The Positive Spin: 3

March 31, 2011

This boy. Oh this boy.

His dimples. You could fall inside them and get lost when he smiles.

He still calls me Mommy.

If it were possible to have your heart physically removed from your body, you would be looking at mine.

If you were to take a poll of all his siblings they would say he was the easiest to get along with. The one with whom they rarely argue. In every family I have ever known where there is many siblings, there has always been one person that is the glue, the one who bridges the rocky relationships that other siblings might have, he is that person in our family.

He is an easy child to parent. If I only had him I would take credit for this fact and think I had all the parenting answers. But since he has siblings, I know the truth–he was just born easy going.

He is always happy. Always smiling. I don’t know how anyone can be that happy.

His siblings even ask him what it’s like to be so damn cheery all the time. Yes, they say it like it some sort of grave affliction. We are a family of brooding cynics who see the glass half empty. On the other hand he is all, “Ooooh a glass! I love this glass! This is the best glass ever and it has something in it, too!”

He rarely gets angry. In fact I can’t remember the last time he was truly upset.

Except when he is doing some sort of competetive sport. Then he is crazy. There is nothing he loves more in life than being physically active. He has no fear.

He finds humor in everything. His self esteem is such that you really can not embarass him. A friend of mine grabbed his hand in the parking lot of the grocery store one day and started skipping and swinging his arm. He skipped right along like it was a perfectly normal thing for an almost 12 yr old to do.

He has a kind heart. He recently got a positive referral at school for stepping in when someone was being bullied.

This makes up for all the other referrals of the not so positive kind he has received. Seriously how hard is it to get to class on time? With your stuff! Or check a book out of the library in under half an hour?

He was the longest of all my labors at 17+ hours and the family joke is that he kept forgetting the way out.

I have no idea what sort of job this boy is suited for as an adult. You know how some kids are passionate about a particular subject and you can see that they will probably head in that direction. This boy is passionate about life. He is going to grow up to be surrounded by friends and living a life filled with happiness, of that I am certain.

Run, Don’t Walk

March 29, 2011

I am in the April issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine. I did not know it was going to be this month but Susan’s mom saw it. Yay, Susan’s mom, whom I have never even met.

The title is a little bit misleading. The article isn’t about vodka. Or vibrators. Or midgets.

So go on and buy the magazine. Otherwise you are going to have to wait two years for it to turn up at your doctor’s office. What are you waiting for?

What Tuesday Feels Like

Scene: 6am at the breakfast table

Is it Friday yet, Mama?

Tuesday is dumb.

The Positive Spin: 2

March 28, 2011

This boy. Oh, this boy.

This boy is so smart. So very, very smart. He thinks big thoughts.

He asks questions that I don’t know how to answer. Heck, half the time I don’t even understand the question.

He prefers to watch educational shows above most shows. Except for The Simpsons and Family Guy.

He talks about sciency things.

He knows how smart he is and takes everyone else’s lack of superior intelligence personally. His siblings hate being corrected all the time. Probably not as much as his classmates do, however. And definitely not as much as his teachers do. He is constantly in trouble for arguing with his teachers. He doesn’t think it is arguing so much as pointing out the error of the teacher’s ways. And surely they should be grateful for his input. In fact he it truly baffled by their negative reactions.

Also, he thinks Language Arts is dumb and should be stricken from the school curriculum. Reading stories and writing about them are a waste of time that could be better spent doing science experiments and math equations.

Yes, that is like a dagger in my heart.

He built this thing this past weekend that converts heat into electricity, or something like that, and powers a machine.

He was so excited to show it to all of us. And I was excited to see all his siblings take an interest in it.

Not once did anyone call anyone else stupid. Nor did anyone tell anyone else to shut-up.

This boy.

He is going to do great things one day. Of that I am sure.

Typical Saturday

March 26, 2011

I am not sure I will ever get over the thrill of being able to swim outside in March. I mean, it’s March, people. March!

