The Answers to Good Parenting

In my last post, I dreamed aloud about being able to write a book with all the answers to parenting well. I've since learned that our very own government has published some manuals on the subject. You just gotta know where to look! Check out the info for yourself. Who knew that good parenting starts with mining for uranium?! I'm afraid Charlie was reading Escape and Evasion while in the womb, though. There may be no hope for Jeff and I to outsmart the little expert. But, it's worth a try! Thanks, Lazy MF, for the tips, and 10-4 to you and yours on your family outing this weekend.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I had the best day with this little guy. Good thing because Charlie was such a stinker this weekend. We reached an all-time low with him when he earned himself three time-outs in a row. The first one was for yelling at me, his Mama. I never got a chance to ask Jeff what the other offenses were. Our little repeat offender was to serve his sentences under a tree after church where he had commited all of his offenses. He screamed and yelled and made sure everyone walking by know that we, the parents, had clearly lost control of our little cherub. Then, it took both Jeff and I chasing him on the front lawn of the church, Charlie giggling all the while, just to get him in the car. We were embarassed enough and decided not to subject ourselves to anymore humiliation and to take our little guy home to do his time. Which he did. But the day never got much better, really. Then this morning he wakes up back to his happy self saying, "What can I do for you, Mama?" I did a double-take to make sure this was the same boy causing me such angst less than 24 hours earlier. It was. We ran errands together, laughed together, and exchanged more kisses and hugs than I can count. What made today so different than yesterday. I wish I knew. Sleep is part of the answer...the rest I can't figure out. If I could, I'd write a book and every parent in the land would be lining up to buy my recipe book for parenting well. But, alas, there is no recipe. Some days are just bad. Some moments are just bad. But, sandwiched in there is a whole lot of sweetness. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes all in the time it takes to get through a meal. Ahhh...parenting. Still, give me the bad and the ugly because the good is oh so good.

Time in a Bottle

Life is so precious and the moments go by so quickly. So often, I just wish I could put the precious little moments in a bottle and keep them forever so that I might take them out and re-live the moments whenever I want. I really try to do this. I have scrapbooks to record the memories and milestones. I encouraged my grandmother to tell her stories over and over again (not that it took much encouraging). I drill my mom, aunt, and uncles for their life stories. I tell and retell my own childhood memories to my family and friends. I often "walk" down memory lane with friends, rekindling the magic of how we got to be friends. I do a lot of "remember when" with my patient husband. I write down the cute little things my kids say and even the hysterical things my husband says. Of late, I've really enjoyed reading the blogs of my friends and cousins. I've been enamored with their ability to capture the beauty that happens in the day-to-day of life. Sadly, there's no way to shove precious moments into a bottle (try as I might). But, keeping this blog will be yet another attempt to do so. Despite my admitted techno-phobia, I've finally worked up the nerve to wrestle with and talk nicely to this computer so that I might have a blog to call my very own. Thanks for visiting.