Thirty Day Challenge: Days 26-28

Journal Prompt #26:  This is another oldie but goodie.  Journal about your day.  Illustrate it, write it out...whatever.  Sometimes even the little mundane details of your day are just as special to document and commit to memory. 

Journal Prompt #27:  What is something that touched your heart today?

Journal Prompt #28:  Today I want you to make a list of 10 journal prompts that you could possibly use in your journal, after this class is over.  This is a tricky prompt :)  Sometimes it is really hard to come up with journaling prompts on your own so I think this will be a good way to get our minds ready for it.

(I got lazy and only did four)

Stellar Parenting.

Today I feel like a bad parent. 

I know I'm not a bad parent.  I know there are some really bad parents out there.  But what matters is that on days like today I feel like a bad parent.
 I feel like my kids are going to be permanently scarred by the things I've done, or the ways I've reacted to the things they've done today.  I'm afraid that in 12 years they're going to start bringing up the one time I overreacted when they........(fill in the blank)......and they were therefore scarred for life.

If I posted an honest Facebook status update it would have read: My kids should hate me.
But I wouldn't do that - because no one posts honest Facebook status updates when they're at their lowest point.  And if they do, they disguise it in the form of song lyrics or end up sounding whiny.
But back to my point.

The truth is that I've got a million excuses.  I could write them all down on here for all of you to read.  But I also know that you don't really care about my excuses.  I don't care about my excuses. 
Because over time these excuses aren't going to be what we remember.  It is going to be the way I shouted at Miles because he intentionally peed on the kitchen floor while he was in the naughty chair.  Or the handful of other ways I have allowed myself to be consumed by what is going on with myself outside of my children, and have taken it out on them.

Please friends, I'm begging you to understand that I love them.
So much sometimes it hurts.
In all my life I have never felt such love, hurt, guilt, exhaustion, worry, and intense moments happiness. 
When they are this young they are not good listeners.  They don't always follow extensive directions exactly how I want them to.  And it is easy to take it personally and to wish these moments away. 

But last night as I was sitting in the movie theater watching Ice Age 4, I glanced over at the two enthralled bodies next to me.  One had a giant popcorn bucket in his lap, both of them munching away and laughing at the screen.  THAT was an intense moment of happiness to the end of my otherwise not-very-good-day.

That moment exceeded all others.

So I hope you both remember that I love you.  And that I'm not perfect.  And I hope you remember the good times when I shine as a parent (because - believe it or not - I have those too). 

And when you're a parent I hope you remember that there are really bad times.....but that's normal, because people only write about the good times.

Thirty Day Challenge: Days 24 and 25

Journal Prompt #24:  Alright, today we are creating a Top 10 List.  This Top 10 list can be of anything!  This can be a Top 10 List that has already been established but that you want to document, or it can be a Top 10 list that you think up right this second!!

Journal Prompt #25:  "My wish for you..."  We all have dreams for our children, significant others, friends, and family.  Some of these wishes we can share with them while others we keep silent.  Today you are going to write out your wish for a specific person in your life.  You can be vague and keep in anonymous, or you can wish it out loud for them to see.  It's up to you!!

If I remember nothing else...

...then I want to remember these things about this time.

• Liam has started counting on his fingers when he is trying to tell me that he wants more than one of something.  i.e. "I want 1..2..3..4...5."
• Dustin asked Miles if he knew what his middle name was, and he responded, "YoSeb, GET BACK HERE!" 
• Whenever Liam wants to say that he wants "two" of something, he holds up his two index fingers and puts them right next to each other in front of his nose.
• Miles LOVES movies, and will re-enact scenes from movies every chance he gets.  He has this amazing memory for scenes that we as adults have to work extra hard to recall.  
• There is a little tiny bike that the boys ride, and one day I hung a small bucket from the back of the seat.  Miles instantly gasped and said "I'm just like Wojtech!"  (Wojtech is a staff member who mows the lawn sometimes.)  Now much of our day is spent "mowing" the living room while performing various acts of maintenance on the "lawnmower", and "locking" it up when we are not used it so the "kids" can't play with it.   On Friday he would only answer to "Wojtech" and kept telling me he couldn't hear me because the mower was too loud when he was on it. Then on Monday he was pretending to be another guy on site - Matt, so he insisted on riding his bike with a backpack on and answer his play cell phone "Hey Dude".
• Liam wants to "cuddle a wittle bit" every time he gets out of the bathtub.
• Liam's favorite book right now is "Where's Wally" - the UK version of Where's Waldo.  He could look at it for hours, and often falls asleep doing so.

Thirty Day Challenge: Day 23

Journal #23: Free Draw.

Pomp and Circumstance

One of my earliest memories is of me graduating from "play-school".  I wore a lovely white cap with my name in glitter on it, a white sheet, and when I was reunited with my parents they told me that next time I shouldn't pick my nose when I'm standing in front of so many people.  The first piece of advice I took rather seriously.

Yesterday we attended the equivalent graduation of our oldest.  When I heard that they would actually have a graduation ceremony I was touched by the fact that Miles made the cut and will be going on to P1 (a.k.a. preschool).  Then reality knocked some sense into me and I realized that he was actually just receiving a diploma for playing, eating snacks, and not peeing his pants.  I made the executive decision to still be proud of his accomplishments, because friends, I'm not a picky mama and I'll take 'em where I can get 'em.  So this morning we braved the severe rain and wind (shocking, I know) and ventured into the Naiscoil (Irish for "nursery") to watch our oldest son graduate with honors (okay, I made that up, but if they awarded "honors" for eating potato chips and building big jets out of duplos, then I have not a smidgin of doubt that he most definitely would have received such accolades). 
First they started out by singing a series of songs that we, idiot non-Irish speakers that we are, didn't understand a word of.  However, it was really nice to hear how close Miles has been in singing these all along when he performs them for us at home.

With his struggles in speech, I've never been quite sure whether he was pronouncing them correctly, but it turns out he is pretty darn close.  If I was a pro-active mom that wasn't about to have her third child, I would totally look up the songs and figure out what they're saying, but I would rather wonder in silence and take wild guesses.

After the "ceremony" they had a little party for the kids, which basically just consisted of them devouring a table of snacks like it was the end of the world as we know it, and then running around pushing each other.  Great fun for all.

These two found friendship over a bowl of chips....make that three bowls of chips that they kept snatching out from under the noses of their peers.

And just in case you have a few minutes to watch cute little kids sing songs you don't understand.... while my son only sparingly chooses to participate....a video for you. :)  No one can ever accuse this boy of not dancing to the beat of his own drum... almost literally.

Thirty Day Challenge: Days 21 and 22

Journal Prompt #21:  What was your favorite story from today??

 

Journal Prompt #22:  What are some things that you are looking forward to?  These can be monumental things or they can be silly little things too!