parenting Archives - Page 6 of 8 - Forever In Mom Genes

Linguini Facial

Oct 23 2011

I made a healthy, home-freaking-made-from-scratch meal and I was ready to impale myself on a dull spoon midway through dinner. My little girl eats like a bird. A baby humming bird. Lately we’ve made great strides, both in food diversity and in weight gain. It’s a roller coaster—good days and bad. I’m okay with that. But, when your child refuses to eat something she normally loves, it’s irritating. For the love, who refuses linguini?? I tried everything. All of our usual tricks. Even our latest and greatest… paying off each bite with a butterscotch CHIPIT. I can handle a little food refusal. What I can’t handle is when my child wrestles her dish (which was suction cupped to the table for stability) with such furry and determination that it launches suddenly upwards, flinging the entire meal like an aerial assault by an army of searing hot saucy snakes, into her mother’s face. I enjoy a facial, but I draw the line at a pesto prima vera treatment. I threw in the towel, after wiping away the sauce with it, and retreated to my office, leaving daddy to deal with the pasta shrapnel. Tomorrow would be a[…]

Sep 21 2011

Sometimes when you have too much to say, you end up saying nothing at all. I’ve tried to write many times this week. But instead of writing a word, I clicked “close” every time. Sometimes when life is too hard, you shut yourself off. You assure everyone around you that everything is fine and you try to believe it. I feel guilty because others have struggles much harder than my own. I have a child with special needs. So what? So do many, many other parents. Our story is not unique. Avery is healthy and happy and beautiful and I should feel lucky. Or so I have been told. But some days, instead of lucky, I feel frightened, frustrated, angry or sad. I’ve always had the attitude that everything will be okay. This is our normal and life is good. It’s not perfect, but it’s good. It seems you can only go on for so long fooling yourself into thinking your life isn’t hard. My life is hard. Avery is funny and loving, but she’s difficult. She doesn’t understand “danger.” She is always at risk and it’s taxing living in a constant state of fight or flight.[…]

Jun 27 2011

Many of my friends and family who read this blog have asked how Heather, Zack’s mom, is doing. I can’t assume to know how she copes on a day to day basis, but the Heather I see is courageous and kind. She is an amazing mother and friend and one fiercely determined lady. She is moving forward one day at a time, but she never forgets to look back. Heather was on the CBC speaking eloquently and thoughtfully about the loss of a child and she continues to share Zack with us through her writing. This weekend our family attended “Zack’s Family Dream Day” at Lionel’s Farm. This is one of the many fundraising events spearheaded by Heather. This day was intended not only to raise money for Zack’s Dream Room, but to honour Zack’s memory by spending time with friends and loved ones at a place that meant so much to Zack and his family. Heather took a few minutes away from her “farm duties” and spoke. She expressed her gratitude to those who helped make the incredibly successful day a reality. She also shared her thoughts about the day, and about Zack. She said the[…]

Apr 27 2011

How long is it acceptable for your child to believe in the Tooth Fairy? My son is nearly eight and fully believes a magical winged creature breaks and enters into our home to purchase his grungy teeth to add to her toothy collection. It’s a bizarre concept right? Yesterday my son had four teeth extracted. Poor kid has been cursed with his mother’s toothy grin – too many teeth, not enough jaw. The dentist has a plan to make room for incomers to minimize the impending overcrowding. My boy was a little nervous, but the anticipation of the Tooth Fairy’s bounty overshadowed his fear. Last night, after examining his tiny teeth for the umpteenth time, he carefully stowed them inside his tooth keeper and tucked it under his pillow. A few hours later, an extremely tired Tooth Fairy tippy toed (loudly) into his dark bedroom. I deftly (not even close) removed the tooth keeper and promptly dropped it on the floor. After retrieving the tooth case from under the bed, I stood up ready to make my escape but cracked my head on the underside of the bunk bed. FYI, the Tooth Fairy has a mouth on her[…]

Apr 15 2011

Forget the babbling brook, I’m a rambling river. I’m not sure why I feel compelled to tell people everything. Maybe it’s the need to vent, to seek feedback, validation, advice, a laugh. Who knows? But if loose lips sink ships, I should really have my own personal Coast Guard. I may over-share on a regular basis within my social network (and the occasional innocent bystander at the grocery check-out) but I am able to curtail my TMI tendencies when it comes to my kids. Children hang on our every word. WHAT we say and HOW we say it—it’s our job to try to insulate our kids from worry, horror, despair, and unthinkable sadness. We can’t completely shelter our children from the harsh realities of life. But if possible we can try to shield them from the really scary sh*t so they can feel safe and secure for as long as possible. This is why I chose initially not to tell my son that Zack passed away. The boys never met in person, but my son knew about Zack and his family. He knew Zack was Avery’s friend. He heard me speak about Zack’s parents. He knew[…]

Category - parenting

Linguini Facial

Sometimes

Bubbles For Zack

The Truth Fairy

Difficult Conversations With My Child