Teach Me How to Mommy

Note to self:   When approaching a big milestone (like sending your daughter off to kindergarten) make sure you and your husband (or partner) are on the same page. This week we took Lucy to her kindergarten orientation.  She seemed to adjust great.  She walked in with a skip, was whisked away by teachers to a classroom and came back with stories to tell. Her parents on the other hand?  A little off our game.  We got there "just" in time.  We were called last (to meet with the principal) and therefore allowed our nerves to get the best of us.  During the "interview" we struggled with how to adequately express what a doll Lucy is without looking like the parents who think their child walks on water.  In the end, I don't know if she understood that Lucy is kind, patient and hard-working (all to a fault).  Instead, I think she saw sweaty-palmed newbies who struggled with basic questions. We'll know better with the second kid, pros by the third.  For no

You might think that being a week early to my dentist appointment was the low point of my week.  You would be very very wrong. Once I left the dentist last Monday, I put on the newest episode of Sword & Scale (another post for another time... but I'm re-obsessed with it!) and sped down the Turnpike to daycare pickup. Colin is in a new classroom and while we know the teachers and they are all wonderful, they're still his teachers and not people I tend to share my most intimate secrets with.  So imagine my surprise when Miss Kelsey saw me walk into the school that same afternoon and hustled towards me with some very interesting news.... (this is all taking place in the matter of 30 seconds or less.. keep that in mind).    "Gosh!" I thought, either Colin had an awesome day, or I'm in for a talking too...  The pit in my stomach grew.  It's usually the latter. *sigh* When I reached the doorway she grabbed my shoulders and had a HUGE grin on her face.

I'm usually pretty good at remembering things, but in the year years since becoming a mom, the list of things I need to remember has become insanely overwhelming.  There are days when it's 7 pm, I'm standing at the sink washing dishes and I space out -- brain dead from the number of things I've mentally remembered over the past 20 hours (not 24 because I do need to sleep!).   -------- I've read countless articles over the past 4 years about "The List".   You know the one I'm talking about: The mental list that you rehearse in your head at night, the last thing you think about before you fall asleep, the list you think about first thing in the morning before you even mentally prepare yourself to put your feet on the floor, the same list that you check items off of throughout the day (mine has little squares that I put mental check marks in... it makes me abnormally happy to do that).   This list... men just don't understand it.   I read

She's too high right? Right now the baby needs a helicopter parent.   She needs to be near me at all (or at least most) times.   I don’t have to worry about holding her too much – that’s my job.   I actually should swoop in if someone else is holding her and she’s crying.   She’s mine to feed, snuggle and love.   Period. How freeing. Yet, when your kids begin to change from toddlers who toddle to “big” kids who talk, run and play independently then the waters get a bit murky.   With a five and close-to-four year old, Jerry and I have been trying to figure out what kind of parents we want to be when our kids need us a little less.   Sure we want to be helicopter parents.   We want to know if their feelings are hurt.   We want to be there for all of their big and little accomplishments.   We want to discuss all their academic gains (and flubs) with their teachers.   We want... But we also want them to figure things out on their own.   We want them to do well when we