Boring

Hi friends.  We've had a sort of hectic week, mostly because I was fairly busy at work (even had to work a few hours on Friday and they were a high-stress few hours).   I am increasingly enjoying working for Hamish, though, and work has been interesting this week which is so so so nice.

Before I had kids and had no idea that kids behave differently for their parents than for their other care-givers, I thought I had parenting entirely figured out.  It turns out that it is not possible to have parenting figured out without being a parent.  (I spend a lot of words stating the obvious on this blog.)

Anyway, one of the surprising things about kids is that they initiate and fight the same battles against their parents over and over again.  Tommy's preferred battle these days is to suddenly decided to be an uncooperative, sassy, rude person when he's asked to do something that he doesn't want to do.  (I actually asked him yesterday what he had done with my little boy.)  I cannot tell you how many times yesterday he refused to do things we asked him to do.  So, his legos are on top of Eli's wardrobe.  I had promised to return them this morning but the way things are going, by the time he gets them back, he won't care to play with them anymore.

The good news, is that these cycles generally last three or four days, and once he realizes that we are serious about our rules (did I tell the story about how, four months after telling Tommy at least once a day that we speak to each other kindly and respectfully, he asked what respect means?), he returns to normal only to start it all again in a couple of months.

Lulu's battle is at the table.  If I hear "no like it" one more time, I might scream.  A wise co-worker suggested that when you talk about kids as "bad eaters" in their presence, they most certainly will be bad eaters, so we're done with that even when I am enormously frustrated.  She eats four days a week, because she always has one good meal with Mandy ("Man-eeeee").  (Lulu adores Mandy.  Her excitement on Monday when Mandy appears is so sweet.)

 And a happy week to all of you. xoxo