Whether we see them or not, wildflowers bloom with each passing year. They blanket uninhabited mountainsides with carpets of beautiful color with each season. Our children bloom with new attributes to their personalities with each passing day as well:whether we take notice or not. Time has a funny way of slipping away from us right under our noses, and we must be careful not to miss out on the beauty of everyday.

Sure, we all have floors to clean, laundry to wash, bills to pay and running around to do day after day. All the chores we do are for the purpose of providing a safe and clean environment for our families, but the more important task at hand is to take notice of our children's emotional and spiritual needs.

It's very easy to get into a strict schedule:off to school, do chores in between, home from school, homework, dinner, bath, and then bed. Day after day we stick to our schedules and rely on things remaining the same for the sake of sanity.

Having a schedule is wonderful; in fact it's a great way to provide stability for our children. However, there are times when we need to break away from our schedules; be free to have fun and spend time sharing in our children's childlike spirit!

Make time to enjoy your children:play tea party, army men, board games or whatever suits their fancy! Playing with your kids is not only fun for them, but it's also relaxing for you. For a brief moment in time, you're not the waitress, disciplinarian, dietitian, or taxi driver:you're just "ma" having a good time with your children.

Just this once, don't yell at the kids for running down the hall laughing out loud because your favorite television show is on:turn off the T.V. and run down the hall with them and play a game or two of hide and go seek!

Loosen the bun from the back of your head and get some dirt under your fingernails and dig for worms on a hot summer day; and then go rinse off under the sprinkler with them, clothes and all!

I challenge you to have more fun being a parent and interact with your child's playtime more often.

Although it can be difficult to manage a household, raise kids and take time for yourself on a daily basis; you should enjoy your little wildflowers while you can, for someday they will bloom into adulthood and tend to their own wildflower gardens!

Originally posted on SaltLakeCityMommies.com

How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?

If you grew up in the kind of neighborhood I did, then you remember people sitting out on their front porches in the evenings, kids playing out in the neighbors yard until it was too dark to see and the mad rush to the ice cream truck when that little jingle was first heard on the street.

Nowadays, that scene is almost non-existent. Many parents are working late, then have to pick up the kids from their day care provider and rush home to make dinner, spend a little quality time with the kids and then off to bed to start all over again. Parents are worried that the streets aren't safe. People drive everywhere, and the most you see someone is when you are both getting into your car at the same time.

There are many benefits to having a close relationship with your neighbors. Research shows that neighborhoods where people know each other by name and are connected to one another have lower crime rates. It has even been shown that kids who live in tight knit communities do better in school.

Maybe it is time for us to bring back the days of yesterday, and get to know our neighbors. One way you can do this is by making a neighborhood directory. Send a letter (or even better, deliver it in person) asking your neighbors if they would like to be included in a neighborhood directory. A sample letter can be found here. Have them complete a form that provides you with information to put in the directory. A sample form can be found here. Once you have collected the completed forms, print a directory and distribute it to your neighbors. You can also email the directory to them to save on paper costs.

Another idea is to start a website for your neighborhood. You can get a free website from Geocities (http://www.geocities.com) or Neighborhood Link (http://www.neighborhoodlink.com). You can put a calendar of events in your area on the site, or perhaps list the email addresses of the residents. A bulletin board can be used to post announcements or special needs.

What about an old-fashioned potluck dinner or backyard barbecue. Invite your neighbors and ask them to bring a covered dish or dessert to share! What a wonderful way to get to know the people in your neighborhood. You might enjoy it so much that you turn it into a monthly event!

In this day and age, it is even more critical that we know those who live around us. Our very safety might depend on it. But there is also so much joy to be found right in your backyard! A host of new friends (and babysitters!) can be found just a stone's throw away from your front door. And perhaps, all of your neighbors are just sitting there waiting for you to make it all happen!

