I started this on Monday and now it is Friday.... I guess the week got away from me? In any event, back to my thoughts from last weekend, as I trip into this weekend.
It is 10:15 on a Monday morning and I am still not through my weekend emails. I thought I was being "good", putting the electronics away this weekend and not checking email too often. I took in a baseball game, I played with the girls, we danced at Preschool Prom (more on that later) and I arrived at work today with far too many emails in my Inbox. And I'm still cleaning them out. An hour later. UGH! Sadly, most of them are junk, but I still have to go through them. Of course, while I've been working on cleaning out the emails from the weekend, another 10 or 12 new ones have come in. It is a never ending battle.
You can't force a 3 year old to say hello to someone. I know this is no big surprise to the parents of toddlers out there, but sometimes grandparents and aunt/uncles/close family friends get frustrated when this happens. I try bribing and cajoling and just about anything else I can think of, but at the end of the day, if she doesn't want to, it isn't going to happen. Think about it. All day long, our toddlers/ preschool-age children are told what to do: when to nap, when to get up, what to eat, where to sit, ... and the list goes on. Yes, they sometimes disagree, but if we really want them to move, sit, eat, etc., we have our ways. This is the one spot where they have some power and control and there is nothing Mommy or Daddy or anyone else can do about it. (Other than steal kisses, of course.) This is especially true when said child has not napped and got up early. No amount of begging will get that kid to give love if she doesn't want to. Side note on this one - when K does this to teachers at school (doesn't want to say hello, acts shy or curls up to me), they start to tickle her and get her to laugh. Very rarely does she stay sad or upset or hiding and she will usually start to giggle and engage with them. To the grandparents/ aunts/ uncles and friends out there who are sometimes hurt by her unwillingness to say hello, maybe a little joking around is in order to get her to engage. I'm not saying it will work all the time, but maybe it will get her used to you a bit quicker than when you get offended and walk away. I'm just saying. (Because if you walk away upset, she has won and she has power and she will use it again and again.)
Preschoolers need naps. Again, something that all of my parenting friends out there already know. What am I talking about - I know this. Unfortunately, knowing something and getting something to happen are two completely different things. K did not nap yesterday (Sunday) because between helping with set up for Prom and getting B to Hebrew school and getting showers and hair done and everything else.... there just wasn't time. (Didn't help that Prom was at 3:30, but that's another story.) K didn't nap and by 5:30, she had had enough. Not only tired, but cranky and even snarling at us. There were moments of laughter and dancing with her Daddy and having fun, but anytime we asked her to do anything, she went right back to captain cranky pants. Fun. But she slept well last night and made it through the night with no accidents (and no Pull-up.) She was very excited.
Preschool Prom - Don't knock it until you try it. Several of our friends from preschool were posting things on their FaceBook pages regarding Preschool Prom yesterday. Several of their non-preschool-parent friends were posting sometimes scathing comments about the idea. My advice to those of you not "in the know"? Don't judge what you do not know. "Preschool Prom" is actually just an end-of-the-year dance where all of the families are invited to have an hour and a half of good fun. We charge for tickets, because the Preschool Parent Council needs money to provide various programming to the kids throughout the year. We also offer an "Art Gala" (each child does a piece of art that the parents can then buy) and we also offer a Silent Auction. Yes, it costs money. But do you think that the crayons your children use come free? And the bark that cushions their little butts when they fall off of the monkey bars ain't cheap. Is it cheesy? Of course. But is it fun? Absolutely! And who would not want to see a crowd of 20 little ones, cheerfully screaming out "Let it go!" at the top of their lungs. No they don't get limo rides to the dance or go out to fancy dinners. Some of the girls get their hair done (what girl wouldn't want her hair done for the big dance?), some of the Daddies buy their dates flowers, and the kids really get a kick out of dressing up. (One of the little boys even brought flowers for the girls in his class.) So please do not rain on our parade. Yes, we call it a "prom" and get dressed up and dance. But we aren't hurting anyone (you naysayers) and at the end of the day, it raises money for our children's school. End of story.
Kids can make baseball games REALLY long. Rob and I took the girls to a game on Saturday and luckily for us, the game started at 4:10. Our seats were already in the shade and so even though it was hot, it was not unbearable. At the end of the game, Rob commented that the game had taken a little over 3 hours, which is fairly good for time. (How many of us have sat through those 4 or 5 hour games? I have.) With kids, however, time seems to drag no matter how well your pitcher is pitching. Between trips to the bathroom and the concession stands (and the ATM) and the souvenir stores, it can be daunting. Of course, if the munchkins are bored, it becomes that much for difficult to get them sit still. (And then they want more food or another trip to the bathroom.) I love my girls and I love taking them to games. But sometimes, I think I would have a bit more fun if it was an adults' night out.
____ I'm sure there were more "observations" from the weekend and there may even be a post-it note somewhere with them scrawled on it. Unfortunately, I have forgotten what I'm sure were witty and funny comments about the life of a stressed-out, maxed-out mom and her brood. (Yes, even with just 2 kids, it can be a "brood.")
Some observations from the week? The subconscious can be a real pain in the backside. Yesterday morning I woke up from a crazy dream where I had been trying to spank K (for writing all over herself with a blue marker - she had even taken off her cloths to write on more skin), and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get a good smack in. I was troubled by that dream on several levels. This morning I woke up stressed out because in my dream it was 11 a.m. and I had not made it to the office yet. In real life, I had told someone that a document would be ready by 11 a.m. So my subconscious was freaking out worrying about it, which manifested into a dream where I wasn't even at the office yet, by 11. ARGH!
This weekend looks to be another busy one, lots of planning and events and various things, as we slide into the last week and a half of school. (B is done on the 17th, K is done on the 18th.) Then I have to figure out what to do with them for 3 days. yikes! Between school intersession and summer break and Jewish holidays, I didn't really want to get any work done this month, did I?
Happily counting down the days until our trip to NYC! Just bought my Top of the Rock tickets last night and already scored our tickets to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty. Beyond excited!
And one final thought.... today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day. 10 years ago, while on a family trip, I had the opportunity to visit Normandy, just a few days after the 60th anniversary. It was a moving visit and one that I'm sure I could have made last for several days. I would have loved to wander the French countryside and visit with locals, soaking up the history. I walked the beaches where so many sacrificed themselves, stood in the German bunkers that looked down on the beaches and walked the silent paths of the cemeteries. So many from that time are gone and few are left to recount the stories of bravery and heroism. I hope that we, as the next generation, can adequately preserve those stories and memories. The old quote is that those who forget history are bound to repeat it. Let's hope that we never forget and that it is never repeated. (And to end on a bit more humorous note, that quote holds true for parenting too. If you forget it after your first, you are bound to repeat it with your second.)
May you all have a great restful, fun, adventurous, quiet, crazy weekend. (You pick one.)
