Dear Parents; There Are Still Good People Out There.

Dear Parents,

There are still people out there who care about your kids and want what is best for them. People who are genuinely kind to other people (and younger people) because that’s simply who they are.

I was put in a bit of an odd position today that really made me think. While I was talking to another mom in front of the school we spotted a young man whom was sitting on the sidewalk with his head down, we couldn’t quite see what was going on as he had his back towards us. We continued to talk and saw that a woman had stopped and given him a tissue and continued on her way. My friend said that maybe he had a nose bleed, I said if that was the case I could give him more tissue as I have my own son who has nosebleeds frequently and I always have a large stock in my car for such a thing. He ended up getting up and walked towards us, it looked like he had tears in his eyes, he apologized and asked if we had $2.50 for public transit as he had missed his bus to get to the high school. I looked in my wallet which had .75 cents and suddenly blurted out ”where do you go to school? I can drive you!”

He was taken back and said if I would be willing to do so that he would really appreciate it and that it would really make his bad morning a lot better. I smiled at my friend and told her I would catch her later and to have a good day as this teenager got into my car.

I  had a moment of wondering what the heck I had just done, so many parents drill into their kids to NEVER get into a car with a stranger and here I was offering this kid a ride to his school when there was literally JUST a local news article about a possible child leering.

As I got in my car I smiled and told him my name offering him my hand, he told me his and thanked me again as I started the car. He said he hadn’t been feeling too great this morning and that the bus was early (which happens as I’ve seen it get there and pull up and leave abruptly) he said he was so upset and had a moment where he didn’t know what to do and thanked me again. I smiled and told him it was no problem, I told him that I worked at the school, I  gave him his information hoping it would ease his mind if he had the thought of “oh shit what did I just do?” The drive took no more than 10 minutes, if he had taken public transit he would have needed to take two city bus’s and would have easily been 40 minutes late. I pulled up to the high school three minutes after the final bell had rang. He thanked me again, I told him to have a great day at school and enjoy the weekend and he waved at me as he went inside.

Now as a mother I think of my own kid in this situation and I cringe slightly, I think of myself when I was 15 in this situation and I cringe a bit too (I’m sure most 15 year old kids would have simply skipped school for the day.) This young man was panicked by the fact he had missed his bus, he has a reason to be at school today and I’m glad I got him there. I wish I could tell his mom that he was in good hands, that I apologize if this is seen as stepping out of bounds.I would want her to know that if this ever happened to him again to let him know that he could have gone into the school and gotten help.

I just want to alleviate some of the fear out there, the world is a dark place, shitty things happen to kids, especially when they’re in situations like this and they don’t know what they’re to do. In moments of panic we all do silly things, but there are good people out there who want to help, who will take a few minutes out of their day to make sure your kid is okay. The saying used to be that it takes a village to raise a child, but when there’s so much fear towards your fellow villagers you tend to forget about the good ones.

Let’s Talk About Sex

(disclaimer… I know I disappeared for a few months. My bad?)

So let’s talk about sex, because it seems like nobody really wants to talk about the down and dirty of having sex after having kids. It’s hard, because at the end of the day you’re tired. Children can actually be incredibly good birth control in a way that you can seem to lose interest in the act that might impregnate you again.

I always read blogs saying how important it is but never talk about the gross reality that can some days be motherhood. It can be “oh my god don’t touch me, I haven’t wash my hair in days” or “it’s been a week since I’ve shaved and I’m like a mammoth.” It can also easily be “are you kidding me? I’m exhausted because I have kept a small human alive today.”

It’s also hard because we can fall into “comfortable slumps” where you simply tell yourself that you really don’t care if you have sex for various amounts of reasons. Sex or going to bed earlier… well sleep usually wins out.

Of course there’s always the joys of the unknown, wondering if your child is going to burst through the door while your ankles are around your head or if you’ll hear that cry on the baby monitor that demands you to attend.

It’s also very possible that you simple don’t “feel it” anymore, that your hormones have hit a neutral sexual drive that equals to have absolutely no desire to “take on the task at hand” or where sex simply feels like it’s “work.”

