Face Reality

October 31, 2014October 31, 2014Leave a comment

I came home ready to play around with the kiddos. They had friends over and I was gonna challenge them all to a game of Monopoly. I walked in the door and yelled hello. They came booking up the stairs from the basement to greet me. Mario and Rowan told me about their Beyblade challenges and Ri and Henley told me about the show they were watching. Rocco jumped all over me.
Then my phone rang.
Work needed me. “Can you send documents ASAP?”
I scurried around my email trying to find the documents. My computer was acting up, of course. I was getting irritated and pounding on the computer keys as if that would make the documents readily appear. The phone rang again. “Are you sending them?”
Arghhh. Twenty minutes later, I found them and angrily sent them off.
Meanwhile, the kids were sliding down the steps on their beanbags and spilling food everywhere. They were having a blast. I didn’t feel too bad that I had been pulled away for work since they were actually happy about it (another 20 minutes together!). But I did feel irritated and overwhelmed
In general. Then I stewed about the request for an hour afterward.
Jon told me to get over it – nice and simple. And he was right. And he’s a good example of how to get over it. He doesn’t stew. He let’s it go, turns on the game, and chills. I want to get there.
I don’t know how many times I’ve had to answer emails or a phone call after 5 pm. I can safely say a lot. So why am I getting so upset when I know it’s par for the course at times? I think it had to do with the house being a mess, my my expectations of coming home and having the kids swarm around me and all of us sing kumbya together, and the dog going nuts. In other words, living in a different reality. I should be grounded in the fact by now that the dog is gonna go nuts when I walk in the door, the house is gonna be a mess, and the kids are not gonna twirl me around in a circle singing “you are the best mom ever!”
As this article adeptly points out “Face Reality!” If I know that work may ring and interrupt my evening, then I can change my thinking from “dammit, the stupid phone!” to “I will take this call for 10 minutes and then be with the kids .”
At the same time, though, I need to keep some perspective and set limits to when I will and won’t answer work calls. If they call before 6:30 or after 9, I will respond. Anytime in between is dinner and kid time. An exception may be needed here and there but I think that is not unreasonable for the normal course.
I continue to appreciate it is all a learning process and will continue to be. A few years ago, I would have bawled my eyes out with a call like that coming through.
“That’s 20 minutes I didn’t get with my babies and they need me.”
Now, they don’t need me so much. They need their friends…and the computer…and Austin and Ally. It’s not quite as traumatic when the work phone rings and I need to get on it for a few minutes. And it’s also not as hard to let it go to voicemail at times – like when it’s 8 pm and I’ve just finished the dishes and feeding the kids and getting homework done and reading a story to them. I am getting better at turning that phone off when I need to – and doing something I want – even if it’s getting the mail, looking at the latest Title IX catalog and standing at the kitchen counter eating a handful of Cheez-Its.
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Wyman Woods opens!

October 28, 2014October 28, 2014Leave a comment

Wyman Woods re-opened to a good-sized crowd – mostly parents and excited kids – on Saturday. Mario was so charged up about getting to participate in the flag ceremony as a Boy Scout. Jon took him to practice his march and stances with the other scouts in the morning. He is dead serious about his responsibilities as a Boy Scout.
The boys met Ri and I back at the house. I took the kids down to the park early because Mario had to be there 30 minutes before the grand opening ceremony to practice more. I’m telling you – serious! I parked on my parents’ old street, Glendale. It dead ends to a woods trail that leads to Wyman Woods park. I used to take the kids down that trail to the woods all the time when they were toddlers. They loved climbing the hills and looking for goodies – acorns and leaves and funky-formed rocks. It was a gorgeous Fall day and about 60 degrees outside. I was immersed with gratitude and joy as we walked down the hill together. My eyes filled up with tears and I stooped dead in my tracks.
“Look at this amazing day. Look at you amazing kids. How much you’ve grown. I just want to take this in for a minute.”
Both kids laughed at me and gave me hugs. “Now come on mom!”
The playground is awesome. Sponge-like mat around the entire area and super cool equipment. The shelter house is beautiful, too. And they served sheet cake! Whoo-hoo.

