Tomorrow I go “back to school”, well actually back to work which is with the public schools, so school and work are equivalent for me. For the first time (outside of maternity leave which frankly does not count as time off) I did not “work” during the summer. I decided to have the job of mommy be my only occupation. I must admit prior to the summer beginning I was nervous about the task at hand. Being a working mom and being a home based mom are both challenging in their own ways, but I have the working mom “thing” down fairly well or I hope so at least being over three years into it. Being home I was worried about how I would structure the days for the boys; I was worried they would be bored (translate cranky) or overly feisty (translate aggressive). I worried about providing an enriching experience (art & music) and I worried what to make them for lunch; yes lunch. Lunch is something I don’t normally think about. They are provided lunch and snacks at school and on the weekends we are generally out one day so lunches are a minimal mental commitment for me. Happily they and I survived both the lunches and the long days and along the way I managed to learn a few things about them and myself.
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Will visiting the Stone Zoo
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1. Potty training is harder than you expect. You need to really block out a few weeks that you will never leave the house (and never need a diaper) in order to get a big jump in progress here. I guess it would help if the child involved was motivated to be a potty user (mine? …no). But when the motivation is only attached to receiving a reward, then frustration kicks in as the reward can not be attained at will. Think days of living through, “”oh I want that toy now so I will sit on the potty for an hour to get it”. This approach does not work, not for me and defiantly not for Will. It has also reinforced for me that three year olds don’t yet have the ability to necessarily get “the big picture” on some things, despite their vocabulary saying otherwise.
2. I’ve learned that white wine (and for some reason only white) makes me angry. I had gotten away from white and decided to try it again this summer. Too many evenings I’d find myself getting too angry too quickly after only 1 glass. End game = stick with red! 3. You should never let your three year old boy choose your toe nail color. I sported green toes for weeks. 4. While traveling for an extended number of days, its best to pack for a third of the time and do laundry. There is less to pack and haul around and it is really nice to come home with clean clothes. 5. Beware of Amazon Prime – it is way too easy to shop from home and just shop and shop…. 6. Lunch was easier than expected. Toddlers (well mine at least) don’t really want a daily special. Sticking with the fan favorites and a small rotation did the trick. |
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7. I learned that you can happily throw rocks for close to an hour and not get board.
8. Cook in bulk (as appropriate). I need to fatten up the big guy so we are serving bacon – real bacon- daily. If you’re going to cook it then ‘cook it’. I do 2 pounds at a time and just do a quick 15 second reheat in the am. 9. I should have purchased a rug cleaner sooner. I had grand plans to rent one but never did because I never wanted to spend an entire day doing all the rugs. So I ordered one (thank you Amazon Prime) and took three days to do the entire house. Its available now for weekly rentals…
10. Going away for one night is good for me. For the first time since Will was born I spent a night away. Although it was only for 16 hours, it was good to know I could handle it (my guilt) the kids survived and (probably most importantly) my husband survived. Maybe in a year or two I’ll do it again. 11. I should run the dishwasher more frequently instead of doing pots nightly. 12. As well as you think you know your children, they will continually surprise and wow you. It was so exciting to see new sides to them both. Matty loves rides at amusement parks and kept asking to go again. Will showed some eye of the tiger at his first time through soccer camp and also wowed us as he played his first video arcade car race games. He has a good eye for aiming the ball and beat me – legit- too often to mention - in the car races. (I see many X-Boxes in our future…)
13. After a full summer together I’m most happy it emphasized for me that I like being with my kids. They are super cool little people and despite the daily hang ups which will come, go, and change with time, I am truly blessed to have them. |
Tossing rocks after a hike to Arethusa Falls.
Matty ready to ride!
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It will be interesting to see how
we transition tomorrow and through this fall, but I am already looking forward
to the weekend end for sure.
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Eyes on goal!
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Copyright 2013 Motherhood Uncorked
Please do not copy or reproduce without permission.
Links are just fine, though.
Please do not copy or reproduce without permission.
Links are just fine, though.