Originally posted on CharlotteMommies.com

When I say "Super Mommy" what is it that comes to mind? Do images of any combo of the following; spotless houses, pristine, genius children, 8 arms, soccer trophies, winning the bread, and a brilliant relationship come to mind? I hope not, cuz I'm writing to tell you that "Super Mommy" is the Mommy who knows herself, who gives of her true self freely to her family, she is the woman who has simply elaborated on the already spectacular chic she is, the woman who has created a family without losing herself. I am here to tell you that we can still skip along on our own individual paths to find and nurture self while bringing our mommy selves to the table. When "who we are"is the actual foundation of our life, everything sort of falls into place. I am one hell of a "Super Mommy" and I may look and do things very, very differently from another "Super Mommy."

How many times have we insisted that we "Just want to be Happy"and how many times have we had the option or opportunity to actually bask in "pure, uninterrupted Happiness?" For me personally I would have to say: Not much. Why is this so? I have come to understand it as a simple misunderstanding of words and a misperception of needs and desires.

What is happiness exactly, is it a state of being or just another emotion that flutters within us? I acknowledge happiness to be one emotion in an extensive and complicated cauldron of emotions, felt by a person either alone or simultaneously with other emotions. I have determined that in my own life it is not Happiness that I am in need of or desire, rather I work for Well-Being. So what is Well-Being? This question in and of itself is so very complicated, and while I have found what is the most comprehensive way possible to define it in these particular moments of my life, that is not to say it will not evolve into something different at another time. Well-being is the collective health and wellness of one's physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and connected self. Wellness is a symptom of well-being, indicating individually defined balance.

I spent a great deal of time, introspection, and energy developing an understanding of what it really meant for me to be well and whole. During the course of this development it occurred to me that I really didn't know very much about myself. I had always adapted to whatever role was necessary at the time and here I was doing the exact same thing as a mom. Now I've always known on some level that I was a pretty awesome chic and while I may have longed to know myself, I never really invested. Once I had my son, I felt a sense of urgency that was exceptionally difficult to ignore; didn't he deserve to know me, who I truly am? Didn't he deserve every ounce of me?

My initial process went a little something like this: I had my son which fulfilled me in ways I never thought possible and it lit a flame under my "tushy"to get on the ball and learn to be whole and well as the very best me possible. I came across some feminist literature, which I found absolutely empowering and compelling. I re-united with a dear friend and almost immediately following that we began to take a Spirituality class, which led me to intense exploration of goddess cultures and the Divine Feminine. Next thing I knew I was feeling good about me and completely absorbed in anything about The Goddess. I started to look a bit more closely at feminist theory and perspective and began to form my own thoughts and opinions regarding those particular topics. All of a sudden I was a fantastic Mother, who loved her plush body and herself, a self proclaimed sexy and fierce feminist, who loved fashion and make-up again, falling back in love with my son's father (my partner), a "witchy"witch again, and completely engulfed by Goddess Spirituality. This is the "me"my son deserves, this is the woman he will admire and look to for guidance. What better gift can I give him?

We cannot forget ourselves, we cannot learn to just "make it"in the chaos that permeates our lives. Most of the moms I know are full-time everything: partners, parents, employees, chefs, housekeepers, and all of that other good stuff. Most moms I know are driven by the societal pressures and expectations of being a "super mom"and while a lot of us have varying degrees of help and support from our partners we are still consistently reminded of the imposed obligations that come with being a "super mom." I say screw that, I say that the most important thing is having a loving, meaningful relationship with my son and partner; when I get home from work I want to be with them, sit at the table and eat, play on the floor, snuggle up and watch a movie. If that means dinner isn't always "home"cooked and my house is a bit "lived in," so be it, who cares? My son knows me and he knows that his mommy and daddy love one another and enjoy their time with him. He knows what it is to be a part of something beautiful and full; our family is full of love, play, acceptance, and a genuine enjoyment of one another. When we clean, we play; when we cook, we play; when we shop, we play; and while my house is not spotless and my meals are not gourmet, my home is a home with a real, devoted family in it and I know what I need and I am not at all afraid to insist that I get it.

I cannot emphasize enough that women must individually determine their worth as a mom and acknowledge that the messages we receive about motherhood from the media and magazines, maybe even our friends and families are potentially based in misinformation and stereotypical ideology. We must find what works for us and we must always remember that we are still important; we must be nurtured and cared for by ourselves if we are to expect it from others. We must laugh at ourselves and engage our own growth and development, never forgetting that there is always something new to learn about ourselves. Our children, our partners, our jobs, and whatever other responsibilities that we have are not the end all be all of us.

