I have a little secret. Pretty much all of my rocking parenting ideas I've gotten from other people. Be it from chatting with friends, gleaning ideas from other bloggers or shamelessly copying my sister who makes this whole parenting gig look effortless.
In the classroom, I was a creative genius. Parenting? I bat zero. But I am OK with that, because I have so many nice people to copy from. One of the more brilliant ideas I took from my sister and many others was quiet playtime. Every afternoon from 1-3 my children go into their rooms shut the doors and either nap or play on their own. This took some training for them to get used to, but it really is the only reason they are still living an my house is in any semblance of order. That is my two hours to clean, make dinner, do any phone calls, plan out future therapy and learning and occasionally blog.
Now bear in mind that I have active pre-schoolers. We use the term quiet really, really losely. Theyre quieter than a jackhammer, but not by much. One day Sprout spent the entire time jumping off his bed. He wasn't jumping off of me, so I let it slide. As long as they do not destroy anything and they clean up at the end, they pretty much have license to do what they want. EVERYONE wins.
Sometimes however, my quiet playtime gets eaten up with other things. Last week I was busy doing something for Way Cooler or running errands every single afternoon. I couldn't figure out why my house was falling to pieces and I was ready to sell my kids to the Hutterites. I just did not feel on top of my game. It wasn't till one night late that week that I realized just how much I was missing my quiet playtime.
I arrived home from yet another errand to kiss Way Cooler good-bye as he headed out for the night shift. I then laid out for the boys my plans for the rest of the day and we started in on it. The plan was to go for a walk, have an extended story time, a bit of free play, clean the playroom, do some laundry, have baths, and go to bed.
Did you notice anything missing? I didn't. Not until nearly six as I was bathing them did I realize that it might be a good idea to FEED MY CHILDREN. Oops.
Do not despair, nice people from Social Services, I did pull something together. Better than alphagetti even. The mother guilt was very strong, so I made my kids fruit and yogurt parfaits. They think this is a SUPER treat and I hit all 4 food groups in a bowl.
Score.
What's in a parfait? Several layers of yogurt, granola, and whatever fruit you happen to have around. Put it in a glass dish so they can see the pretty layers and you are an instant rock star. At least in my house.
No, this is not an original idea either, but what do you expect from the lady who forgets to feed her kids?
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About Me
- happygeek
- Short and cute. That describes the whole happy family, myself,my hubby and my two boys, Spud and Sprout. I may be a bit of a geek, but there's nothing wrong with a little weirdness! Right?
Gonzales Just Got a Little Cooler
7 comments:
Bwah hah hah... Delayed anticipation for the boys who surprisingly didn't request food services from their mother.
I do work in the social services sector and sweetheart-you are a dream mother! Trust me. If you need encouragement ask me to tell you some of the stories of people who should have had to ask for permission to become parents!
Do you have another sister I don't know about? Don't worry about forgetting to feed your kids; they'll remind you when they get hungry enough. Mine always do!
I think maybe we'll try your parfait idea this week. Either that or one of your fruit smoothies!
I steal all my ideas from other people's ideas too. I love having really smart mom friends. I bet they forget things like meals sometimes too. I hope...
Your parenting skills could NEVER be described as 'batting zero'! You are a very loving, devoted, resourceful, creative, organized, human mom. Most of us would admit that there are likely things we could have done better at times but we say so, only because none of us is perfect. If your boys were asked who had the most fantastic mom they would say "MY MOM"
Give yourself a pat on the back.
Love,
Grandma
One time I babysat my nieces and nephews and forgot to feed them. I felt AWFUL! They are still alive, though.
Did I ever tell you that our friends nicknamed a toddler Tongginator "the Hobbit?" Because she ate first breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, tea, dinner, supper... I forget MANY parenting essentials, just never the food-related ones. But only because the Tongginator would NEVER allow me to do so.
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