Discovery

As Kyan was having a diaper change Nyah happened to notice the difference in their anatomy.  she asks "Did he always have that kind of pee pee? It looks like my thumb!"

Potty Publicity

I always thought that it was only my kids that felt the need to make an announcement about exactly what they were doing on the potty.  Every gory detail about color, consistency, and smell.  Until today when a child in an adjacent stall announced that he was going kaka and that it smelled like cereal and the embarrassed mother informed him that he did not have to tell the world what he was doing in the bathroom.  I had to smile ... Feeling vindicated that it wasn't just my brood.  There is a great comfort in knowing that other parents are living through the same ugh and OMG moments that you are.

Memories

Although I miss spending Ramadhan and Eid with my parents I have to remember that those are my memories and my children need to make memories with their parents.  I'm sure I can recreate some memory worthy traditions!

Eyes

There is a strange thing that happens when you are in a public place.  When your kids do something that normally you would laugh at, you flip out.  Not because it was any different than the last ten times they did it at home but because you can feel the eyes of everyone around you judging you and watching to see how well you are able to get your kids "under control" but really you end up handling it completely wrong because instead of using your instinct and letting them be kids you are driven by expectation that others silently place on you with their eyes and in an effort to prove your excellent parenting abilities you screw it all up. 

Sharing

Kyan is definitely the sweetest and loviest (yes i just made up a new word) little man I have ever met.  Tonight at 1:10am as I'm rocking him to sleep, he is almost out when he decides that he wants to share his pacifier with me!  However since he has the pacifier in his mouth he offers me the tail of the monkey to which his pacifier is attached!  Such a sweetheart even in his sleep!   

Great Expectations

Tonight I took the 3 monkeys out for dinner ... Alone! I know, what was I thinking ... Well I was thinking let someone else do the cooking and cleaning, but I digress.  I was already frustrated with the wobbly table, dirty high hair and slow service when the girls start fighting over crayons, then space, then napkins etc.  A few empty threats later they retreat to their neutral corners. Food finally arrives and they are quiet for a while but as we reach the halfway point Nyah starts watching the tv over the bar (oh did I forget to mention they sat a mother with 3 young children in the bar!!!!) yes so she's not eating, Reyna is playing with Kyan so neither of them are eating ... I spend the rest of dinner reminding the girls to take a bite every 30 seconds and attempting to keep a bite of food in Kyan's mouth long enough for him to chew and realize that he may actually like it.  

Defeated I pay the bill, vow to never attempt this again without reinforcements and we get up to leave.  An older woman stops me (I'm convinced she is about to reprimand me for bringing my unruly children to a restaurant and ruining the quiet dinner she was hoping to enjoy with her friend) instead she does the opposite and compliments me on my "WELL BEHAVED CHILDREN"?!?!  MY WHAT??? I was dumbfounded!  My impression of the evening was that I'd irritated all the other patrons and that my children should never be allowed to eat in public.  Meanwhile this sweet old lady thought my kids were "precious".  

On the quiet drive home I thought about the high standards, which i attribute to too many years spent working with young children, I hold my children to.  In the 13 years I spent working with kids, I had a lot of live examples of what I DIDN'T want my kids to turn out like.  Maybe if I had lower standards of how children should behave in a restaurant I too would have considered my outing a total success.  They didn't start a food fight, they stayed in their seats (mostly), they did eat despite the distractions, their fighting was admittedly a whispered argument, there were no tears, no tantrums, no spills or broken dishes.  But somehow in my mind where I expect my children to be perfect little angels in all situations be it public or in my own home this was a dining disaster!  I'm sure if the above did actually happen I would have left that restaurant with a self inflicted fork in my jugular.  I quickly (without admitting to the monkeys that I overreacted) forgave them and let them have ice cream and an extra half hour to read before bed.  

Will this experience change the expectations I have for my children?  Absolutely not.  But it has given me a much needed perspective and I can now be less critical of myself knowing that it could be so much worse!  (But my kids don't need to know that)

My little Monkey

Is it possible to over expose a child to an animal and have them exhibit those characteristics?  Kyan has a monkey pacifier, monkey pajamas, stuffed monkey in his bed, and watches Curious George with almost every meal.  Could this be the reason he is climbing tall furniture before he learns to walk?

Mother's Day

This little minx woke up bright and early to present me with breakfast in bed ... Dry cereal with a glass of water :). The best I've ever had!!  I'm hoping as she gets older and taller, milk and tea will be on that tray!