Motherhood Made a Man out of Me. Well, not really, but I thought it was a clever title so I checked the novel out of the library this week. I'll let you know if it's any good.
Recently in my neighborhood mom's group, we've been talking a lot about wanting to protect our children. One mother saw a group of teenagers make fun of the way her 8 year old walked on his way to school one morning. Luckily he didn't notice the teenagers, but she was livid that the teenagers would be so heartless. Another mom was upset because some older children told her preschooler that he was a baby and that they didn't play with little boys like him.
Every mother has had that heart-breaking moment when you see your child being put down by another child. I know it's happened with John several times. I wanted to just reach out and grab that little boy and say "Be nice. He's a really great little guy. I know you'd really like him." I just wanted to protect him. I didn't want him to experience the pain of not being cool enough, of not being accepted, of not fitting in. But no matter how much you wish it, you can't keep your child from being a part of our world. And, unfortunately, part of being part of our world is dealing with people who aren't always nice.
So when those moments happen, I remind myself that I can't control what other children do or say. What I can do is teach my boys how to be kind and caring, how to treat others with respect. What I can do is work to give my boys the confidence to know that it's okay, that it's not the end of the world if someone doesn't want to play with you, that they are still great people no matter what.
It reminded me of a Top Ten Tuesday post from November 6, 2007. So this week's Top Ten Tuesday post is a reprint of that one.
Top Ten Things I Hope for My Children
10. I hope they will be financially responsible.
9. I hope they will have a good work ethic.
8. I hope they will find a career that they are passionate about and truly enjoy.
7. I hope they will enjoy nature, books, time with their family, music and crafts.
6. I hope they will be more athletic than me or at least not as scared to try.
5. I hope they will find true love.
4. I hope they will grow up to be confident in themselves.
3. I hope they will grow up to be both caring and kind.
2. I hope they will always treat others with respect.
1. I hope they will always know how very loved they are.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Movie Monday: Double Feature Edition
John was just being hilarious this weekend. He was just "on." So this week we have two movies.
The first one (35 seconds) is of a game John started playing. I'm not quite sure what he was saying or doing, but it made us laugh so we filmed him. The expressions on Norm's face are pretty funny too.
The second one (60 seconds) is John dancing. Don't know why he decided to do it on the chairs, but he did. We probably should have made him get down, but he was being way too funny to stop him. Now that's good parenting. Oh well.
Hope these movies make you laugh. Have a lovely Monday!
The first one (35 seconds) is of a game John started playing. I'm not quite sure what he was saying or doing, but it made us laugh so we filmed him. The expressions on Norm's face are pretty funny too.
The second one (60 seconds) is John dancing. Don't know why he decided to do it on the chairs, but he did. We probably should have made him get down, but he was being way too funny to stop him. Now that's good parenting. Oh well.
Hope these movies make you laugh. Have a lovely Monday!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Photo Friday: The Boys Edition
We had such a blast with Kristin, Chris and Oscar. I'm so glad they came to visit us and I can't wait to go out to Oregon to visit them. They were just the most wonderful house guests and we had so much fun. It was great to watch John and Norm hanging out with their cousin Oscar. Oscar is such a cutie! Here are some pics of the three little cuties.
John and I being silly.
John showing off the chocolate Brian brought back from the Ritz Carlton.
John decorating a pumpkin at a local nursery.
Oscar and John "shopping" in their pjs.
Oscar enjoying the slide at our neighborhood park.
John and Oscar in the double stroller.
Norm and Oscar
John eating his first doughnut--yes, he finally tried one!
Norm being his smiley little self.
John showing off his artwork he made to take to Ms. Chris, his teacher.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
John and I being silly.
John showing off the chocolate Brian brought back from the Ritz Carlton.
John decorating a pumpkin at a local nursery.
Oscar and John "shopping" in their pjs.
Oscar enjoying the slide at our neighborhood park.
John and Oscar in the double stroller.
Norm and Oscar
John eating his first doughnut--yes, he finally tried one!
Norm being his smiley little self.
John showing off his artwork he made to take to Ms. Chris, his teacher.Have a good weekend, everyone!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
To wear or not to wear? That is the question.
I've been thinking about potty-training for a while now. John started showing interest in using the potty shortly before his second birthday in March. We bought a potty seat and he peed in the potty once or twice a day for a few weeks. He even pooped in it once. Then we went to Virginia for Easter and he lost all interest in the potty. When we got home, we didn't push it because we knew we had a lot of change coming with Norm soon to arrive and the move to happen shortly thereafter.
