At Least He Has Good Aim

Last night I was roused from my dreamy sleep by a little four-year-old voice announcing the dreaded, "Mommy, my tummy doesn't feel so good." So, I did the logical thing and nudged my husband. He put little Jack on the toilet, but I knew that wasn't the problem, so I heaved myself out of bed just in time to usher my little boy back into the bathroom.

And, no surprise, he threw up.

In that moment, all that flashed before my eyes was a sleepless night ahead of soothing my child, cleaning up vomit and wishing, just wishing, I could go back to sleep.

But, I believe in looking for the little miracles in life, so I was very proud of my guy when he puked right in the toilet. Not drop of acrid-smelling saliva on the floor. Nothing to clean up. What a sweetheart -- and he has good aim.

Luckily, after he got settled into bed he went right back to sleep and didn't have any more emergency trips to the bathroom. And this morning has been uneventful as well. After I talked with another mom from Jack's preschool, who informed that the Norwalk virus was going around the school and half the kids were away yesterday, it seems we're getting off lightly.

Yes, there seems to be bright side, even to the stomach flu.

They're Out to Get Me

No, I'm not talking about CSIS, the FBI, the boogeymen or other sinister characters... I'm talking about my kids.

Slowly, through a campaign of annoyance, not listening, fighting with each other, breaking things, interrupting, and all-talking-at-the-same-time, they are going to drive me insane. I think... I know ... my husband shares my thoughts. If you may recall, THE top item on by 2011 list of resolutions was to have more patience as a parent. Hardly two weeks into the new year and I'm feeling less patient than ever.

It's a familiar pattern of behaviour that I can well-document:
1. I'm doing something with Child A
2. Child B interrupts
3. I remind Child B to wait until I have finished talking with Child A
4. Child B keeps on talking, despite the reminder
5. Child C comes into the situation and talks over Child B
6. Child A loses interest in what I was doing with them
7. I try to refocus Child A
8. Children B & C start fighting with each other because I am not paying attention to them.
... and finally, like a well-scripted play, I lose my patience and yell at the whole lot of them.

If someone can help me break the cycle, I welcome all advice. Maybe I should start watching SuperNanny to get some tips? Or self-medicating? A friend of mine, who is also a mother of three, thinks we should tell our family we are going out for groceries and never come back. Hmm... tempting.

All I know is that parenting is the hardest job out there. It's something I have to work at everyday, and I don't know if I'm getting any better at it. But still, I will try to make 2011 the year I take a deep breath and remember that I love my children.

Goodbye 2010; Hello 2011

Yes, it's that time of year to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. And what better place to do than in my long-neglected blog. (Is anybody still out there???)

Looking back, I would have to say that 2010 was a pretty good year for me and my family. Oh sure there were challenges, including our ongoing concerns with Charlotta's seizures and the news that she would need major back surgery to correct her scoliosis. But in the glass-half-full spirit of this blog, I need to acknowledge that some really great things have happened too:

• Our family (and extended family) are all relatively healthy and doing well.
• Last Easter I got to take my younger daughter Ashley to Toronto to visit my Dad who has Alzheimer's and is in a nursing home.
• Our kids are getting older and -- if I can be honest -- it's getting more fun and easier to do things with them.
• We had lots of fun getting caught up in the Winter Olympics that took place in Vancouver -- it was a great thing to experience!
• We "reclaimed" the basement suite in our house and now have an amazing, renovated basement to use as additional living space. This is has actually been HUGE in terms of our family dynamic and the words "go down and play in the basement" have a way of automatically rolling off our tongue these days.
• We've gotten to know some families in our neighbourhood and have made some new friends. We're also making more of an effort to stay in touch with old friends.

What will 2011 bring? It's hard to know, but there are some things that I would like to focus on:

• Being a more patient parent (oh yes, this tops the list)
• Exercising more (what New Year's resolution list would be complete without that one?)
• Trying to not sweat the small stuff and not dwell on decisions or situations that are out of my control.
• Communicating/talking/connecting more with my husband (Ladies, you know what I'm talking about, right?)
• Taking my vitamins everyday.
  
• Keeping our house free of clutter, which involves knowing when to throw out/donate/recycle things as well as being more thoughtful about what I purchase ("Do I really need that extra serving platter even if it is on sale?")
• Eating and serving more whole, unprocessed foods for me and my family and less processed, packaged foods. (To this end, I plan to bake chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with the kids tomorrow in preparation for back-to-school lunches).
• Living in the moment and not planning/worrying/thinking about what's going to happen tonight/tomorrow/next week.
• And probably three other things that I haven't thought about yet...

If anyone happens to be reading this post, why don't you tell me what was great about 2010 or what you resolve to do in 2011...