Out of the Running for "Mom of the Year"

Just when I think I'm getting the motherhood thing down, I'm reminded that I still have a lot to learn!

I broke the cardinal rule of motherhood the other day.

It started off like everything else, with "good intentions". It was time for new shoes for both of the boys. This was terribly frustrating because it's not even two months into the school year and Ben's mutilated his good tennis shoes. I think he gets bored during quiet time or story time and starts to pick at them. He is also the most active boy I know, so I'm sure his "wear and tear" is a little more critical. So I have to shell out for another pair of new shoes. I also had to buy Andrew new shoes because Ben seemed to jump sizes and he must have jumped right over Andrew's current size! It's not that important though since Ben makes any pair of shoes totally worthless after he's been in them!

So, two new pairs of shoes. I try to pick out things that will go with their clothes, but also look pretty cool. I was very happy to present Ben his new shoes telling him that I thought they looked like lightening and thunder. He was totally thrilled with them, until Andrew pulled out his pair. Andrew's pair is gray and black with a little yellow on them, nothing special, until we realized that they LIGHT UP! Ben sulked, and Jason whispered, "How could you?" And Andrew danced around. Oops.

Ben eventually cheered up when he realized that his shoes "jumped higher" than Andrew's.
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When Ben had a bad day at school, and consequently managed to get himself grounded from the TV for the night, his mood went from bad to worse. He came to me and told me that he wanted a new mommy because I wouldn't relent on his punishment and let him watch PBS. He got sent to his room, again, and it got me thinking. He's five and he's still learning to control himself, and his energy. He's had a long day, and I'm sure he feels more than a little misunderstood and crabby. So, what can I do to turn this day around? I called him out of his room, and told him that I needed his help making some banana bread. I let him take his frustrations out on the banana's as he mashed them into a pulp. I let him dump in all of the ingredients, while I worked the mixer. We measured and counted and we read the directions. We tasted sugar and then salt, and he learned that sugar is sweet and our tears taste like salt. As we added chocolate chips and watched our bread bake, we turned our night around.