I've decided that the path I am currently on, however, cannot last. I cannot spend every day this summer screaming at or being annoyed by my children. I've decided to make some summer resolutions. Or, really, one resolution.
1. Relax. I don't have to be anywhere so important that it is worth yelling at the kids to get them out the door. Being a few minutes late will not hurt anyone, especially since most of the time I am just meeting friends at the park.
2. RELAX. Bring humor to the situation. That works so much better than yelling.
3. R-E-L-A-X. Summer is supposed to be fun. When I am getting frustrated with all the whining, demanding, and other general annoyances, I am going to take a deep breath and assess the situation before I say one word.
Okay, I feel a little better now.
On a completely different note, we had Clare's 4th birthday parties last weekend. Yes, parties. We had cake and sandwiches with her friends at our house in the morning, and a cookout with our families that night. I remember in college we used to go out both nights of the weekend until the wee hours, and still be fine for class on Monday. Yeah, I am still recovering from a 4-year-old's birthday weekend on Wednesday. (Hmmm...maybe that's why I am not dealing so well with the kids this week. I am just plain tired.) Along with the parties, Clare got to have her first sleepover. She stayed at my sister's house on Friday night, in the same room with my parents. She loved sleeping in her new sleeping bag and didn't seem to care that mom and dad weren't there.
Anyway, Clare had a great time with her friends. Her guests included Benjamin, Simon, James, Fern, Alice and Heidi and assorted parents. Her cousin Josie was there, too. My parents were in town for the weekend, which was fun. There is still leftover cake. She got a lot of loot. She was excited about all of it, of course. The biggest present, though, was the sandbox Ben built for her. (The gift is from Ben's parents, but he did the construction.) It looks great. I was so excited to give it to her, that I didn't even mind staying up until midnight the night before filling it with sand.
Christopher is not getting a party this year. (Okay, maybe just a small one. Stop me before I get too out of control.)
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| The kiddos at Clare's party. |
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| Excited about Abby Cadabby from Uncle Robby and Aunt Andri |
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| Post-party snuggles on the couch. |
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| Target/Coffee shop date with the birthday girl, on her actual birthday. |
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| The joy of summer. RELAX. |
It's so hard to RELAX! Especially when children are whining or fighting for the one-billionth minute... Or demanding to be pushed on the swing (No push ME, no push ME) or not sharing sand shovels (I want THAT!). BUT this is a good summer resolution for sure! I might have to join you.
ReplyDeleteI know it's probably really bad for the environment, but I've use aerosol sunscreen since last year and it's amazing. Just throw them outside and SPRAY. That kind of sunscreen is not allowed at summer school though, so we have to teach Mason this weekend how to apply the lotion kind. ("We will coach your child, but we can't apply it for them.")
That's our old water table! It lasted four summers. We just got a new one to last the next four.
I'm right there with you. Usually our yelling/frustration occurs in the morning, when we're trying to get the kids out the door (I have a bus to catch, dammit!!) and they're taking FOREVER. I think we have to remind Adam about 10 times to put on his shoes ... "Adam, get your shoes on, where are your socks? This isn't a good time to be looking for your EX Pokemon card, we have to get going. No, we're not having a Nerf gun fight with Ben now. Come out from your hiding spot. If you have to go to the bathroom, hurry up and run upstairs and go! Your other shoe is right there. PUT YOUR SHOES ON!!!" And when we're stressed, it stresses our kids out, and then we feel like horrible parents ... but it can be so hard to relax and just go with the flow when we have places to be. (Even if that place is just the park.)
ReplyDeleteI love all of this. Every little bit. Em, you have been SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE on your blog lately. Also these comments. YES.
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