Of course, despite all the cool new equipment, Ri still gravitated to her tried and true pine tree that she has climbed since preschool.
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Grandma Lolo used to have a heart attack watching Ri climb so high.
And after a bit on the playground, Mario gravitated to the large rock he loves at the edge of the woods. He convinced me to climb to the top and slide down the other side until you reach the edge and have to leap off. To be seven. My tailbone is still bruised.
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Mario did a wonderful job marching with the flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with his troop. He liked all eyes on him.
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After the pledge of allegiance, the scout leader dismissed the boys and in the silence between the dismissal and the first speaker, all you could hear were boys’ laughter and shouts as they ran to the playground to continue their play.
Jon and I stayed for over an hour after the dedication ceremony talking to our former neighbors and other Grandview families. The kids ran around with other kids, Mario played football with a gang of boys, and Ri scaled the climbing wall with Ally, a girl in her class.
The day could not have been better – beautiful, warm sun shining down on us; gorgeous Fall leaves surrounding us; friends in the community to chat with; and my family next to me. Oh, and of course, sheet cake.
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(Jon was there but he is not a fan of selfies!).>

Blessed

October 27, 2014October 27, 2014Leave a comment

There are days I feel so incredibly blessed to have my children in my life. And days, well, I really can’t fathom why I have been cursed with my hellions.
Yesterday was a day of blessing.
Jon and Mario headed out early for the Bengals game in Cincy. They went with one of Mario’s football team mates and his dad. Jon was excited to take him to his first pro game, and Mario was excited to hang with his dad all day.

We saw the boys off and then we headed around the streets of Grandview – Ri on her bike and me on my feet – to try to find a friend’s blue parrot who had escaped during the night out an open bedroom window.
We yelled “NoDo” throughout the neighborhood streets and squinted up at the old regal oaks trying to spot the bird among the colorful leaves. The baby blue of the sky contrasting with the deep brown branches and primary colored leaves left me in awe. I stopped Ri on her bike and pointed upwards.
“Isn’t it gorgeous?”
“NoDo!” She yelled for the twentieth time. Give this girl a task involving helping someone, and she is on it.
We thought we heard the parrot on a few occasions. We’d stop in our tracks. Ri would quietly dismount from her bike. We’d walk under the tree where the noises were heard and wait. We saw a blue jay, a chickadee, a bright red robin, but no parrot. We walked past the friend’s house and saw the empty bird cage on the porch – metal door swung open – food lying all around in a valiant effort to entice the lost bird back to its home.
We sighed.
Ri had soccer at 12:45 and Mama Meg and Peepaw were coming to watch so we had to hurry home to get Rocco for our Stauf’s trip. I love Stauf’s trips with my girl. Always laughter and darling comments. I told her to get her bike while I got Rocco and meet me out front. When I walked out the door, she was standing on the step with no bike.
“Whatcha doing?”
“I thought I’d walk with you, mom.”
I pretended to faint.
This girl does not like to walk anywhere. She will get on her scooter or her bike even if we are going around the block (she later told me that she wanted to make my day do she sucked up the walk).
We held hands as we walked up the street. I talked for Rocco half the time because she thinks it’s hilarious. She kept me entertained by adding her two cents.
She wanted to order our food and my coffee. She even brought me out a side of milk to add to my coffee and some cinnamon to sprinkle on too. She is a doll baby girl.
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Rocco loves her to death, too because she gives him pieces of her bagel. He pushes his wet nose against her thigh and licks her hand constantly until he gets another nibble. Spoiled completely.
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She wanted to hold Rocco’s leash on the way home. Don’t you know he stayed by her side and never pulled her once? She’s got him wrapped around her cream cheese finger.
Grandma Meg and Peepaw were at the house when we got home and we piled in the car to take Ri to her soccer game. They got to see my girl running the field and me screaming commands and encouragement to Ri and her team the entire game. I’m born to coach.
Afterwards, we went to Jason’s Deli for some lunch and free soft serve. Ri got her meatballa sub, which was yummy. Peepaw got two rounds of chocolate soft serve and that affirmed my close relation to him. We can’t resist our chocolate.
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We worked on homework after Mama Meg and Peepaw left. That was even enjoyable as we worked on definitions together. Then we took Henley to Giant Eagle to grocery shop and get a gelato. Those two are hilarious together.
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We ended the evening playing States of America and drinking hot chocolate. The boys sauntered in at 8 pm after having an awesome time at the Bengals game. Mario scored a football player’s glove as he and Jon took a picture after the game. That kid is just plain lucky. He gave Jon a huge hug before bed and told him sweetly “I love you dad!” I tucked Ri in and she gave me a hug I could not escape. She, too, whispered that she loved me. I held on tight around her torso and whispered “I love you too, doll baby” right in her precious ear.
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Another Fall weekend

October 20, 2014October 20, 2014Leave a comment

Another gorgeous Fall weekend. I can’t keep myself indoors – the pup is well-exercised these days.
Saturday was a bit rainy in the afternoon but I had errands to run anyway. I dropped Ri off at her birthday party way out in Canal Winchester (anywhere not within five miles of the house is far away to me). Ri took a very excited Alana to the party, too. Lots of gymnastics and lots of snacks.

