Common Mom

Monday is Mommy Day in our house

It’s Mommy Day not because I get flowers or massages or go shopping or stuff like that. It’s Mommy Day cuz that’s the night that I play in a competetive volleyball league. That’s the night that I can guilt-free hire a babysitter for 2 1/2 hours while I go get exercise, talk to people my own age, and blow off some steam. That’s the night, that even when I bring my kids with, I can leave them in the hallway to watch me play through a huge glass window. That’s the night that I can feed them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner without feeling guilty “cuz I’ve got to get going!”

For the past 8 weeks, Monday has NOT been Mommy Day. It’s been Mommy is Frazzled Day! We signed the kids up for ice skating lessons because we’d been going to open skating. Jason is absolutely fearless and thought he was a much better skater than he actually was. He didn’t so much skate as run with skates strapped to his feet. Stopping was a concept he certainly did not understand. Keira is a bit more cautious, and insisted that I hold on to both of her hands the entire time - unless Dad was home, then we each got the privilege of holding one of her hands. I decided my back and my heart couldn’t take the pressure, so I signed them up for skating lessons. Every Monday for 8 weeks I picked the kids up from school at 4:30, ran home to grab a bite to eat, and cruised to ice skating lessons. 30 minutes later, I’d rush them out the door to either get home in time for the babysitter to come or to just get in the car so I could make the 45 minute drive to volleyball in 30 minutes.

I am pleased to say that last week was the last day of ice skating lessons. Jason can actually glide on skates and stop without smashing through the boards and Keira refuses to let you hold her hand on the ice.

I did not sign them up for the next session.

I am takin’ back Monday! And I can’t tell you how excited I am to have my relaxing Monday evening back instead of continuing with the rat race that was Mommy is Frazzled Day for the past 2 months. And since Dan is home this week, I get to have a real Mommy Day and sing like a rock star in the car to MY music instead of Curious George!

What’s your Mommy Day?

It’s a Friday Flashback!

Both of my children make me laugh every single day. Keira in her subtle little girl way with her quirky facial expressions and matter-of-fact observations of the world around her. Jason with his antics…

When Jason was 3, we put him in preschool. He LOVED it immediately, and so did we. He was learning so much and making new friends and finding all kinds of cool things on the playground (which is in a heavily wooded area void of any typical playground equipment). One day I picked Jason up and the conversation went something like this…

Me: Hi buddy! How was your day?
Jason: Great. Except I got a bloody nose.
Me: You did? Did your teacher help you fix it?
Jason: No - I didn’t tell her. I just kept blowing my nose a lot.
Me: Oh. When did it start bleeding?
Jason: After lunch playtime.
Me: And it was like that all afternoon?
Jason: Yes.
Me: Why did it start bleeding?
Jason: Because there was something in there.
Me: Oh really? What was in your nose?
Jason: A diamond.
Me: A diamond!? Where did you get a diamond?
Jason: I found it on the playground. It’s a beautiful blue one.
Me: How did the diamond get in your nose?
Jason: I put it there.
Me: Why did you put a diamond in your nose?
Jason: Because it’s so beautiful and I wanted to give it to you and I didn’t have any pockets in my pants, so I put it in my nose so I wouldn’t lose it.
Me: Where is the diamond now?
Jason: In my classroom in my cubby. It came out when I sneezed, so I put it in there to save it for you.

We proceded inside to get his take-home things and sure enough, there was a beautiful blue snot-covered diamond (aka a plastic blue bead that you put on necklaces) waiting for me

I guess given this incident, I shouldn’t have been so surprised when he had a googly eye in his ear 3 years later.

I apologize in advance if this is too graphic for some, but I’m having a hard time with my 6 year old hearing this at school. 

A few weeks ago, we received a very sad letter in Jason’s take-home folder at school. It turns out that the school bus driver (Ms. Cherrie) lost her son in an avalanche in Wyoming. The letter said that Ms. Cherrie would be out for a few weeks to grieve and that they hadn’t told the children, instead leaving the details to the parents. So I explained to Jason why Ms. Cherrie was gone (he read the letter and wanted to know) - I explained what an avalanche was and how someone could get trapped in it. He was profoundly sad for her - wanting to buy her flowers and make her a card (he’s so sweet!).

Ms. Cherrie came back to school this week. Last night Jason informed me of this. He also informed me that one of the kids in his class asked her what happened. She politely explained that both of her sons were skiing and the avalanche came. The one son escaped, the other didn’t. The one that escaped followed the beacon that the one who didn’t was wearing and located him . . . but it was too late. And the rescue crews had to continue searching for “the rest of him.” Apparently, in the powerful rush of snow, he did not remain in tact.

