Supermom, tantrums, and sucking it up.
Until about thirty minutes ago, I was having a Supermom kind of day. There was much, much to do, but I just kept chugging through it with patience and a smile on my face. Don't mistake this for bragging about my parenting abilities- there are many, many more days when I am grumpy and frustrated and overwhelmed and impatient. Today, however, I was easygoing and fun. I blame it on absolutely perfect weather.
Ben is MIA this week as he preps at work for a big event on Friday. He is in town, but basically not. Today was a full day and a day where I don't feel particularly great as I battle a cold that Drew shared with me. After a busy morning of multiple school drop offs and a busy day at work, Kate and I left preschool at 2:20, raced home to relieve Bear, and then raced to Bristol to get the boys. I fixed a snack for all the kids after school and then headed back to Bristol for three back- to- back parent teacher conferences. It was a go-go-go kind of day.
Despite this, when I got home at 5:15, I told the kids to grab their shoes and meet me in the driveway. The sun was shining, conferences went wonderfully, and Spring Break starts tomorrow.... three good reasons to get out of the house for a bit. I surprised them with cheeseburgers for dinner. I surprised them even more with ice cream scoops after their cheeseburgers. I took them to the library to pick out movies and audiobooks for our upcoming trip. I said yes to every movie and audiobook they wanted. I took them to our favorite park for playtime.
This is the point in my story where I share complete frustration....... after a night where I said, "Sure!" to every request, gave too many hugs to count, pushed on the swings at the park until my arms were numb, complimented the boys a million times on great Parent Teacher Conferences, played their music requests in the car, etc. etc. etc. etc.......... the night still ended in complete and total meltdown from 50% of the Hedenberg child population in the house.
I really don't even know how or why it happened, but in a matter of about ten minutes, the entire night went sour. Luke was in tears. Drew was in a massive tantrum mode. There were doors slammed. A stuffy was thrown. There was screaming. Angry words were said. They lost their tempers with each other and I lost my temper with them.
God, parenting is hard sometimes. How frustrating that even on a day when you try so hard to be a great mom, things can still suck.
I called Ben at work after the worst of the storm had passed. I needed a sounding board for a moment so that I could get my complaints out and then jump back in to finish bedtime. As I was venting, Drew walked silently into the living room, gave me a hug, and then said, "I am sorry that I was mean to you. You were so nice to us and I was not being nice back."
That right there. I almost have no words. What a HUGE accomplishment it was for Drew to be able to calm himself down, walk up to me, and give a sincere apology. I don't know if it has happened before, and I am not kidding when I say that. The kid is growing up. It almost makes up for the awful tantrum. Almost.
So as I sit here typing next to an overtired kindergartener as he tries to fall asleep, I remind myself to suck it up and get ready to start it all over again tomorrow.
Parenting is hard.
Ben is MIA this week as he preps at work for a big event on Friday. He is in town, but basically not. Today was a full day and a day where I don't feel particularly great as I battle a cold that Drew shared with me. After a busy morning of multiple school drop offs and a busy day at work, Kate and I left preschool at 2:20, raced home to relieve Bear, and then raced to Bristol to get the boys. I fixed a snack for all the kids after school and then headed back to Bristol for three back- to- back parent teacher conferences. It was a go-go-go kind of day.
Despite this, when I got home at 5:15, I told the kids to grab their shoes and meet me in the driveway. The sun was shining, conferences went wonderfully, and Spring Break starts tomorrow.... three good reasons to get out of the house for a bit. I surprised them with cheeseburgers for dinner. I surprised them even more with ice cream scoops after their cheeseburgers. I took them to the library to pick out movies and audiobooks for our upcoming trip. I said yes to every movie and audiobook they wanted. I took them to our favorite park for playtime.
This is the point in my story where I share complete frustration....... after a night where I said, "Sure!" to every request, gave too many hugs to count, pushed on the swings at the park until my arms were numb, complimented the boys a million times on great Parent Teacher Conferences, played their music requests in the car, etc. etc. etc. etc.......... the night still ended in complete and total meltdown from 50% of the Hedenberg child population in the house.
I really don't even know how or why it happened, but in a matter of about ten minutes, the entire night went sour. Luke was in tears. Drew was in a massive tantrum mode. There were doors slammed. A stuffy was thrown. There was screaming. Angry words were said. They lost their tempers with each other and I lost my temper with them.
God, parenting is hard sometimes. How frustrating that even on a day when you try so hard to be a great mom, things can still suck.
I called Ben at work after the worst of the storm had passed. I needed a sounding board for a moment so that I could get my complaints out and then jump back in to finish bedtime. As I was venting, Drew walked silently into the living room, gave me a hug, and then said, "I am sorry that I was mean to you. You were so nice to us and I was not being nice back."
That right there. I almost have no words. What a HUGE accomplishment it was for Drew to be able to calm himself down, walk up to me, and give a sincere apology. I don't know if it has happened before, and I am not kidding when I say that. The kid is growing up. It almost makes up for the awful tantrum. Almost.
So as I sit here typing next to an overtired kindergartener as he tries to fall asleep, I remind myself to suck it up and get ready to start it all over again tomorrow.
Parenting is hard.
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