I'm not a bitch. I don't just ignore them if they are hurt, but I will walk away from a tantrum.
I also love playing games with the kids but I don't let them win on purpose. When they beat me at Uno, it's fair and square!
I am not the type of person who over-mother's my kids. I am not a helicopter parent and don't deal well with people who manufacture reasons to worry.
I've always known that when I had children, I was going to raise them to be independent, self-sufficient respectful, productive members of society.
I've always known that when I had children, I was going to raise them to be independent, self-sufficient respectful, productive members of society.
It's the way I was raised and couldn't imagine doing it any other way.
But...once I became a boy mom it became even more important to raise good future husbands.
Seriously, I hope to have daughters-in-law someday and I don't want them to hate me because I raised a couple of momma's boys who couldn't do anything for themselves!
Besides, I'm not a coddler. I despise whiney anything. I don't care if it's a cat, dog, fish or child. Whine and I don't want to be anywhere near you.
Both Glenn and I have encouraged the boys to do things for themselves at very early ages as well as have them help with tasks around the house. These could include anything from scrubbing toilets to helping put the mulch in the gardens.
They are in third grade now but have been getting dressed, getting their breakfast and brushing their teeth on their own since first grade. Initially I would assist but they handle the bulk of it.
I will give time prompts like, "30 minutes to bus!" but they handle the rest.
After the pandemic hit and we were forced into quarantine, I bought Uncrustables, snacks, juice packs, etc. and showed them where everything in the fridge was. At lunchtime, they'd grab their stuff and either sit inside if it was cold or rainy or outside in the sun to eat lunch.
Raising self-sufficient kids isn't hard. It just takes commitment to let them do things on their own and resist the urge to micromanage. Most of the time they do not do things the way I would, (they are, afterall only 9) but, in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't really matter if the job gets finished.
I want them to make their own way in the world and that requires them to figure stuff out on their own.
We believe in chores.
They help with the laundry, empty and reload the dishwasher, help with the trash and recycling, vacuum, mop, dust and scrub toilets.
If I have a crazy week and life gets ahead of me, they can, and do, pitch in.
Having independent kids paid off in spades while I was going through chemo. There were days that I literally, could not lift my head off the pillow.
During the summer it wasn't a really big deal but once school started, they had to fend for themselves in the mornings. They would get breakfast, brush their teeth, pack their snacks and get dressed by themselves. I would give my usual time prompts but they handled everything else. I would message a neighbor asking her to let me know that they got on the bus safely but that was about all I could handle.
But...once I became a boy mom it became even more important to raise good future husbands.
Seriously, I hope to have daughters-in-law someday and I don't want them to hate me because I raised a couple of momma's boys who couldn't do anything for themselves!
Besides, I'm not a coddler. I despise whiney anything. I don't care if it's a cat, dog, fish or child. Whine and I don't want to be anywhere near you.
Both Glenn and I have encouraged the boys to do things for themselves at very early ages as well as have them help with tasks around the house. These could include anything from scrubbing toilets to helping put the mulch in the gardens.
They are in third grade now but have been getting dressed, getting their breakfast and brushing their teeth on their own since first grade. Initially I would assist but they handle the bulk of it.
I will give time prompts like, "30 minutes to bus!" but they handle the rest.
After the pandemic hit and we were forced into quarantine, I bought Uncrustables, snacks, juice packs, etc. and showed them where everything in the fridge was. At lunchtime, they'd grab their stuff and either sit inside if it was cold or rainy or outside in the sun to eat lunch.
Raising self-sufficient kids isn't hard. It just takes commitment to let them do things on their own and resist the urge to micromanage. Most of the time they do not do things the way I would, (they are, afterall only 9) but, in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't really matter if the job gets finished.
I want them to make their own way in the world and that requires them to figure stuff out on their own.
We believe in chores.
They help with the laundry, empty and reload the dishwasher, help with the trash and recycling, vacuum, mop, dust and scrub toilets.
If I have a crazy week and life gets ahead of me, they can, and do, pitch in.
Having independent kids paid off in spades while I was going through chemo. There were days that I literally, could not lift my head off the pillow.
During the summer it wasn't a really big deal but once school started, they had to fend for themselves in the mornings. They would get breakfast, brush their teeth, pack their snacks and get dressed by themselves. I would give my usual time prompts but they handled everything else. I would message a neighbor asking her to let me know that they got on the bus safely but that was about all I could handle.
Chemo ended in September and our busy lives continued with gymnastics, karate, business, etc.
Then Glenn and I caught Covid at Christmas.
Not a style of holiday celebration I recommend for anyone...by the way.
We didn't get the easy, get over it in a few days’ variant. We got nailed!
The boys were fine but Glenn and I were down for the count...for days. More than a week really.
Once again having independent children who could fend for themselves paid off.
Neither Glenn nor I were able to get up. We had lots of leftovers in the fridge that the kids could eat and I would order food to be delivered so that they weren't always scrounging to find something.
Hubby and I joke about the kid’s week of "self-parenting" but they really did. With covid in the house no one could go anywhere anyway so iPads, pillows and forts were the tools of choice.
I got better, Glenn did not.
We got him to the hospital where he stayed for 19 days.
I did my best to keep life as usual for the kids. Thanks to some wonderful friends we were able to maintain the status quo. But I am thankful that my kids can and do the chores we taught them.
Glenn was discharged on Saturday, January 29...in a snow storm because, why not?
It was great to have him home.
He was still exhausted, and we had soooooo much to learn about the diabetes but we have wonderful friends who have jumped in to share their knowledge and experience that we also had peace of mind knowing that we had back up if we needed it.
The kids were just happy to have him back in the house.
They were pretty chill through the whole hospital stay but dad's return was an obvious relief.
Glenn is doing much better. Unfortunately, we recently had a major scare that sent Glenn to the ER via ambulance.
To say that it was terrifying for me was an understatement. Blowing a kiss goodbye to the man I love as the ambulance doors closed will forever be one of the toughest moments of my life.
Sending him off with a major pain in his chest and still filled with blood clots was terrifying because I had no idea if I was going to see him alive again.
The cause of the pain was never diagnosed but all the things that could have killed him were ruled out. So that was good-ish. I try to focus on the positive but it's so difficult sometimes. I feel like I'm constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop...thank goodness I'm not a centipede!
I struggle with the unknown.
Even when something is bad I can usually deal with it as long as I know what it is. Trying to maintain my faith when I have no clue what is happening (like mystery chest pain) is something that I struggle with.
My friends know this about me. Three different people sent this to me in the past 48 hours.
“And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding,will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”Philippians 4:7
All it takes is faith and really cool kids.