It seems there’s so much pressure to have this amazing sex life after children and for it to still be passionate, spontaneous and exciting. One thing that I will say though is that it is important, to yourself and your significant other.

Couples with children whom have to continue on with daily life do tire, they’re suddenly raising another life which can be unpredictable and draining on the best of days. All while trying to balance finances, groceries, work and every day life who on earth has time for sex? I on one blog to schedule time, to plan it, to pretty much mark it on the calendar, date and time and do it no matter how tired we were.

This might work for some couples but it became a chore that I started dreading because I didn’t feel like I was living up to the hype. In fact the hours counting down of “prepping” were almost agonizing and when the moment arrive I felt annoyed because it was suddenly expected to happen because it was on the calendar.

We looked at what worked for us before we had gone down the path of parenthood and started incorporating what we knew already worked and simply worked it into convenient time slots.  Of course it always depends on your child’s age, ours being 7 has allowed some definite us time where we don’t have to worry.

Having a lock on the bedroom door is something that I fully recommend and swear by it. If you don’t have one then I suggest you get one, change it with a different door but it takes away that anxiety of wondering if you’re going to be interrupted. I know that if I give my son his tablet or let him play MMinecraft that we have an hour. Mom and Dad can quietly slip away into their bedroom without any issues. We’re lucky that he’s also at a point where we can say “mom and dad are tired and going for nap, if you don’t want one we’ll get you set up with a movie and snacks but we want to sleep.” Not much sleep happens during this time, or there’s a power nap but it allows us some time.

I find being creative can sometimes get you what you need, there’s always times for quickies when kiddo is in the bath or when he goes to bed. Sex doesn’t have to be this amazing story that needs to be submitted to Playmate, it can be a quick quiet romp on the couch.

There doesn’t need to be pressure but you owe it to yourself and your partner to try and make it work and keep the intimacy between you alive.

It’s A New Year… right?

So… Christmas this year was spent with me, the mom, puking for 5 days straight RIGHT in time for the holidays. Of course I sucked it up and went to all of the dinners, had the big Christmas Day breakfast at my house, even went to secondary Christmas… all while trying not to die. By the 4th day I could keep down applesauce and water, right before New Years I shared it with my hubby. New Years was spent not drinking and just simply trying to stay up late enough to do the countdown with kiddo and then shipping everyone off to bed.

I wanted a do over as I felt kinda robbed of my holidays that I had so looked forward to.

Those stupid fingerlings have been played with for about 10 minutes and it was while I was dying on the couch 4th day in and my son took pity on me and popped one on his finger.

We’re 21 days in and I’ve worked out 19 of those days (gotta have rest days.) I workout harder on the weekends when hubby is home to really push me, I don’t honestly understand why since I then spend the rest of my weekend in pain.

So mama’s this is a cheers to a new year, a new you if you please, the same you if you desire, whatever you that you want to be for the moment. Just be you.

Christmas Time For Mom’s.

Of course it’s the most wonderful time in the year… and we’ve all seen the trailers for bad mom’s. We know it. We go through it. The insomnia and anxiety that Christmas brings in brightly wrapped presents and stocking stuffers.

I sit and think “omg we didn’t do enough “Christmas stuff” leading up to Christmas!” We didn’t go to the downtown light up because kiddo was sick… we missed skating with Santa due to some family craziness that had mom out of the house and busy for 10 hours that day (and dad ended up being super busy as well.) We didn’t go to a single craft fair. We only did like 3 things and for some reason that puts a weight on my shoulders because there’s supposed to be some magical build of events!

I overspent like an idiot this year. Why? Because I can’t even care if my kid is “interested” in the “hot” toys this year… like a maniac I went out and bought them anyways because if my kid doesn’t have them he might not be popular. Of course my child wants things that exist only in CHINA so I ordered them months ago and pretty much sat in anticipation biting my nails and praying to the UPS gods that they’d get here. Of course there’s the advent calendar that also has some gifts in it as well (because we can’t just NOT get anything the entire month of December.) There’s also a gift from the damn elf on the shelf (who has moved every night and cannot be doing the same thing that the elf in the classroom is doing so I have to wrack my brain figuring out two friggan elves.)