I bought a huge flower pot while I waited on the girls to plant my elephant ear plant in this winter. I think I got one that is way too big because it is drooping big time and looks close to death after only one day. I couldn’t get a green thumb if some planted it in green dye. I am pathetic when it comes to tending to plants.
I picked up Ri and Alana and took them to Alana’s house to spend another night with Grandma Ionno. Thank god for that woman – gave me and Jon a bit of alone time this weekend. We treated ourselves to lobster and crab dip at the Fish Market. It’s been a while and we needed it. Don’t we look relaxed and happy?!
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I went and saw the Judge starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. That movie could have been the dumbest movie on Earth and it still would have been worthwhile to see because of Robert Downy, Jr. Lordy, Lordy. But it ended up being a pretty good movie, absent him. And I cried my eyes out through the ending credits, on my way home and for 20 minutes at home. That’s what movies about family and perseverance and loss do to me. But Milk Duds and popcorn made it better.
My Sunday could not have been more joyous. I woke up to a four mile run while listening to NPR and then came home to take Rocco on a six mile run through the woods and around some of the Columbus Marathon route. The woods were magical with the multi-colored leaves strewn everywhere and the light streaming in through the branches of the trees. Hallelujah.
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I arrived home to my man trimming the bushes and I grabbed my rake to help in the yard. Strangely, I love doing yard work together.
The kids arrived home at 11 in time for Patty to hit church. I bundled them up and we headed up to First Avenue to watch the Marathon. The music blared and the runners sweated it out. I loved the vibe. The kids loved the face painting and ballon maker. Mario got his sword, of course. The rest of them got crazy hats. And they all got face paint – Ri went with an OSU theme and Mario went with a tiger. Alana got a cheetah and Gio got a scary skeleton.
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After 45 minutes playing around at those stations, we finally arrived at Stauf’s for a much-needed coffee. Mario had a dollar on him and asked me how much a chocolate chip scone cost. I knew what he wanted to do – treat me to a scone. He knows how much I love them. I told him I thought they were $1 and then motioned to the cashier that I’d pay for the rest. He ordered a scone. She bagged it up and gave it to him. He tapped me as I made my coffee and handed me the bag.
“I got this for you, mom.”
I loved all over him and told him what a sweet son he was and he ate all my words up. He loves being generous as long as the person acknowledges his generosity fully…!
We sat down at a table and played chess. He wanted to teach me all he has learned from his chess club at school. The girls played War and Gio played Dominoes.
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Patty met us at Stauf’s and we all walked home while cheering on the last of the runners (Mario’s take on the last runners: “they need to work harder so they aren’t last.”). Patty resolved to doing the Marathon next year so I’m doing the same (if I will ever let my leg heal).
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We went to Ri’s soccer game and I was loud and cheering her on as usual. I get so excited and can’t keep quiet. I was born to coach, I think.
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After the game, we finished up the yard and sat down to a family meal of chicken and twice baked potatoes (Patty is the queen of those babies!).
We ended the night with an epic jump in the leaf pile created throughout the day. Sophie and Pax joined in the fun.
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One more walk for Rocco, a bed time story about Danny the Diamondback, and a Klondlike bar, and the night was over. Goodnight.
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Give me the Ribs!