I can’t imagine and hope I never have to experience the feelings Ms. Cherrie felt when she heard that news. I’m also quite upset that my 6 year old was told this story at school. I’m all for truth and reality, but this seems a bit too much for young boys to be hearing without any forum for asking questions.

Am I being too protective/unreal/insensitive?

It’s time for one of my pet peeves…

Sitting at the lunch table at work, we were talking about some people meeting at a friend’s house for book club. We asked the husband (who works here) if he was getting out of the house for the evening. The reply was “No, I get to babysit.” I said “Dude - it’s called PARENTING!” Now this guy is someone who certainly is a parent - he just said it cuz he knew it would get a rise out of me I have, however, heard this statement used more than once in a totally serious manner.  And every time I give the same response as above . . . unless it’s a complete stranger, then I just look at my husband with that “did he really just say that?!” look.

What I want to know is, why do mom’s parent and dad’s babysit?

Dan and I have always said that Jason did not need video games, Gameboys, etc. I mean, he’s 6! He should be running around outside playing with the neighborhood kids . . . which he does every single weekend. It’s great! When he begged for a Webkin we said no . . . so he came home from school one day with a folded piece of paper that he’d drawn on. He gave me a detailed explanation of what exactly he was holding . . . he had drawn a screen on the inside with the URL for Webkinz and the entire Webkinz screen, as well as a keyboard with all the letters, spacebar, shift, Enter, etc. Basically, he’d made himself a laptop with Webkinz on it! He then informed me “It’s a Dell.” That just about made me run off the road. Queen Taunya was nice enough to get him a Webkin for Christmas (he loves it, and actually, it’s not a bad site.) When he asked for a Gameboy, we said no - he did not need one. He’s good about not begging for stuff - no means no. However, he did come home from school with, you guessed it, a piece of paper on which he’d drawn his own Gameboy!

Before our vacation to Puerto Rico, Dan and I (reluctantly) decided to get him a Gameboy for the 6 hours we’d be spending on the airplane. We eBayed and won an auction for a Gameboy Advance SP and 50 games for $60! Woo hoo! We didn’t give it to him until we got on the airplane. He was ECSTATIC! And he did great learning how to use it on his own and putting it away before we told him he needed to take a break.

Now comes the hard part . . . how do we regulate the use at home? If it were up to me, I’d tell him he can’t ever use it - he’s only 6! But I know that won’t fly . . . especially now that he knows it exists. Dan thinks we should give him access to it like we do the computer . . . he has to ask if he can use it first and then we’ll give him some sort of time limit.

Again, if it were up to me, he wouldn’t be playing any video game type things, but we’ve given him access to the computer and WE were the ones who bought him the actual Gameboy rather than making him continue to draw his games

How do you regulate your child’s use of computers/video games/Gameboys? Any and all advice is appreciated!

I’ve discovered that every time I start to write something, a gazillion things pop in to my head. My brain is still recovering from a week long vacation, so here goes the rambling post :-) 

Yesterday, we had our annual Easter Egg Hunt at our house. Last year, it was warm and sunny - all the kids were in shorts, t-shirts, and cute dresses. Yesterday, no such luck. It was 35 degrees and snowing! But, being the hardy Coloradans we are, we still ventured outside for the egg hunt. The kids (all 11 of them) had a great time! They, of course, found all the eggs in record time and marched back inside to check out the loot. After ingesting a sufficient amount of sugar and making a few laps around the food table (what’s an egg hunt without an egg-shaped cake, fruit salad, cheese and crackers, and chips and guac!) the kids adjourned downstairs. That in itself was kind of weird because all the toys are upstairs. For the next 1 1/2 hours, the adults enjoyed beverages, peace and quiet, and adult conversation without a single interruption.

Everyone was commenting on how nice it was! There was plenty of laughter and giggling downstairs, but really, all the kids playing together without so much as one whine or argument? For a while, I thought it was great, too. Then I started thinking how sad it was that all of our kids, who have known each other since they were babies, were so grown up that they didn’t “need” us anymore. I guess we should all feel proud that we’re raising kids who are independent and who can work things out on their own without constant supervision. And I should probably stop saying how I wish my kids would stop growing up so fast! Right now, 4 and 6 are the perfect ages for my kids, and I keep saying how I wish they’d stay that way. I’m sure if you ask me a year from now what my favorite age is, I’ll say “right now!” But for now, I’m a little sad that the house was a little too quiet for the afternoon while none of the kids needed the parents. It’s the perfect age, but I just wish they could stay little a bit longer!