I am not a mother who happens to be a feminist and a witch, I am a "Witchy, Feminist Mother"who happens to love, cherish, and adore herself. You may be an "Artsy, Activist Mom," "A Domestic Goddess," or an "Intellectual, Writer Mom;" whatever it may be, figure it out and Live it.

Originally posted on CharlotteMommies.com

My husband, Adam, left this morning for a conference in Houston, TX.  He's gone to conferences before, but this is the first one since Rowan was born.  I always have had a lot of respect for single parents, when he's gone that respect just grows and grows.  Each conference he's gone to has presented me with new and different challenges as a parent.  The first conference Kara was just a year old and she got her first big illness.  I was unable to get much sleep or food.  All she wanted was to lay on my lap and be held.  Going to the bathroom was an adventure: have you ever tried to hitch your pants up when your child is strapped to you and throwing up at the same time?  Other conferences I've had the joys of explaining to Kara why her dad isn't there and why he wasn't going to be home for x days.   I got quite skilled at keeping her distracted from his absence.  This time though I am presented with 2 new challenges.  The first being that I now have two children, one that is awake frequently during the night and needs much of my attention (and body).  The second is one I had not thought of before.

How do you express emotions around your children?  Prior to Kara when Adam would go to a conference I would have cried a bit, gone home, eaten junk food and watched TV, read some books, done a puzzle and stayed up way past my bedtime.  Now I know better than to spend my time watching TV, staying up late and eating junk food.  I'm sure I'll read plenty of books and may do some puzzles. Granted the books may not be more complicated than naming dinosaurs and the puzzles will have less than 50 pieces.  But what to do about the desire to cry?  Do I show Kara how sad I am that her dad has left?  Do I let her see how worried I am about how our time alone will go and his safety?  Or do I keep a stiff upper lip and keep on going as if nothing has changed?  If I don't express my emotions, in a healthy way that is, am I teaching Kara to not acknowledge her own emotions?  Does that teach her to be a stoic and afraid of emotions?  If I show her the tears does that then lead her to fear and worry when she shouldn't have that burden?  Will she feel she needs to take care of me since I am sad?  This also leads me to examine how we deal with Kara's tantrums and other outbursts of emotion.  Right now we ask her to calm down and say that once she is calm we can talk about what is bothering her. But does that teach her that she shouldn't express the emotion?  Would it be better to say "wow, you are really sad/angry/upset.  Let's take a moment to be that way, then we can calm down and talk about what has made you feel that way"?  We do try to acknowledge the emotion by saying "you sound really sad", but is that enough?  Do we need to give her more space to feel and express the emotion?  I want to raise children that are not afraid of their emotions and can express them in a healthy way.  I don't want them learning to stuff their feelings down or to think that it's not ok to let others know how they are feeling.  Emotions can be powerful and influence our thinking more than we often realize or admit.  To have a healthy relationship with emotions would allow them to recognize, feel, and then move on past the emotions so they do not influence their decisions excessively.  The question is- how to achieve that.

Submitted by Heidi-rose Creuzinger, member of NorthMetroDCMommies.  Heidi-rose blogs at Terror at 3 Feet & Rising.

I now understand why, when I was young and got sick, my mom would go get my medication and come back with what I thought of as treat drinks and foods.  She was doing anything she could to get me to eat or drink!  I also understand why she would buy me something fun like a book, coloring book, activity book or some other activity I could do while sick.  For one, she was trying to keep me entertained by anything other than TV.  Two, she felt bad that I was so sick.

