Having my kids fairly close together has certainly had it's perks. With Lanie
being 2.9 and Charlotte being 16 months, a mere 16 1/2 months separates them.
They laugh together, play together, read books together . . . they are best friends . . . and sometimes worst enemies.
DING DING DING
Round 1: While playing a game of run around the kitchen island my youngest slips causing the rug underneath the kitchen sink to slide out of place. My oldest yells "OH NO, you tell that rug you are sorry! You hurt it. That makes me and the rug very sad." My youngest can sense her harsh tone and glares at her while I try to explain to Lanie that it's just a rug and it's really okay. I say "instead of worrying about the rug let's make sureCharlotte is okay". I probably should have
been more focused on teaching them not to run in the house, but who am I kidding . . . I'm
no Carol Brady. "Mom always said don't play ball in the house" as
Marcia gets hit in the face with a football. It's been a long winter so in
my opinion occasional laps around the kitchen island and balls in the house are
fine by me . . . well, as long as they are nerf balls.
DING DING DING
Round 1: While playing a game of run around the kitchen island my youngest slips causing the rug underneath the kitchen sink to slide out of place. My oldest yells "OH NO, you tell that rug you are sorry! You hurt it. That makes me and the rug very sad." My youngest can sense her harsh tone and glares at her while I try to explain to Lanie that it's just a rug and it's really okay. I say "instead of worrying about the rug let's make sure
Round 2: My oldest is fuming that my youngest will not say sorry to the rug. She grabs some plastic silverware out of her play kitchen and proceeds to bang on Charlotte 's
head saying "If you don't say sorry I'm going to turn your head into a
drum. Look Mommy, Charlotte 's
head is a bass drum!" I yell out "LANIE, NO. Now you need to say
sorry to Charlotte .
Banging on peoples heads with silverware is not okay." Before I could get
over there and grab the plastic spoons from her hands my youngest grabs her by
the knees and over she goes. I'm not sure where this behavior came from, but
trust me when I say I want to be raising young ladies, NOT WWF wrestlers.
While I question how Lanie even knows what a bass drum is and how Charlotte learned the
armbar legsweep, I get their activity table out along with some paper and
stickers. It was clear to me that they really needed some time to sit down and
relax. The stickers were such a big hit that when we ran out I was just as
disappointed as they were. During my unsuccessful attempt to find more I had
the bright idea of using band-aids . . . they stick, right? So I gave them each two band-aids and
said "after we stick these, that's it". I figured that the process of
unwrapping them would buy me a bit of time.
DING DING DING
Round 3: My oldest unwrapped her band-aids quickly and stuck them on her paper. My youngest chose not to open hers at all and was content just holding them. That did not bode well with my oldest. She could not understand whyCharlotte did not want to open her band-aids and
attempted to "help her" by grabbing them away. And there they go . . . the screams. The screeches from both of them that are just SO loud. (For those
that have read my previous blogs you may remember they had gotten the label of "The Screeching Sisters" at the play place.) The screeches then turned
into laughs and I had a instant headache. As quickly as they were worst enemies
they were BFF's all over again.
Round 3: My oldest unwrapped her band-aids quickly and stuck them on her paper. My youngest chose not to open hers at all and was content just holding them. That did not bode well with my oldest. She could not understand why
Arguments
about saying sorry to rugs, plastic spoons, and band-aids are probably pretty
minor in the big picture. Someday I'll most likely be breaking up fights over
using the phone, clothes and stealing boyfriends . . . I can only imagine what
those screams are going to sound like.
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I always said I needed and black & white striped shirt and a whistle! I thought about making a "mom referee" package that included both. I think I could have made some money with that....ha ha...love your stories and yes, wait until you have to be the teen ref! it's a whole new ballgame!
ReplyDeleteJill, you should totally do that and sell it with the amazing hair clips you make! Thank you for being a great friend and a "fan" right from the start!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom had my brother and sister 9 months apart!! I was almost 2 when my brother came along and then she had my sister. Talk about being a referee!! How she managed is beyond me!!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, once you have your own kids you definitely develop a new found respect and admiration for your own mom thinking back on all that they went through raising you and your siblings! :)
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