I am such a dork. I can not believe that I am actually emotional over this but, I guess I am. Today, is Ty's last day of school this year. His FIRST, last day of school.
On the surface that should be a good thing. Meaning, he has many more last days of school, Right? You would think so but, for my hormonal roller coaster of a brain, it means he already has 1 year behind him. It means he will be in Kindergarten in just a few short months. I just can't believe how fast this year has gone by and that means he is growing up waaayyy too fast.
When I hold him in my lap when we read or sometimes when I just sit and watch him sleep, I don't see a school boy. I see is the smoothness of his skin, and the baby fat that rounds his features. I see chubby hands and fingers. I see a baby. My baby.
This parenting thing is oodles tougher than anyone ever let on. I can handle the discipline side to parenting, and the worries, and the work, and the sacrifices. For me, the hardest part is feeling a love so deep and so true fill up my heart until I don't think I can stand it any longer. My heart feels as though it may burst at any moment. It not only takes my breath away, it takes away the ability to breathe. It overwhelms me.
Actually, it pretty much just scares the crap out of me.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Field Trip Day!!! Yeah!! ....... and a lil' somethin' else!
I just got back from Ty's first Field Trip. It was nice. Although, it was only a few miles from home at a local state park that we visit quite frequently already; they had arranged for a "Stream Stomp" guided by a Park Ranger, and that was neat. The "Stream Stomp" actually consisted of the kids trying to catch creek critters with a small net and a jar. I think a few accomplished that with help, but mostly a bunch of kids got really wet.
I got a chance to visit with some of the other parents, some of whom I already knew and some I didn't. Like I said, it was nice.
When "Goodnight Moon" just isn't cutting it... one dad and novelist has written a bedtime story to warm the hearts of sleep-deprived parents everywhere: "Go the F@#k to Sleep."
Most parents can recall a particularly dark and dreadful night when their little one just wouldn’t go to sleep. And most parents have uttered -- in their heads, or under their breath – a frustrated profanity about it. Novelist and dad Adam Mansbach did one better: He wrote a children’s book called "Go the F--- to Sleep."
Here’s a sample:
“The cats nestle close to their kittens.
The lambs have laid down with the sheep.
You're cozy and warm in your bed, my dear
Please go the f@#k to sleep.”
Now before you call Child Protective Services, let’s be clear: This book is written and illustrated in the tradition of a child’s bedtime book, but it’s not at all meant for kids. (It says so on the back cover.) The book, which alternates lilting verse with, well, profane reality, is aimed squarely at parents.
“Hopefully, the book is very reflective of what we all feel putting our kids to bed,” Mansbach told TODAY Moms. “We all love our kids – it’s not like we stop loving our kids – but as the minutes tick by, we’ll do anything to get out of that room.”
Mansbach isn’t just another foul-mouthed, wannabe writer – he’s an acclaimed and accomplished author. He’s a visiting professor of fiction at Rutgers University.
But as any good fiction teacher will tell you, you’ve gotta write what you know. And last summer, Mansbach knew that it was taking for-freaking-ever to get his 2-year-old daughter, Vivien, to go the f@#ck to sleep. He posted an exasperated lament on Facebook, and his friends told him to write a book. So he did.
“Go the F@#k to Sleep” just went to print, so I got a personal, over-the-phone reading from the author. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, capturing perfectly the seemingly endless bedtime routine all parents have endured: the requests for one more story, a glass of water, another bathroom trip, a different teddy bear. It juxtaposes the sweet words we say to our kids on such a night with what we’re really thinking in our heads.
Mansbach hopes people will not only relate to the book, but get some relief from it, too. Despite the “tremendous culture of parenting,” there’s a lot that doesn’t get talked about, he said.
“Hopefully, the honesty of this book will open up the conversation. These are legitimate ways that we feel, and we should laugh about it, and be honest about these tribulations.”
These days, Mansbach’s daughter is a pretty darned good sleeper. “I would like to think that writing this book solved her sleep problems,” he said with a laugh.
“Go the F@#k to Sleep,” from Akashic Books, comes out on Oct. 11. It’s already in the top 300 on Amazon.
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I LOVE IT! I swear I think I wrote this book in my head a hundred times, when Ty was younger.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to cash in on it. lol As usual.
Anyway, I enjoyed a good laugh, and thought you all might too. Even if it is at the expense of others, and just maybe with a sigh of relief that those days seem to be over in our house.
Knock on wood.
