Random mommy moments…

02 Jul 2017 7 Comments

by smartignani in Children, Development, Family, Fatherhood, Goals, Growing up, Life, Moms, Motherhood, Parenting, Reflection, Toddlers, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This is a short compilation of recent mommy moments that I feel the need to share with the world.

  1. My three year old still thinks that hairplanes depart from the hairport. Image result for hairplane
  2. My 19 months old son will randomly go up to dogs anywhere and start bopping up and down – dancing to an imaginary song in his head. Dogs usually love that.
  3. I spelled out to my husband, very quickly, that a friend is trying to get p-r-e-g-n-a-n-t and my 5 year old immediately asked – “Who is trying to get pregnant mommy?”
  4. My three year old came up to me and said “Mommy, I love you as much as pickles” then walked away. She doesn’t like pickles that much. Image result for emojis unamused
  5. My husband did the laundry which was awesome. My toddler wore my underwear on his head when someone rang the door and he came running up. Not awesome.
  6. My five year old exclaimed loudly, in public, “Mommy why is that man screwing around?” as she pointed to a gentlemen who was fixing a chair with a screwdriver.
  7. My toddler is frustrated that the TV is not touch screen. He can’t swipe anything. So frustrating for him. There are tiny fingerprints literally ALL OVER our TV screen.
  8. My 3 year old likes to watch TB and often tells people in random places “I love my TB.”  As people noticeably and justifiably back away.
  9. My 5 year old broke down today because it was so hot and said- “I am dehydrated mommy- are you trying to kill me? Hydrate me please, that is all I ask!”
  10. A magician at a small party asked the kids, what do you breathe out into the balloon- all the kids shouted “air” but my 5 year old declared “Carbon Dioxide!”
  11. My toddler keeps running away from imaginary people who are trying to tickle him. He then chases same and says “Tickle, tickle, tickle” I think he sees the unseen.Image result for emojis
  12. My 3 year old will sit down for breakfast and have a bowl of cereal then a bowl of oatmeal and then desperately ask “Do we have any more Eggos?”
  13. My 5 year old blamed mommy when she got in trouble at school, stating and I quote “My mommy made me this way. This is how I was born.”
  14. My toddler physically removes and carries really heavy items out of the pantry then cries because he doesn’t know how to put them down.
  15. When asked who she loves more, mommy or daddy, my 5 year old daughter proudly and confidently asserts “God”.

I can’t be prouder and they can’t be more beautiful in my eyes. Thank you Lord for blessing them. Please share your moments if you like!

Smartignani

Advertisement

Bedtime Wars!

27 Jun 2017 Leave a comment

by smartignani in Bedtime, Changes, Children, Development, Family, Fatherhood, Goals, Life, Moms, Motherhood, Parenting, Reflection, Tantrums, Transitions, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Image result for pillow fight childrenSome of our battles are quite epic! Please tell me I am not alone. My preschooler and my kindergartner share a room and a bunk bed and THEY NEVER WANT TO SLEEP!

We have a routine. We change into our pjs, we brush our teeth, we pray in our beds, most nights I read a story, we snuggle and huggle and cuddle and huddle. I rub their back, I play with their hair, I sing songs and I plead, beg, bribe, reward, remind, count-down, count-up, cry, tickle and threaten but NOTHING WORKS!

These kids just won’t sleep. They refuse to succumb to any strategy I have used thus far. The only thing I can think of is splitting them up which will suck for us because we will lose our extra guest room which I use when family comes over. The other reason I don’t want to split them up is because that would mean one of them sharing the bathroom with my toddler who is not a heavy sleeper which means one toilet flush or one song and he is AWAKE! I cannot have that!

I am beaming with pride during the day. They are good, wholesome, beautiful young ladies. They share, they care and they dress themselves. They tidy up when asked to and we operate within a very strict sticker reward system that sees them closer to their goal of going to a fun “place” once they achieve a certain number of stickers. Positive behaviour is rewarded and negative behaviour is also acknowledged through the loss of stickers. It’s an ongoing delicate balance of telling one daughter “You get 2 stickers for listening right away” and telling her sister that “Whining is not acceptable, you will lose one sticker now”.

I feel like we made progress everywhere in their behaviour. Despite my eldest’s incessant arguing (it is part of her curious nature to be inquisitive even though sometimes it feels like she is questioning my authority- it is usually unintentional). The middle child is cautious and every so sensitive, so I feel like we made great gains in making her more confident to experience the world and know that she will always have our love and support. However, together and after the bewitching hour of 7:15 pm, they become tiny hellions that are more boisterous than a small crowd of protesters in front of city hall. I have tried installing a monitor to yell at them through it but it did nothing but make me irate with the sheer amount of shushing and threatening I had to do while they action ideas, which I can hear,  that are just no no no no no good!