After we moved to Texas in June, John became interested in using the potty again. He would use it as a stalling technique before naptime and bedtime. What mom can say no to her two year old telling her he wanted to pee and poop in the potty? Since then John has used the potty before almost every naptime and bedtime. He usually pees and poops. It's great! I've had to change less than 10 poopy toddler diapers since July.
We've since bought some underwear (Sesame Street, of course) and we talk a lot about when John is going to start wearing underwear and putting ALL of his pee and poop in the potty. John really wants to wear his new underwear although he sometimes wants to wear it on his head.
I keep delaying the move to underwear. I didn't want to do it right after Norm was born or right after we moved to Texas or right after we moved into our house or right after John started school or right before we went to Virginia for the triplets' birthday. We had family in town with us this week (Brian's sister, her husband and 14 month old son--we had a blast!). I had decided that after their visit I would bite the bullet and put John in underpants. They left yesterday.
In general, I feel we're off to a good start with the pooping and I just want to get the whole thing over with. Potty-training is like this huge mommy hurdle that I have to jump over, another big test of motherhood I have to pass like getting him to sleep through the night. I'm anxious about it and I just want to get it over with. However, the time has come and I just don't think either of us are quite ready. John pooped in his diaper at school today. Last night he was sitting on the potty, but still managed to pee all over the floor. I was not as calm and supportive about it as I should have been (he does know how to get it IN the potty). No, we are definitely not quite ready for underwear yet. Damn. I was really ready to get this over with. Hopefully sometime soon. Hopefully.
After we moved to Texas in June, John became interested in using the potty again. He would use it as a stalling technique before naptime and bedtime. What mom can say no to her two year old telling her he wanted to pee and poop in the potty? Since then John has used the potty before almost every naptime and bedtime. He usually pees and poops. It's great! I've had to change less than 10 poopy toddler diapers since July.
We've since bought some underwear (Sesame Street, of course) and we talk a lot about when John is going to start wearing underwear and putting ALL of his pee and poop in the potty. John really wants to wear his new underwear although he sometimes wants to wear it on his head.
I keep delaying the move to underwear. I didn't want to do it right after Norm was born or right after we moved to Texas or right after we moved into our house or right after John started school or right before we went to Virginia for the triplets' birthday. We had family in town with us this week (Brian's sister, her husband and 14 month old son--we had a blast!). I had decided that after their visit I would bite the bullet and put John in underpants. They left yesterday.
In general, I feel we're off to a good start with the pooping and I just want to get the whole thing over with. Potty-training is like this huge mommy hurdle that I have to jump over, another big test of motherhood I have to pass like getting him to sleep through the night. I'm anxious about it and I just want to get it over with. However, the time has come and I just don't think either of us are quite ready. John pooped in his diaper at school today. Last night he was sitting on the potty, but still managed to pee all over the floor. I was not as calm and supportive about it as I should have been (he does know how to get it IN the potty). No, we are definitely not quite ready for underwear yet. Damn. I was really ready to get this over with. Hopefully sometime soon. Hopefully.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Movie Monday: Norm's Trick Edition
As you know, Norm started cereal last week. Well, here he is doing his favorite trick.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Yes, I Can
Lydee asked if I could make the Halloween Ghosties into fingerpuppets and the answer is:
Yes, I can.
I used Jean Greenhowe's pattern, but only closed one end of the ghost. I added the three loops to the top of that end of the ghost. I then used doublepoint needles (size 5 because that's what I had handy) to pick up two stitches on the side of the ghost. I then did i-cord for 5 rows. For row 6, I knit 2 together and then bound off the stitch. I repeated this on the second side. Wove in all yarn ends. And my first fingerpuppet was complete. These are even more fun than the softies because they are faster. I've made four now, but only photographed the first one. On Ravelry here.
Happy October, everyone!
Yes, I can.
I used Jean Greenhowe's pattern, but only closed one end of the ghost. I added the three loops to the top of that end of the ghost. I then used doublepoint needles (size 5 because that's what I had handy) to pick up two stitches on the side of the ghost. I then did i-cord for 5 rows. For row 6, I knit 2 together and then bound off the stitch. I repeated this on the second side. Wove in all yarn ends. And my first fingerpuppet was complete. These are even more fun than the softies because they are faster. I've made four now, but only photographed the first one. On Ravelry here.
Happy October, everyone!
Friday, October 3, 2008
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