Clearing the Dust

I stumbled upon my own blog today. Meaning, I was accidentally directed to it, and I realized how long it's been since I've visited this space. I miss it. I've had to put a bit of a backseat to my blogging for awhile, but since I ended up here, I might as well clear away a little of the dust.

Since it's a bit dusty in here, I don't think I'll be able to escape the "Christmas Letter" format, where I'll bore you with the highlights of my family's life for the past 3 months. I'll try to make it short and sweet:

March: My hubby had a landmark birthday, celebrated with friends and family. We had an amazing time, but zero pictures thanks to our choice of a nice, dark pub-style environment.

April: My littlest one turned FOUR! I truly can't believe it. He's come so far. From 3 to 4: He began walking, then running, dancing and attempting to jump/learn some WWF moves. He started trying to talk! Most of what he says are really more "word approximations" but he's using them and people are understanding.  He says book, up, yeah, quack quack, knock knock, light, George (the dog), school, Hi, Bye, Go, Wow, Uh-oh, car, milk, cookie, cracker, apple, Dad, Daddy....and Bob. Guess what? I. am. Bob.  He's very cheeky about it too. He signs and says, "Dad" very clearly, then signs Mom and says, "Bob." Very clearly. Then laughs. Why do I gotta be Bob???!!!! ;) My favorite thing in the world is that he will climb up on my lap, get very close to my face and whisper, "Hi...Bob...." But, the "Bob" part is said with utter adoration. So...I'm Bob. I own it.









May: My Big Boy turned SEVEN. He makes my head spin- in both the most positive and sometimes even the most frustrating of ways. This little dude keeps me on my toes: He's been excelling at math, zombie tag, talking, talking, and more talking, arguing, visiting his Principal at school and LEGOS!! So, we threw him a Lego party for his birthday, thereby making him-literally-"one of the happiest kids on earth."

               

I feel, on a daily basis, something between being a complete success and an utter failure at this thing called "Parenting"- depending on which minute of the day you might ask. I recently had a bit of a tear-session with a girlfriend. We talked through and started coming to terms with the fact that there just is no getting this thing called Parenting, "right". It's up and down and it's unpredictable. You can't succeed at it the same way as you can at a job or a project or a friendship. It's messier and it's more complicated...but, ultimately, there is no greater sense of satisfaction, either. It's a complicated thing to have your heart and soul wrapped up and ready to protect/love/snuggle/strangle/defend/teach these teeny tiny little human beings called children. Tomorrow, I have to don my Mama Bear armour again. I just received a copy of Elijah's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) today. It ALMOST has everything on it that he needs to be successful in school, but not quite. So, I don the armour and prepare for battle.

The Mama Bear armour got a little dusty too, because we had a nice stretch of cooperation from the school district for awhile. I think it's time they re-acquaint themselves with....Bob.