Enjoying the Moment
It's been so long, I don't even know where I left off. We've been sick, celebrated birthdays and holidays, lost our heat, had to buy a new furnace, entertained company, transitioned Brendan from the pack n play in the guest room to the crib in Niall's room, caught up on lost sleep due to previously mentioned event... and most recently, Niall has turned into a human-o-saurus.
As in, he acts like a dinosaur in front of people we don't know and makes me look like a really bad mom.
Grocery stores, cross-walks, parks, church... anywhere you are in human contact with perfect strangers, Niall will give you the stink eye (actually, it's more like a stink face), growl at you and possibly even throw in some commentary about eating you.
This is the sweet, timid, stoic Niall that I used to know:
And this is Niall now:
I never could have imagined that one day, as a mother, these would be some of the most frequent phrases that would come out of my mouth:
"You can't tell people you're going to eat them! They don't know that you're a carnivore!"
"Stop growling at that lady-- you don't even know her!"
"You can be a brachiosaurus, but not a T-rex... Fine, a stegosaurus-- no more negotiating!"
One thing that I have learned, though, in the last couple of years is that sometimes, you just have to laugh. I often get so wrapped up in making sure I'm doing the best job as a mother and hoping that other people aren't going to judge me based on my kid's strange behavior that I forget to sit back and revel in the fact that I have my own free personal entertainment right in front of me 24 hours a day.
Some of the stuff that he says and does just can't be made up, even by the funniest and most creative comedians out there. Kids are pretty awesome like that.
The other day, I was about to get on his case again when he started tornado-ing through the house squawking like a dying bird (obviously a taradactyl, duh)... Right when I was about to yell out "No squawking!! I'm trying to make dinner!", it was like time stopped for a second and I had this freeze frame of his crazed lunatic face coming at me full speed (with the intention of completely taking me out, naturally).
It took a second, but I realized that I sometimes need to just snap out of it and loosen up a little. I finally let my shoulders relax and unsquinched all the little muscles in my face, and my demeanor just kind of changed. Despite being tired and busy and constantly running late, I suddenly realized how hilarious it was, and how important it was to enjoy this little moment (as weird of a moment as it was). Deep down, I knew that if it was someone else's kid, I would be doubled over on the floor uncontrollably laughing. And so I did. And then I joined him :)
As in, he acts like a dinosaur in front of people we don't know and makes me look like a really bad mom.
Grocery stores, cross-walks, parks, church... anywhere you are in human contact with perfect strangers, Niall will give you the stink eye (actually, it's more like a stink face), growl at you and possibly even throw in some commentary about eating you.
This is the sweet, timid, stoic Niall that I used to know:
And this is Niall now:
I never could have imagined that one day, as a mother, these would be some of the most frequent phrases that would come out of my mouth:
"You can't tell people you're going to eat them! They don't know that you're a carnivore!"
"Stop growling at that lady-- you don't even know her!"
"You can be a brachiosaurus, but not a T-rex... Fine, a stegosaurus-- no more negotiating!"
One thing that I have learned, though, in the last couple of years is that sometimes, you just have to laugh. I often get so wrapped up in making sure I'm doing the best job as a mother and hoping that other people aren't going to judge me based on my kid's strange behavior that I forget to sit back and revel in the fact that I have my own free personal entertainment right in front of me 24 hours a day.
Some of the stuff that he says and does just can't be made up, even by the funniest and most creative comedians out there. Kids are pretty awesome like that.
The other day, I was about to get on his case again when he started tornado-ing through the house squawking like a dying bird (obviously a taradactyl, duh)... Right when I was about to yell out "No squawking!! I'm trying to make dinner!", it was like time stopped for a second and I had this freeze frame of his crazed lunatic face coming at me full speed (with the intention of completely taking me out, naturally).
It took a second, but I realized that I sometimes need to just snap out of it and loosen up a little. I finally let my shoulders relax and unsquinched all the little muscles in my face, and my demeanor just kind of changed. Despite being tired and busy and constantly running late, I suddenly realized how hilarious it was, and how important it was to enjoy this little moment (as weird of a moment as it was). Deep down, I knew that if it was someone else's kid, I would be doubled over on the floor uncontrollably laughing. And so I did. And then I joined him :)
Though he hasn't turned dinosaur on me, my well behaved and cautious boy is suddenly a different guy too. Three is terrifying. Aside from saying goodness knows what to strangers, throwing fits in public, and literally bouncing off of our walls, he argues with every thing I ask him to do! I hear "well, actually Jen" more times a day than I can count! I could stand to take your advice and loosen up a bit too - thanks :)
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