I read forums about this so I decided to stop listening in and I took away the monitor. I decided to just let them play but all I kept hearing downstairs from their room is banging, thumping, stomping and screaming. They would often wake up their baby brother which would send me into a small dark rage and result in them losing the ability to attend events, visits or even go out in public! My husband kept telling me to stop incentivizing them with what we will be doing next that would be fun and I listened even though that was the only thing that worked with them! If we had a wedding, or party or fun event coming up, I would say “Remember, if you listen and go to sleep tonight, we can go to…and have lots of fun”. It worked beautifully but this did not sit well with my husband so he implemented the strike system.

Strike one, they lose their books and flashlight (yes, they each have 3 or 4 books to read in their bed). Strike two, we close the curtains (we keep them open for daylight and until they sleep) then last strike, we turn off their star nightlight since they do not like the dark- that is absolutely the worst one.

It is working except, if I give a strike then it affects both girls and the eldest usually says “But mommy, why are you punishing me? I’m listening!” And she is right. I don’t know if this is a foolproof system, certainly my 5 year-old is no fool!

So I really don’t know what to do or whether to actually do anything at all. I am blogging about it to see if I am the only one in the mamaverse who is struggling with this. My goodness, some days, I just hate bed time. If I wasn’t sure that they need at least 13 hours of sleep, I wouldn’t have even bothered putting them to sleep at all! And even though I start bedtime at 7:15 pm most nights, they are not usually asleep until 9 or 9:30 pm- crazy right?

There is something wrong with these children. Don’t mince words. Just tell me- WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE CHILDREN?

Image result for tired momLOL.

Smartignani

One year Birthday Party- Dream AND Disaster!

25 Jul 2012 2 Comments

by smartignani in Motherhood Tags: , , , , , , , ,

 

Picture this:

About 45 people standing/sitting/slouching/leaning around three rooms including the kitchen. The buzz of conversation is so loud and it echoes off my hardwood floors. Half the side is Italian and the other half/third is Egyptian with a sprinkle of French, Canadian and Other. The matriarchs and my father-in-law have ceased the oven and are avidly heating beautifully prepared dishes. There is Cannelloni alongside the Goulash and cake alongside the Baklava. The crowd is friendly and all the while, the object and reason for their gathering is skillfully crawling between their unsuspecting limbs. My baby might only be turning one but this fete reviled the Film Festival in both fun and decor. With a theme like Dr. Seuss, really, how can you go wrong?

There were decals on the walls and cool looking balloons floating around. There was delicious fare (as mentioned earlier) and a Keurig that boasted an array of flavoured coffees and teas. This was a time to be jovial, a time to sing, a time for me to record all with my camera so I can prove my superior capacity as an attentive and wonderful parent!

That party was supposed to be over at 4 pm (started at noon) so that my next party for friends and their children can start at 5 pm. However, the last person from party one left at 5 pm and the first couple from party two arrived promptly at 5 pm. Thank goodness, upon the insistence of my all-knowing and always-right mother, we had cleared the remains of the earlier feast and set the table for the next party with a host of new appetizers, re-heated home-made platters and succulent finger-foods. We were ready to receive our new batch of guests.

My baby had decided to abandon ship at 1:30 and didn’t wake again until 3:00 which helped because I needed to attend to the unending stream of questions, requests and concerns as I tried to serve out my sentence, ahem, I mean act as a gracious hostess!

At 5, I decided it was time to feed my daughter linner (lunch and dinner together) because she needed to eat apparently and I may have forgotten to feed her in the crazy frenzy. She was happy and content with the lull and quiet for 15 minutes until more friends arrived with their offspring. The sheer number of kids ranging from the age of 0 (less than a year old) to nine years of age had me wishing for the earlier party with the boisterous and loving Italian/Egyptian family members.

There were screeches, yelps, whining, crying, screaming, yelling, banging and some other unidentifiable, somewhat inhuman sounds coming out of the playroom. My friends are amazing and I love them and they were always watching out for their kids but boy, it was more than evident that I NEEDED to get carpets installed to block some of the reverberating sounds. Conversations were also loudly held but everyone seemed to be having a great time. There was enough food, change tables, diapers, Band-Aids, cupcakes and toys for everyone to enjoy. Gone were the days where I needed to only worry about set-up then I can have a glass of wine or a cocktail. I realized I needed to be constantly on my toes because of the number of crawling babies in the area. So literally, on my toes.

The last small group of friends left at 10:30 and my baby was still up because God forbids she misses ANY of the action! We said our goodbyes and once the house was empty, I gave her a bottle and I am not kidding when I tell you she was asleep as soon as she began sucking on the latex nipple. She was gone within seconds and I don’t mean lightly dozing, I mean- SNAP- gone! Deep asleep, snoring- gone. It was actually quite funny to watch.

It took the hubby and me two hours to clean the house and then it was time for bed at 12:30 am. It was an exhausting and exhilarating experience but would I ever do it again?

Absolutely. Not. Never. Ever.

That’s what Chuck ‘E’ Cheeses and grandparents are for.

Enough said.

Smartignani

%d bloggers like this: