Bring it on, 2014! So far, this family’s winning. I mean, I don’t think we deserve all the credit, but Little did throw on his Chargers jersey for the second half of the game yesterday. Then, after a mid-day shower, he changed into his 49ers jersey for the end of the 4th quarter. You do the math.
Lesson #1: Though I haven’t figured out what it says about me, I kind of love the fact that one night I went to a grown-up party and spent the whole time playing Just Dance, and the next night my kids went to a kid party and did the same thing. (Though they didn’t wake up with a headache the next morning…hmm…)
Lesson #2: If you ask me, the Rainbow Loom inventor is one of the few toy fad creators who truly deserves to get rich quick. Not only did he create an amazing fine motor activity for kids with varying degrees of creative abilities and interests, he also found a way to keep my highly energetic kids holed up in a room — quietly — for hours. (Ok, maybe not hours, but in our house, 20 minutes can feel like hours.)
Lesson #3: I’m afraid I might have to stop speaking to one of my good friends. After checking in on our kids playing together, he deemed them official tweens. Um, no. Absolutely no. I’m not ready for that. At all. (Even if it includes awesome dance offs and bracelets.)
Lesson #4: UCLA winning the Sun Bowl was certainly exciting, but the real victory was spending the entire game on the phone with plumbers only to discover the city would take care of our not-so-sunny “bowl” situation for free. (I’m pretty sure the real lesson here is don’t yell at the plumbers working on the pipes down the street until you’ve confirmed your toddler hasn’t been experimenting with paper towels in the bathroom.)
Lesson #5: A clear, crisp day on the beach — where you can see nothing but blue until the ends of the earth, and hear kids giggling with freedom — is a perfect way to kick off a new year.
Lesson #6: There are times you hear your kids talking to each other in the other room and think you must be doing something right. For instance, “Big, your painting is inspirational! You’re like an artist.” Then there are times you feel quite the opposite. For instance, “Little, you’re fired. No kissing the customers!”
Lesson #7: A tea party obsession makes potty training all the more challenging.
Lesson #8: If being told you smell like aged cheese first thing in the morning doesn’t inspire you to get out of your pjs and get showered, nothing will. The proof? I wore my pjs all day on Saturday.
Lesson #9: You know you have a good friend when she chases you full speed down the street after discovering you left your child’s lovey at her house right before bedtime.
Lesson #10: When your big kid clings to you, begging you to stay with him until he falls asleep, you do it. Not because there aren’t a hundred other things you should be doing, but because you realize the number of times this will happen again can likely be counted on one hand.
Lesson #11: If you want your big brothers to come play with you, you might have to come up with a better way to trick them into it than by saying, “Come on, guys! There’s a silly fairy princess out there!”
Lesson #12: Each of the kids has a request for our next house (wherever/whenever that might be). Little wants a house with stairs. Big wants a house with his own room so he doesn’t have to listen to Little snore. And Pink wants a house with princess tunnels. So, you know, if you happen to see anything that fits the bill, let us know.
Here’s to a big year for you and your family — on the field, the dance floor, the beach, the computer — or wherever it is that your dreams come true.
Use Your Words