Be a more patient mother

are helping with this goal.

for me this isnt something i can accomplish it’s something i have to work on maintaining. i do really well sometimes and not so great others but i just work on staying consistant with it. my kids seem happier now than they have been in a couple of years so i feel i must be doing something right.

my sons bug me. they bother me. i am so horrible for thinking that. but when I come home from work, I want me time, instead of kids fighting time.

works wonders, I guess…

I feel like I’m finally a good mom AND a good employee.

The Who, as the youngest of three sisters, has not been interested in speaking much. With two big sisters, you just don’t need words to get stuff done.

Lately, she’s been making up for lost time.

Today, she’s discovered the magic of, “No,” “Mine”, and “No Way.”

All in the same day.

She’s not even two yet.

Should I be frightened?

I’m going to say “I’ve done this” instead of marking it off as “I give up”. In actuality, I’m just changing this from “Be a more patient mother” to “Be the best mother I can be”...it just seems a little more realistic.

which is AWESOME.

Added bonus: they have a freakin’ cool pool with waterslides and crazy mushroom fountains and a floating beaver (BEHAVE, Gump!) that the kids just love.

So I’ve been taking the kids swimming a couple of times per week, which has been SO good for us. They’re so much more agreeable when they’re exhausted! Even Thing 2, who doesn’t sleep out of principle, has been much better at bedtime.

So maybe PATIENCE isn’t the key…maybe the key is strategic exhaustion!

Well so much for patience for today. How many times did I blow up at them today? I just don’t know what to do after the 5th time they ask me the same question. Can I go to Aunt Hilary’s mommy? Hey mommy can I go to aunt hilary’s? Can I? Can I go? Please, it’s not fair mommy, I want to go to aunt hilary’s! Your so mean, I hate you! And then after reasoning with the child for 5 minutes about why I don’t want her to go I scream “Because I said so and if you ask me again I’m gonna whoop your ass!!!!!”
So much for being patient. I’ll try again tomarrow.

My children are the most resiliant and chin up kids I’ve ever seen. On my youngest daughters last birthday we didn’t have any electricity and she had a fun time on her birthday anyway. Or at least she made me think she had a good time. They have gone through so many changes in the last year. We went from living in a big beautifull home with thier father to being crammed into a little tiny apartment. I don’t work and we are living off of child support which isn’t that much. It’s been so hard for them. And yet with all they have been through I’m so quick to shout at them and threaten them and punish them. I hope to become the mother I once was. Carefree and funloving. Thats what they deserve.

with Thing One today.

She was all groggy this morning, so I let her sleep for a few extra minutes while I got her breakfast ready.

She was grumbly about it being cold in the house—whining is normally something that drives me NUTS. I have no patience for it.

But instead of getting irritated, I tossed her school clothes in the drier and turned it on high for a few minutes. When she put on her clothes, she was THRILLED. We had a nice talk about how when something bothers us, we can ask for help from our families and find solutions. We talked about the difference between grumping and asking. It was an awesome conversation—no hurt feelings, but a lesson learned.

I love those rare occasions when lessons can be illustrated without anyone being miserable for it.