October 17, 2014October 17, 2014Leave a comment

Pure joy on Maria’s face. Ya know why? Three words…
Baby back ribs.
The girl is her father’s child. She adores ribs. They’ve never enticed me but Jon loves them.
We went down to Barley’s for kids eat free night with the Markle clan. I knew I’d have trouble getting Ri to eat off the kids menu – she’s been trying for those adult meals for the last few months. And Barley’s has nothing much she likes on the kids menu. That fact combined with the fact that Barley’s has ribs led to her non-stop pleading to me.
“Why don’t you get pulled chicken? That sounds good.”
“I don’t like that mom.”
“How about corn dogs. Mario’s getting those.”
“That’s all Mario ever gets, mom. I just want ribs.”
The waitress came over to get our order and I asked about the ribs. She told us that they come in half and full orders and there’s two kinds: those pulled from the side of the pig or those from the back of the pig. Just the thought made me cringe and I thought for sure Ri would shutter in disgust, after all, I had to stop reading Charlotte’s Web to her the other night because she was so sad the farmer was going to kill the little pig.

“I want the ribs from the side, mom.”

And I swear those ribs were devoured within fifteen minutes of being served. Along with a side of baked beans.

Spectacular everything

October 16, 2014October 16, 2014Leave a comment

Another rip-roaring weekend last weekend. Moving non-stop but loving it because the weather was so amazing – crisp and sunny.
Ri had a sleepover with Sophie on Friday night. Jon reminded me she had soccer on Saturday morning and I expected when I told Ri that she’d have to go, she would pitch a fit. But I was pleasantly surprised by her reaction.
“Ok, mom.”
She’s really digging soccer. I cannot get over it. This is the girl who, for years, has been adamant that she does not want to play soccer.
“Too much running.”
This was always her response. Thank goodness for Henley deciding to play because that is the only reason Ri agreed to sign up – she was losing her friend during Mario’s football practice. Henley has a brother on the football team, too, so they’d play at the park while their brothers practiced. But then soccer started.
It was gradual love affair. At first, Ri would look at me on the sidelines and plead to come out of practice to get more water. Or she’d say her side hurt. But she never left practice saying she didn’t want to play anymore. And with more practices, she asked to come out less and less.
On the way to her game on Sunday, she proclaimed “I love soccer!”
I smiled so wide it felt like I could touch both ears with the sides of my mouth.

Ri and Mario had birthday parties on Saturday afternoon. Jon took Mario to his and I took Ri to hers. I love the girl who had the party – she chose gem mining at a local cave for her party activity. All the girls were talking about getting dirty and finding cool stones. Awesome.
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I got myself a much-needed Yi’s Relaxation Station massage. 40 minutes for $40 and they go to town on you. Even so much as climbing on the massage table to walk on your back. Heaven. And chocolate bars to take home afterwards.
Patty and I picked up Ri from her party and headed to Hilliard for Mario’s last football game. They played under the lights at 7:30 pm. He was excited. Patrick and the kids came to watch, too. Very sweet. Mario and all of his teammates played so hard and ended up in a tie. It was a great season – Mario had so much fun and made friends with second and third graders, which helped so much at the beginning of school.
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Meanwhile, Ri, Henley and Alana could have cared less about Mario or football. They spent the entire time on the jungle gym.
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On Sunday, I got a long run in with the Rocco pup and then went Halloween shopping with Patty and the kids. That was at once hilarious and maddening. The kids look so precious and goofy in their costumes and masks they try on but it gets frustrating waiting for someone to help you determine whether they have the costume in your size and then trying the daggone thing on over clothes and shoes and kids who fuss and whine over the proper placement of the shoulder pads or sleeves (aka Mario).
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It’s also quite sad looking at the selection of costumes for girls. Boys have doctors in scrubs, Spider-Man, werewolves, firemen. Girls have nurses in skirts barely falling below the top of their behinds, wonder women in tight tank tops and belly shirts, and princesses in sleeveless chiffon. I love my girl who after looking at all of the outfits remarked: “I don’t like any of these. They are too pink and not scary at all.” We ended up in the boy section. This is the first one she tried.
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Mario simply wanted anything that came with a horrible looking face and some type of weapon. That was nearly half of the costumes for his age.
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We finally arrived at a pirate costume for Ri and a grim reaper for Mario. And 10 Hershey kisses for the road.
Ri had a killer soccer game and we came home to steaks on the grill and twice baked potatoes thanks to Patty.
A weekend of spectaculars – spectacular weather, spectacular sports, spectacular family, and spectacular food.
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Canine love, and baby too

