be a good mother

Affection without sentiment,
Authority without cruelty,
Discipline without aggression,
Humor without ridicule,
Sacrifice without obligation,
Companionship without possessiveness.

I hand painted some birds and a cat on the wall, using models I found on the web. She loves it!
The cat isn’t finished yet.

Yesterday afternoon I popped Isak into a shallow bath while I mopped the hall floor, right outside the bathroom door. I could hear him playing and talking to his boats as I cleaned, and there wasn’t a noticeable “trouble silence”, but he suddenly called out that he had hurt himself. I hopped the two feet into the bathroom and found him sitting there with blood smeared across his upper lip. I couldn’t tell what had happened, but I gently dabbed his lip with a wet cloth. More blood. I assumed he’d bonked into the side of the tub and banged against his teeth, until he pointed to the mach3 teetering on the shampoo ledge and explained that he was trying to be “big like daddy”.

Absolutely cringing inside, I realized that he’d somehow managed to reach the razor and had been trying to shave. It was just a tiny little nick, but it bled for a while, and it could have been much worse. I felt terrible, like I’d slipped all the way down to the bottom of the good mommy pole – I should have realized he could reach that high now, if he really wanted to. I’m fairly sure it upset me more than it did him, but I stayed outwardly calm and got him cleaned up and pulled a special lego car out of the emergency treat closet afterward. I was talking to another mom at the library today who said her toddler did something similar, thinking her shaver was a toothbrush. Shudder.

I think most parents have some sort of horror story where they weren’t on the ball about something dangerous (my mom’s tale? The time I managed to get my lip caught on a curtain hook like a little fish while she was on the telephone), but I’m not sure that makes me feel better. At least we’ve managed to make it nearly 4 years with very few and fairly minor incidents. Groan.

This morning I took Gabie to his last day of Kindergarten. That is amazing! I cannot believe my little baby really is growing up. After this summer, he will be entering 1st grade. Wow.

Today was Isak’s first field trip with his preschool (which he’s taken to like a duck to water). They’d planned a trip to Stanley Park Junction, the petting zoo, and the playground. I’d happily volunteered and got to go with the 2 classes, which brought us to about three dozen 3-4 year olds and a handful of parents.

We woke up to a very stormy day with dark grey skies and rain pounding the puddles, but tried to keep it from dampening our spirits. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many cute little rubber boots! We all packed onto the school bus (an adventure in itself) and by the time we arrived at Stanley Park, the rain was starting to subside.

Although our conductor seemed a bit glum (perhaps he was having a semi-conductor kind of day?), we were treated to two trips through the woods on the train (I don’t think I’d been since I was a kid), over ponds, through a tunnel, past totem poles, a random faux moose, and (unless I was hallucinating) a stray garden gnome.

After the train ride, there was much frolicking to be had amongst sheep, goats, llamas (damp, freshly sheared llamas look very peculiar), cows, donkeys, pigs, rabbits, chickens (who were laying eggs in their nests), cocky roosters, and a menagerie of birds and reptiles.

When we had washed our hands thoroughly, we found ourselves with a freshly dry sky and hit the picnic tables for lunch and then ran amok in a big playground until the bus came to pick us all up. By the time we stepped off the school bus, the skies were blue and we’d had a very fun (and surprisingly well behaved) adventure.

It also gave me a chance to get to know some of the other parents better and see Isak playing with his new friends.

Lots of it, today. Aurora named the Turtle Comet.

Bought Aurora dance clothes, got her dad to get her the shoes, and I’m ready to pay for her private lessons. 1-2 times per week.

A Mother’s Love
by Helen Steiner Rice

A Mother’s love is something
that no on can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining,
it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
like the mysteries of creation . . .
A many splendoured miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God’s tender guiding hand.

They were BOTH in bed on time! I had played with them just the right amount. Yaay!!! I cooked well for them, too. I’m getting better at all this.

Overall a success I feel. We did hit a very sticky point with K but fortunately she has ended a very destructive friendship of her own volition and things feel calmer…for now.

Over Easter I tried to have a ‘seize the moment’ attitude which meant a lot less time in the house/on the computer.

• Impromptu beach visit
• Baby and family yoga
• Three sleepovers here
• K to three (approved) sleepovers
• Mum to dinner/walk
• Successful visit to in-laws
• Mug painting
• Tattoo day for adults & kids
• Cinema with all three
• Shopping to spend Easter money

My friend Nick came over with a little boy he watches on Tuesdays named Ben. He is only a week older than my son, (will be two in July!) and my daughter is four.

They played so well together.

I also hung out with my ex husband for over an hour when he came to pick them up but my son was napping. It made my daughter happy to hang out with both of her parents at the same time. I felt great about that, too. I am lucky I get along with him, in a way.