SQT {2}: An Almost Poopy Mother’s Day

The Solo-Parenting Edition

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The girls love picking dandelions for me.  I do my best to put them in water right away, but they still don’t last long.  The other day I challenged the girls to a dandelion picking contest, and here is Elle with her winning bunch.

We don’t spray for weeds, but both our neighbors do.  It makes me feel bad that we make their battle with weeds more difficult; our lawn is a carpet of dandelions, and their lawns are immaculate.  But I can’t bring myself to spray the lawn when the kids are out rolling on the grass all the time.  Actually, even if we didn’t have kids I wouldn’t spray because I’m anti-unnecessary chemicals, but it’s easy to use the kids as an excuse.  I’m curious where others are on the weedkilling spectrum…

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David has spent the last week in Charleston, SC for a conference, which has left me solo parenting.  It’s not really that different from our day to day life, except that there is no relief for me.  No time-outs.  No breaks.  Pulling 24 hour shifts with any job would be exhausting, but my four little bosses have hefty expectations.  Throwback to the original host of Seven Quick Takes, Jennifer Fulwiler to the Litany of the Solo Parent.  I have to work reeeeeeally hard not to be resentful.  David is learning interesting things, eating interesting things, seeing interesting things.  I—  I am just glad everyone is still alive.  David gets back late tonight, and we can’t wait to see him.

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Speaking of kids rolling in the grass, how much is too much outside time?  Can kids be left unsupervised?  At what age?  We live on a quiet street in a small town.  Cee (7), Elle (5), and Moe (3) are outside frequently while I’m still inside.  They do okay (except that one time they left the outside spigot on and Bad Things happened to the siding of the house).  I came across these questions to ask kids in order for them to “practice” responding to scenarios before being left home alone.  Playing outside unsupervised is different, but it makes me want to come up with some practice scenarios to talk about with them.

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I have actually had to say, “Please stop smearing stuff on the baby,” today.  And I don’t even know what the stuff was.

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Call the Midwife is back!  I just realized the newest season started airing in the US,  but it must have been going on for awhile because PBS only had episodes 5 and 6 up online.  Sigh.  British shows have such short seasons that it’s difficult to keep track of when they are returning.  I actually put Downton Abbey’s new seasons on the calendar back in the day so we wouldn’t miss them.  Ah, Downton–so far nothing has filled the space you left in my heart.  Call the Midwife has some sketchy plot lines here and there, but since becoming a mom I super enjoy watching all the birth stories.  Watching the show makes me want to become a doula.  And start calling cookies “biscuits.”

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Pondered in My Heart is hosting their Marian Artist Trading Card swap this month!  Basically your child (or you!) creates some holy cards and sends them to Pondered.  Then she sorts all the cards and each participant gets mailed some ATCs from all around the country.  We participated two? years ago when Cee was feeling well, and the girls were beyond excited to get a package in the mail.  Visit this post to get the details and contact information so you can be part of the fun.

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This is the craft we mass produced for Mother’s Day this year.  My mom, David’s mom, my grandmas, David’s grandma–everyone received a poppy card this year.  It was only after we had begun that I realized if you look quickly, your brain might think the card said “Poopy Mother’s Day!” which, actually isn’t that far from the truth of mothering young kids.  But–the decoration on the front would be different for that sort of card.  Next year!

In seriousness, Mother’s Day is tough for me because my relationship with motherhood is complex–  Mothering Spirit perfectly describes the mish-mash of feelings that go into the day.  It’s worth the read, especially if Mother’s Day is a challenge for you, too.

Thanks for stopping by, and visit Kelly for more!