Things I said I'd never do but I actually do do or have done. Is anyone else smiling because the previous sentence included "do do" or is that just me? You can tell that I am around boys 24/7 and especially a 3.5 year old who thinks that talking about poop and toots is hilarious. The other day I found myself teasing him about eating poop ice cream. Yes, I did that. It's who I am now. And now I've gotten off subject. ANYWAY, back to the point of this post. We all do it. We all say or have said "when I have kids I'll never ___" (fill in the blank). There are so many times that I've eaten my words since becoming a parent but I've made a small list of the ones that stick out to me the most.
2. Make multiple dinners. When I was growing up, my mom cooked dinner every night. We ate what she cooked. There was no "I don't like lasagna! I want chicken nuggets!" We ate the lasagna and that was that. I WISH I could get Max to eat what I cook. The only meal that I cook that he will eat is spaghetti. That's it. When he was younger he would eat anything I put in front of him. Broccoli? Yep! Peas? You bet! The kid ate anything. It got worse when he turned 2 and even worse than that in the last 6 months after turning 3. All of the sudden it's "I don't like mac n cheese", "I don't like scrambled eggs", etc. Since when does he not like something that he ate the week before??? I can't force feed him (unfortunately) and I don't want him to just not eat.. Because his stubborn self would just NOT EAT. So, I cook dinner for Mike & I and then I make Max chicken nuggets, or a grilled cheese, or his beloved PB&J sandwich. Maybe that's wrong, I don't know. But he eats that stuff without a fuss and we all go about our evening.
3. Pajamas all day. This is pretty self explanatory but, I'll elaborate a tad. Obviously I told myself that my kids will be dressed everyday. And not in what they slept in the night before. Well, there are A LOT of days that doesn't happen. Most days we are just hanging at home so pajamas it is! I do bathe them and change them into NEW pajamas at night but, Max just LOVES pajamas. PJ's 4 Lyfe.
4. Spank in public. My anti-spanking friends/readers may just want to skip on down to #5. I'm not against spanking, I just said I wouldn't do it in a public place. If something happened that constituted a swat, I would take them into the bathroom or out to the car or something. Never would I EVER swat my child's behind in the aisle at Target. Well, I did. After one of the most epic meltdowns of his life which included kicking, screaming, tears, and eventually chucking the $5 Paw Patrol car that I had originally told him we could buy down the aisle.... It happened. I got him out of the cart, gave him a swat, put him back in, and made my way to the check out.... Gathering the stares of those who I passed. He was still melting down in the checkout but I was not going to leave without buying what I needed to. The teenage cashier stared at us all wide eyed and I could see that she was thinking "control your kid, lady" because that's what my teenage self would also have been thinking. I'm throwing my items onto the belt trying to hurry and force a smile when Finn, who had been asleep in the cart prior to this also started crying. It was one of those disastrous moments where you realize that you have become what you said you wouldn't: the lady with the makeup-less face and sweatpants with the two screaming kids in Target. I could do one of two things: I could cry along with them or I could pretend that I wasn't fazed by it. I chose the latter. I paid, smiled, thanked her, put on my sunglasses so that I didn't have to make eye contact with anyone else, and pushed my howling kids out the door. Again, this is reality.
5. Character tees. I had high hopes for my kids' wardrobes. I dreamed of layers and beanies and v-neck sweaters and button downs and all of those adorable outfits that make little boys look like tiny men. I mean how CUTE are they?! I'll tell you when those types of outfits happen around here: never or on a very special occasion, but usually never. As previously stated in #3, Max LOVES pajamas. If he has to wear something besides his undies, he prefers pajamas. If he has to wear something besides his pajamas, he prefers sweatpants (who could blame him?) and a character tee. Ninja turtles, Superman, Batman, whatever. If it's got a character on it, that's what he wants to wear. Especially now that he has an opinion on what he wears (yes, this happens early). I always disliked character t-shirts. They aren't nearly as adorable as the striped v-neck that I had in mind but they are what he loves and so I have grown to accept them. I would prefer that he didn't wear them every time we go somewhere so sometimes I blow right past them as he watches me sort through his clothes for what to wear. If he spots that captain America shirt, there will be no getting around it. Sometimes I win but usually he asks for one of his character shirts and so that's what he wears more often than not. He also adores his Batman Crocs and he can't figure out why he can't wear them every single day. Kids just LOVE clothes with their fav characters on them and we have to pick our battles. The superheroes always win.
So, yes, I do things I said I'd never do. Fellow parents: we can all just eat our words together. Humble pie, anyone??
