I Win!

Hi mommies! Ever have one of those days when you feel like a rockstar mom? Let's be honest, they don't happen very often, so it is very likely that they will stick out in your mind! I'm talking about a day which brings about a huge parental success, a day when a major kid frustration lifts, or a day when the perseverance and tenacity of a momma finally pays off. Well, yesterday was one of those days at the McNamee home!

Our little man has a major problem with throwing food. I'm not talking about simply dropping bites off of his high chair when he's full...I'm talking about looking me straight in the eye and chucking a handful of oatmeal, pasta, his juice box, anything, all the way across the kitchen. I pray a pitching scholarship is somewhere in this child's future...Anyway, I have tried everything. Spanking is ineffective, time out used to be a punishment until he started clasping his hands and looking at me adoringly while saying "thank you" whenever he earned a minute in the chair. Making him pick up all of the food speaks to his love language of Acts of Service, so he thought it was a reward. Taking his food away doesn't bother him. He just goes back to playing until I remind him later that it's time to eat. It didn't matter if I fed him, he fed himself, if I gave him green beans, or Skittles. He had discovered a game, and he was beyond entertained at watching me scrub the walls, the sliding glass door, the cabinets, and every other surface that a kitchen contains. This has been going on for months...

During a long conversation, born out of complete frustration, with my mom yesterday, she suggested that I change the scenery and get creative. The food battle is not something my son can win. He has to eat, I pick his meal options, and he does not get to have the control in the McNamee kitchen any longer. Once I decided to become the food Authority once again, the wheels in my brain started spinning. Lately, he's infatuated with our kitchen table. He likes to sit in the "big" chair and look at books, watch Thomas the Train on the computer and pretend like he is a big person. As simple as it the thought is, it hadn't occurred to me previously. Maybe he wanted to sit at the big table. Maybe he was bored with the high chair routine that we've been in for the last year, and he isn't just purposely aggravating me. So, I attached a hook-on portable high chair to the edge of the table and gave him a snack. What do you know...that child didn't throw one bit of food. He said please, more, thank you, and all done at the appropriate times. He calmly let me take him out of the chair and send him on his way to play, without nary a Goldfish for me to collect off the floor. Dinner time rolled around, and it was the same scenario! The happy little man ate his given food, calmly and sweetly interacted during mealtime, and happily finished without creating a whirlwind food disaster. Will this last forever? Probably not. But then, he just may get moved to another room/table for eating purposes. I've one-upped him now. I win :-)

This very long, and hopefully entertaining story, serves the purpose to remind us of this. The many battles that we will face as mommies? We will actually win some of them :-) We are successful more than we notice. God didn't give us our sweet children in order that we may feel exasperated on a daily basis. When our children our born, it isn't just our responsibility to help them grow into God-fearing individuals. God uses them to sanctify us, as well. I have never grown more in my relationship with Christ, or had the understanding of His love, until he gave me a son. Becoming a mother has changed me more than I could have ever imagined. And I venture to guess that He delights in seeing us faced with daily challenges which force us to use our God-given creativity to conquer. Our confidence as mothers is built with situations just like this one. Don't let them slip away from you. Remember the days when you win. Remember the days when the realization hits you that your child isn't secretly planning to ruin your life. He is just learning how to be a person. And when those moments come, acknowledge your determination, will, and unconditional love that you possess as a mother. Well done, mommy. Well done!

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." Psalm 127:3

And, the December Christmas picture challenge continues!

Discovering and eating the beautiful snow in our front yard!

He loved Rudolph's nose at the Y.

Laying in the snow? Not so much!

Honestly, he was more interested in eating the paint as we created ornaments!

Today, and everyday, be blessed mommies!

MMSM #63

In an earlier post, I gave the idea of a meal exchange...make 8-10 batches of your favorite dinner, and swap them with 8-10 friends. You automatically have ready-made freezer meals to pull out on those extra busy days. At Christmas, do the same thing! Only with cookies :-) Set a night for your girlfriends to come over, and everyone bakes 3-4 dozen of their yummiest Christmas cookie. Enjoy some much needed girl time while you each make a plate containing a few bites of every kind. If each person brings enough recipes to share (or have the hostess collect them through email to save ink!), then you have all new ideas for next year. I have to be honest, it's one of my hubby's favorite things that I do :-)
   

Tip #47

A friend of mind just did this as a cute method to deliver Christmas cookies. Keep those used Pringles cans (that you bought with a coupon, of course!), tape scrapbook paper around the base, add a ribbon, and you have a super cute way to deliver those delicious treats in an organized way!