A Long Time Coming.

The last 11 years with our kids have been laden with far more parenting frustration and strife than they had any right to have. There have been many times when I was not sure things could ever be any other way. Sure, we would have a glimpse of fun and joy but it these precious moments would never last longer than a couple of days at best and were few and far between. Over the last month this has changed.  We have had an unprecedentedly good run. We have had fun with them on a regular basis for weeks. They have been able to go unsupervised for long periods of time  without terrible outcomes. It seems that the correction we are applying is actually making a dent in undesirable behaviors. Best of all, they are contributing to the family because they choose to. 

Last weekend they chose to unload the dishwasher TOGETHER. Then ... They decided to take all of the dishes from the sink and load the dishwasher TOGETHER. There was no fighting, no rough housing, no complaining. Instead, there was compromise, teamwork and support. Jim and I listened to this process from the other room with mouths open in awe of this thing we have been trying to achieve for the last 11 years in action right in front of us. 

Does this mean our family will not go back to really tough times?  No- parenting is no easy journey regardless of the hand you are dealt. What it does mean is that we have every reason in the world not to give up in what we want for our family- regardless of how long it might take us to see another glimpse this beautiful again. 

This morning as we were getting ready for school Q asked me, "So... do you keep the teeth or flush 'em?".  Trying to be aloof, I replied, "Why are you asking me?".

The discussion that followed has made me feel like abandoning Facebook, which has drained all of my blogging desires over the last 18 months, and return to this blog...

Q: Because! You are part of the tooth fairy alliance, aren't you?
K: Yes I am.  (I like the sound of this alliance thing and as you know from 2 posts ago that ship has sailed for Quinn)
Q: Well, then tell me what you do with them!
K: As part of the tooth fairy alliance, I take a strict pledge and can not share that information.
Q: Well, I need you to keep them because when I am old and lose all my teeth I want to know that I have some insurance. If you keep the baby teeth then we can use them as back up.

Enough said.  I LOVE the minds of children.

The Lynchs Are Officially Crabby!

This week we jumped into the world of pets. Nolan, our animal lover, has been asking for a pet for some time. He really wanted Santa to bring him a German Sheppard and was quite put out that a dog was not waiting downstairs for him on Christmas morning. The truth is, the rest of us are not ready for a dog yet. So, he soldiered on and decided that a hermit crab might be something that the family could tolerate.

He was given the task of researching all about hermit crabs. He read about what they need, how much they cost, and how to take care of them.Finally, the day came when he passed his crab care interview and he could get the animal.  In his reading he discovered that ironically hermit crabs are actually social animals and prefer to live in groups.

So, Hermie and Septimus came to be members of the Lynch family. He keeps looking at them and saying, "I think they like me mom!"  Nolan is thrilled to have something with pincers protecting him from vampires at night while he sleeps.

-Amended 11/25/2013- Both Septimus and Hermie have since passed but are laid to rest in our yard with painted rocks to mark their spot. Nolan still visits them.

The Demise of Santa...

It happened...Santa's secret is out of the bag for Quinn.  As Jim was saying goodnight to him he grabbed Jim's face and said "I want to ask you something and I really really want you to tell me the truth". After repeating that he "REALLY" wanted to truth he asked,"At Christmas time, do you and mom go thoughtfully think about what we would like and sneak them into the house and pretend that Santa came? or does Santa really bring presents?". and by the way, "I really want to know the truth.". 

What do you say to that!? After asking if he really did want to know the truth, Jim spilled the Christmas beans. 

Afterward Quinn said, "Good I am glad that someone who is thinking thoughtfully about what we would really like for Christmas and doing something kind for us is bringing presents instead of someone who just hops down the chimney, tosses out a LEGO set and then hops back into his sleigh to go to the next house". 

We will see how long this remains just between the 3 of us...

ps- "Oh by the way, it's the same thing for the Easter Bunny right?"