Oopsie! You Caught Me!!!

So, today my husband & I were riding in the car with our whole beautiful crew (we had spent a wonderful day together at the zoo) & I was discussing with my husband how we need to be so careful how we conduct ourselves in front of the kids especially. I was saying how we don't want to be hypocritical & yaddah yaddah when suddenly this huge mosquito looking thing lands right next to me. I swear if the car wasn't moving & I wasn't buckled in, I would have literally jumped out the window. Oh my goodness, talk about getting caught red-handed! I just contradicted myself in less than a minute!?! I always tell my girls "No fear" & I even taught them a song to sing every time they get intimidated. I don't want my kids freaking out over bugs. I quickly had to suck it up and practice what I was just preaching... I quickly told the girls, "We are bigger than bugs, no fear!" & smashed the you know what out of him. I am definitely going to have to watch myself in that area.

Being a parent we have to realize that there is always something we can improve upon. It is a constant process of revising & growing in our parenting skills. I would not say I am nosey, but I am constantly leaving my ear open & observing other parents interacting with their kids. Not to judge, but I'm no fool, there is always something you can learn from others whether its what not to do/say or something awesome you would like to incorporate into your own parenting.

This week at the store I observed a toddler & mommy. The lil' boy didn't want to sit in his stroller & kept sliding out of seat, wiggling around, & acting up. His mom warned him a few times & then threatened to spank him. Despite her warnings he continued to misbehave. Over & over again she kept threatening him, but did not follow through with the spanking once. I even ran into them again later on & he was still acting up. I made a mental note to myself, "I need to constantly keep up with my follow through on what I promise-good or bad". Kids need to know that if we say something, we WILL do it.

At the zoo today a toddler needed to use the bathroom, but was being really grumpy about it. The grandma then grabbed a bag of chips of the stroller & said, "Maybe we can bribe her to go". I personally DO NOT agree with that approach in any situation, but to each his own.

One of my friends came over to my house the other day to hang out & make bows. Well, when it was time for her to start packing up she made sure all her kids helped clean up their messes, but when 1 of her kids asked her to come & look at the area she had cleaned up by herself (she was so proud), my friend dropped everything & made such a huge deal out of what her lil' girl had done. I think that is so important to make kids responsible for the messes they make at their own house, but especially at others' houses. I also loved how she made sure her lil' girl knew she was important & that mommy cared about what she had accomplished.

We can learn a lot from others. There is know "arrived" in raising kids so keep your eyes & ears open. Constantly evaluate yourself, but also be open-minded to picking up something new.

Night all,

-M&M Momma



Going to the PHX Zoo



Kettle corn addict

Who turned out the lights?

Eat your veggies...

Priceless