I just gave myself a time out

You guys - do you ever have those mommy days where you just want to QUIT?

The kids are fighting and I have no idea who started it. Is the two year old is legitimately crying because her brother hit her with a light saber or because she wants said light saber and he won't give it to her?

Or when I step outside for a minute to water plants and come back in to find a pile of poop and puddle of pee all spread down the hallway from a certain two year old. And I just keep talking about how gross it is and then feeling worse about her having to listen to me complain.

I take a break from playing super heroes and bad guys in the fire station to attack an immense pile of laundry on my bed and the four year old flips out yelling I never play with him.

Time for a mommy time out.

As both children are grabbing at me and whining I leave my house and sit on my front lawn. I can hear them whining and wailing something or other from the front yard and I realize our little world is very audible from the neighborhood. And suddenly I feel sorry for our neighbors because they probably hear every tantrum and every sibling battle.

I take a deep breath and look around. I love the tall old trees on my street. It reminds me of how old this neighborhood and our house are. They remind me of the families who have lived on this block on the past and the children who have grown up in my house who may be parents now.

Sometimes I have to step away to notice and realize the whole world is out there - outside of the crying, laundry, and poop in the hall. I don't know why but for some reason this helps me to feel better and not completely lose my mind - yet.

Whenever I have days like this I fantasize what my life would be like if I had an important career with assistants and lattes and happy hours. (Of course my fantasy involves my two favorite beverages) And I imagine myself perfectly dressed, wearing the latest heels and my hair recently cut and high lighted. I even picture my manicured nails. Today my outfit is a perfectly white professional dress.

I know it's time to come back to my sweet cherubs. I know my little ones need me so much. And I give them so much. I take time outs when I need them and am okay if I don't feel happy and thankful right afterward. I didn't lose my temper or my mind and for now that is good enough.

Comments

A call to parents raising children in a terror stricken era

How do we raise our children in this world? I want to take a step back from the politics, the rhetoric, the trending hashtags and prayers vs. gun control debate. I want to address how our generation is going to raise our children in the era of mass shootings. Random mass shootings in our country. I had not realized how much the fear of terror so close to home had affected me until I was at a Christmas concert at my church this past weekend. While listening to beautiful orchestra reverberating "Joy to the World' I began to think...what if there is a shooter planning on coming in here? My back is to the entrance. I began to fill with anxiety instead of peace. I heard a little boy asking his mom if a musician with his instrument was in fact a "guy with a big gun". When did a concert I have attended most Christmases of my life turn into something other than joyous? Growing up, it was normal for me to hear Tom Brokaw or Diane Sawyer on the evening news along

I woke up to a Lego gun in my face- how was your Saturday morning?

So we don't own any toy guns - we have two toy weapons by my estimation. A bow with soft tipped arrows and a miniature light saber which came with a Darth Vader build a bear. Both of those weapons are currently confiscated. My kids only watch Disney movies and PBS. And much to my dismay Paw Patrol. So why is it that before dinner time I have been punched in the face (by accident), shot with "chemical fire", shot with a gun constructed by legos, and also obliterated by the "fastest ship ever with super mega guns that only breaks if someone on board has to go poop." Oh and the time I'm innocently brewing coffee in the kitchen? Out pops a little boy with a toy axe waving above his head saying "HI MOMMY!" He might as well said " HERE'S JOHNNY!! " Man it's a rough day. And I'm not even going to mention all of the harm which has befallen a little sister and her baby dolls who are constantly napping and getting bo

Diagnosis Disorders and Uniqueness

Last week I found out some really hard news about my daughter. In my gut, I always knew certain parenting strategies wouldn't work for her like they did for my son. Everyone with more than one kid knows that. But more often than not, there are some pretty challenging as well as amazing quirks my daughter has which makes her incredibly unique. It seemed pretty clear to me my daughter has a speech delay. Not uncommon. However, the speech therapist also diagnosed her with something called sensory processing disorder. All of her behaviors I had thought which make her very adventurous, unique, stubborn, strong willed and creative are categorized under this disorder. Something about the term "disorder" really bothered me which is why it was so hard to hear. Of course no parent wants their child to struggle, but I shirked away from so quickly putting a label on my 2 year old. The positive side to knowing she possibly has SPD is I already have gained some really positive

Into the Rabbit Hole ...

Search This Blog