My kids are always talking about how “full” their tummies are after they eat a meal. We joke because they’re both skinny minny and after a meal their tummies are so full and hard. As my daughter and I were walking through Wal-Mart a week or so ago, we turn to walk down an aisle. My daughter pointed out with no restraint whatsoever (really, what 4 year old DOES have restraint!) “Mommy look - that man must’ve eaten a good lunch, too! His tummy is so big and full, just like Grandpa’s! Or do you think he’s got a baby in there?” OMG! I was so embarrassed. We just turned around and walked to a different aisle. As a mom, I felt like I should have explained to her how we don’t comment on people’s physical appearance because it might make them feel bad. But then I didn’t. I just let it go, because she was just telling the truth. Heck, if she hadn’t told me I had a big tummy, I most likely wouldn’t have started going to the gym on a regular basis! I guess sometimes we adults just need to hear the truth - plain and simple.

I can’t get enough of looking at the beautiful mountains we’re blessed with every single morning. I grew up in Minnesota and LOVE the water. I’ll sit and stare at a lake forever - it’s amazing and the trees are beautiful and the fish and birds are awesome and on and on. When we moved to Colorado 10 years ago, I was amazed at the mountains. I’d been to the mountains before, but there was something about seeing them every single day - it just puts you in a good mood. I hear people say that they don’t even notice Pikes Peak anymore - OMG! How can you NOT notice it? I’ve been seeing it on my way to work every morning for 10 years, and I STILL smile every single day when I see it, and I even take pictures of it on especially beautiful mornings.

My kids were born in Colorado, and they think the greenness and water in MN is beautiful and fun when we go visit grandparents, but it’s new to them and most of us think new things are amazing. I’ve always hoped that they would appreciate the beauty and magnificence of the mountains rather than take them for granted since that’s all they’ve ever known. My hopes were answered the other day. The kids and I were driving down the hill from our house, with the mountains in full view right in front of us, and Keira says “Wow. Look at that beautiful mountain!” I was so excited that such a little person could have such a big thought. Or maybe she was just repeating what I say almost every morning. Either way, I don’t care . . . I only hope she’s learning to appreciate the awesome things out there that we get to see for free every day.

We’re coming up on Easter. In a typical year, I can’t wait for Easter to come because that means I get to have sugar again! I usually give up sugar for Lent, and in the process I lose anywhere from 5-10 pounds. Great lesson! But then, Easter rolls around and I eat enough sugar for the entire neighborhood (I just can’t get enough of those jelly beans!), and subsequently feel like crap all night - definitely NOT the lesson I want to learn.

This year, my good friend, Taunya, was giving up swearing for Lent. I thought that was a good idea, but I was going to stick with the sugar routine - better for the body. But then, the voices spoke to me (from the back seat of the car) and helped me change my mind.

If you ask most people that know me, they’d say that I’m an aggressive driver - I don’t think it’s necessarily true, but I DO have a low tolerance for stupid drivers. In my book, stupid drivers include those who drive 50 in the left lane on the Interstate, those who spend all their money on the Jaguar but can’t afford the blinker fluid, and those who squeal their tires to pull out in front of you and slow down to 30. For those people, I sometimes have a few choice words in the confines of my own vehicle.

A few weeks ago on the way to school, we’re stopped at a stoplight and singing We’re Going To The Zoo (zoo zoo, how about you you you, you can come too, too too…). A car pulls out into our lane on his green light, and from out of nowhere, this cute little innocent 4 year old girl voice YELLS from the backseat “DUMB ASS!” I almost got whiplash from turning my head around so fast! I said “Keira, why did you say that!” The response “Well, that guy pulled out in front of you and that’s what you say when someone pulls out in front of you.”

I immediately decided to give up swearing for Lent, and added words such as idiot, dumb ass, and anything remotely close to a swear word to the list of forbidden words.

One of the many decisions my husband and I made regarding our children early on was that no personal items leave the house with them. No matchbox cars, dolls, stuffed animals, or any other toy leaves the house. Not even mimi (their favorite blanket).  This made leaving the house when they were smaller SOOO easy. We grabbed the diaper bag and were gone. No whining about which toy they can bring, crying when said toy got lost at the park, or throwing a fit when mimi got dirty at the mall and had to be washed before bed time. Now that the kids are a little older, it’s great! They never ask to bring anything, and my car is squeaky clean

 What’s your best tip for painless outings with the kids?