This video really says it all but I can’t resist adding a few words–after all, I’m a word girl.
On more than one occasion I’ve had people come to our house and stand in the hallway afraid to step foot in the living room. They witness boys literally bouncing off walls, off each other, the floor, the couch, the puppy. I know what they are thinking: that I have absolutely no control over my kids and I let them run rampant and how on Earth can I allow this behavior to continue. No wonder I look so tired, no wonder I complain about noise, no wonder I fail at playing it cool. I know they think they wouldn’t allow their kids to jump off the couch or climb onto the counter. I know I’m being judged left and right, and so are my kids. But the truth is, you just can’t imagine what goes on for real in the house next door. And what they are witnessing is usually pretty tame compared to life behind closed doors.
I have to believe that our life is more common than not. And I think that’s what Jen and I want to convey by giving these glimpses in words, photos and videos. Because this…is my life…and it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Three boys. Three completely different personalities. Can you give each a description? The first thing that comes to my mind is the Instigator. Guess who that is?
Jamis, 7
Max, 2
Ethan, 1
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Sarah, you’re hilarious. No other mom (except some anal retentive nut) would judge that as out of control. It seemed pretty normal chaos to me! When my kids are playing (as opposed to fighting) there’s like things breaking. And the big one’s fourteen – a giant.
Oh, and my guess for the instigator. Um, Max. Really cute.
I’m going with Jamis because he does what my Javi does — yells GET OFF OF ME and then sneaks in a quick hit to keep the action moving. I don’t want you to touch me, but I’m going to lay on top of you when you decide to leave me alone. Total instigation!
I want Max to have a playdate with Bella. I think they’d fit like two peas in a pod!
Max has that middle child behavior. He is going to get attention anyway he can. LOL!
If this is out of control, you are really lucky. This is calm and being relatively nice to each other from my point of view.
Okay, okay, okay….so this IS one of the more calm moments. :) However, do y’all know what I’m talking about when I say my kids’ behavior scares the neighbors away.
Ha
Ha
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Sarah
Oh Sarah! I so know what you mean. I use to never have friends over as my kids were so off the wall. LOL! I still try to manage that “off the wall” behavior and have, in the last few months, been reminded multiple times that I am talking to adults.
But here’s the thing, right? …If most people’s kids behave mostly the same way then why do we get the looks we get and why are we made to feel the way we do? I mean, I pretty much already know (or figure) that most moms are trying to appear like they have it all pulled together, that their children are saints, that life is just peachy. But why? Why do this to yourself? More importantly, why do this to other moms? Why do we have to worry about the way we LOOK all the time, and the way our kids LOOK. And, of course, I’m not just talking about our tangled hair and dirty jeans. It’s behavior and attitude, etc.
I think this is a larger topic for another time, actually, but your comment brought me there right now…long before the coffee has kicked in, so I’ll bow out now before I get myself in any deeper. :)
My first thought while watching that video: we have the same couch. (Deep, I know.)
My second thought: I wish all mothers – all parents? – could sign a judgment-free pledge. Unless you witness a child being endangered by his parent, keep your gaze and your opinions to yourself. (Can you tell you’ve hit on one of my biggest frustrations with parenting?)
My third: yup, this is just what I meant by little morsels to nourish the soul. Thanks for the snack.
Thank you. Little morsels of life. Putting it out there nourishes my soul, too. My life is full of chaotic beauty and beautiful chaos. I need this space to remember what it is really all about. That everything is as it’s supposed to be. And to hear the voices that respond.
Thank you.
“I mean, I pretty much already know (or figure) that most moms are trying to appear like they have it all pulled together, that their children are saints, that life is just peachy. But why? Why do this to yourself? More importantly, why do this to other moms? Why do we have to worry about the way we LOOK all the time, and the way our kids LOOK. And, of course, I’m not just talking about our tangled hair and dirty jeans. It’s behavior and attitude, etc.”
This bothers me pretty much every day right now. I have an constantly tantruming toddler and beyond thta he just has a wild amount of energy and cant sit still like other kids. It makes me look really out of control and frazzled and i get “those looks” every where I go and I wish it werent so expected now days to have yoru children “under control” and under such perfect behavior or you are some kind of bad mother. I wrote about it, sort of…..in my blog the other day.
We are all so very, very much alike. Underneath it all. It is why I gravitate toward honest people living transparent lives. I don’t have time to waste trying to figure out just how much some other mother is judging me. I don’t have time to tiptoe around a friendship and wait for the right time to expose the real me and introduce my very real kids. I really do think that many women feel the same way. I try my very best to always make others feel comfortable around me, to let them know I understand them and their challenges, that I do not judge them, that I do not think I could do it better. I know that’s what I want to feel when I’m with another mother. And I find, by sharing my frustrations and my weaknesses, that I gain more than I lose. This blog is the biggest example–but even if it isn’t as easy or often, I think there is the potential for that in real life as well.