We’re also hosting Christmas morning for my family because Christmas seems to be a week long thing… Day before Christmas is for friends to come over and visit open house style, Christmas Eve is dinner and gifts at my parents, Christmas Day is breakfast and more gifts here, then Christmas Day Eve is back up to my parents, Boxing day is for hubby’s sister and what not to come over, and THEN we have my uncle, aunt and cousin and her kids and hubby coming over for an appie dinner and gifts. #@%* !

So my house needs to look like the Taj Mahal… I also need to make sure that I look half presentable (or fake it.) Along with making sure my husband and child don’t look like they’re homeless in sweats and torn t-shirts.

Why the hell do I do this to myself? I’m pretty sure it’s a right of passage to being a mom… to make the holidays some magical event and hope to whatever diety is up there when your kid finally discovers that Santa isn’t real that they can sit back and be like “wow that was mom who did all that… she rocks!” Instead of screaming that they hate you and will never trust another word out of your mouth ever again. Luckily the magic is still alive here for another year.

So to all of you wonderful mom’s out there who are wracking their brains out, crying in the bathroom, staying up late wrapping, and trying to make sure everyone else has a good time. Merry Christmas ❤

 

What Books Don’t Teach You About Little Boys (Penis Edition)

So… what baby books or even other parents don’t really teach you about little boys, in no order (or that they have directly happened to me so I can keep some innocence here.)

 

• It begins before they’re born. Getting a 3d utlrasound? Don’t be surprised to see that little baby inside of you already grabbing onto it for dear life. Nope that’s not an extra leg… it’s indeed a penis.

 

• Be reflex ready when diaper changing. The second cold air hits their penis for whatever reason they piss and the stream goes upwards and towards you… trying to make it go elsewhere will just end up with more urine soaked everything.

 

• As they learn to pee they will spot challenges and try to mark their territory through these challenges. A whole in the baby gate is just another hole to pee into/through.

 

• With that said they will stick their penis in EVERYTHING! In the bathtub shark, in the dinosaurs mouth, in any object that will wrap around their little dingy.

 

• They will suck at cleaning it and you will have to tell/show them how to do it properly (hubby got this one) but if it’s not done properly it’ll hurt. You will become an annoying hovering parent making sure your son washes his prick properly.

 

• The second they realize it feels good to touch they NEVER let it go.

 

• There’s a good possibility that they’ll announce in public that their penis has come out of their underwear. At this point with people staring their hands will shoot down their pants to fix their problem.

 

• They’ll most likely make the verbal distinction one day that they saw their father’s and that it was much bigger than their own. That or they’ll announce that daddy has a tail.

 

• They’ll also verbally confirm that animals have penises too and will happily point them out to you.

 

• They’ll also inform you (the mother) that you in fact do NOT have a penis. At this point do not tell them that you have daddy’s locked up in a box because that’s what happens when you get married < because I would never say this… only sarcastically think it.

Never leave THIS in a hot car

So we’ve all seen the Facebook video of the child being left in the hot car. It maddens you to the point of having to remind yourself it’s merely a propo video before you become an over emotional wreck at the female actor who’s merely making said video to get parents to remember not leave their kid in a car on a hot day… or ever really.

Well… where I live summer pretty much equals scorching heats where your car gets up to damn near 130 c sitting in the sun for 20 minutes. I throw a window visor on my windshield NOT to keep the car “cooler” per say but to keep the steering wheel from blistering my hands.

Obviously nothing is staying in the car for long periods of time.

SSSSSooooo…. today hubby and I went to the bulk barn and as a treat we got our kiddo a gummy snake. Think of a gummy worm except this sucker was nearly a foot long. He sat quietly in the back eating it until we arrived at our next destination to grab groceries. We told him we would be quick (which was a huge lie because apparently everyone and their dog is out shopping today) and told him to leave it in the car.

It’s simply amazing how much a half inch by eight inch piece of melted goopy ass candy can seriously screw up your routine/day/life.

