A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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Being home with your kids really gives you the chance to get to know them. You could be a stay-at-home mom or a working mom it doesn’t matter. I found that rainy days are perfect opportunities to bond and take it easy with each other. Listening to rain fall on your roof, or watching it through the window are times that even though we may not be talking we are enjoying the sights and sounds together. Light rain usually just plays as the back round noise while I find indoor activities for us to do like color, read book after book and this m...
Big Brother is a pretty smart kid. He figures out how to get past obstacles fast and if it weren’t for his tendency to become easily frustrated he’d master a list of other things. Hopefully this year at school, his patience is a little better and he gets through the year with less of a fight. Lately, he only seems to get frustrated at home with us. If I tell him that he can’t do some crazy and dangerous activity, he’ll first question my reason, offer an alternate way he’ll go about doing the exact same thing, and then he’ll plead with me. Fi...
Now that leaves are changing into beautiful shades of yellows, red, and oranges I get to enjoy the new season’s perks. Fall has always been my favorite time of year. It’s not so hot that I need to slather a pound of sunscreen on my boys or limit their time outside to prevent heatstroke and possible sunburns. Also the mosquito’s population slowly dies down. Wintertime they are also limited in the amount of time they can be out in the cold. As for Spring, let’s just say it isn’t my favorite. My boys love mud, if there was a place they bottled i...
When I had one child I learned tons of little things that could only be taught by a determined toddler. Then that toddler grew into a boy who shared even more of his ‘worldly wisdom’ with me. Now that I have another baby who is at that determined toddler age I am being taught more, because no two kids are the same and my kids couldn’t be more different. Below are just a few little lessons learned. When Big Brother was Little Brother’s age he was the kind of kid who would take no for an answer but quietly keep trying to do what we say no to. He...
Last week I wrote about Big Brother going back to school. Things have gotten back to a routine. Little Brother has joined Big Brother in the bedtime and wake up time schedule. I thought Little Brother would be sleeping in like I had gotten used to all summer but he didn’t. At the sounds of his Big Brother waking up and moving around he sat upright and was out of the bed in a matter of seconds. The first sounds of the morning is that of an alarm going off...twice. Followed by either myself or my husband bugging Big Brother to wake up. Little Bro...
By An Anonymous Mother After spending a fun and crazy busy summer with Big Brother it was time for school shopping and start the bedtime routine. He was really easy to please and unlike his mother at five didn’t care if his clothes were “cool” or name brand. All he cared was about being left alone and not being forced to try on any clothes, “just buy them and bring them back later if they don’t fit me.” were his words every time I asked if he liked this outfit or did he want these socks. He didn’t know he can’t try on socks but his automatic a...
The hardest thing for me as the mom of two boys is the times that they get hurt. Little Brother has proven to be pretty tough guy. I get scared and have to hold my breath to hold in my reaction to him falling or tripping. Most of the time he can jump back up and carry on with his activity sometimes he’ll laugh that he tripped. Big Brother can be our big baby when he falls or bumps into things because as the first child I made the mistake of overreacting to every fall and scrape and created a cautious child who has almost no tolerance for p...
The boys seem like they are growing up even faster than usual this week. Big Brother all of sudden wants to look out more for his brother and complaints about being bugged have been at an all time low. Big Brother has begun to just give Little Brother whatever toy he was trying to take away from him. Now being the one to push the shopping cart or stroller so he could make the baby laugh and give him undivided attention. I mean really turning into a big helper. Little Brother really laughs and is entertained enough to want to sit against his...
The way an adult sees the world and the way a child does are so completely different. My children show me all day how they see things. In an effort to give their imagination free reign and sometimes out of my own blind curiosity I’ll let them do what it is they are planning. Most of the time I find them pretty hilarious and others just downright exhausting. A laundry basket is a baby catching crate to Big Brother. To Little Brother is a cave, a well, and a basketball hoop. Both kids see no wrong in emptying a basket to use it. The washing m...
A few months ago we decided to plant a garden. I never have before and was hoping that half of what we planted wouldn’t die. I am not a person with what you would call a green thumb. Big Brother gave me a flower for Mother’s day and it died on me just like the cactus I had last year. Right now I have one little African violet plant in my kitchen window that has made it through spring and half of summer. Aside from that little thing there was only one plant I ever kept alive for over a year and it was an aloe plant that needed almost no car...
A typical weekday with errands almost never goes as planned with the brothers in tow. We had to make three stops so I figured all afternoon would be about how long it would take. After forcing the boys to eat lunch for about an hour we finally hit the road when I calculated that they had eaten enough and would indeed last at least through a wait at the canadian customs if there was one and one scheduled stop. I got a few minutes down the road when Big Brother started begging to stop at a store on the way, any store. Little Brother being a full...
My kids have been getting along better lately. Working things out between themselves more often instead of fighting and whining for me to come intervene and lay down the law. I have to say who gets what car and who gets to play in what room it kind of reminds me of some sort of divorce lawyer. I say to Big Brother, “Ok if you get to play in the playroom alone then will you give up that box of cars to your brother.” After he says he needs his top five Little Brother throws two cars he’s holding overhand right at Big Brother. When it comes to di...
When school let out for the summer I was anticipating breaking up a lot more fights between the boys. I expected to be cooking more too since Big brother would be home now. It hasn’t been too different. Big Brother is already a seasoned pro when it comes to running away with his favorite cars and toys to his bedroom or any room that has a door to keep Little Brother out. To keep it fair Big Brother will toss a few cars to Little Brother as a distraction before he bolts to a ‘safe’ place. Little Brother being the quick learner he is was on to...
