Getting Rid of The Kids

Ok, not really getting 'rid' of them.
Shipping them off for a few days.
You know, like summer camp.
Have you looked at summer camps lately?
I have three elementary age kiddos that could go to sleep away camp.
Most of the camps I found are about $350 per camper.
Looks like I will put that in the budget for next year. That's over a thousand dollars! And that doesn't include the activities that are extra, like crafts and snacks!
So, I looked at a couple of sliding scale camps.
I would still have to come up with around $700, plus extras, and those are quite a distance from home.
There was some hope in doing day camps, but those are also a bit of a distance for us, and most of them are only 2 1/2 to 3 hrs long. So what am I gonna do with the younger ones during that time? Wait in the van? Gah! No!
Then, Gramma called.
She proposed that the children attend a VBS program at a church near her home.
Four days long, all day.
And...drum roll...the children will stay overnights at her house during the program.
My breath caught. Could this be real? Was I hearing things? Had I gone delusional after yesterdays mayhem and drama?
She confirmed that she was looking forward to it, and that it would be such fun to have the four of them over for Kamp Grandma.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Oh my GOODNESS!!!
If you see my MIL, thank her for being a wonderful, intuitive person.

I will have three days and three nights of just two kiddos. The ones that nap regularly each day. Imagine the number of dishes that won't be used during that time. The clothes that won't be on the floor, the wet towels that won't be all over the bathroom. The amount of toilet tissue that will stay on the roll! The ibuprofen that will remain in the bottle.

I know I will be ready to welcome them home when it is time. I know I will miss them, and I will want to hug and kiss them.
But this mom is ready for a little break. Some quiet that doesn't only happen after 10 pm. A bit of reduction in the daily chores.
Thanks, Gramma. You are a blessed woman.

A Completely Honest Moment

Not that I am dishonest with you.
This one, though, is raw honesty.
This is the kind of honesty that hasn't already been touched by truth.
It's the emotional kind.
It's the kind of honesty that is the first thing I think before I catch myself and do the right thing instead.

I. Want. To. Scream.

I want to tattle, yell, stomp my feet, cry, scream, throw something, slam a door, tell people they are stupid and that everything is their fault.

I don't want to do Mommyhood today.

I want to sit in a coffee shop and read. All day.


Yeah, yeah. I know. They are my children, my responsiblity.
I love them and I will make the right choices.

I will care for them, I will gently correct them. I will feed them and put them to naps.
I will wipe the dirt from their hands and faces. I will clean up their messes, I will instruct them in their chores.
I will hug them and kiss them and let them know that I love them always and anyways.

But mornings like this one make me want to pull out my hair and run away.

They are difficult and not fun. *sigh*

Anyone want to sit for six surly children today?

A Taste of PNW Summer

We are getting a peak of summer around here today.
It's about 70 degrees F here.
And the kids are suited up with the sprinkler on.

 Already looking for shade.

 Ignore the cabinet in the background. We let the kids have a destruction session last night.

Lunch in the back yard! Yessss!

"I do it myself!"

The youngest one at TheZoo has turned two.
I realized this morning that she is my seventh two year old.
I have been through the 'terrible two's' six times already, so I'm guessing I have learned a thing or two about two year olds.

First, foremost, and most fervently, they are not really the 'terrible two's'.
They can be, if parents choose that route. There are things that two year olds begin to try and practice that are truly terrible.
When parents choose to allow toddler to pursue behaviors that are awful because it is just so cute when such a tiny child is saying or doing it, you can bet those practices will continue as the years go on.
Is it really so cute when your two yo. stomps her foot and says 'No!' that you want to let it go on and on? That very first time, it might be hard to hide a smile at the idea that she has begun forming connections in her mind. That she understands the verbalization of rebellion in addition to body language (I.e. squirming and wriggling when being put in a car seat, climbing out of bed, etc.) is amazing, but the behavior exhibited needs to stop.
Two years old is a great time to teach your little one about respect. Will she stomp her foot and say no over and over and over again? Of course! She's got to find out the parameters of  your rules. If it counts at home, does it count at the grocery store? At Grandma's house? At the park? In front of your friends? She needs to find out of your rules are constant or circumstantial.

Secondly, independence is important to a two year old. Yes, it's important at all ages, but it's especially important at two, when little ones are discovering that they CAN do things independently.
It's the grown-ups job to guide them in responsible independence.
When it's time to get dressed, and your little man wants to "Do it myself!" you can let him.  Sometimes that means that getting dressed for the day begins much earlier than it has in the past, to allow time for fumbling with buttons, learning how to pull on a sock, and shoving feet in shoes.
Did you know that allowing your 2 yo to practice independence with personal care will be helpful when they are old enough to have chores assigned.  You will have already fostered trust in your child to work independently. (Please be sure to teach the child how to do the chore from beginning to end. Be clear in what you expect, don't set them to the chore assuming that they have seen you do it several times and should know how to do it. It's terribly frustrating for a child to be disciplined over something that they were never informed of in the first place.)

Third, language blossoms at the age of two. If you say to your child "Oh, isn't dat wittle bitty wabbit just so cutey wooty?" Then your child will very likely speak like that. If you say "Oh $#%*! What the #$%& happened in here?" Then your child will very likely speak like that.  If you speak respectfully, then your child will very likely speak like that.

Did you know that if you spell your child's name out loud when you write it down, and encourage him to, he will repeat the letters? He won't understand that he is practicing symbols that make up words for reading, but you are engaging in reading readiness. You don't have to go out and buy workbooks and sign up them up for the most prestigious preschool to prepare them for life. You can start with simple things. Communication is important at every stage in life. It makes sense to teach effective communication early.

The second year is hard on parents. Children have so much energy, and now they can run! They talk to you all the time, they test their skills in opening and dumping out containers all over the house. They practice defiance, and they know how to get out of bed and take off their diaper.

