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Leaving the warm and cozy den of ignorance
Sometimes it would be easier to live in ignorance – to be oblivious. Much easier than dealing with reality, especially when the reality is that you have made some serious mistakes as a parent. Before I was a parent, I felt certain that I would be no-nonsense. I would be tough. I had a clear vision of what was right and wrong; what was acceptable and not acceptable. With clarity like that, it should be easy to be consistent, right? Well it’s not. Before I was a parent, I knew things like “no” would mean no, period. That you don’t coddle, that you don’t give in. That you see right…
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My Son, the Country Music Singer
I’m pretty sure I don’t always make the right parenting decisions. I don’t follow all the latest parenting trends; I don’t subscribe to all the things the experts say you should do (or not do). I, like other parents, don’t really know if the things I let (or don’t let) my kids do today will scar them in the future or set them up for great things. So I do the best I can and just go with my gut. We like country music in my house. A lot. Weekend mornings mean country music videos; car rides mean Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Blake Shelton from my iPod on repeat. …
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The Calm After the Storm
I had a couple of rough days this week. The boys were crazy (and ornery and screaming and biting and destructive), Blake worked late every night and my baby sitter has been sick (necessitating the use of my backup plan, and then my backup, backup plan). But then there are nights like tonight where everything magically goes smooth. They were content while I cooked dinner, they ate well, we played outside on the swing set, bath time was uneventful, they played nicely together and they were both in bed by 8:08. I was actually able to enjoy my boys. Unfortunately sometimes it gets so stressful that it’s hard to take…
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Wiped Out
I got to play stay-at-home mom today and boy, am I wiped out. I’m not sure what was different about today than some weekends when I have the boys solo, but it was exhausting! I think some days the kids decide they want to be amicable and sweet. And then there are some days that they strategize about how to push every one of your buttons. Today would be the latter. Sometimes kids can just wear you down and knock you off your game. Today would be that day too. Apparently I was a little loose with my language, because when Blake got home Brogan told him, “Look Daddy, I…
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When something goes wrong, I call you.
The other night, as I was trying to get Brogan to bed, he kept calling me for various requests. As I tromped back up the stairs and into his room, aggravation all over my face, he said to me, “Mommy, when something goes wrong, I call you.” He gave me a hug and all of my frustration went away. I feel like I wrestle with the balance of wanting my boys to be independent, but also liking the fact that they need me. As moms, we feed hungry bellies, bandage skinned knees, wipe runny noses, grab what’s out of their reach and try to fulfill every other random request. We…
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Do my kids have a lot to say? Yeah.
I spent the last two days traveling for work in Nashville, which meant that Blake was running a 24-hour Daddy Daycare. I came home to the boys fed, the dishes done and the house in a pretty reasonable state – very, happy mommy! When I walked through the door tonight, I was greeted by a very concerned 3-year-old who said, “Mommy, I was worried about you!” He gave me a hug. “Mommy, I was so worried about you,” he said again. He couldn’t quite articulate what he was “worried” about, but I’ll equate it to that he missed me. It makes me smile when Brogan, and now even Beckett, says…
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Daddy Daycare
Blake has been working a ridiculous amount lately – like 4 weeks straight, no days off, some were 24-hour days where he slept under his desk. He’s a chef at a college and with a new dining hall and the new school year just started so to say things have been crazy for him at work would be an understatement. So today he had the day off. With so many options for things to do on his day off, what does he do? Volunteers to take the boys to Atlanta for the day so that I could have the day to myself. Bless this man. I spent my day at…
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Play Guns and a Loss of Innocence
So I like to think that I’m pretty easy going with things. My parenting style is pretty moderate and at least to this point, I haven’t gone overboard with censorship. But the other day I took Brogan to the doctors and I was deeply disturbed. We were in the waiting room and my attention turned out the window to a child, probably 8 or 9, with a play handgun. While this gun did have one of those bright orange tips, it was very realistic in every other regard. I’m not sure what this kid had been watching, but he held the gun correctly, pointed it at just about everything and…
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How to Be a Happy Parent
Parenting is hard and it’s easy to find yourself stuck in a rut with all the damn dailies. But I believe that happiness is relative to your expectations. We all have this romanticized idea of what parenting will be like before we have kids… and then we have them and realize some if it’s not so glamorous. Managing your expectations and keeping perspective is key to finding all the joy that parenting has to offer. Juggling your children, your marriage, a job (perhaps), and the stresses from the outside world (strangers, other parents, the media, the “experts”) can be downright stressful. Hey, no pressure, you’re only doing the most important…
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Never Lead with Fries and Other Lessons from the Day
Every day as a parent is a day of learning – the subject is typically a surprise, but you can always count on a lesson. Today my boys taught me… 1.) Never lead with fries – No matter how good of an eater you’ve got, don’t lead with the fries. It will be hard to near impossible to get them to eat anything with any greater nutritional value once they’ve got a yummy, greasy, salty fry in those chompers. You want some chicken? [shakes his head no] You want some broccoli? [shakes his head no] You want a fry? Yeah! Well crap. 2.) Sometimes you have to break the rules…
