A Few Positive Moments

Things have been crazy busy around here and I have totally felt like running away on numerous occasions.

But the little happy positive moments keep me from running.

Sunday was rough as my husband had to work.  It made for a long "weekend" day with the kids.  The babe was in an inexplicable tizzy for part of the day; acting out, talking back, and sometimes even throwing things.  It wasn't a good scene. 

I was at a point where I wasn't sure how I was going to make it to bed time without turning on the TV for 5 hours straight.  I was wandering around wondering what was next on the agenda when I noticed some spots on the wall in the dining room.  I grabbed a baby wipe (which I use for just about everything) and went over to scrub at the dirt.  The babe noticed that I was up to something, came over, grabbed a baby wipe (after asking if she could help) and started cleaning with me.  And guess what we did for the next hour?  We bonded and had a grand 'oll time walking around the house cleaning marks off the walls.  It was awesome.  It was productive.  And we both ended up feeling good about ourselves and each other.  Next time I'll just have to remember to call her over and get her involved in a more proactive manner. 

Another cool moment was over spilt water.  So many times I have caught myself about to loose it after a drink is spilt all over the floor. And as I'm learning in my parenting class, even if I think I'm handling the situation well, the kids can usually read my body language and can tell that I'm super annoyed that they spilt something.

The other day the babe had asked if she could get water from the cooler in a glass....not a plastic glass...a "real" glass.  I was in a good mood and told her she could try.  After she had gotten the water from the cooler I guess I got distracted by the little guy and stopped paying attention to the babe.

When I fianlly went back to the kitchen to check on the babe I narrowly missed walking into a big puddle of water on the floor and realized my daughter was nowhere to be found. 

I called after her and asked if she was OK.  I didn't get an answer so I continued on to say that I had noticed there was a bunch of water on the floor and that it was OK.  "I AM NOT MAD AT YOU, HONEY....IT'S OK," I yelled upstairs.  She came down and said "Really, Mama?  You're not mad at me?"  The poor kid was so distressed over spilling her water that she had taken off upstairs before I had a chance to notice and freak out.  She then thanked me for telling her it was OK; and I have to tell you, it felt so good to hear that.

So yes, I patted myself on the back for a job well done.  But I also realized that I need to LOOSEN UP a bit if running away from the crime scene was her initial reaction (like Mama like daughter!).

Kids make mistakes.  Parents make mistakes.  And I'm working on drawing attention to my mistakes so the babe knows it's OK to make them.  I'm also trying to not jump down her throat when she happens to make them.  We're not perfect...and that's OK.