Big Brother has always been a kid who likes things his way. He wants his cars perfectly parked on his cars mat just so. He will only eat a cheeseburger as long as it has no pickles and no onions. That goes for out to eat and home, as if I’m going to accidentally put it on his burger. He’ll eat pickles out of the jar as long as they are whole not sliced. I have no idea where he made this taste bud distinction but he’ll also eat onion rings but not onions. When it comes to his toys one Rubbermaid shoebox is only legos. He also has one tote for on...
While I was busy breaking up fights over the one hot wheel car that was favorite to both boys, they were growing up. When I was preventing falls, spills and fights, Little Brother grew up so much. It’s amazing that just last year at this time I could barely be outside with Little Brother and now I am barely inside. Last year Little Brother would get his breath taken away from the slightest breeze. Now I am the one who’s breath gets taken away as he runs and sits in puddles. As I watch him walk through the grass barefoot I can see him taking eve...
Any mother spends a lot of time trying to keep the house clean. Probably more keeping the kids clean. I have the pleasure of listening to my own grandmother chuckle on the phone when I tell her who threw what on the wall or how the older one gave himself tattoos all over his stomach and legs with marker. This year we decided we wanted to try out having a garden. I have never done one before, and am just doing whatever my husband suggests we should. Now when my grandma calls I can tell her about things going on outside instead. She has not...
With the ability to spend more family time outdoors, I have been spending more time on laundry and sweeping. A fair price to pay for the chance to sit down while the boys play outside. Big Brother is the easy one while outside and Little Brother is the one to chase. While Big Brother jumps on the trampoline, Little Brother walks underneath. I have to crawl under there to get him out so Big Brother doesn’t jump on him. While Big Brother plays with his cars in the sand, Little Brother is stomping out the little sand roads or running away with t...
When you have kids you really can lose touch with friends. Especially if they have some of their own. I find that time just gets away from you. Before you know it the week is over, and sometimes the whole month. It seems that way for me anyways. Little Brother is so busy and Big Brother now has sports. Making plans to meet up almost always falls through because if the kids don’t have their schedules going full throttle someone is sick. Last week was pretty tiring. Little Brother got a new tooth every day for six days straight. I couldn’t ask...
Big Brother is growing up so fast. He has his own interests like meeting up with his friends at lacrosse practice and going for bike rides. He makes his own plans for the weekends. For example, when Friday rolls around he is asking if Tota girl is done work, if grandma is, and can he go visit his cousins. Starting about Wednesday he will begin to think of where he wants to go. Telling him that people have their own plans and that when we just show up to visit he may not be able to stay or that they possibly will not even be home makes Big Broth...
Big Brother really had no idea how long it takes a baby to grow up when he wished and hoped for a sibling. He imagined a new best friend that would be into all the same things as him would come into the world already walking and talking. How disappointed he was when after a month his initial excitement of being a Big Brother who was oohing and aahing over the little laundry, funny baby noises and stinky diapers turned in the realization that the baby was still really small and couldn’t do much. All Little Brother could do was cry, eat, poop a...
With the nice weather I have been able to get out of the house more. It’s been really easy to get the kids ready without snowsuits, hats, gloves, boots, and blankets. Now I can just put a sweater, jacket, and sneakers on them and shoot out the door. I have always tended to do the bulk of my errands while Big Brother is at school. It’s simple dashes in and out with Little Brother who is happy to go along with all the hustle and bustle. We go to the post office, Wal-Mart, to visit great grandma. Sometimes we stop in and visit other relatives if...
Every mother says her kids are growing up too fast. It’s not just a saying. You feel it, you really look at how big your kid is getting and your heart aches remembering the small bundle you started off with. How dependent and helpless a baby is when they come into the world quickly vanishes. I still find it hard to believe how tall, independent, and helpful Big Brother has become. Lately I find myself being caught off guard when Little Brother masters something new. Today he learned how to use a fork. We’ve had the little plastics ones for as...
This week I was trying to piece together Little Brother’s baby book. I thought about Big Brother’s baby book and how writing about what the kids do weekly kind of helps out in the memories department. If I ever forget what happened when, due to aging, the column is my own little timeline. It got me thinking about how long it’s been. I mean I miss a week here or there for various reasons but it has been over four years since I began this column. This month Little Brother is the exact age that Big Brother was when this column was created. That...
Little Brother really enjoyed having Big Brother home during March Break. Even though I go through a ton of more food and spend a lot more time cooking when both boys are home all day, it actually is easier to cook when both are home. Big Brother is an excellent distraction. The usually stove obsessed Little Brother isn’t clinging to my leg trying to climb up me or underfoot trying to squeeze around me. Instead following his easily annoyed brother’s every move. If Little Brother isn’t invited to play cars with his Big Brother then he’ll...
A break in wintry weather gave us the chance to get outside and enjoy some fresh air. Big Brother has been able to come in and out as he pleases all winter, being a big kid who can zipper his jacket, adjust his ski pants and tie his own shoes. This spring he’s even become so conscious of how muddy his boots get when he’s out in the yard exploring. He’ll take them off right on the porch and leave them outside until the mud dries off. Man I love that kid, he found a way to make less work for his mom. Little Brother on the other hand could...
