I can’t believe it’s May 20 already. This month has flown by, maybe cause I’m doing LOTD or maybe it’s cause time just passes too fast now. Either way this month is over and next thing you know we’re halfway through this year. My boy is going to finish preschool soon and it’s all too amazingly fast.
I am not one of those parents who runs from activity to activity with her kids. My kids spend most of their days at home playing. So many parents ask me what they do all they long and this is it.
They eat toys, they play with toys, they walk around, they watch movies, they play in the yard, and then they play more with legos. Sometimes we do workbooks. Sometimes we laugh and listen to music. But most of the time I’m quietly working away and so are they.
Sometimes this makes me feel like I must be a bad parent that I am not taking my kids to the park enough or giving them more opportunities to explore activities, socialize, etc.
But then I decide I don’t care. This is me. This is us. I have to work, I get to be home and more involved than some and less than others. This is the best I am able to be right now. (Here’s Nathaniel at today’s playgroup.)
We spent most of today working/playing. Then we briefly went to playgroup here and then at night we had dinner guests. Our neighbor with two kids same age as ours. Nathaniel was sleeping but David played with their girl and their little boy was a gem while we ate delicious food and chatted. It was quite nice company. And I am glad we did it. I am always too lazy, busy, tired to have friends over or make new friends. It’s good to do it occasionally.
Note to Self:
Last night I went to a book club meeting with a mom’s group. I didn’t know a soul there and even though I read all of the book, I really didn’t like it. So I was worried about showing up to a room full of strangers and talking about it. But of course I ended up talking and talking and talking. Cause that’s what I do. I am very talkative. Too talkative. I get excited, I talk more. Nervous. Talk more. Worried, talk even more. It won’t stop. And then on the way home, I worried the whole time about how I must have made such a bad impression since I talked and interrupted and was so emphatic. But then I chastised myself for belittling myself. Yes, I can and should do better but also this is me. I talk a lot. I get excited. I am not rude (at least I don’t think so) and I have a lot of good qualities so I need to cut myself slack. More specifically, this is something I do have control over. So I should either shut up or be ok with the fact that I talk so much. It’s stupid to do it and then get all sad about something I can’t change anymore. I need to let the past go, even when it’s immediate past. Ok to learn from it but not ok to harp on it.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful for some nice company and good friends for my boys.
2. Grateful for Nathaniel’s playtime. He’s such a good kid and had so much fun.
3. Grateful for a full but not overwhelming day.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Grateful for getting to play with the neighbor’s little girl.
2. Grateful for coloring.
Okay – I am going to spend the weekend trying to lift everyone of the amazing layouts you have made in May. They are beautiful, colorful and so fresh. Love them all!
thank you, thank you, thank you. I am loving playing with color 🙂 please make sure to show them to me, ok?
In the 80s, UCLA did a study on intelligence in toddlers living in Watts. Half the group received crayons, workbooks, toys and readers. Parents were instructed to play with their kids, talk to their kids and generally spend short but quality time. The findings? Those that received the toys, etc. increased their intelligence by 15%!! That’s a lot! Those children that read books with rhymes, like Dr. Seuss, read earlier than the others.
Sorry, what you do with your kids makes you a great mom!
you always say the right things to me. exactly what I want to hear. each time. i love you!