Don't Be Fooled By My Tattoos

No. 20

Latest published notes -

“For your children -

Say yes to all the little harmless indulgences, even if you are tired, delayed, annoyed. Be relaxed about everything, and make them feel comforted in your willingness… so that when it comes time to say no to real worry, they listen with mutual respect.”

“Yelling does nothing. For the man who is yelling, and for the man who is being yelled at. There is always a confident, appropriate expression, for the screams that echo deepest.”

“Tone is everything, and we should be most mindful of it. How we speak, especially to our children, either deters or engages the message. Think of all the lessons you found out later that were real, but dismissed because of how they were said. Time can be wasted or used. Poor choices can be made or avoided.”

“Answers will not come when you pressure yourself to have them.”

This week -

Sticky date jam, peanut butter, and macerated cherry toast

Honey roasted pecans, peanut butter, and peaches

For low energy mornings - cold muesli with good milk, berries, and a small spoonful of brown sugar. I also always usually have a few dates and peanut butter with my coffee in the mornings before breakfast.

Advertisements rarely get me… but this Spark kids magazine was divinely timed and I ordered a subscription last month. RB and I knocked out a few pages early one morning, and Isaac came in for the word search. I like that it's half craft / half activities, easy on the eyes, and serves as a template for art (some pages I want to frame after the kids are finished).

Chemical -

Once a month, my central nervous system naturally slows. I love and loathe it. I do know it is cycle related. If you are so lucky to get older, sober, unaltered by any chemical or drug, you become completely in tune with your body. Some weeks my patience is thin, and attitudes and growth spurts of little boys are coincidentally timed. I find myself back in a place I thought I grew out of… utter frustration. During certain periods, it feels like all my children do is fight, tease, complain, and despite much recent reassurance from many seasoned parents that this is normal, it is ridiculously challenging. The urge to yell to combat the chemicals piercing through their bodies is not a position I saw myself in with those I love most. I’ve spoken to many mothers who either claim themselves, or tell stories of other women they know, that raising three children close together in age (especially boys) put them over the edge, and most of them were doing it in a traditional two-parent home. Now try it outnumbered, nearly everyday.