I got a chance to visit with some of the other parents, some of whom I already knew and some I didn't. Like I said, it was nice.
Enough about that though.....
(Just FYI, I am posting it in whole so I don't violate any copyright stuff. Everybody should get thier credit here.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When "Goodnight Moon" just isn't cutting it... one dad and novelist has written a bedtime story to warm the hearts of sleep-deprived parents everywhere: "Go the F@#k to Sleep."
Most parents can recall a particularly dark and dreadful night when their little one just wouldn’t go to sleep. And most parents have uttered -- in their heads, or under their breath – a frustrated profanity about it. Novelist and dad Adam Mansbach did one better: He wrote a children’s book called "Go the F--- to Sleep."
Here’s a sample:
“The cats nestle close to their kittens.
The lambs have laid down with the sheep.
You're cozy and warm in your bed, my dear
Please go the f@#k to sleep.”
Now before you call Child Protective Services, let’s be clear: This book is written and illustrated in the tradition of a child’s bedtime book, but it’s not at all meant for kids. (It says so on the back cover.) The book, which alternates lilting verse with, well, profane reality, is aimed squarely at parents.
“Hopefully, the book is very reflective of what we all feel putting our kids to bed,” Mansbach told TODAY Moms. “We all love our kids – it’s not like we stop loving our kids – but as the minutes tick by, we’ll do anything to get out of that room.”
Mansbach isn’t just another foul-mouthed, wannabe writer – he’s an acclaimed and accomplished author. He’s a visiting professor of fiction at Rutgers University.
But as any good fiction teacher will tell you, you’ve gotta write what you know. And last summer, Mansbach knew that it was taking for-freaking-ever to get his 2-year-old daughter, Vivien, to go the f@#ck to sleep. He posted an exasperated lament on Facebook, and his friends told him to write a book. So he did.
“Go the F@#k to Sleep” just went to print, so I got a personal, over-the-phone reading from the author. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, capturing perfectly the seemingly endless bedtime routine all parents have endured: the requests for one more story, a glass of water, another bathroom trip, a different teddy bear. It juxtaposes the sweet words we say to our kids on such a night with what we’re really thinking in our heads.
Mansbach hopes people will not only relate to the book, but get some relief from it, too. Despite the “tremendous culture of parenting,” there’s a lot that doesn’t get talked about, he said.
“Hopefully, the honesty of this book will open up the conversation. These are legitimate ways that we feel, and we should laugh about it, and be honest about these tribulations.”
These days, Mansbach’s daughter is a pretty darned good sleeper. “I would like to think that writing this book solved her sleep problems,” he said with a laugh.
“Go the F@#k to Sleep,” from Akashic Books, comes out on Oct. 11. It’s already in the top 300 on Amazon.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I LOVE IT! I swear I think I wrote this book in my head a hundred times, when Ty was younger.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to cash in on it. lol As usual.
Anyway, I enjoyed a good laugh, and thought you all might too. Even if it is at the expense of others, and just maybe with a sigh of relief that those days seem to be over in our house.
Knock on wood.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
It's Kinda-Like a Compliment, Right?
Yesterday evening after Ty's karate class, I told him he could play on the Wii for 30 minutes while I did a few things. I quickly layed out our clothes for today, packed his lunch and signed the permission slip for his class trip on Thursday. Just as I was sneaking off to my room to stretch out with a book for a few minutes, I heard the t.v. turn off. That's unusual, I thought. Although he agreeably turns it off when I tell him his time is up, I have seen evidence that he would play around the clock if given the opportunity. Hence the 30 min. time limit.
I paused and sure enough he was headed my way.
Me: What's up?
Ty: Nothing. I just decided I didn't want to play for the rest of my 30 minutes.
Me: Why?
Ty: Cause I just want to cuddle with you Mommy.
Me: Are you sick? Is your belly hurting?
Ty: Nope, I'm fine. I just want to cuddle. BEFORE we read tonight.
Me: OK, come on then.
He crawls up in my lap on the couch and I take this opportunity to talk to him about his day. As he is talking to me, he starts playing with my hair as he often does. After a few minutes I can tell that he is more fascinated with my hair than having an actual conversation. I just sit quietly as he "fixes" it in to a curly mess on top of my head.
Ty: (smiling) Momma, I wish you were more beautifuler.
Me: (smiling) So do I kiddo.
I paused and sure enough he was headed my way.
Me: What's up?
