Parenting » The Best Nest

A Lesson Learned on the Field

Apr 042013

April 4, 2013 1 Response »

Do you remember that sporty guy at school? The one that was good at everything, who had the best gelled spike hair style and who was so cool he came across as mean 70% of the time? He could cut you to the quick with one withering look. These days he’s still really good at sports, probably has a Bieber-esque hair style, def wears fluoro boots and probably won’t invite you over to play.

E’s rugby team had a pre-season game last night against Cool Guy’s team. Throughout the week he hadn’t been too optimistic about the chances of a win, he was convinced Cool Guy had lightening pace and his team was stacked with 15 other Cool Guys who would run all over our boys. I hate that kind of talk. Anyone who knows me will be aware of my opinion that you don’t play to play well, you play to win. It’s fine if you don’t win, often you won’t, but you will never win unless you try, and if you lose you try harder next time.
I talked to E about believing in his team, about all the hard work they had done this pre-season, about this being their third season together and what that meant.
Cool Guys parting words to E at school yesterday afternoon were something delightful along the lines of “we are going to cane you so hard”. Sigh. E just suggested that it would be a fun game.

Cool Guys team went down. They were out-played and spent most of the game defending our try line.
It was awesome. E had the good grace and manners not to rub the fallen heroes nose in it and made sure to congratulate him on a good game afterward. I was very proud of his sportsmanship.

One of our team mums gave me a warning that I may have to pipe down on the sidelines this season as yelling at games started her labour twice last year! Ethan was rapt with this news and the imminent prospect of a quiet and un-embarrasing (HIS WORDS!) season ahead.

Online | www.home-heros.co.nz

Sep 202012

September 20, 2012 No Responses »

A couple of weeks ago when many people I know were revelling in their fashion week goody-bag bounty, I received a wee bounty of my own; a Mummy Blogger Bounty. Cleaning supplies! I was actually very stoked, that stuff is expensive.

This lovely surprise was to promote a new website aimed at helping to get the whole family involved in chores. A miracle website, or just a fun online dashboard to help get the whole family to do ‘their bit’ – either way it’s worth a look.

www.home-heros.co.nz isn’t trying to re-invent the wheel, we all know that there is no magic trick to get unwilling kids to do chores, but this is a cute online game which Mums and Dads can use to , at the very least, teach kids HOW to do the required chores correctly. This is one of the features I like a lot; once you have registered your family you can choose to add chores from a pre-poulated list, or you can customise your own task. When a task is selected for completion, there is a ‘How To’ option detailing what is required and the equipment needed. No more excuses for half-finished chores! I like it.

Ethan is amped to get into it and start earning points towards a reward (which you can also customise). The interface is very kid friendly and I really think the concept may help transition some kids from being passive mess-makers to active participants in household chores. Some kids and households don’t need gimmicks to do what should be done, but others will definitely be wanting to give this a go.

Please share if your family has a fool-proof chore system, I would LOVE to hear about it!

Check out my little Home Hero, so cute!

Some days it’s hard to be a Mummy & other days you were right all along

Sep 162012

September 16, 2012 5 Responses »

I started writing a post on Sunday night after a very ‘ordinary’ day. Don’t judge – this is life people, this is really how I felt, I am a great mother, a fabulous mother even but on Sunday I felt ordinary, acted ordinary and was definitely an ordinary mother;

Monday is so close now that I can almost feel the barrage of ‘hurry’, ‘don’t forget….’, ‘pack this’, get out of the house and don’t return for eight long hours. I do not like this feeling. Today has been a black day.
When I struggle with Dave being away for so long, I feel like a failure, the one-child mummy that couldn’t. As if having an only child doesn’t come with allowances for bad days. Everything is easy with just one right?
I’m not busier with Dave away, I do all the Ethan toting anyway, I’m not doing more chores really, I am cooking more ~~eggs~~ than normal but I can handle that, I’m not lonely – I have my Mum here so adult conversation is never far away. What I am is totally wiped from the massive emotional and attention requirement that Ethan now demands from just one person. That would be me.
I just wanted to run away {from him} screaming today. Far far away and screaming so I couldn’t hear MAMA? for the millionth time in an hour. Here comes the mummy guilt again. E has quite massive OCD tendencies and these manifested all damn day today. One thing after another, beginning with googling how to take care of catfish (this incorporated water temp, filter and pump requirements blah blah blah). He wants a catfish because he is obsessed with River Monsters and the Gooch catfish in India. We are not getting a catfish or a tropical aquarium. We have a perfectly good FREE Minnow type fish called Todd that was gifted to us (complete with tank and pump) just yesterday. Pet fish – check.
This was followed by the everlasting persistent request to move the aforementioned fish tank to the office by his laptop. I wasn’t getting to this fast enough and I was nagged about this relentlessly. The final round of the day was about getting a fishing rod down from the roof of the garage so he could play with it. Again, the nagging this child can inflict is without equal. God sure must love this little try-er.

