Day 1 was entirely uneventful. We played at the Rec Centre. We played at the park. We played in the garden. We played at Oma and Opa's house. They went to bed. Apart from possibly being mermaid-saturated, there were no real hiccups, the kids were fun and I even had some adult conversation. As a parent who is vaguely aware of other parents, I tend to measure myself against those parents. Some of the "day success" measurable that really seem to surface for me are as follows:
- Melt-downs. How many in a day. And not just incessant whimpering over a chocolate Easter Egg kind or mild-but-insincere crying over leaving the park at a time perceived to be "too early". I'm talking screaming that makes you wonder if they might be doing permanent damage to their vocal chords, lying on the ground kicking, and flailing about like a fish out of water.
Today: 0. Success. - TV time. How much time is spent in front of the TV in a day. This is tough, because TV is the ultimate cheat with kids. Sadly, it doesn't do much for them and even a little bit too much usually leads to the melt-down described above. I strive for none but seldom achieve it. Damn the Disney Princesses series for that. I actually even give myself some internal rewards for giving in on TV but denying Disney.
Today: 1.5 hours of Disney's Little Mermaid III, Ariel's Beginnings. A single movie with nothing else is a moderate success. - Getting "out of the house" This probably comes from my parents and I am pretty forgiving if the weather is pants. It's critical to a successful day, even if you only make it as far as the garden.
Today: The park. The Rec Centre with Erika and Hudson (our neighbours who rock). White Rock to see Oma and Opa and Tom, which included lots of time outside in the Wendy House. Top success. - Eating well. In my mind this has a direct correlation to the quantity and diversity of vegetables consumed. Fruit is a close second. Chips don't count as potatoes and the greener the better when it comes to veggies.
Today: Carrots, asparagus, potatoes (mashed), apples, bananas and strawberries. It would have been nearly top success if Anna had consumed more of what she was given. Still, not bad. - Minimize sugar. This, of course, ties into eating well. However, with Anna, it is a category in its own right. The girl negotiates full-time from nearly the first word of the day for treats. Even going to bed tonight, she was negotiating for chocolate tomorrow. I'm suspicious it is her motivation for life at the moment and a little tiring. I feel particularly weak as a parent in this category. I have friends whose children have never had refined sugar cross their lips and some of the kids are nearly in kindergarten.
Today: Biscuits (2, maybe 3), cupcake, chocolate granola bar (2). It seems like a lot, but that's a pretty mellow day for her. Moderate success. - Teaching and creative out letting. This is where some parents take parenting to whole new level. You know: they have bowls of different textures (rice and flour and sand and cat food or whatever) and the kids just spend time "exploring"... or the kids get time to assemble a dinosaur that's been pre-cut by mum or dad--the glue sticks out, armed with glitter pens and bobbly eyes (where the hell do you get those things?) and pieces of fabric cut out from old clothes salvaged from a trip to the Sally Anne. The other parent comes home and the 2 year old has made their own "That's Not My Dinosaur" book. It baffles me. I'm best trying to teach them to hit a hockey ball in the garden. Not exactly a life skill. So, I struggle when I'm teamed up with Angela. Without her, I am hopeless.
Today: Art was achieved. Anna made a horse thanks entirely to the good (and prepared) people at the Rec Centre. Total success. In fact, that combined with Anna's "why" phase gave me ample opportunity for teaching today. - Getting something 'non-kid' done. This can be pretty random. It might be throwing in a load of laundry. It might be washing the dishes. It feels like a bonus, but actually it is a necessity. That's the kicker.
Today: hoovering the kids bedrooms. I did it with them because you sure as hell can't do it when they're sleeping. Caleb enjoyed the hoover so much it was ridiculous. He rode the hoover while I zipped around his room and then, after we had finished, spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to turn it back on or simply riding it despite it being stationary. Success.
So, there you go. Day 1 chalks up. Two kids alive, healthy and in bed in freshly hoovered rooms. Now to bed for me so I don't tantrum on Day 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment