Inseparable

My hands-down favorite part of parenting has been watching how much fun our kids have together. They are only fifteen months apart, and that gap seems smaller and smaller the older they get. 

Yesterday Gray was tackling Rain, and I reminded him, "Be careful!" He replied, "It's okay, Mommy, she has a ton of giggles in her mouth." I have been trying really hard to teach him to listen to what she is "telling" him during their roughhousing and apparently the lesson is starting to sink in. :-)

Here are some things they've been up to lately (the greater the "mischief factor" the greater the giggling!):

 Digging around for a snack

 Pushing a "ferry boat"

 Wearing coordinating Mickey/Minnie pjs. (Cue major sadness when they're in the wash!)

 Pulling their pull toys from Auntie Kayla

 Going on wild fire truck rides

 Making major messes

 Pulling Sister to the park (all his idea!)

 Motoring around the backyard

 Lounging around reading Berenstain Bear books 

(the current fave!)

 Zooming around the house at breakneck speeds 

(Notice how there's usually a vehicle involved with these two?)

 Celebrating balmy temps with a backyard picnic

Helping Mommy with laundry

Sharing an umbrella

Gray and Rain definitely have their share of squabbles, but for the most part they operate as a unit. I know they will eventually go through stages of greater conflict, so I am enjoying the current harmony while it lasts!

I would love to hear your thoughts on sibling relationships. Are you close to your brothers and sisters? Do you wish you felt closer? What did your parents do that helped or hindered your sibling relationships? What are you doing differently with your own kids?

I've heard amazing things about the book Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish (the same authors who wrote How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk), but I have yet to read it. Anyone a fan? 

Off to see what the latest giggle and crash is all about! 

Overcoming Mommy Guilt

Yesterday I was consumed with preparing food and cleaning for upcoming company, and Gray was having a bad teething day. Tricky combination. Although I read him several books and engaged in a few rambunctious tickle fests, I just couldn’t satiate his mommy need for the day.

As a result, Gray rotated between dragging on my leg as I vacuumed and watching more “Wheels on the Bus” videos than I would have preferred, and Rain spent an unprecedented amount of time in her bouncer. Ensue major mommy guilt.

Why do we do this to ourselves? The guilt, I mean. On days when I really take time to play with the kids, I feel guilty that household chores are left undone. On days when I focus on keeping the house clean, bills paid, phone calls returned, and homemade food on the table, I feel like I’m ignoring my kids. And on the few-and-far-between days when I’m a Mama Rockstar and manage to keep on top of all the feeding, diapering, cooking, and cleaning, I realize it’s 1:00 p.m. and I’ve severely ignored myself. (Translation: unbrushed hair, unbrushed teeth, forgot to even drink water today.)

So what’s the answer? How do we free ourselves from the nagging guilty feeling that seems to plague us no matter how hard we’re trying? I have such a long ways to go in figuring out the answer, but here are some thoughts that have helped me:

Accept the feeling, then let it go.

Moms are so many things to so many people. It’s impossible to do it all, but as caregivers and nurturers, we still want to. Realize that the guilty feeling doesn’t mean you’re a bad mom, it just means you care and are motivated to do your job well. Accept guilt as a normal feeling, then do yourself a favor and let it go.

Prioritize.

What are the three most important things you want to accomplish today? (Yes, taking the kids to the park counts as an accomplishment!) Focus on your big three, and forget about the rest. At the end of the day, instead of bemoaning all the things you didn’t get done, focus on what you did accomplish.

Embrace imperfection.

Life with toddlers (and bigger kids too) is really, really messy. At some point you have to choose between cleanliness and your sanity. Right now I am ignoring the filthy kitchen floor because we will be eating soon and all of my vacuuming efforts would be immediately undone anyway.

Call a friend.

We all need someone who sees our worth and validates our efforts. If this is not your spouse’s strong point, find a friend who reminds you what a good job you’re doing.

Go with the flow.

Life has rhythms; embrace them. So today you kind of ignored the kids in your mad cooking and cleaning frenzy. In a couple days the pendulum will swing and you’ll spend the morning crafting the perfect box fort while your house nearly self-destructs from the disaster.

These are just a few ideas that have helped lessen the guilt for me lately. What works for you?

Carry on, Mamas--you’re doing great!

Teaching Respect

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by kristina-larson.blogspot.com! I'm Kristina, a Minnesota mom of two who has far more projects than time.

Some of my passions include natural living, play-based learning, thoughtful parenting, and figuring out ways to carve out a simple-ish life in a nonstop world.

I hope this little corner of the blogosphere serves as a place of honesty and inspiration. A place where we can admit we haven't scrubbed the tub in weeks (or was that months?), but also a place where we can inspire one another to put forth our best effort: write in that baby book, make the tortilla recipe that you pinned two months ago, or bundle up the toddler for the five-hundreth time this winter and go outside to hunt for pinecones. 

I'd love if you'd leave me a comment about what you'd love to read about. Visit again soon!