October 8, 2014October 8, 2014Leave a comment

Ok, so this article explains why – 9 months pregnant – I was worried that I’d never love Maria as much as I loved my pup, Cy. And why, even when Ri was born, I sometimes felt a closer connection to Cy than to my newborn. Those first few months, all Ri did was cry and feed and poop. But then there was Cy who stared at me with sweet eyes, licked me, and jumped up and down every time I came near him.
I figured my feelings were all screwed because of hormones but this article confirms that dogs bring on the same positive, loving responses that children do. And I’m sure if the study would have went deeper, it may have found that your pup actually elicits more positive reaction from you when your child is a crying newborn and you are a first time mom…!
Now, I did eventually grow to wholeheartedly love and adore sweet Ri after I settled into the fact of being a mom to a human baby – not a canine one. She eventually looked up at me with adoring eyes and goo’d at me and I was forever gone – she had my heart over any four-legged creature (and yes, Mario, too).
Now, if I look at nine-year-old Ri or seven-year-old Mario and then at Rocco, I can confidently state that I am a thousand times more in love and dedicated to my human babies.
But I still do get a tingle in my soul when I walk in the house and Rocco comes rushing towards me with tail a waggin’ and tongue a lickin’. Especially when those human babes are fighting and screaming and carrying on like animals.

Boy Scout Camp

October 4, 2014October 4, 2014Leave a comment

I don’t have a twenty-year old body anymore. Here I was doggin’ on my girlfriend who swore she would never sleep on the ground in a tent.
“You’re a wuss. Sleeping on the ground is wonderful – being one with nature. Just pitch a tent and snuggle in your sleeping bag….”
There was no convincing her.
After Saturday night in a three-person tent with Ri and Mario, I’m starting to be swayed over to her side.
I thought I’d be fine with just a foam pad. I made fun of my girlfriend who drug out a twin mattress from the lodge and placed it in her tent. But damn if I didn’t want to pull one out in the middle of the night as I tossed and turned next to Ri and Mario. They were perfectly sound asleep – with no foam pad. To be a kid.
I woke up with quite the headache and my back felt like little trolls had stomped on it all night. But thank goodness for the drip coffee – sharp and black at 6 in the morning. All the parents looked bleary-eyed and in serious need of more sleep. I wasn’t in it alone. Meanwhile, the kids jumped around like those tiny plastic toys on springs that hop high in the sky when you press them on a flat surface.

Mario loved Boy Scout camp. He loved pitching a tent. He loved hanging with his guy friends. He loved running around in the woods. Maria loved it, too. She killed it in the beebee gun activity. She was like a sharp shooter – rarely missing the target.

I asked her if she’d help her dad out in hunting turkeys and she quickly responded that she would not kill an animal with a gun – she just liked shooting at cans. Those turkeys are lucky.
Mario loved finding gems and fishing, of course. He has got quite the fishing bug in him. The fish were not biting but he refused to leave until the volunteers closed the area.
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After the activities, we dragged all of our camping gear out of the car and found a spot amidst the other tents. We did not get a spot right next to Quinn but I was proud of Mario for not throwing a fit. It didn’t matter anyway because all of the boys were running around and jumping in and out of all the tents.
The evening was a lot of fun. The boys played football; Maria learned how to knit with another mom and acted as babysitter to a boy scout’s little sister (she loved that)! I got to talk with some fun parents and soak up a gorgeous night.
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After the wood fire ceremony, the scout leaders sent everyone to bed and surprisingly, Ri and Mario went straight into their sleeping bags. One great thing about Boy Scouts is that Mario actually listens and abides by the words of his scout leaders. They were both asleep by 9:30. I figured I better get to bed, too, knowing I’d be up off and on through the night. As confirmed above, good thinking on my part.
We woke up to omelets in a bag. Sounds rather unappetizing but they were actually quite good. Liquid eggs, cheese, veggies all thrown in a ziplock bag and heated in boiling water. What I learned at Boy Scout camp (I also learned that ketchup crystallizes when heated so it’s better to write kids’ names on foil with ketchup rather than marker when making their food over the fire because it won’t melt away their names – love these little tricks)! Of course, Mario was repulsed at the omelet in a bag so he proceeded to eat only the muffins and cinnamon rolls – until he got scolded politely by one if the leaders that no one could eat the muffins until the omelets were made. But not even the scout leaders scared him – he grabbed one more when he thought no one was looking – he will break any rules for sugar.
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My girl and I devoured the omelets and the rolls and the muffins. We will try anything.
So glad we decided to go on the trip and so excited about future camping with my sweet Boy Scout.
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What’s it gonna be like?

