Archive for the ‘The Kids’ Category
October 07 2011
The truth is, I’m not the best mother. It’s hard to stay in the moment. There are so many tasks on the to-do list. I don’t have nearly enough patience, nor time. My temper flares. My voice rises. My back hurts, my head hurts, I’m old. I don’t play well. I’m not the fun one. The thought of doing crafts is excruciating. Some mornings I wish for the day to end before it’s even begun.
But there is one thing I do well, and I do often.
I tell my kids I love them.
Always. It doesn’t matter when or why. For no reason. Enough to where I’m not surprised if they get tired of hearing it, but I still say it again. I don’t remember a day when I haven’t vocalized it to each of my kids at least once. Usually more. A lot more. The love in a family takes many forms, but it’s the articulation of affection that carries with you. It can lift you up when you need it, or erase any negative. It is the most invaluable form of validation. It’s important to hear.
It’s said before my boys get on the school bus each morning, just as it’s included in our ritual every evening. Like when I’m tucking Jedi into bed, I’ll wrap my arms around him for a lopsided hug as his head is lying on the pillow, kiss his cheek, and say as a cap for the night.
“I love you, kiddo.”
Then he’ll say in return, my first born son. “Mom…”, he begins as I prepare for a touching comeback, “I farted”.
Love’s many forms. Many, many forms.
October 06 2011
You know what I said the other day? Hold on, we’ll get to it.
While I know they love each other, my kids bicker. They’re siblings, after all, close in proximity, and they have the little tiffs that most do. This one took that toy. That one got more M&Ms. Why does he always get to go first? She’s in my spot. Life is a constant contest to them, always rigged in another’s favor. So unfair.
Abby and Jedi were sitting together at the computer while I fixed dinner. As most instances happen, they were nice at first. Then Abby didn’t want Jedi sitting next to her anymore. So she tried to kick him off. He screamed at her. She cried. And it escalated.
“Both of you stop it!”, I intervened when it was obvious this wasn’t going to resolve on its own.
“But she started it!”, Jedi countered with Abby still determined to push him off the chair with all her might.
And then, after a few more minutes of this back and forth, I said. Wait for it.
“I don’t care who started it, if you don’t stop it I’m the one who’s going to finish it!”
Yes, I did.
I’m pretty sure this goes up there with the wise yet reluctant sage gem, passed from generation to generation, because I said so. Which I’ve uttered before, too, and most likely will again. Because I’ve now realized that while children despise it, there actually is no better parental excuse. It’s alright, I’m rolling my eyes at myself. I don’t even know who I am anymore.
September 30 2011
“What did you have for lunch today?”, I asked Jedi when he came home from school.
“Chicken nuggets”, he replied. “Hey, Mommy? What part of the chicken is the nugget?”.
“I’m not really sure”, I answered, honestly.
“You know what I think? I think it’s the chicken’s…”, then in a whisper, “boy parts“.
“So you think chicken nuggets are a chicken’s nuggets?”, I repeated before breaking into rolling can’t-catch-your-breath laughter. “Come up with that one all on your own?”
“Yeah”, he beamed, proud of his observation. But then he wondered, “Do cows have nuggets?”
Wiping tears out of my eyes from laughing so hard, I stammered between gasps for air, “If they do, we don’t eat them”.
“Oh, OK. Hey, Mommy? Is nuggets a bad word?”
Still laughing, I said, “No, nuggets is not a bad word”. Thinking about it for a moment after, however, I added, “Though we might not want to talk about nuggets with Grandma”.
September 28 2011
She may be only 3, but my daughter is a burgeoning social media maven. Not only does she hijack my computer, but she knows how to open Tweetdeck, too.
Announcing her presence:
Here she is, venting about her lack of cookies:
Which leads to her loss of keyboard privileges, and this:
Yes, this happens often. Obviously, if you’re not following me us on twitter already, you should be. Just look at what you’re missing. (Also, you really should follow @mecreaves, she’s the best kind of awesome.)
September 22 2011
Rule #1 in the little sister handbook: Thou shall blame her older brothers for everything.
Case in point:
Abby’s mouth had been colored all around in yellow. Like a clown in thick make-up. It spread past her lips and to her cheeks. A burst of sunshine in the middle of her face.
“Why are your lips yellow?”, I asked her.
There she sat, with the crayon she used guiltily gripped in her hand, looking at me with a smirk on her face. I could tell she was thinking of an appropriate response, one that would take the focus away from her. Then, she remembered the rules from the sister handbook. “Um…”, she started, pausing. “I think Jedi did it.”
Normally, yellow is not the color of fire, but it could have been since Abby’s pants were in flames.
“Oh, you think he did?”, I stifled a laugh. “Even though you have the crayon in your hand and Jedi has been in his room?”
“Yep, Jedi did it”, she insisted.
On cue, Jedi emerged, seriously countering with his own version of events. “And Abby started lying now. Just great! Because I didn’t do anything!”
Rule #2 in the little sister handbook: Thou shall stick with the story, even when the truth is brightly colored all over one’s face. Which leads to rule #3: If thou is cute enough, thou just might get away with it.