I didn’t even fathom this thing would  melt… upon trying to grab the melted blob off my son’s juice box (which had saved the thing from destroying the car seat) it pretty much exploded in my hand into a disastrous gooey glop of stickiness that has ever to be imagined. I stood there stunned staring at my hand and of course my son whined that I had destroyed his treat. Napkins, water, even trying to lick and eat the blob of melted gelatin crap off my hand wasn’t working (at this point my son is telling me it’s unfair that I’m eating it in which I really want to simply gag at the texture this thing is producing in my mouth.) Having enough I scraped enough of the blob off my hand but it was still so sticky that I couldn’t bring myself to touch my steering wheel.

Hubby drove the car home as I sat in the passenger seat trying desperately to free my hand from the sticky sugar particles that had merged themselves into my skin and become one with me. We couldn’t continue our shopping and came home so I could soak and soap my hand to free itself from what felt like tacky glue gone wrong.

So parents… that it from me… you know those fruit snacks? Any snack that isn’t just a piece of fruit and has sugary crap inside of it? Don’t leave it in the car when it gets hot or it’ll become a sugary mess of sticky molten lava bent on mass destruction and annoyance.

School’s Back In Season!

School is coming back into session and parents are thrilled! I know I am for one because even though I worked all summer long I did so with my son at my side and sending him back to school seems like a mini vacation for myself. Of course summer camp is always super fun for all kids involved but when your the boss’ kid I’m sure it gets tiring for the child, just as it does for the parent who is the boss running the camp.

Dynamics when it’s your own child are always different, you know when he’s actually hurt and can call him out when he’s just making a scene (oh we had a few of those this summer… we can have major crashes and then he gets bumped slightly and we’re suddenly in need to amputate.) I also expect him to know better and be the child who always listens (heads up… doesn’t always happen.) I can also tell my staff whom I’m pretty buddy buddy with in sarcasm that if he’s not listening at the pool to smack him with a pool noodle.

Unfortunately it seems that with having your child with you all the time at work allows little time for you to get away from your child and just have some time to yourself. We’d be up at 6:45 am together, at camp by 7:30 and then working till sometimes 3 or longer makes for a long day. Then we went home together to relax, eat dinner, have down time and be up to do it all again the next morning.

With school I have my own administrative time away from him and only get him from 2:30-5:30 when I go home. I rejoice at the thought of having my morning routine back where I can drop him off at school, come home and get in a workout before I start work where as this summer it simply didn’t happen.

He’ll be back with his friends which he didn’t get to spend much time with this summer (a few went to camp but not all of them, most of them were on vacation.) He’ll also get the learning aspect which no matter how hard I tried to incorporate over the summer I failed horribly because at the end of the day I was done with him and gave the reins over to my husband.

I think all in all most parents celebrate life going back to normal, to there being a schedule for everyone involved. So many others ask “don’t you miss him?” And I must honestly state… no. I can get along for part of the day without my child being tied to my hip and know that he’s just fine and (GASP) not missing me a damn bit.

 

Some Kids Suck

We all want to protect our children from the evil of the world, we want to keep them hidden in the clutches of our hearts where they never have to deal with bullies or the reality of that bad things can happen to good people. It’s not always possible… you’ll NEVER be able to do that. No matter how hard you try your child will learn that there are kids and people in the world that just plain suck.

My kiddo brought all his Beyblades to summer camp, I didn’t think that it was an issue, it was my classroom which I deemed to be a safe territory. He had brought ALL his Beyblades so that the other kids could play with them and nobody would be left out. Bless his little caring heart as he wants everyone to have a chance. While driving home last night he declared “oh no I left my bag of Beyblades in my cubby!” To which I simply shook my head and replied “they’ll be there in the morning.” Apparently I lied.

Upon entering the classroom he ran to his cubby and discovered the large ziplock freezer bag was not in his bin. We scoured the room and couldn’t find it. I spoke with the kids and said that if anyone had it that they could at some point leave it somewhere in the classroom, on my desk, or in one of my child’s bins and that they wouldn’t be in trouble. When the children went outside the janitor and myself did a backpack check and came up with nothing. My heart broke as we were now out around 10 Beyblades with all their accessories and pull cords.