Kara has a double ear infection mixed with a cough that occasionally has that seal bark sound.  Thankfully her fever is mild and so far she hasn't thrown up.  The stomach bug was 2 weeks ago.  She will just rest her head on our lap and cry.  We've had such a hard time getting food in her that we're going to start offering Jello (I know, it's not really food.  But it's something!).  I need her to rest and stay inactive so that her body can fight the infections.  I'm also trying to tend to Rowan (who just got 2 vaccines).  Oh yeah, and get ready for Yule, Adam's birthday, and a trip to Wisconsin.  Oh yes, and still maintain the normal routines and needs of the house.  So I'm not able to play with Kara, or read to her, in a way that will keep her resting.  So, evil idiot box time it is.  I have never been so thankful for over 100+ channels, a DVR, DVD and VHS as I have when Kara is sick!  I feel so bad that she's so sick and doesn't get to play with friends (she will miss 2 playdates and 2 days of school this week.  I can't tell which of us is crying over that more).  I want to buy her treats and toys and things to cheer her up.  But dang if this kid doesn't have more than she normally plays with anyway.  So I restrain myself and say that it's my love, my attention and my compassion she needs more than my gifts.

I know part of my feeling bad for her is because she's been sick a lot lately.  She got sick before our trip to Minnesota- stomach bug.  Then she got sick on the way home from Minnesota- stomach bug on the plane.  And now she's sick again.  Oh yeah, that plane trip was very "interesting".  She threw up when we were at the airport, we had no clue she was sick.  Then she kept throwing up on the plane ride home.  And then again a few times at home.  We used all the motion sick bags we could get our hands on.  The flight attendants were very understanding thankfully.  Sadly they were all out of extra bags, thankfully other passengers gave us theirs.

Mom, I understand all you did when I was sick.  I hope that my girls feel as comforted and tended to as I did by you!

Submitted by Heidi-rose Creuzinger, member of NorthMetroDCMommies.  Heidi-rose blogs at Terror at 3 Feet & Rising.

As last summer approached, I remember reading posts on UnionCountyMommies (UCM) about upcoming travel plans, family vacations, free movie viewings, and securing memberships to the local water park. But one fellow mommy’s plans really stood out because they were so different from the rest. She was raising money to cover the expenses of a hosting a child from Belarus for six weeks.

And this year, around the same time, I saw similar posts go up again…she was planning, fundraising, and even longing to bring back that same little girl. It was clear her family had had an amazing experience, one that was worth far more than the time, effort, and money they had put into it. I was so moved by her desire to help in this way, and I wanted to get more information about the program. I wanted to learn more about children and let others know how they too, can get involved.

So I was thrilled when UCM member, Heather Efird, graciously agreed to take time out of her busy life and answer all of my questions! The program goes by the name ABRO, which Heather explained stands for American Belarussian Relief Organization. It is a national, non-profit organization whose focus is to improve the quality of life, and the health, of children living in and around areas of Belarus affected by the Chernobyl disaster in April of 1986.

The first group to come over, in 1989, consisted of thirteen children. Today, more than 300 children, ages seven to seventeen, come over each summer. Their time in the United States helps lower the levels of radiation in their bodies, boost their immune systems, and provides an opportunity to receive medical and dental care that they truly need.

The cost just to bring their host child, Alina, back this year was about $2000 she says, money that is to be raised completely by the host family. The Efirds have been able to raise the necessary fees through fundraisers with Yankee Candle, Tupperware, selling poinsettias at Christmas, and car wash tickets through Autobell, as well as soliciting donations.

The host family is also responsible for the costs of day to day living, including clothing, food, and medical appointments, just as if the child was part of the family. And it’s clear that’s exactly what Alina has become to the Efirds. In fact, Heather often refers to Alina as her daughter.

Heather says last summer Alina went to lots of baseball games that her son, Blake, was playing in. They also took her to the mountains, a local animal park called Lazy 5 Ranch, and to the beach in Oak Island, NC. Alina also attended a weekly bible study that was taught in Russian. I asked her to tell me about a favorite memory, but she couldn’t pick just one! “She comes from a low income family and lost her father two years ago. Every day was like Christmas to her while she was with us last summer.” Heather said.

Host families are still needed in order to bring more children here each summer. Heather says, “This is a life changing experience for all that are involved but it's not easy. These children speak little to no English so communication is a big hurdle. No matter how difficult the situation is...the LOVE in that child's eyes makes it all worth it.” The Efirds have been able to call Alina a few times since she left last summer, but say the best way to keep in touch is through a translator and an email address provided by ABRO.

Since this is their second year hosting through the program, I asked Heather what it was exactly that made her family want to sign up again. Thoughtfully, she said, “When we first got involved with the program I kept thinking about how much we would change this child's life forever. The thing that she will never realize is how much she has changed OUR family. I never knew how this would affect my life forever.”