Ty: Nothing. I just decided I didn't want to play for the rest of my 30 minutes.
Me: Why?
Ty: Cause I just want to cuddle with you Mommy.
Me: Are you sick? Is your belly hurting?
Ty: Nope, I'm fine. I just want to cuddle. BEFORE we read tonight.
Me: OK, come on then.
He crawls up in my lap on the couch and I take this opportunity to talk to him about his day. As he is talking to me, he starts playing with my hair as he often does. After a few minutes I can tell that he is more fascinated with my hair than having an actual conversation. I just sit quietly as he "fixes" it in to a curly mess on top of my head.
Ty: (smiling) Momma, I wish you were more beautifuler.
Me: (smiling) So do I kiddo.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Mothers's Day
I certainly hope that every had as wonderful a Mother's Day as I did!!!
I'm such a mush-melon. I spent all day admiring what a wonderful perfect little boy I have.
Well at least the parts where I wasn't trying to get him to quit stalling and get dressed or he'd be late for Sunday School, or begging him to quit whining in the car about not watching his Scooby-Doo movie, or cleaning up the Sweet Tea he spilled on me at Ruby Tuesdays. I wasn't keeping count, I promise!
Ha ha, no seriously. I have been greatly blessed. I know this and I really do often marvel at his pert-near perfectness. He has such a kind heart, a handsome face, and a charming and funny personality. I am totally wrapped.
This realization, as many do, brings me to yet another realization.
Several years ago, after my Dad passed away, I was visiting his (my Dad's) BFF . At some point during our conversation he commented on how "we (my sister and I) had our Dad wrapped around our little fingers". He said "of course he would never admit it, but it was as noticeable as a flashing billboard".
I remember laughing at the absurdity of his suggestion. I'm supposed to believe this about the man who could strike instant fear with a look. The same man who, when he said "no", you Did Not beg and plead or whine and cry. You accepted his answer and moved on. Yeah right, I wish.
Now as a Mother, I realize that sometimes Love makes you say "no" and it is often the reason we do so many of the perceived "mean" things we do. Fear inducing looks are excellent at correcting bad behavior and I find myself teaching Ty not to argue when told no...... because it hurts to see your child unhappy. I look back now and realize that his firm hand in raising us actually had more to do with Love than with discipline.
Yes, I guess he really was wrapped.
Now, Now! Before you go thinking that I've turned this Mother's Day post into a Father's Day tribute, I will tell you one of THE best things about my Dad.......................
........................He was smart enough to marry my Mom!!!!
I love you Mom! Thank you for everything! I don't have to walk down memory lane for you, because we are lucky enough to still be making them!!
I'm such a mush-melon. I spent all day admiring what a wonderful perfect little boy I have.
Well at least the parts where I wasn't trying to get him to quit stalling and get dressed or he'd be late for Sunday School, or begging him to quit whining in the car about not watching his Scooby-Doo movie, or cleaning up the Sweet Tea he spilled on me at Ruby Tuesdays. I wasn't keeping count, I promise!
Ha ha, no seriously. I have been greatly blessed. I know this and I really do often marvel at his pert-near perfectness. He has such a kind heart, a handsome face, and a charming and funny personality. I am totally wrapped.
This realization, as many do, brings me to yet another realization.
Several years ago, after my Dad passed away, I was visiting his (my Dad's) BFF . At some point during our conversation he commented on how "we (my sister and I) had our Dad wrapped around our little fingers". He said "of course he would never admit it, but it was as noticeable as a flashing billboard".
I remember laughing at the absurdity of his suggestion. I'm supposed to believe this about the man who could strike instant fear with a look. The same man who, when he said "no", you Did Not beg and plead or whine and cry. You accepted his answer and moved on. Yeah right, I wish.
Now as a Mother, I realize that sometimes Love makes you say "no" and it is often the reason we do so many of the perceived "mean" things we do. Fear inducing looks are excellent at correcting bad behavior and I find myself teaching Ty not to argue when told no...... because it hurts to see your child unhappy. I look back now and realize that his firm hand in raising us actually had more to do with Love than with discipline.
Yes, I guess he really was wrapped.
Now, Now! Before you go thinking that I've turned this Mother's Day post into a Father's Day tribute, I will tell you one of THE best things about my Dad.......................
........................He was smart enough to marry my Mom!!!!
I love you Mom! Thank you for everything! I don't have to walk down memory lane for you, because we are lucky enough to still be making them!!
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