14

Mom Things: Good, Bad, & Ugly in a Neat Little Package

You feel like a broken record most days with the constant Take Your Plate to the Sink, Put Your Clothes in the Hamper, and That is Not Where Your Shoes Go reps...but every 10th time, when they do it without instruction, you feel a pitter-patter in your heart.  It's called hope (and a little bit of accomplishment).

On jelly toast days, you have found that the best way to prevent your children from looking like Joker's offspring is to cut the toast diagonally in fourths.  Just trust me on this.

Your three year old is a little too interested in beauty products and has helped herself to "lotion" of the Vicks Vaporub and Sarna Anti-Itch varieties.  (And if you don't know how pungently these smell, consider yourself lucky.)  Those aren't something a bath can remedy in one shot.

You understand the dangers of what might be lurking in the silence when the kids are awake.  It goes without saying.  Sometimes, it's a 14 month old who has escaped to the office, moved the desk chair, replaced it with a step stool, and is proudly pounding away at the keyboard.  And that's just so stinkin' cute you have to take a picture.


After a blood-curdling scream by your three year old at the sight of a spider, you see her knight in shining armor (her big brother) come to the rescue by throwing a soccer ball at it.  It really is the simple moments like this that make your heart sing.


For some reason your three year old thinks the gigantic bank on the way to school is "where Ben has to go if he gets in a fight", and she is terrified of it.  You assume this means she thinks it's a jail.  And you're not above using this to your advantage when she's being unruly...

On a ten minute trip to Kohl's to spend your Kohl's cash two hours before it expired, your son broke his flip-flop, your middle daughter dropped the entire contents of the purse that she insisted on bringing into the store in the middle of the men's department, and your toddler ripped no less than 16 articles of clothing off of their hangers.  After you check out you think, "Phew.  That was a pretty successful trip!"

Just when you had come to terms with the idea that your son didn't need you to walk him inside on his first day of first grade, he changed his mind and said, "Maybe you can walk me in today."  And you didn't even bother trying to conceal your smile.  Maybe he still "needs" you after all.


You have an emergency lesson on tact with your kids after an embarrassing meal at IHOP resulted in your son pointing out someone's very large ears and your daughter announcing that she was "scared of the lady with pink hair".

You know that this is your third child because you would have never let your first get that close to the edge of a pool without being close enough to catch him.  And you surely wouldn't have taken a picture when they chose to dive right in.


Bonus #11 (because it's my blog and I make the rules):  When your three year old says, "I need to go to the potty really badly," you beam with pride.  Score one for the three year old who uses adverbs correctly!

Linking up today with...




14 comments:

Andrea said...

And those were the "good ole days"...I miss that craziness of having little ones under my feet. It's a new season...now I have grandbabies!
Blessings and prayers,
andrea

Sherri said...

That picture of the pool is classic! Just think, if you had been hovering (like most of us did too much of the first time around) you would have missed that awesome shot!

I love it when they point out obvious things (Big Ears Man, Pink Hair Lady) in such an honest way...although it always leads to a "lesson", but they are so cute!

Shannon K. said...

That's so funny. Addyson does the same thing with the adverbs, and it totally is a source of pride!

These posts of yours are always so great...I don't know how you have so much each week. I can't keep it all in my head to blog about it :)

Danielle said...

Love this list! Too funny, the joker comment the breakdown in Kohls (and everywhere else) and with my third, I would have let him done the same thing, just to get a shot! lol! I know pathetic but I am right there with you. Thanks for making me smile. I needed that!

Sonora said...

Great list! I love the picture of your daughter diving into the pool. It is really amazing how much parenting changes between the first and the last few. I love the one about the dangers lurking in the silence when kids are awake. That is so so true!

Debbie said...

I don't know how you manage to do it, but you completely delight me with these week after week. I was positive that I would dub the Joker Face as my favorite off the bat, but they just kept getting better and better.

I have decided to crown Abby the Adverb User as my winner this week. Number 2, however, is a tie among the rest.

Loved them all! You have such a gift. Do you realize that?

Debbie said...

Adding: I LOVE your quote for this one, too!

Denise said...

Great pictures. Great post. You are such a talented writer. I anxiously await each and every post. Keep up the good work.

BTW, did Ben manage to kill the spider with the ball? So glad he could save Abby.

Jennie said...

Thank you, *everyone*!

Mrs. Debbie, I'm afraid my "gift" is being able to have fun at the expense of my kids. And some day I'll have to pay for that! ;)

Jennie said...

He knocked it off, unharmed. It was *just* a Daddy Longlegs. Abby has so much to learn! :)

Danielle said...

Plese check my blog! I gave you an award!

Mrs.Mayhem said...

That is such a great photo of your little one attempting to dive into the pool. What a cutie! Hope she wasn't too startled or upset by the experience.

Unknown said...

Glad to know I'mnot the only nerd who takes pride in correct conjugations. Although, when G says "I'm super faster than him is" I still laugh. If he's doing it at 20, problem. For now? Ok by me. Great post--and love the photos!!

R. Molder said...

Great post!!! I laughed the whole way through!

Post a Comment

Before you go, I'd love to hear from you! Let me know what's on your mind! (Please and thank you.)

Back to Top