As Alina’s travel date gets closer and closer, I can’t help but imagine what a wonderful reunion it will be for all of them!!

For more information on how to help with donations or to become a host family, please visit http://www.abro.org/

Originally posted by Heather from UnionCountyMommies.com on The Mommies Network National Blog, 5/26/11

With Nick Jr. blaring in the background, a two year old snoring on her bean bag chair, and a husband snoring on the couch, I am sitting here thinking, " how did I get here?" I was a 25 year old graphic designer for the local newspaper one day, and the next I was pregnant and planning my wedding. Yes, you read that right; my daughter was a surprise baby. She has been the best surprise I have ever had. Since having her, my life has completely changed. I went from living at home with my parents and working full time, to being married to a wonderful man and working as a SAHM.

I can honestly say I wouldn't change a thing. It has been a tough road, but I have learned so much and I've realized how lucky I am to have the mother that I do. My mother has always been my rock and my hero. Growing up, she worked full time as a teacher, yet still made me and my two sisters breakfast each day and drove us to school. She kept our house spotless at all times and cooked us dinner every night. I never really appreciated everything she did for me when I was young. I just thought, well that is what moms are supposed to do.

Now being a mom myself, I look at my mother in a whole new light. I believe she wears an invisible super hero cape. I am amazed and puzzled at how she managed to cook breakfast and dinner for our whole family every day. As a SAHM, I am ashamed to say I barely manage to cook a well rounded dinner three nights out of the week. My mother was always on top of the house cleaning, also. She had a set routine each Saturday - we all had our chores and the house was cleaned top to bottom. My apartment is not clean from top to bottom. I am lucky if it is somewhat clean on most days. I have learned from my mother that things take time. She told me she wasn't always supermom and that it took her years to get into a set routine. As an adult and now a mother, I can look back at my mother and learn so many lessons. I take notes daily and try my best to apply lessons that my mother taught me to my day to day life.

I know I will never be a mirror image of my mother. Honestly, I don't want to be that. I want to be Me - the best mother I can be to my daughter. I feel as mothers we are our worst critics. We criticize ourselves up and down if our lives are not like June Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver. If we are not made up head to toe with the perfect house greeting our husbands with a warm meal and a cold one in our hands at the end of the day, we feel like we've failed. Life is tough and no one is perfect. But I do know that I have a strong, wonderful woman by my side to help me though this journey - My Mom. On top of that, I have a whole network of Moms at my fingertips though The Mommies Network. With both of these tools I am Super Mom.

Originally posted by Kathy from CentralPiedmontMommies.com on The Mommies Network National Blog, 5/7/11

I find it amazing how something small and otherwise trivial can bring about a flood of memories. Listen to a song from your high school years and see where your mind wanders. Catch a whiff of a certain cologne and your memories take over!

There are so many ways to preserve our special memories. Here are just a few ideas to try:

THOUGHTS
What better way to preserve your thoughts than to keep a journal. Some people cringe at the idea of journal writing: they think of "Dear Diary, today I woke up, I brushed my teeth..." However journals can be so much more than that!
• Create a special journal for things you think about your husband. When you fill it up, you can give it to him as a gift (or keep it for yourself to remember all that honeymoon bliss or little petty arguments that seemed so big at the time!)
• Create a special journal for your hopes and dreams. Only write in it when you get an idea of "what you want to be when you grow up." Go back through it years from now and laugh at all of your ideas and applaud the good ones!
• Create a journal for your children. Start it when you first find out that they are coming and write in it intermittently throughout their life. Give it to them as a special one-of-a-kind gift on their graduation or wedding day.
• Create a prayer journal. Write down your thoughts and prayers to God. Go back through it periodically and check off prayers that have been answered. See how God is working in your life!
Whatever kind of journal you decide to make, don't feel you have to write in it everyday if you don't want to. Use it as a creative outlet, a place to store your best (and worst) memories and a place to let out your emotions. Years from now, it will be a treasured gift for you or whomever you share it with.