The point of me even publishing this {I wasn’t going to, it was cathartic enough just to write it} is that today I got the damn fishing rod down from the roof of the garage, I found some hardy pliers and clipped the hook off the tackle, we found a suitable grab-nabber type toy and I tied this onto the sinker. Ethan had his rod. He was so happy, grateful and really just plain old dee-lighted to be catching giant catfish in the front yard.

I wondered why this was too hard for me to do on Sunday? Why I hadn’t given him the 15 minutes it took to get the rod set-up? Mama guilt.

Ethan played happily with his rod for at least an hour, how rad is my kid, I thought. He could have been inside watching tv, playing on the computer or his iPod. He could have been throwing a tantrum. Oh snap, HE IS THROWING A TANTRUM.

A massive birds nest had snarled his line and oh god the world was ending. And that was the end of fishing on the front lawn.

I knew there was a reason why I didn’t get that fishing line down on Sunday.

A4A Blog Carnival | Day 2 These are a few of my favourite things

Aug 232012

August 23, 2012 1 Response »

I am participating in wegohealth.com’s Advocating for Another (A4A) Carnival – Parenting Edition. This is a month long event where health and parenting advocates write, share and enjoy! The FB page can be found here for more info + grab the parenting prompts here and join in! The blog carnival runs from August 21-28, 2012.

Day 2: These are a few of my favourite things

After yesterdays gushing post about my son, he knocked one out of the park with more of the epic bad behaviour we have been seeing since returning home from our trip. Needless to say he has be banned from TV watching for 3 days and banned from Ninjago toys for the same period. He got off pretty lightly I think. I am really struggling with his sassy mouth and the constant back chat. What I wouldn’t give for a few simple responses of “YES!”.

But I digress.

I have many favourite things about Ethan, here are a few;

Ethan is brave. He will try anything once, sometimes not twice but always once.
He will eat anything, he has an exceptional palate and enjoys food which makes eating as a family so much fun
He is very loving {when he is not being bad of course!}
Ethan is super complimentary. He has learned this from his Dad. He will tell me when I look nice, when my hair is looking awesome, when I need to buy that outfit – his honesty when shopping is def appreciated! His girlfriend will be stoked one day. He certainly knows how to make you feel like a million bucks.
Ethan’s perfectionism is actually something that endears him to me. I appreciate someone who always strives to achieve at their best.
I love Ethan’s legs. They are thick and strong.
Ethan has the best giggle. When it bubbles up it is loud and hard to contain.
I love this boys smarts. Recently while walking the Santa Monica Pier, I had to stop my feet and just look at him. He was going on and on about snakes, admittedly I had half-tuned him out {don’t judge, you know you do it sometimes!}, but then I realised he was listing all of the different types of Pythons, WITH DESCRIPTIONS, Bubba style. Amaze.
Ethan’s feet, I LOVE, though 99% of the time they are filthy and torn up – my kid does not like shoes. Summer, winter the shoes come off as soon as he gets to school. I’m talking 8.30am. They never get put back on. One pair of school shoes has lasted him this whole year! That’s surely some kind of record. Even Grandaddy Ray in Georgia (think snakes) couldn’t believe how feral Ethan’s feet were.
I love that boys hair. It’s as wiry as straw, you can brush it and five minutes later it will look like he just rolled out of bed. I’m fairly certain you could make one of those sweeping-broom-brush things out of his hair that would last through the ages. It’s thick and it grows like weed – long may that continue aye Dave!

