Category » mom related
February16
low expectations
At this point in my life I am loving low expectations.
A few weeks ago, Zoe’s teacher emailed begging for help with their Valentine’s party. This is not something I really enjoy doing (despite having a million college credits in early childhood ed) but her email was so desperate I caved and offered to help. She asked me to bring a craft – something like fun foam (like I know what the fuck that is?) would work well. I proceeded to procrastinate wildly and ended up with a plan to “swing by” the craft store on the way to school on Valentine’s day. Ha.
Of course, there was a whole shitload of Easter crafts and very slim pickins on V-day stuff. So I cobbled together a bunch of weird foam things with sticky backs and took them in to preschool, cursing myself for being such a ridiculous procrastinator and for giving this craft zero thought. But, I could provide the alpha moms with something to snicker about, so hey! bright side!
As it turns out, the helpers for the party were me, a couple of bewildered looking dads and a foreign mom with a thick accent. Everyone seemed pleased with my stupid craft and there was a general feeling of “this is fine” which was fantastic.
This is fine. I think THIS IS FINE is my new gold standard.
This experience made me love Zoe’s preschool even more. What I love the most about it is its total average-ness. In this age of “is my kid going to the BEST preschool?” and “my kid has a preschool INTERVIEW next week” and “they’re directing their own learning at this preschool!”; I love the normal, run-of-the-mill preschool. Nice ladies, show n’ tell, circle time. I don’t want awesome. I don’t want frills. I want a place where a stupid craft is just fine.
I think we’re overdoing this parenting thing. Not that this is news. Helicopter parenting. Generation Me. How to Land Your Kid in Therapy. ETC. We are seeing that trying to give our kids the best of everything isn’t really helping them out much in the long run. Parents calling to follow up at businesses where their grown children have sent resumes? Gross.
I’m trying to focus on the beauty of low expectations both in my kids’ lives and in my own. If you have low expectations, you are often surprised and delighted and rarely let down and disappointed. Most things are fine. Not everything needs to be awesome. I let go of my iPhone a few weeks ago and the new stupid phone I have is just fine. Junie doesn’t need to wear the $40 perfect-for-growing-feet-that-she’ll-outgrow-in-two-seconds shoes; the Target ones are just fine.
The best part of this is that I think it comes naturally to little kids. My kids are perfectly happy playing in the laundry basket.
This is Fine. Should I trademark it?
January26
anti-lifestyle
This ain’t no lifestyle blog.
Here’s what’s really going on (an installment of my anti-lifestyle blog as referenced HERE).
On Thursdays, Zoe has preschool most of the day which gives me a little alone time with Junie. I took this alone time to read the book club book for book club TOMORROW while Junie trashed the house. She did one of her favorite crafts, empty-the-wipes, which involves pulling out all of the wipes and spreading them around. See below. Click to enlarge.
The other day when I tried to unload the dishwasher she climbed all over it and threw screaming fits when I tried to get her down. But look at her outfit!
I guess that’s all I can write for now because she is trying to pull the laptop off my lap and I’m worried she’ll spill my beer. Yes, I’m drinking beer. It’s happy hour.
Smooches!
January22
iPhone no more
This week I’m going to give up my iPhone and replace it with just a regular old phone that rings and texts.
If you know me in real life, you may be shitting your drawers.
I am, in no uncertain terms, addicted to it. And I realized today that it’s pulling me away from my real life. If something is going to pull me away from my real life, it had better be valuable.
Don’t I sound so sure of myself?
It’s all for show. I’m kind of scared.
I know I need to do it because I want to be more deliberate about how I spend my time, but it’s going to be hard. I’ll miss the camera and the easy filters and the easy upload to Flickr. I’ll miss the baby monitor app that allows me to see a sleeping Junie in her carseat in the car (in the garage) while I am in the house. But I don’t think I’ll miss the other things. Not really.
I’m thinking of it as a gift for the people in my life; especially my kids. They deserve my full attention. They don’t deserve a mom sitting on the floor playing Words With Friends while I pretend to pay attention to a story about Barbie’s broken leg.
If Barbie needs help with her goddamn broken leg (try some sensible shoes, idiot), I will be there to cast it.
November28
rascally baby on the loose
So, Junie’s crawling and pulling up. And fucking shit up left and right. She’s more of a rascal than Zoe was at this age – she goes right for things she can pull over on herself. She has scrapes all over her face.
And guess what we’re about to do? PUT A GIANT TREE IN THE LIVING ROOM!
I’ve been researching babyproofing Christmas trees (some of the most exciting research one can possibly do) and I found this gate, which I will not be purchasing because you might as well not even have a Christmas tree if you’re going to put a giant disgusting-looking gate around it. Nevertheless, I had to show you this picture because it’s fucking hilarious.
“Okay, you just stay in here and Mommy will be right over there drinking herself into a stupor…”
Wish me luck. Letting my baby smash herself flat with a Christmas tree would be bad parenting.