September 24, 2014Leave a comment

What is it gonna be like when I don’t have to nag at the kids to get ready in the morning?
When I don’t have to walk or drive them to school?
When I don’t have to take them upstairs and make sure they brush their teeth?
When I don’t have to read them a bedtime book?
When I don’t have to fix them five different things for dinner?
When I don’t have to get them water after they’ve snuggled into bed?

Will I pace the house ready to explode?
Will I veg in front of my computer staring at Facebook?
Will I workout five times a day?
Will I start a blog titled “Me and my empty nest?”

These babies fill up every free moment I have right now. It’s hard to wrap my head around the thought of that not being the status quo.

This morning, Ri and Mario biked to Stauf’s while I ran beside them with Rocco. Rocco nearly pulled my arm out of socket when he chased a motorcycle. The kids nearly fell off their bikes laughing so hard. These moments are priceless and beautiful. They fill me up with joy for the day – the random smiles that come over my face as I walk to meetings are sparked by those moments being re-played in my head… Mario embracing Rocco before he heads into school. Maria smiling at me as she turns around to skip up the street to meet friends.

Learning a lesson

September 23, 2014September 23, 20143 Comments

Yes, this little angel racked up $45 worth of charges from iTunes on Sunday afternoon. I received an email yesterday confirming his multiple purchases of dragon gems – gems used to buy more animals in Dragonvale. He had asked me in the previous days if he could purchase them and I had agreed here and there to let buy some for $1.99. He also paid me $1.99 to buy some (and yes, the gems are used up in three seconds). He found out my password for iTunes a while back. Ri spilled the beans. But he has been very good about not buying anything unless he asks me first.
That little angelic voice inside his head must have turned evil on Sunday causing him to go on a gem shopping spree.
I called him after school and told him I knew about the purchases. He whispered sorry. I told him we’d talk more about it when I got home. He said ok and didn’t seen too worried. When I got home, he was playing on the computer. “Hi mom!” He seemed to have forgotten all about our conversation.
I went in and spoke with Jon. He and I walked into the kitchen and asked Mario why he bought the gems without asking me. He looked down and mouthed “sorry.” Jon opened up Mario’s wallet and took all $39 out if it. “No technology all week dude. And you still owe us $6.”
Mario bit at his lower lip. His eyes swelled with tears. He continued to look down or away from us so that we would not see him upset.
I asked Jon to go to the next room. I pleaded for Mario. “Let’s not take all his money. Let’s let him work to get it back at least….” What a wuss, I am. I even second-guessed taking away technology for the week. Thank god I have Jon to impose some much-needed discipline.
We walked back into the kitchen and Jon asked Mario what he thought his punishment should be. Mario didn’t know. Jon eventually sent him up to his room to clean it and told him that he needed to learn a lesson – that’s why he’d be banned from technology for the week and have to earn back some of his money by doing chores. Smart result and one I could not have instituted without Jon. I am so bad at punishing!
Mario went upstairs.
I went up later to check on him. I still felt bad for him even though I knew he knew that what he did was wrong. How did I become such a softie when I became a mom? I would have ripped into other people who took $45 from me!
He was lying in his bed staring at his blinds. I told him we loved him but he had to learn a lesson. He turned his head over my way and burst out crying. “But you took every last penny I had earned in my entire life!”
He turned back to the shades. Confirmation: if we want to teach Mario a lesson and make it stick – take away his money.
I left him alone and he eventually came downstairs. He walked past me as I tried to hug him so I kept doing the dishes.
“Can we play Old Maid” he asked softly.
Of course, I replied. And he and Ri and I played a hand. Then we went upstairs to get ready for bed. He got his wish to have a pillow fight (Ri and Mario both knocked me a good one). I read them Baby Brains (our new favorite book). Ri and I rubbed his back, and he fell to sleep.
He woke this morning as I was heading down the stairs to take a run. He asked to go with me. I reminded him that he could not play on technology (which I knew would be a deal-breaker). He asked if he could go downstairs and play Wii. I grabbed his arms as he jumped on my back for a piggy back ride.
I placed him on the couch and he turned on the Wii as I got my iPod to listen to NPR on my run. No tantrums about not being able to play on the computer. I even came home to a happy guy. He read off the vitamin percentages in Honey Nut Cherrios to me and then told me he loved me as he headed out the door standing close to his dad.
He must understand that discipline is not the end of the world … now, I just need to understand that….

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"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: Kids