Full Days

Some days are so full - errands, taking care of life's necessities - it is amazing how long you can be out of the house and running. I think back to school stuff makes for a lot of errands - and there are 2 kinds of people, of course, those who like errands and the rest of us. Some people invent errands - I've seen it - it is amazing - they can go to 5 stores to do their grocery shopping (maybe some call them bargain hunters) and they are just forever finding reasons to go to more stores! I personally don't love errands - I do them as efficiently as I can but summer doesn't bode well for efficiency. So here's to getting over with errands days - hooray!

Emotions

Well, since this is taking the form as a journal to the kids I think I am going to write some things I've thought about and want to share. I find it interesting to deal with so many different emotions with kids - about kids, how to deal with their emotions, and how they do/don't think about parent's emotions. Kids are at the same time such vast human beings and so small minded. Sometimes they seem to think in the global realm while other times they seem to only see what is happening at that instant. It is a hard thing to figure out which part of their essence to address at any given moment. As a parent, with emotions of my own, I wonder whether they think about or realize that I too have emotions and need to grapple with them. When they say "you're a mean mom" or "you're not understanding me" (or caring, etc) - they can't realize (probably until they themselves are parents) how hard it is to cast away my own emotions of sympathy, concern in order to resolve issues they are facing. When one has a behavioral issue or seems too self-centered, pointing it out to them and giving them consequences can be so difficult - especially once they see the mistakes they made and seem, if only momentarily, to have remorse and want things to be different. How easy it would be to give in and forget the consequences - but would it turn them into better people? Would it resolve the problem? I read this article in the NY Times about children feeling guilt and how it turns them into better people even if those same children don't seem to be able to control their actions -- needless to say it made me think a lot about discipline and feel better at the same time. I'm not sure if this flows but it is some of what I was thinking about the kids.

Sick Days

Some days are just sick days - someone with fever, someone just cranky - I think we get through these days by taking an hour at a time. Thank G-d for tylenol!

An evening of cooking

Well, I've decided this is a great medium to keep a journal for my kids - so I guess this may take that form. Tonight was awesome - family time at work - the kids and I did "night activity" (in our Camp Mommy, that's for another post) - cooking for the weekend. Each child was given a different job to do and each did it so beautifully - my oldest made Challah bread, middle cleaned and marinated chicken, and #4 made rice with deli in it - it was a very neat and fun experience. Left me feeling proud!

Crying Babies

Facing the never-ending question - is it really good to let babies cry in their crib to go to sleep? I am a strong believer in theory but when the reality comes, it is very hard to listen to this.

The Beginning

Just blogging to see how it works - not sure if this will get zero hits but figured it was worth a try. Sometimes it is just nice to hear ourself talk/think/write. I guess my subject matter is going to mostly be about staying at home with kids, being a good wife and mom at the same time, and probably whatever else comes to mind.