I sent out an email to parents about the situation but said due to the event that I was going to ban Beyblades and Fidget Spinners from camp as they are the hot new toys at the moment and that I didn’t want this happening again. I also reminded them that due to having different children in the program that this sort of thing can happen and that unfortunately there’s not much that we can do about it.

My son didn’t understand, “they’re all my friends” he told me… I said sometimes these things happen… what I really wanted to say is that sometimes people act like our friends but aren’t really. The Beyblades can be replaced and will be replaced, the ban will continue through the summer. I told my son he’s lucky in a way… we can buy him new Beyblades, not all of them right away but that he’ll get a new collection. There are a lot of parents out there who can’t afford that luxury which is also why I banned them, how horrible would it be for kids to lose their favorite toy and not be able to replace it?

It’s horrible to say and think… but some kids (and some people) just plain suck.

School’s Out For Summer

Tomorrow is the last day, with that I have gotten the final reports only to raise my eyebrow how my child went from doing fine to not so fine. I need to remind myself about my own issues as a child and how much I hated reading at a young age, I understand fully that my son doesn’t enjoy it, he’s told me as much. I didn’t start reading until grade 6 when I found the author R.L Stine and started from there.

Sometimes as a parent we want to get upset that our child isn’t achieving high grades, that they’re not an academic genius, or that you simply think they should be doing better than they are. We tend to forget that our kids are little humans, that they have stress, that they have likes and dislikes, strong suits and weak ones.

They are just like us, their worlds are different but they struggle just as we do. This summer I’ll be buying some flashcards, purchasing some books, and will try to encourage my son with his reading. I promise myself and him that I will not get frustrated, that I will not bring him down in any way and that it’ll be a positive experience one step at a time.

School’s Out (Nearly)

I admit I have been very busy again with personal life, trying to get into shape, in work getting super busy and furthermore my child hitting that “end of school itch.” It seems he has become an emotional wreck that one would expect from a teenage girl.

Example: His teacher sent home the lyrics to “Lean On Me” which his class will be singing for the end of the year assembly and it was asked that students please take a few moments each night to go over the lyrics. Easy enough right? So as we’re heading into bedtime I tell him we’ll change things up and sing the song tonight together. What I thought was going to be a harmonious melody of love between a mother and child turns into a disaster and asking why he’s adding words (but encouraging him along.) I kissed him goodnight and told him we’d keep working on it.  I went for a bath to unwind when I hear a scuffle upstairs a few minutes later thinking he had gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom. Upon getting out of the bath I find my husband holding kleenex to our child’s nose shaking his head in annoyance. Apparently my son didn’t appreciate my help and sat upstairs angrily crying afterwards so hard that he gave himself a nosebleed. I was perplexed as I was overly encouraging while my insides cringed at the fact that he has no rhythm nor pitch. I told him he was doing a great job and asked why he didn’t like me helping… he simply stated “you helped me too much!” Of course at this time I’m wanting to reach for a bottle of wine and beat myself over the head with it.

Further examples: Playing tag, dodge-ball, any game where everyone doesn’t win right now is just pointless because it’ll end up in tears. I pretty much want to ban my kid from any gym games but of course I can’t do that. I tell him that everyone is going to get caught or be out and I simply get him growling at me and walking away. It seems that everything lately is ticking him off and he just melts down over it. I try to talk to him but his reasoning is that of a child (obviously.)

Bed times have seemingly become earlier as he passes out at 7:20pm and I’m dragging his butt out of bed for school 12 hours later. I understand that he’s sick and tired of school but he’s going to have a long summer of camp (which mom is the director/manager of.) It’ll be much more laid back as school, there will be more free time, field trips, swimming trips every week, but I’m sure he’ll be just as burnt out. I’m looking forward to weekends that will be spent in play this summer, some camping trips, fishing, and even a vacation at the end of the summer will hopefully get everyone back on track for the new school year.