FAMILY HERITAGE
Have you ever wanted to find out more about your family history? With the advent of the world wide web, this has never been easier. Preserve your heritage by creating a family tree. Trace your ancestors back to the Mayflower or beyond! Find your family crest and proudly display it in your home. Researching your family history can be a fun and educational experience for the whole family. There are many websites available to help you find information and help you get in touch with long-lost relatives..


PHOTOGRAPHS
So you have piles, drawers and boxes full of old photographs? Join the club! There are so many ways to preserve photographs today! You can scan photos and save them on disk. You can also go to a professional studio where they can take photos, videos and even old movie reels and transfer them to DVD (you can find a list of local studios at the end of this article). There are many different photo storage solutions out there. Photo boxes that are acid-free are best. Store your photos in a cool, dry, dark place (garages, basements and attics are not good choices!). If you decide to put your photos in albums, make sure the albums are made with acid-free materials. Avoid using photo albums with the sticky pages -- over time the glue will permanently bond to your photos, making it impossible to remove them. If you are a creative person, you can preserve your photographs and other memorabilia in a scrapbook (or two, or five!). Scrapbooking is very big these days and there is a plethora of stickers, papers, borders and other paraphernalia to make your scrapbooks sparkle.


MUSIC
For me, music brings about a lot of memories. I can listen to a song and be instantly transported to my junior prom, my college apartment or a special moment in my marriage. I will never forget the song that was playing as I delivered my daughter (It was "Deliver Me" by Sarah Brightman, believe it or not!). Go through your collection of tapes, records, CDs and even 8-Tracks (does anyone have those anymore?). Make a mixed tape or CD of the songs that mean something to you or help you remember a certain time in your life. Listening to them will allow you to take a step back into history -- and you will have a lot of fun putting them together too!


CLOTHING
Did you have a favorite dress as a child or teen? Or now, as a mother, does the sight of your daughter's first Easter dress send you down memory lane? Consider making a quilt out of these old clothes. A small scrap of each fabric is enough for a square and with a little effort, you will have a family heirloom full of memories.


SCENTS
How I wish I still had the scent that my grandmother used to wear! Whenever I catch a whiff of that scent, I know everything will be ok. I wish I knew what it was so I could always have it around for reassurance. You can keep your favorite smells nearby in a number of ways. Candle companies make scented candles in hundreds of scents, including Christmas Cookies (for us baking-illiterate folks), Seaside, with the smell of the ocean breeze and many others. These candles are usually reasonably priced and will fill your whole house with a lovely scent that can bring back lots of memories of good times. If it is a perfume you want to save, here is an easy sachet you can make:


Originally Posted on CharlotteMommies.com

"The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money."  David Richerby

There are 3 reasons why I blog:

1. To share or vent things that go on in my life, usually as a mom, but not necessarily confined to that one aspect of who I am

2. To write down memories of those little things that no matter how much I wish to think I will always remember them, I know I wont 3 years down the road, so that I can look back reading these and say "Oh yeah!!! I remember that!!!!"

3. So that many years down the road from now, when my sons are adults and married, and they come to me and tell me they and their wife are expecting their first child, I can gleefully go to Office Max, have all of these blogs printed out, and create a book to give to them at the Baby shower, cackling with glee the entire time. I figure this will be considered good parenting (and great revenge) as I will be letting them know for real what they have gotten themselves into. Muahahaha!

Today's blog is for the latter reason.

Xavier lost another tooth yesterday. It had been loose for awhile, and it finally fell out while at school. He came home grinning madly, showing off the big gaping hole where his tooth used to be, and chattered excitedly about how the tooth fairy was going to come tonight and hand over money for this tiny little baby tooth.

He went to bed, chatting himself to sleep about what he would spend his mighty dollar bill he was going to get from the tooth fairy that night. J casually reminded me after Xavier fell asleep and I nodded that I would remember.

I totally forgot.

Now in my defense, I am flipping exhausted, both physically and mentally! I am dealing with a 6 month old who has decided to start budding his own teeth (not tooth, teeth, I can see 2 tiny baby bottom teeth almost erupting simultaneously) and is waking up every 60-90 minutes at night and just plain ticked off during the day. I am also dealing with a 3 yr old with whom I am locked in a power struggle with over edibles. So yes I was a bad Mom, but I was a Tired Mom. I screwed up. I'm not perfect. But there were reasons behind my lack of memory.

