.: Bad Parenting Moments

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Bad Parenting Moments

It has been Hayden’s turn to be sick this week…oh the joys of winter! I had to pick him up from school early on Monday. He walked straight in the house and threw up all over the carpet in the middle of the living room floor!!!!!! Not on the kitchen floor or the garage floor which would have been wayyyy easier to clean up, but the carpet! I was so torn between having sympathy for Hayden and having sympathy for myself having to clean the carpet. I over reacted a little…”WHY on the carpet, WHY didn’t you run to the toilet, WHY didn’t you run to the kitchen floor or the sink!” but poor Hayden didn’t know what was coming it happened so fast. I had to remind myself it wasn’t the huge disaster I thought it was (although I did have to spend a couple of days shampooing the carpet to completely get rid of the stain, moisture and smell). I know my over-reaction is a result of feeling ‘Oh no, not more work. I can hardly keep up with the work I’ve got,’ but I have to keep it a little more in control.

Well, the carpet episode sounds like my bad parenting moment, but my next over-reaction was far worse. I over reacted at something Ashton did during the week and I am still feeling bad about it…wouldn’t it be nice if we could push the rewind button on our bad parenting moments and have a second chance at replaying the same moment in a calm and loving way! What did Ashton do that caused me to yell at him? Well, I sat Ashton at our computer desk and had Ashton choose a birthday card for his friend Gabby. I gave him a permanent marker (how dumb of me!) to do some writing inside the card. Out of the blue this past week Ashton has been trying extremely hard to write and form letters and he has been very, very proud of his accomplishments. As he concentrated on the birthday card I left Gabby’s present unwrapped beside Ashton…a very pretty fabric lunchbox with fairies on it. I left Ashton at the desk and went to help Hayden do something in the other room. When I came back to check on Ashton he had drawn on the lunch box (innocently thinking it would be a wonderful idea to write Gabby’s name on it). I immediately yelled, “No! Not on the lunch box, Ashton how could you, what are you doing?” Ashton was literally crushed at my reaction and began sobbing. All I had to do was see how heart broken his little face was to realize that I cared more about a silly lunch box instead of my son who was only trying to use his initiative and creativity. I sat him on my lap and hugged him tight to make him feel better, repeatedly telling him I was sorry. I tried to tell him that maybe next time he could ask me first before he decorates things! Our children must get so confused by our reactions sometimes because I realized I had got upset simply because I thought I’d have to buy a new lunch box and I didn’t have enough money to buy another one – how is a child ever suppose to know such a thing! Anyway, we went to the party and Gabby loved her lunchbox regardless of Ashton’s vivid marks. I don’t think she noticed or cared in the least. Oh, the never ending lessons we learn!

Very cute picture of Noah;

Ashton with his hot wheel lunch box. Once a month at Ashton's kindy the children get to bring their lunchbox with a packed lunch (they usually have a cooked lunch made for them). 'Lunch box Friday' is Ashton's favourite day. He really looks forward to it and tells me well in advance that he would like lots of junk food (meaning the very special treats we have in our pantry such as little bags of chips and muesli bars).

Noah brushing his teeth;

Noah pretending to brush Barney's teeth;

Noah sweeping the kitchen floor and wearing my shoes;

2 comments:

Jen said...: Well, this makes me feel a little better... I'm not alone in the bad parenting moments....; July 8, 2009 at 9:34 AM
Anonymous said...: I agree .. you're a real person/parent like all of us =)
Julia
ps have to say tho, with the help of my little white round friends I'm a lot calmer these days. I'll wean off next script and try St John's wort instead. (don't have to publish this bit!); July 11, 2009 at 8:53 PM

Funny Comments

Ashton walking into the supermarket quietly whispers to himself: "Please can I have macaroni and cheese, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Ashton: "I want to live with Jesus." Mummy: "Why?" Ashton: "Because he be nice to me and he gives me bread and water!"

Mummy, examining Ashton's legs, and thinking: My goodness, what hairy legs. Ashton, unimpressed with Mummy's examination, pulls away: "Don't touch them. I'm growing Daddy legs!"

Hayden gets upset at Ashton: "Right Ashton, that's it! I'm telling Jesus on you!"

Ashton with a cold: "I'm snotty as a piggy."

Hayden: "The sun is burning my eyeballs."

Hayden: "Mummy, how come your penis is missing?"

Hayden: "I get the bigger piece of cake because my skeleton is bigger."

Hayden (3yrs old) sees me get dressed in the morning and stares at my breasts with a confused look..."What thooooose be for???"

Hayden: "I don't want to finish my pizza, it's got blood all over it."

Hayden: "Ashton hit me in the heart."

Hayden learns the planets at Preschool: Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Penus!

Hayden (shopping with me and whining): "My brain hurts forever because you haven't buyed me anything."

QUOTES

Like the changing leaves of fall...My little boy is now a man.
--Author Unknown

Boys are God's way of telling you that your house is too neat!
--Author Unknown

There never has been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and a son.
--Author Unknown

Boys are found everywhere - on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.
--Alan Marshall Beck

Something For A Giggle....

I Owe My Mother ....

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC. " Because I said so, that's why."

My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA. "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

My mother taught me about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. "Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY. "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home."

My mother taught me about RECEIVING. "You are going to get it when you get home!"

My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

My mother taught me ESP. "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

My mother taught me HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

My mother taught me GENETICS. "You're just like your father."

My mother taught me about my ROOTS. "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

My mother taught me WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

My mother taught me about JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!