happily random

Ear Piercing?

"Mom, can I get my ear pierced?"

That's a question every parent hears one time or another... from her daughters. I was getting it from my 10-year-old and 8-year-old sons.

"Let's think on that for a bit and make sure this is something you really want to do, okay?" Honestly, I was completely caught off guard by the request and needed some time to regroup. Neither one of my sons are the type you would think of wanting an earring. I don't know why I found the request so shocking as I had my nose pierced five years ago. My sons each wanting an ear pierced was rather tame by comparison.

The requests kept coming in throughout the summer. They would not be detered despite my stalling and were still just as sure of their decision to get it done as they were when they first requested it three months ago. So shortly after school started, we took them to get it done. They each got one ear pierced.

When it came down to it, my sons having an ear pierced was not that big a deal. It's not like they ask for a tattoo (not till they are out on their own) or gauges in their ears (ick!). They both think it's cool and have handled the inevidible teasing from some boys at school with an amazing amount of confidence, which is always a good lesson to learn. I'm actually very proud of how they handled the situation all around.

Not only that, but my son's are now the coolest boys at their elementary school.

My Philosophy on Chore Charts

I have 4 kids. They make lots of messes. I think the amount of messes grow exponentially with the number of children you have. That said, I am always looking for ways to simplify the clean-up process. I am even wooed from time to time by the adorable chore charts on Pinterest that inspire me to create in the name of cleanliness, organization and sanity. I keep thinking that a chart of some kind or allowance as a reward for chores completed will make for a smooth and seamless system for my children to pick up after themselves with no complaints and whining.

Wrong!

With 36 years of cumulative parenting under my apron (4 kids: 12, 10, 8 & 6... you do the math), I have learned one important lesson: there is no easy way to get your kids to do chores. Unless you have Stepford children -- which I do apparently do not -- kids do not like doing chores. Kids like to play. You can try to make a game out of it, and that may work for awhile, but sooner or later they're going to realize that they are unloading the dishwasher and not playing the XBox and they're going to whine about it.

So, what a mom to do to keep her sanity? Be the mom! You tell them to clean up, then plug your earphones in your iPhone with some righteous tunes (so you can't hear the whining and the 'I-don't-want-to's) and leave them too it. I don't pay my kids for doing chores because 9.99 times out of 10, they're cleaning up a mess that they made. And if they didn't make it, too bad because that's what family does. We all live in this house and are a part of this family, and with that comes certain responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is keep our house picked up. All those times we have tried chore charts and allowances, it just ended up making the process more complicated instead of simpler.

Yeh, I'm a mean mom I guess. I tell my kids what to do and they better well do it. We do lots of fun stuff with them too, one of the benefits of living in this house and being a part of this family. But life is full of things we don't want to do but have to do anyway. Better they learn it from me.

I Won't Grow Up!

My very adorable 6-year-old daughter (who knows she's adorable and completely uses it to her advantage every chance she gets) came to me sobbing yesterday evening.

"What's a matter, Sam?" I asked, folding her into my arms.

With tears literally streamng down her face, she cried, "Mommy, I don't want to grow up and have to move away from you and Daddy!"

Of course, by the time she grows up, I'm sure that she'll be ready to move out on her own, but it sure does a mother's heart good to know that I'm loved.