I realized I screwed up at 6 am after nursing Soren for the third time that night when Xavier came out of his room weeping. I asked him what was wrong and he told me his tooth was still there and there was no money. I froze thinking "oh no oh no oh no oh no!!! How the heck can I fix this?!?!?" Then oddly enough I had an idea. Aha! School already called in a 2 hour delay due to inclement weather. You know, cause it was 45 degrees outside and raining. A little bit. Kind of. Well not really by then. But Still!!! So I gathered Xavier in my arms and told him that it was still dark out and there was still time. And that maybe because of the bad weather (by the way honey you have 2 hours off of school! Isn't that great?) that the tooth fairy got blown off course. And maybe, if she didn't make it tonight, she will definitely be here the next night. Because obviously there has to be a good reason!!

I got him calmed down and I thought he seemed ok. I sent him to bed and told him to try and sleep because the tooth fairy would NOT come if he was awake. And then after listening to make sure he did what I asked, I booked it down the stairs and frantically searched for money, a pen, and paper.

I sat down and wrote (in flowing cursive so he couldn't recognize my handwriting) a letter from the tooth fairy explaining she got stuck in snow and by the time she got to our house he was up so she left the money downstairs and would come by the next night to grab the tooth. I then folded the letter into a cool little package that held the money and placed it by on the kitchen counter by the coffee machine. Congratulating myself for a job well done I lumbered back to bed in pure exhaustion, looking forward to just a few hours of uninterrupted sleep as it was now technically Js watch.

At 7 am J bursts into our bedroom with a look of pure panicked frustration on his face and asks me to please help him deal with Xavier because he can not right now or he will do something he may regret. This, coming from my sweet natured, MOST patient, never ruffled, loving husband. If he is like this I know it's going to be a really bad morning. So I throw on my bathrobe and head out to see what is going on.

Apparently, Xavier did not calm down. Instead he started obsessing over the fact the tooth fairy had yet to make an appearance (as far as he knew) and worked himself into a tizzy. Fine. However, he worked himself up so much and got so angry he lashed out. The bad part is he decided to lash out at his innocent younger brother, Ashe, who had been sleeping peacefully in the bottom bunk of their bunk beds...

By pouring a bottle of cold water on him while he slept.

To steal a quote from a friend:

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

Seriously???? As I enter the chaos, J had calmed Ashe down for the most part and dried him up but he was still sniffing and trying not to cry. J went over to him to try and make him feel better. Xavier was already in time out and he sat there snarling and growling. I walked over to him and asked him what his deal was, and was it true this was all about the tooth fairy. He growled at me that she never came.

"Oh really?"

"I stayed awake the whole time and she never showed up!"

"Duh kid! I told you point blank she wont show up if you're awake. That was the whole point for you to go back to bed! And before you start your shenanigans again did you notice this note over here on the counter?"

"No!"

"I thought not." I walked over, opened it up, showed him the money, and read him the note. Then, I pocketed the money, told him he lost it for his behavior, and that he would now have to earn it back.

To any neighbors who heard the howl of rage that issued forth from that consequence, my apologies that it happened so early in the morning. I cut him off his howling and told him further more, the way he acted to Ashe, who was completely innocent in all this, was beyond unacceptable, and that he would also spend the entire day thinking of some way to really make it up to his little brother. And if he didn't figure out something appropriate I would.

He flipped out, and I wasn't in the mood to put up with it, so I sent him to his room to calm down. Which took about 45 minutes and a lot of screaming of "I'M CALMED DOWN MOM! MOM!!!!!! LISTEN TO ME!!!! I AM CALM!!! ARRRRRGH!" until he quieted down, actually calmed down, and did some major apologizing to the whole family.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm of the mind to kill off the tooth fairy if this is what is going to happen if she's "late."  And I can promise you she will be late again, at some point, for some kid. We parents who take on the role of a mythological creature are not the Perfect Legend. We're human.

Stupid Tooth Fairy >:P

Originally posted 1/8/10 by Brittany (Rhaven) on TriangleMommies.blogspot.com