The Games They Play

All the toys in the world and the simplest household item becomes the game of the day. Tonight McKallum found a small cookie tin in the cellar. He brought it to me and asked if he could do something with it. "Sure" was my answer and the game began. The next thing I hear is McKallum filling the cookie tin with some candy from Valentine's Day. From the middle of the living room I hear him say..."Candy for sale! Candy for sale!" His only customer, McKenna, responds..."I would like some candy but, I am poor person and don't have any money."
In turn McKallum hands her the tin and tells her she can have it for free.

McKenna comes running into the kitchen to proclaim that she was a poor person but, the candy man gave her some candy anyway...with a huge smile on her face she says, "Now I have food to eat and I am a lucky person."

An old tin, some stale candy and great life lesson learned. Acting out empathy and compassion are super things to learn and practice. And to think it was totally initiated by two four-year-olds. There was no need for bright lights, loud sounds or expensive toys. A true testament to what Tim and I have been teaching them since birth. Our children are lucky, they do have everything they could want and need and at four they have learned that not everyone has what they have. Bravo to them....Bravo to us as parents.

Splish Splash

The tub is the most magical place in our house. The minute the kids get in the tub their imaginations open and spin the greatest tales. As I sit here I can hear my son being a Pirate Captain on a Monster Boat that looks like a fish. While his sister, the Fairy Princess, sings songs like the mythical sirens of legends. There is singing and dialogue you would never hear anywhere else in our home. I love Tubbie Time!

I Can Do It All

Where do children get so much self esteem...so much confidence? Over the past few days we have been watching the Olympics. The twins have been expressing what they will do when they are in the Olympics. McKenna has decided that she will win the gold medal in ski jumping.....of all things ski jumping. McKallum was concerned because he wants to be a train driver when he grows up, so at first there was no time for the Olympics. After skate lessons yesterday and today he has decided that he will go for the gold in speed skating! He declared with full confidence that "He could be everything when he grows up."

And so tonight I will eat dinner with a future gold medal alpine ski jumper and a speed skating train driver! I love the energy and I admire the self worth and confidence. If they were your children....where would you hang two gold medals?

The Old Woman In The Shoe

"There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children
she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth
without any bread.
She kissed them all gently
and sent them to bed."

When I was growing up we lived across the street from a family with 12 children. I always dreamed that one day I would be the one with a house full of children. Happy sounds and joyous reveling inside and out. When the twins were born I wanted to do everything in my power to stay with them 24/7. With the help of my husband and family I opened a daycare. Now I could raise my children and still be a teacher. I could stay home and not miss a single "first". Four and a half years later my daycare enrollment has nearly doubled. On any given day there are 8-10 children here under my watch. Although some days feel long and most nights too short, I love my job!

And now my house is the one with all the children. With the exception of winter, our yard is filled to the brim with children running, climbing and having a great time. One can hear the echoes of laughter from a block away. There is never a dull moment. There is always someone doing something for the first time. Today the sun is out and the warmth of spring is in the air. I can't wait!

The Black Eye

Last night McKenna bumped her cheek and got a pretty significant "Boo-Boo."
Trying to keep the ice on her face and her mind off the pain, I started to tell her a story.

"McKenna when you were about one and half you bumped your face and got a black eye..."

She looked at me with a very serious face and said, "I still had one brown one right?"

At four the words are taken so literal.

They Will Get You Every Time

Today, I see the parent/child relationship as a game of cat and mouse. You watch them, they learn the right moves, you pounce on them and they escape. Just when you are in the middle of that "most valuable lesson" they say something to stop you in your tracks!

I was thinking back a few years ago....We had just paid a decent amount of money to have our hall and stairway rewallpapered. I had waited so long that I was bursting with joy at its completion. It was beautiful....clean and new! The very same day, as I came around the corner of the banister, to walk upstairs....There she was! My beautiful little two year old writing on my new wallpaper with markers. Acting as most mothers would, I took a deep breathe and yelled at the top of my lungs for her to stop. Once I was able to compose myself, I walked up to where she was and sat her down on the stair....this was going to be great....This would be a perfect learning moment. I started to explain to my beautiful two year old that we do not write on the walls...that wallpaper is expensive.....that mommy was very upset with her actions....that markers were for paper only!

She looked up at me in the middle of my "life lesson" and said, "I know markers are for paper...you told me this was called wallpaper!"

And there it was, with one tiny sentence, I was stopped dead in my tracks. The life lesson was lost and I was left to wash the marker off my wall.

Daughter 1 .... Mother 0

Question of the Day

Today as we were driving, my son asked the following..........

"Mom, if everybody starts off as a baby then who gave birth to the first baby?"

All I can say is "Thank God I know the Adam and Eve story!"

Mixed Messages

Every day we try our best to educate our children...preparing them for the future. We teach through words....we repeat....we practice...we say crazy things....We contradict ourselves.....have you ever thought about all the mixed messages we teach??

"Don't talk to strangers".....But, sit on the lap of the fat man in a red suit and tell him everything you want for Christmas.

"Don't take candy from strangers".....But, it's okay to eat the candy that a 6ft. talking Bunny brings you on Easter.

"Lock our doors at night, Don't let strangers in the house"....But, while you are sleeping on Christmas Eve, a jolly old man in a sleigh will come down the chimney, eat cookies in your kitchen and leave presents in the living room.

"Always be kind to others"....Said as you scream at the driver in front of you because he's driving too slow.

"Fitness is the key to good health".... Preached to the child from the parent sitting on the living room couch.

"Always practice Good Sportsmanship"....But, it's okay for daddy to yell at the other team's goalie.

"Always tell the truth"....And yes, the Tooth Fairy is real!

We are so silly and yet the same lessons are practiced generation to generation....I am going to blame "great" parenting skills on my parents....I only can pass on what I was taught!

Kindergarten?

Sunday our family went to mass and then to the kid's school for Open House. While we were there we toured the Kindergarten class and met the teachers. It hit me....Our Twins would be in Kindergarten come Fall. Since the moment they entered this world, I taught them....numbers, colors, letters, shapes, how to write, etc... Now they will become someone else's charge.

I opened my daycare as a way to teach and stay home with my children. I felt so lucky not to miss a single minute in their lives. I was there for all the firsts...Now my children are going off to school...leaving me home. I knew it would come one day, just not this soon.

The Kindergarten teachers were not what I expected. Will they be comfortable in their classes? Will they be good readers? Will they soak up all the knowledge like a sponge? There are so many unknowns and yet one thing is certain....they must go. For now we still have seven months together. 210 days to watch them every second...listening to them argue...all the toys not picked up....countless questions...skinned knees and teary eyes. There will be loud, crazy, silly, funny, sad and irritating times...but they will all be "our" time. Looking ahead I come to realize that I might welcome September with open arms.