simplynutmeg.com

How I love a list!

I have a practical and laid back approach to parenting that works when you are a busy working mother of four spending a good bit of time nursing the nearly dead. I choose my battles. I don’t sweat the small stuff. The problem is, in parenting isn’t everything pretty much the small stuff? Could it be I’ve actually lost control?

Here’s an itemized list of the small stuff I haven’t been sweating that I might need to take a look at in the near future:

1. My children are not great at sharing unless we’re talking about tooth brushes. They seem to get fun out of swapping them amongst each other. Finn particularly enjoys combing his hair with Rowan’s.

2. Finn’s favorite food group is tooth paste.

3. When Madigan showed up to spend the afternoon at Grandmom and Grandpop’s yesterday, they had to scrub her feet before letting her go barefoot in their home.

4. Pajamas are a thing of the past in our house. They all seem to pass out naked or fully dressed.

5. We have moved beyond expecting our children to wear matching shoes. We’re holding on tightly to the expectation of a left and a right.

6. I remind my children every day that they need to get their homework done. On the bus.

7. I get excited when someone has put their Hershey bar wrapper in the trash instead of behind the den couch after they’ve eaten it for breakfast.

8. Finn already knows how to use the microwave.

9. My children know by heart which restaurants in the area have early bird specials and on what day kids eat for free.

10. Ketchup now counts as a vegetable while a grape lollipop counts as a fruit.

11. Finn will only nap in a car seat or a shopping cart. This does not pose any scheduling problems.

12. Nathan just budgets in the monthly check to the library for lost books and late videos.

13. On Saturday morning cars keep pulling up to our curb very early looking for the yard sale they think we’ve set up for the night before. People keep knocking on the door and asking: how much for the organ or the wingback chair?

14. Poison control sends us a Christmas card.

15. From the outside our house is beginning to resemble a shoe.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 10:21 am and is filed under Struggling but not Desperate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

18 Comments so far

Cara April 28th, 2008 11:20 am

This was the first blog I read today and I was laughing so hard. Thanks for starting my day off great. My favorites are: 7, 10 and 14. I am sure that as my children get older I will encounter much of that same.
Kristin April 28th, 2008 11:38 am

At least your kids know what toothpaste is for. Mine won’t use it…maybe because I don’t buy them any.
RuthWells April 28th, 2008 11:56 am

My ten-year-old goes to school with at least one item of clothing backwards on a near-daily basis. Often it is the shirt, but with surprising frequency, it is the pants.

It does not seem to be hampering him in any way. Yet.
magpie April 28th, 2008 12:16 pm

My kid scrubbed my mother’s back steps with her toothbrush yesterday.

I am in your parenting camp, though I’m only responsible for one.
misty April 28th, 2008 12:39 pm

how sad that toothpaste is a food group to kids…
The Domestic Goddess April 28th, 2008 12:47 pm

Hey, poison control and my family go way back. Waaaay back. And? If they are old enough to microwave they can feed themselves. My work here is done.
Amy3 April 28th, 2008 1:19 pm

I LOVE #7! It’s my favorite, but this is a really funny list.
chaotic joy April 28th, 2008 1:59 pm

This post belongs in some kind of funny parenting hall of fame. And I for one have never loved you more!
Erin April 28th, 2008 2:16 pm

My youngest is addicted to toothpaste. She also likes to share all our toothbrushes. That was a hilarious list, thanks for the giggles! : )
Heidi April 28th, 2008 2:42 pm

Baths and pajamas are overrated….Hang in there!
maggie, dammit April 28th, 2008 3:08 pm

Ohhhh, this is SO what I needed to read today! #3 is my hands-down favorite. You have no idea.
gretchen from lifenut April 28th, 2008 4:34 pm

Beatrix can’t use the microwave because she is too short. BUT she can eject the DVD player, open a DVD case, take the disc and put it in the player, close it, and hit play.

19 months, like Finn. I let her do it because I am so impressed.

She also loves sharpening pencils in the electric sharpener. She gets a handful and stands there, sharpening each. Just doing her part.
Jeanelle April 28th, 2008 4:36 pm

There’s nothing wrong with chocolate for bkfast - I lived on choc pudding for bkfast throughout high school. It stimulates the brain…or something
Lilypad Mom April 28th, 2008 10:09 pm

You mean toothpaste isn’t a food group? Darn, I guess we’re back to only 2 in our house again.
Natalie April 28th, 2008 11:19 pm

As always, you are making me laugh my very ample rear end off.

But umm, I have to ask: what’s up with the theme? I mean, I am cool with it and all, but it’s sooo…

*different* from the nutmeg I am used to.
chrissy April 28th, 2008 11:55 pm

I’m here from Joy’s;

At first I was laughing, because it’s hilarious, but then I realized that 3,4,5,6,8,9, and 10 are all true at my house as well. yikes.
Nutmeg April 29th, 2008 9:43 am

Natalie, about the new theme - I have people. My site was hacked and my web hoster fixed it by uploading a new theme. I think.
Stephanie @ Figments April 29th, 2008 1:03 pm

That was just funny. Thanks for the laugh.

How I love a list!

18 Comments so far

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