Today I got a sunburn on my back. It isn’t a particularly bad sunburn. I just had the unfortunate luck of wearing a bathing suit top whose straps crisscross on my back. I didn’t even notice the sunburn until I caught a glimpse of my back in the mirror and realized with horror that it looks like I have a target right between my shoulder blades.

So while I go on and on about the glorious sunshine, all of you who live in snowy places now know where to aim.

The Positive Spin

March 25, 2011

This boy. Oh this boy.

(Picture me here inhaling deeply and shaking my head slowly)

He is intense. He is full of life. He is funny. So very, very funny. He is sarcastic. He is deeply sensitive, but hides it behind a tough bravado. I can see through it.

He can bring me to the highest high of parenting. And just as quickly plunge me into the depths of despair.

He challenges me to be a better parent. (Sometimes he challenges me hourly.) Sometimes I fail, or to be more accurate, I feel like I have failed.

I look at him and think, I am a better person because you are in my life.

Then I shake my head.

This boy. Oh, this boy.

He is so precious to me.

*****

A new post over at AlphaMom. Go read! I have a challenge for you.

Space…the Final Frontier

March 24, 2011

We joke that my blonde haired son is the sterotypical blonde. That he is the butt of every blonde joke that has ever been told. We are joking. But you know what they say about truth in jokes.

He is just so forgetful. He is a space cadet. (Does anyone even use that term anymore? Space cadet? Have I just aged myself terribly? Hello, Chris, 1984 called and wants its slang back.) He is just happy and smiling all the time. I am not sure how such a happy child could have sprung from my loins, but here he is.

All of this to say that the other night at 9:30pm when I got a text from our friend and neighbor that there were a pair of black Nikes on their front lawn it was not unusual. Nor was it out of character for this child to leave his belongings all over the neighborhood.

So I called to this child who was brushing his teeth and getting ready to go bed before midnight for the first time in over week.

Hey, you left your sneakers at our friend’s house. You need to go get them now.

Yeah. Weird…

He runs down to his friend’s house and a few minutes later he is back home.

They weren’t even my shoes!

He tosses his sister’s black Nikes on the floor.

I don’t know why you just assumed they’d be my shoes. Sheesh.

I watch as he kicks off his sneakers.

Did you put on those sneakers to go to your friend’s house?

Huh. I didn’t really think about it!

He laughs and laughs.

We all laugh.

It’s okay, honey, it takes a lot of brain power to grow that pretty blonde hair.

You would know, Mom.

Another kid, who is being written out of the will as I type this, says: No, it takes a lot of money to get Mom’s blonde hair.

They high five each other and run out of the room before I can chase them down and beat them.

No, not really.
Everyone over ten is bigger than me in this house.

Day in the Life 11:30pm

March 22, 2011

Goodnight.
In five and a half hours it all starts over again.
Every night I think the same thing before I (hopefully) fall asleep (insomnia is a bitch) may the next day have more of the good parts and less of the crappy parts. This day, even though a lot of things didn’t make it to the blog? This day was one of the good ones.

Day in the Life 11:00pm

Teenage boys are always hungry. I keep snack food in my bedroom closet now. A closet that has a lock. The kind that has a key. Seriously, that is how much they eat.
If the junk food is hidden they make better food choices, so don’t think I am starving them. There is all the fruit, vegetables, real food, chips and crackers not in single serving sized packages, that they can possibly eat.

After this he ate three tuna fish sandwiches, chips, and fruit. You kow the typical after dinner/before bed snack. Ah to have the metabolism of a teenager again.

It was at this point I bid goodnight to my oldest two sons. Yes, I have kids who stay up later than I do. And they put themselves to bed. Take heart parents of babies and toddlers this day will come for you too.

Day in the Life 10:15

Oldest son is working on a huge project. He didn’t procrastinate until the last minute. He has TWO whole days to complete it!

His siblings can’t help but be helpful.

15yr old: Another day another nickel. Einstein said that.

Me: Uh, I am pretty positive he did not.

15 yr old: No, I really think he did.

11 yr old: Dumbass. That was SpongeBob.

Clearly the brain trust does not reside in my house.