Have you ever taken a good look around at your life and wondered how you are still sane?  That’s me right now.  Dave has been getting his work travel on, which leaves me with the girls.  The girls have decided to up their game in the bickering department, the dogs are at an all-time high in annoying-ness, the cat cannot decide whether she wants to be outside or inside and the chickens have decided that flying over our fence is a good idea.   Out of all of that, the kid fighting is the worst.

Background: I have a sister but she graduated high school while I was still in elementary school.  I have no memory of being a bickering kid with her.  I do remember fun visits, letters, phone calls, being ecstatic when she came home and teary eyed when it was time for her to go.  Given that this is my experience with siblings…I have a hard time with how my girls interact.

I wanted more than 1 child, we tried for years to have Jane.  When she finally got around to making an appearance, Jules and Jane ended up almost 5 years apart.   Jules was so easy as a child that the difficulties that Jane presented almost broke me.  Jane scream cried every afternoon and would never take a nap.  She hated being on her stomach, hated being on her back, hated being in a vibrating chair, hated being in a swing…..on and on.  Getting her to sleep was an exercise in Mary Poppins Ninja moves.  Sigh…Parent mind.  I miss those days….Sigh.  See?  CRAZY!  When she outgrew that stage, there was this wonderful lull in which she hadn’t started talking a whole lot.  Then there was the game changer, Jane decided she had a voice and started using it.  Much to Jules’ dismay  The fights started almost overnight.  Jane did not want to be Jules’ minion anymore and let us all know about it.

I know that they have fun and can play well together.  

Proof

But man oh man, their noise level drives me out of my ever loving mind.  Or maybe it’s the constant MOM, MOM, MOM??

The ultimate crazy comes from the fact that I hate to be parted from them.  Example:  My mom and I spoke and saw each other multiple times last week.  I must have had that crazy eyed, visible nerves running along the skin parent look about me, as she volunteered to have the girls over for a sleepover.  My instant response was, Are you sure?  Mainly because I love waking up to them in the mornings.  The girls had their sleepover with mom and enjoyed themselves immensely, while I dealt with misbehaving dogs and chickens.  the chickens had to get their wings clipped – a necessary step to keep them safe.  see this video for an example.   Not the relaxing morning that I had hoped for, but what can you do?   HA!

I love those girls so much that it hurts sometimes.  They are so smart, cute, complicated, and challenging.  But apparently, I am surprised by how annoyed I can get by the whole being a mom thing.  I NEVER thought this would happen to me. Delusional?  Hell yeah.

but…..then they do something ridiculously cute and I melt.

iPhone pic in the car….sorry….but you see what I am dealing with right??!!  

Adorable

Free Range Parenting vs. Helicopter Parenting vs. whocaresletsjustsupporteachother

I ran across this article yesterday and can’t stop thinking about it and what it implies about the world we live in now.

Washington Post Article “Maryland couple want ‘free-range’ kids, but not all do

First off – I hate the idea and practice of labeling your parenting style.  It is a very popular trend and I feel like it divides rather than unifies parents.  Being a parent is challenging enough…..we don’t need people silently or not so silently judging because we are in a different parenting style group.  Now, don’t think I am a saint and haven’t had disdainful thoughts or words come out of my mouth about another person’s parenting choices, but you can be damn sure that I check myself.  (A very good practice passed to me from a friend, K.  But that is a different post)  No one is perfect and it is about time that we support each other and our parenting choices.

This video that has been all over Social Media pretty much sums up what we do…..but ends with what we should be doing.  If you notice that it was Similac that put out the video and feel inclined to make a comment about how the video is a subtle advertisement…..yes, I know that….but it does not make the message less valid.  I read the comments on the original video posting and it made me realize that the majority of people posting needed to watch the video again.

Most parents feel judged, and not just judged about bottle feeding vs breastfeeding.  Parents are made to feel that their choices are not good enough, from how often you get up with your kids, when you start potty training, when your kids start to walk and to bring it full circle -to Free Range Parenting vs. Helicopter Parenting.  Stop it already.

Peace out peeps.