer children. So log off of your computer, put away the mop and pull out the dress up clothes. I myself am planning to don my finest feathered hat, fanciest sequin dress and be a waitress at ”Cafe Prescott” this afternoon. The kids love hearing me say, “May I take your order?” They are so used to, “You’ll eat it because it’s your only choice,” that it brings about a welcome change of tone. They actually utter words of thanks and complimentary phrases, even though it’s the same old turkey sandwich they’ve always had for lunch. After that, we’ll play freeze dance, make crafts and be kindred spirits for the remainder of the day. Today, my inner child will be echoing the words of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Post from: Blisstree

Survival Of The Silliest

While at a family dinner over the weekend, I watched a little toddler boy in his baseball cap and with sippy cup in hand run for his mommy when he realized he didn’t recognize everyone adoring him.

At that point, I looked to the left and right of me at my own boys who are now within an inch or two of being as tall as I am at 5’7” and wished so much I could travel back in time and recapture my own moments like that.

It’s so easy to take those moments for granted when your kids are so young and you’re all wrapped up in the hustle of everyday life – but time does pass by so quickly and before you know it, those little toddlers are just a few years from college.

One thing that is constant and remains to this day is the fact that no matter where we are or who may be watching, my boys always hug me, kiss my cheek and tell me they love me. 

My husband said that was probably the hardest thing he had to get used to when we married because he’s just not that loving of a person. 

As the mother of boys, I can only hope they don’t add more truth to the old saying –

A daughter’s a daughter for the rest of her life,
A son is a son ‘til he takes a wife.

I don’t think anything could possibly ever break my heart more.

Post from: Blisstree

Baseball Caps and Sippy Cups

My intention is to make this a fun little project from time-to-time where parents can share those little experiences that have made them jump back and say, “Now that’s a beautiful parenting moment.”  It’s not all going to be gooey and sappy – in fact; many of the experiences will be quite the contrary with a strong interjection of humor and humility.

Mmm’K ~ I’ll go first!

When the twins were just little guys, I of course had that whole passive/dominant twin thing going and the dominant one seemed to think that since his dad and I were divorced, that somehow made him the “man of the house” and gave him full reign to speak to me in any tone he liked.

I’ll be the first to admit, the boy did get his stubborn streak from me.  There’s no doubt where that came from, no siree.

While going about my mommy duties of fixing our meal, my dominant son sat at the bar and just picked, picked, picked at every little thing.  You’d have thought he was an old mother hen.  Finally, I’d had enough, I totally SNAPPED!  I slammed my hands on the counter, leaned in about 2 inches from his little face and screamed – “your, Your, YOUR JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER!”

Of course his initial response was to open his mouth to blurb something back when he suddenly caught himself, pulled back with the most puzzled little look I’d EVER seen and replied in a near whisper, “you are my mom.”

We still laugh to this day, but he’s darn tootin’ sure where he got his stubbornness and doesn’t try to out stubborn mom anymore!

Now, I’m certainly not the only parent that gets frustrated and wants to scream – and I’m certainly not the last parent who’s ever felt like throwing up their hands and say, they’ll at least potty train themselves before they get married, I give up!  And that’s where my Mommy friend Eliza Jane has found herself.  God love this brave woman who is currently carrying baby number 4 – I’m truly surprised the only thing missing is a root beer.

Then we have Delphine  – Although her oldest is only 5-years-old, it seems like she’s been able to benefit from Super Nanny in a way that many of us with older kids aren’t able to.  She’s learned to get down to their level as to not intimidate them.  I remember being down at my kids level, but that was usually to clean up shaving cream or acrylic paints that two little Monet’s decided were better served on the dining room floor.  I have the greatest respect for parents who are actually taking the time to get to know their children, create a schedule, provide them with routines that instill security and don’t give in to every little thing the child wants.

I’ve been called a “mean old mom” on more than one occasion for this very reason.

Char over on Casual Keystrokes has given us a bit of ensight on Super Nanny from the perspective of her 4-year-old.  It seems Char is using this whole Super Nanny thing to her advantage and now has someone to share the blame with for those 20 minute sreaming times outs in the “Thinking Pond.”  Now that’s classic!  Sharing the blame.  I wish I had thought of that!  I might have had less of those “mean old mom” moments.

Have a classic parenting moment you’d like to share?  Here’s what you do, you can either submit it to me for posting or you can post it on your own blog just like Eliza Jane and Dephine have done and just supply me with the link!  I’d love to have you join in on these Classic Parent Moment parties.

Post from: Blisstree

Classic Parenting Moments