Little Earthquakes

Tori Amos had an album out years ago called "Little Earthquakes." I was too young to really grasp the meaning of the title but I loved the album. My husband and I are again wrestling with the topic of the third child, I told him that we have to table the discussion. We are not even at a place where we can talk about. There are too many little earthquakes in our lives right now. Too many transitions and unanswered questions to add another to our lives.

One of our little earthquakes was that my oldest went to kindergarten last Thursday. He was ready and so was I. In preparation of the many sheets of paper that will soon make its way into my house, I went through all of the artwork from preschool. What a change! I had to make two piles. One to save and one to throw away. I definitely felt a little earthquake as I packed some of the sheets into the garbage bag. I know I can't keep every piece of paper. Knowing this did not make the task any easier. I feel the shift of my little boy into a little student. I hid the secret stash of papers until the boys went downstairs and tip-toed down to the garage with my bag. I know that I will be happy that I did this so that next fall, I will have less papers to deal with. But, it was such an emotionally charged task. Where did my little boy go?

Lots of little earthquakes but no major quakes. Changes that we all deal with. Transitions for us and our children. We'll get back to our major discussion of whether to add another child to our family but for now, we are going to take each little earthquake as they come.

Golden Reminder

We were sorting our piggy banks last week. The kids were putting their money towards some Legos and a mega slip and slide. As we sorted the money, we came across some coins from when I studied abroad in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The kids loved the different shapes and sizes of the money. I showed them the British Pound coin. When I lived there, I loved that coin. Probably because I was such a poor college student and I was hoping to score a pint with it! I also loved it because it is very thick, has cool writing on the outside of the rim and I love the color. It looks like a thick Chuck E. Cheese token. At least that's what my kids thought.

It has been a rough few weeks here in Indyworld. My youngest, Kyle who is 4, has been tough. Really tough. The tough times that you usually have when they are 2. We have tantrums and fits many times a day. Sometimes he is so tough that I am the one that ends up crying.

Yesterday, I begged my husband to put the kids to bed. After a day of three major tantrums in front of my parents, I didn't have the energy to finish the day. I asked my husband what we were doing wrong. Why was it so tough? Will it ever change? What will school be like if he doesn't listen and know right from wrong? Will we have enough money to send him away to boarding school?

Hubby put the kids to bed. They got up. Hubby tried again. They got up. I got crazy mad and then tried to put the kids to bed. They still got up. So after my last attempt, my husband tried again. By this point we were both angry and the blood pressure was boiling. My husband tried again.

When he came down, he brought a gold coin from Kyle. He said he wanted mom to have it because it was her favorite coin. I took it as a sign. He isn't all bad. He remembered his mamma's favorite coin and wanted to share it with me. He is a good boy and this is just a stage. We can make it through this and it will be OK. I swear I am going to keep that special coin somewhere in my kitchen so I can remember throughout the day that this stage will pass. I know it will. I know it will. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat. I know this will pass.

Not Everyone is Doin' It

My sons went to a good old fashioned birthday party yesterday. We're talking no clowns, no performers, just a cake, pizza and a couple of balloons. The goodie bags were just a few things that my kids loved. They didn't cost more than a couple of dollars. My children raved about them. My kids had a ball and so did I.

About a month ago in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, there was an article about how parents are out of control with birthday parties. The article described lavish parties with IPods in the goodie bags. The article made it seem like this was a normal occurrence. It also said that parents were trying to out do each other. It was a keeping up with the Joneses mentality. Really? I have yet been to a kids party where I thought it was over the top. Sometimes I think too much money was spent on something but overall, I usually feel that the parties are about the same. A lot of times, I feel that money is spent to make it easier on the parents. No house to clean and nothing gets broken if it is at the local kiddie place.

We do spend more on parties than our parents. Most of us had our parties at our houses when we were kids. Maybe we even had goodie bags. I don't really remember them. Today, most parents eventually give in to our kids and have parties at a requested location. We spend more than our parents and our goodie bags are more costly. But overall, there is a normal amount of money that most parents will fork out for their child's birthday celebration. Across the board, most people seem to stay within reason. I know I have never used the word "lavish" to describe a birthday party in Northeast Ohio.

I know, I know, I know. It does happen. Maybe in some circles. Maybe in some big cities. But across America, I am guessing that there are more average parties than spectacular ones. Most are run of the mill. You have the usual Pump It Up (bouncer) parties, Chuck E. Cheese, animal guys, princess parties, etc. The people with the crazy, spectacular parties stick out in your mind or make news. You tell your friends about it.

My kids have not had a party anywhere but our backyard and kitchen. I have held my kids off with the birthday parties at pizza places and science centers. They have asked. I know the time will come when I will bite the bullet. Hmmmm. Now that I think about it, no house to clean, no food to make, no toys to organize, priceless. Why didn't I do this sooner?

Sucka!

Today, Ryan, my five year old ran into my bathroom in such a rush that it scared me. He said, "Mom, you have to tell Dad he has to get to Sears." What? Sears? We never go to Sears. Ever. "Why do we need to get to Sears?" "Because the sale is only until Friday." Oh, advertising again.

My poor son. He is sucker for every ad he sees. Have you ever seen the ad for the ugly purse that is sort of an organizer? They run it on Nickelodeon. He thinks I need that. He also thinks I also need the flower seeds that come in a large roll and magically become wild flowers. Santa already brought him the rocket fishing rod that he begged and begged for. Yep, saw it on commercials before Christmas.

But today, I got smart with the DVR. Ryan doesn't care for hand sanitizers much. He always bellyaches when I make him put it on his hands. So today, there was a great commercial that showed germs on a kid and all over his hands. Knowing that Ryan cannot resist a commercial, I made sure Ryan was near the TV. I replayed the commercial about germs and the hand sanitizer. Done. Fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Finally, a commercial I don't mind that he falls for.