Frazzled and out of control with a toddler throwing tantrums? You got it babe. Times two.
awe, i watched the video and i think its cute. I caught the little one doing a little dance for a second. I think its really cute they all play together like that and argue like that. Reminds me of me and my sisters. We were close in age too.
I love this.I’m just chuckling watching this -it’s sooooo familiar to me. :)
Your middle one? Just like my middle one. And they have the same sit-on-your-head moves. Awesomeness. Thanks for sharing – my heart is warm. (i love little boys.)
-elizabeth
:)
Just another day, right?
I had a moment yesterday when watching another little boy playing with his mom. Running her here, there and everywhere. And I felt overwhelmingly lucky to have these little monsters. Their fun, fast, free bodies flying over and under me and each other NON-STOP!
And yes, the middle one is Trouble. Capital T. But he has a heart that can stop you in a minute and fold you over and around…That’s his face up there in the header…his sweet, delicious face.
My first thought is wow I can so relate. I have a son and daughter and I swear they rough house like that. My daughter is 18 months and she’s constantly climbing on the furniture and clobbering her big brother. So hilarious to watch them interact.
I would guess Max as he’s just at that fun age to instigate:)
The climbing. Oh the climbing. Over, under, around everything and everyone. It goes on and on and on. On the good days, I laugh about it. Because it IS so funny. But on the not so good days it drives me BONKERS…and in trying to get them to stop I just make myself more upset. Because they just can’t stop. They are wild. But they are all mine.
:)
Thanks for stopping by!
The middle child just cannot resist tormenting the eldest, because let’s face it, middle child gets tormented by eldest all of the time. REVENGE. Is Sweet.
My kids have completely destroyed my house. Everything in it is broken and I’m not replacing it until they’re off to college because WHY bother?
And maybe your kid hasn’t showered, but mine just peed on the floor in an act of sheer defiance. Niiiiiiice.
Trust me, darling, I’ve got me a whole lotta pee on these here floors. And sadly, I would take human pee over puppy pee. Ew. I can’t even believe I’m comparing the two. EW!
I love this idea. Posting real life snippets of your world. I think I might jump on that so you can all SEE what I’m talking about when I bitch and moan about how hard I have it on some days. And then you can tell me that it doesn’t really seem THAT bad! Because, really, this didn’t seem THAT bad… but you also seem to handle it better than me. I would have been screeching through that whole demonstration for one to get off the other, one to be careful, one to stop this or that… you must just be used to it.
Ah yes, a day in the life… beautiful.
Would love to see some of your own snippets. Since Jen came up with this new series I have had about a billion ideas in the form of words, pictures and videos. Because this life? It takes some doing. And I know I can just put it all out there and you all will understand! I love knowing that!
I think the instigator is Ethan. He’s behind it all, I can tell by the way he shakes his head back and forth. I think he’s sending messages to Max, telepathically. :)
OH how I can relate. OH.
You’re hysterical. I do think there is something to the inverted triangle move Ethan pulls off on the couch whilst Max is tackling biggest boy Jamis. He’s up to something there…
Don’t worry. I’ll keep my eye on him for any *funny business.*
I know, I am like late. However, I watched this like three times!!
And, let me tell you from experience, it is not just boys. My mom, bless her heart, had three girls first. You want to talk about scary? Oh, sure, we didn’t knock over things, we just knocked each other out. Real cool, huh?
I still have scars from our fights.
OH-MY-GOD!!! they are SO CUTE. “instigator?” yeah, definitely MAX. he is what i like to call a Princess Crazyhead. in our house, whoever is being the loudest or acting the silliest gets called Princess Crazyhead until one of the other kids out-Crazyheads the current Crazyhead.
i would love to smooch their little faces because they are so adorkable.
but i’m not a weirdo.
Man-oh-Man we have some Crazyheads around here. I waffle between loving it and hating it, joining it and rebelling against it. Tonight I love the madness and want to eat up the little faces…yum yum yum.
I only have the one boy, and we’re still off the walls. And in a hitting phase. Last week when leaving the house, my husband said a bit hopefully: “Maybe she’ll hit Jack first.”
I have a feeling I’ll always be on the lookout for the families with the child who writes on the wall and jumps on the couch and overturns the laundry basket and wipes dirty hands on the tablecloth.
(Wait – tablecloth? Who am I kidding?)
Wild is fun. And funny.