My Moment Wednesday

I know. It's not Wednesday. But better late than never!

Things are quite exciting around here this week. School starts on Monday and today we got Josh's class/teacher assignment. He's excited because he knows several people in his class and one of his best friends from the playground is in his class too! He's very excited!

Today we went to the school and met his teacher and his class. It was all very excited. The buzz in the air as we visited with old friends, visited his new class and even dropped by his old Kindergarten class to say hi.

I belong to a local mom's group and the message board has been very active with "First Time Kindergarten" mom's. I read their posts about what is going on and what to expect and it's all so familiar to me. And in the halls today, the new Kindergarteners and their parents were easy to spot. So full of excitement like everyone else, but a different kind of excitement than those who have "been there" before.

I remember not knowing anything about Josh getting on the bus last year. How the initial days of school go, what to bring, what to expect, how does this happen, or that happen... so many questions for first time kindergarten moms! And so much excitement, not just for the kids but for us, the parents too.

When your oldest child goes to Kindergarten, it's like the parents are starting Kindergarten too. There's a whole Freshman parent thing going on. You rely on the other parents who have been there before to help out, show you around, appease your fears.

And as a sophomore parent this year, I do my best to help out, answer questions, allay the fears and anxieties of the other parents.

But I know no matter what, I can't take that anxiety away from the Freshman parents. Nor do I want to. It's a great feeling when you discover they will be okay and so will you.

Of course, I have my own too with Josh starting First Grade. The first real grown up grade with tests and grades and such. But I know he'll be fine because we made it through Kindergarten.

So My Moment this week was reveling in the beginning of the school year. Wondering what next week and next year will hold for all of us.

How to Make Mom Feel Good...

Sam: Mommy, what that on you face?

Me: What? Do I have something on my face?

Josh: I think he means those brown spots.

Me: My freckles?

Josh: They look like mud.

Sam starts laughing.

Being a Mom

Linda Leigh sent me this post. Wonderful read.

My book club just finished this book about what it's like to be a new mom, we had the discussion last night. Very funny, but so true!

These two incidents got me to thinking about what it's like to be a mom. And I'm going to ramble and just go on a bit here, so forgive me if all my mad ramblings don't gel together. I am a stay at home mom, after all. My brain doesn't get the work out it should!

As women, we put so much pressure on ourselves to live up to other peoples' expectations we miss the fun sometimes. I truly believe we need to loosen up and relax. Part of being a good parent, is letting your kids have a fun childhood.

When we become mother's we have a whole host of baby books, parenting books, media telling us what we should and shouldn't do, advice from sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, mothers-in-law, magazines, doctors, husbands, you name it.

And often this "advice" conflicts with each other. How the baby should sleep, how they should nurse, when to wean, when to add solids, when to potty train, when to have another child, when to send to preschool, if you should home school or send to private school or home school. The list is endless and it doesn't seem to be tapering off as my kids get older!

The difference is, as we get older, hopefully, we'll have learned a thing or two. Trust your instincts, relax and enjoy the ride. The trick is to find the balance that works best for you and your family. Yes, have rules and enforce them, but relax the rules for special occasions. Just because something works for our family, I don't expect it will work for everyone. We all have to find this out for ourselves.

One thing people told me when Josh was born over and over (and the only advice I've ever really followed) is to enjoy him because he will be grown up before you know it.

We've had ups and downs, scrapes, bumps and bruises. As a result, we have our own family stories and history.

I'll never forget the day Josh got off the bus on his first day of Kindergarten! His face was all lit up and he was so excited! Or Sam dancing to the music from The Cars Movie. Or when Josh jumped off Abba Kate & Papa Don's diving board. When he learned to pump his feet on the swings. When Sam finally got off the ground after months of trying to jump and he finally did it. Or the joy the kids get when they play with Daddy no matter what!

Well, maybe I will forget some of them, but I know deep down in my heart those memories, the joy I felt at watching my wonderful kids achieve something, will always be there!

I know my kids are only 5 and 2 and we still have the dreaded puberty years, teen age years, driving, high school, and more to go through. I don't expect it to get easier, just to have different challenges. By then I'll be so old I hope I'll have mellowed out a bit!

I want my kids to grow up and look back and say they had a good childhood. So, if my kids want pancakes for dinner from time to time, I'm going to let them have it. I am going to let them run through Grandmother's sprinkler in their underwear 10 minutes before bedtime. I will bring them to the grocery store in their PJ's from time to time. But they still can't stay up late on a school night!