Are you blogging along? What are some of your favourite things about your child?

A4A Blog Carnival | Day 1 Portrait Post

Aug 222012

August 22, 2012 No Responses »

Day 1: Write a descriptive portrait of your child/ren. Share qualities that make them, them – and include an image!

The hardest part about this post is beginning.

I feel like Ethan is a mini-me in a mini-Dave’s body. His physicality has always been apparent right from a very young age. He was always a large child who loved to be held and adored close contact. He is still a very touchy, affectionate boy, but one who has no concept of the brute force his body can exert!

His feet are broad and high, his little toenails on each foot are split just like his Dad’s are, his calf muscles, thighs, his whole damn body right up to the freckles on his nose are his daddy’s.

Ethan is strong physically but also mentally. He may be described as obstinate, dominant, stubborn, wilful, precocious, proud and competitive with a sassy mouth, but he is more than that. He is loving, sensitive, kind and very generous. He is quick to show his emotions whether they are tears or anger. His temper is all mine.

Ethan is a very talented writer and artist who loves to read. Maths is not his thing though he does just fine in this subject. School is easy for Ethan. His teachers enjoy him as do his peers and he has a bevy of lovely friends whom he has played with for years now.

Ethan is both sportsman and scholar. Watching him swim so beautifully is a strange feeling as it is almost at odds with his haphazard, forceful physical presence out of the water. In contrast, he is so suited to Rugby physically, yet he also needs Rugby for the valuable lessons it gives him in teamwork, respect and being one small part of a greater good. Swimming is self-discipline, self-reliance and self-motivation for Ethan, Rugby is everything else – family, co-operation, belonging, selflessness.

Ethan is my greatest joy from which I never tire. He is difficult to understand, and for some difficult to deal with, but I recognize him. His language, his subtle nuances of personality and his perfectionism are also mine.

I love you Ethan Jack.

{I’m sorry Dave Jack, you are forever stuck with the two of us lol!}

Giveaway {closed } | Peaceful Baby Sleep Book Review

Jul 162012

July 16, 2012 5 Responses »

Last month I received a gorgeous wee book in the mail to read and review. I was excited. I love books and LOVED this book in particular as it gave me a chance to go back to those precious long days {and short years} of Ethan’s early life.

This would make a perfect baby shower gift for an expecting mama – it’s brimming with positivity and chock full of lovely, feel good personal experience.

Reading through the experiences I immediately flashed back to the awful (and only) evening when I attempted to let Ethan self-settle before he was one. I knew it was going to be rough. He had been feeding to sleep at every nap and every bedtime, it worked for us and I saw no need to change our routine until someone chastised me for it, and my self-doubt set in. Obviously it was time to sleep train the baby!

I scoured the web, I had everything I needed to do written down, I had a stop watch to time the intervals between going in to see him, I had my best friend laying on the floor crying with me outside Ethan’s room {Dave was at work}……It was one of the most hideous experiences ever.

I had treated bedtime like a science experiment and I knew I would never do it again.

Charlotte visits this issue in her book, as well as many other facets of parenting through the baby stages. This book is NOT, however, a how-to guide and I don’t think it pretends to be. Peaceful Baby Sleep is a collation of data collected from Kiwi Mums, describing their experiences and sharing their own natural instincts and the value placed on these maternal cue cards.

This book would be a wonderful reassurance for a new parent who is doubting themselves at every step and milestone. It emphasizes that there is no one recipe for success that can be applied to every baby and every family; the stories shared are aimed at empowering parents to believe in what they know to be right for their baby.

The only {minor} complaint I have is that it appeared approximately 95% of Weston’s respondents seem to advocate co-sleeping, which I don’t think needs to be portrayed as mutually exclusive with any style of attachment parenting, again take from it what you will, different things work for different folks.

You can visit the Peaceful Baby Sleep Facebook page here and purchase online here.

Win your own copy of Peaceful Baby Sleep! Congratulations Michelle West!

Just leave a comment below telling me how you used to get your little ones to sleep, if you entered on the previous Peaceful Baby Sleep Post you are already in the draw! Random winner drawn Sunday 22nd July, 2012.

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