We have the privilege of teaching them how to behave respectfully, and what it's like to be respected.
I promise that the second year will wear you out as much as those first six months did, but just as it was in the beginning, it is worth every tired, exasperating moment.

I'm looking forward to sharing seven kids' worth of threes!

Happy Parenting!

Learning to Run

So, I started running. Sort of.
I decided to use the Couch-to-5k training guide.
I discovered that I have forgotten how to run. I have also discovered that I am not the right shape for running.
Do you remember Weebles? You know, "they weeble and the wobble but they don't fall down!".
I am *not* at weeble. I definitely fall down.
Running. Is. Hard.
Did you know that a person can get so far away from having any stamina at all that walking is difficult?
   Yep, that's me.So, the Couch-to-5k is a 9 week training program that says I should be able to run a 5k in about thirty minutes after 9 weeks.
No. Nope. Not a chance.
   The first week was a jog 60 seconds/walk 90 seconds combo. This was to be done for a duration of 20 minutes with a 5 minute walking warm up and cool down.
    I was only able to run ONE of the 60 second jog sets. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
My chest was desperately trying to heave in order to receive oxygen, but it was spazzing instead.
So, I walked the rest of that week. And the second week. And the third week. And so on and so forth.
I did not walk during the week we had out of state guests.
Stupid. I can now walk about one mile without dying.
This is rough. I had grand ideas about running a 5k in the middle of July with See Jane Run. I even asked friends to join me and had one take me up on it.
I hope the running is going better for her.
In all likelihood, I made a donation to See Jane Run, and I won't be there.
I will keep walking, though.
And when I can still breath after 30 minutes of brisk walking without a stitch in my side, I'll take up the jog/walk again.
I will not give up. I will not give in. I will survive!
I *will* run a 5k!
Maybe now I need to let my friend know...

From a Mom Who Sometimes Drowns

What? You aren't delighted by your children 24/7?
You don't revel in their childishness at every moment?
You need a break sometimes?
What kind of parent are you?
I have had mothers tell me that I shouldn't *want* to be apart from my family. That I shouldn't *need* to be away from my children. That I should choose joy in my daily duties, and fulfillment in the life I have.
Let me be clear. I do choose joy, and I choose to be fulfilled.
There are, however, days, weeks, or months that are horror filled.
These times leave me ragged and exhausted. I need a break. From my children. The ones that I love and wouldn't trade for anything.
Sometimes I need a quiet couple of hours after they go to bed.
Sometimes I need a day of being alone, or with other adults.
Sometimes I long for a weekend of refreshment.

Yes, there are days when Mr. TheZoo comes home from working a long, difficult, tiring day, and I tell him that "you need to please go take care of the discipline now, because if I continue, it won't be discipline, it will be punishment borne from my fatigue." He understands, and helps.
He realized that we both have difficult jobs, that we are both grateful for the jobs we have, and that we both need breaks from our jobs.

Please, don't even let the idea of a family vacation escape your brain. Family vacation, for mom, equals all the things she does at home, but on the move in some new environment. Often, it's a dirtier environment, and it includes keeping the children from falling in rivers, or fires, or off of cliffs, or from getting lost in crowds.

How does this resemble relaxing? How does this constitute a break?

It DOESN'T!!!

Yeah, I just yelled there.

Please, if you have a minute, and you know moms with little ones, please offer to help out a bit.
I don't mean for an hour, or even two hours.

If she lives in a place like I do, it takes that long just to get to someplace. Offer for the afternoon.
Really.

Here's my ideal rest afternoon.

I want to peruse darling little shops that I can not enter with my children.  I have a creative mind, and seeing things other people have done sparks ideas.  I can't take a passel of littles into those tiny cramped shops with all the darling breakables and valuable antiques.

I want to hangout in a bookstore or library. Not run in, grab the book I need, and run out. I want to peruse. I want to look at the book covers and read the backs. I want to flip through books and sample bits and pieces before choosing what to leave with.

I want to sit in a coffee shop and read, and/or visit with a friend. Uninterrupted.

I'm not entirely certain that I still know how to carry on a conversation without stopping midsentence to take care of some minor emergency. I'd like to find out, though.

When you see a mom of small ones raising their hand up in the international distress signal for drowning, please be available to toss out the life preserver.

It doesn't have to be for a full weekend, just one afternoon!

And, hey, you've raised your kiddos, right? You know how to do this!

Thanks.

The Squeaky Shoe Debate

"They are so cute!"
"Where can I find those boots!"
"Oh, I want those!"
These are the  things people say about my littlest ones zebra striped boots.
They are fun, cute boots.
Then. Then she walks around in them. And. They squeak.
Okay, I had a strong dislike for squeaky shoes until I bought a pair.
I have piles and piles of children, so I like that I can hear where the youngest one is and whether she is taking off.
It seems that the moms that liked squeaky shoes before didn't like them now.
Someone once said to me "I guess you'll think twice about her shoe selection next time."
Hrmmmm. That wasn't even subtle!
"I wouldn't have my child wear those anyplace but home!", another mom said.
Seriously? At home? I know where my little ones are at home. I don't want to hear that at home! When we are out, and there's a lot of ambient noise, and my children have an opportunity for escape...that's when I want the squeaky shoes.
So. My youngest will keep wearing the squeaky shoes. Besides, the squeaker only works in one shoe. That makes it only half as annoying, right?
Anyone else want super cute squeaky shoes? I got my boots at HHH Mama Boutique. You can click the link to their website, and you can also find them on facebook.
I'm looking at their cute sandals right now. Watch the facebook page for sales, they have them often.
By the way, I didn't get compensated to promote HHH Mama Boutique, I just really like their stuff!