Fun

We've all heard "Babies don't come with a manual." I heard that a ton before I was a mom. "All children are different. What works for one child may not work for another. There's no instruction booklet telling you how to raise a child." Yes, we've all heard that before. After nearly three years being a mom and seeing my girls and being around many, many other children, I do believe that children are given a manual. There seems to be a few tricks of the trade that all children seem to know about. Here are a few tricks that my children have perfected:
*Side Note* This is purely for your entertainment value at my children's expense...I love them from head to toe, but this week a few of these tricks kept presenting themselves, and I couldn't help but smile, and make note of them...mostly because I wanted to see if it was just my children, or all children. Let me know!

- How is that all children know the "Let me get you to stop cooking in the kitchen" trick? It seems that every time I stand in my kitchen to start on dinner, Gwen wedges herself between me and the cupboards, and pushes on my legs for me to hold her. Gabs did the same exact thing. She'd get into position and push her head on my legs while looking up at me with a look of neglect and tears in her eyes until I'd stop and pick her up. At which point she would be quite satisfied with herself and dinner would be put off again.

- Oh, then there's the wrestling move while changing diapers. This one requires a lot of skill, but it seems all babies have it. I don't know how these little things twist their torsos with so much force, but I can never seem to get a diaper changed without fighting the ever so strong wrestling move of my Gwen.

- And on that note, I've never come across a baby who hasn't done this...produce a stinky diaper milli-seconds after getting a clean one! I know it's ridiculous, but more than having to fight the wrestling move again, I'm more upset that money just got thrown out the window. That was a perfectly good diaper, ready to last hours that I had to throw away after mere seconds on a clean bum!

- Then there are toddlers. They have a knack for timing. My sweet sweet Gabs picks the perfect time, every time to need the restroom when we're out and about. If we're clear in the back at the shoes, she desperately needs the restroom which happens to be at the front of the store. And if we're checking out, she so so badly has to use the restroom, and oh, lucky us, it's in the rear of the store!

- It seems that the car is a magical reminder that they have clips and bows in their hair, and socks on their feet. Because we go all morning with perfect hair and warm feet, but once in that car, the bows come tearing out and socks are thrown onto the floor, at which point I can no longer fix because I'm driving and we're late.

-There's always the horrible, outrageous request to put a coat on too. How dare we, as mothers, ask such an awful thing of our children. I have yet to meet a child who is excited about wearing a coat. If you have that child, please don't tell me, I'd rather believe there are none!

- I also think children are taught that clean floors and swept carpet need to be spilled on immediately after being clean. It never fails that I get a plate full of rice on the floor after vacuuming.

- The last one that made an appearance at my house a couple times this week, happens to be my favorite. Gabs has become a master at this, and I see Gwen learning very quickly. It's like they have a sixth sense. They know that when moms on the phone, all bets are off, and that it is now the perfect time to get away with anything. My friend called the other day and as I walked from one end of the house to the other, in and out of rooms to try and converse without too much noise, I found myself witnessing the chaos unravel. Gwen was hitting, hitting, hitting the toilet paper roll, delightfully watching it puddle up on the floor, while Gabriella frantically took it to make "paths" with it all over my room-asking me which path I'd like to take. Nice. Then I notice a sucker in her mouth. Hadn't I been telling her all morning that it wasn't time for a treat yet? Somehow, she knew that if she asked while I was on the phone, I'd be so preoccupied with trying to listen and keep her as quite as possible, I'd march right over to that cookie jar and pull the biggest, pinkest sucker right out. Crazy.

Writing these, I just have to smile. Being a mom is so fun! What a gift it is to me to be a mom. I'm reminding myself all too often to not take life too seriously. To enjoy these gifted little children. There's just too much to be thankful for. This is fun, life is fun, being a mom is so fun.