Wherein I say "calmly" a lot

I mentioned in my last post that I often feel like a failure as a parent.  A lot of my struggles lately revolve around Sam.  He is just in a very difficult stage right now where he frequently yells at me, calls me names, and throws things at me.  I usually stay calm up to a point and then I snap.  He does better with Tom and he does amazing with his preschool teacher, so it is mostly just me that he feels comfortable abusing.  Our dynamic was affecting the entire household so last Sunday we had a family meeting where we resolved to speak more kindly and respectfully to each other.  That night, I couldn't sleep and I stayed up late reading articles about positive parenting and remaining calm.  I resolved that I would not yell or lose my temper at all this week.  And I did it.  But something happened yesterday that almost kept me from achieving my goal.  Sam was particularly difficult in the morning.  He'd already eaten three chocolate chip pancakes, but as we were leaving he decided he needed one more.  We were already running late, so I explained to him that he had three already and he could eat the fourth after school.  The result was him screaming the entire way to school and kicking the back of the seat in front of him as furiously as possible.  I didn't respond and just let him scream.  He calmed down by the time we got to school and I explained to him (CALMLY) that he would need to go to his room after school because of his behavior.
Flash forward to after school.  I picked the three kids up junior Frostys from Wendys because I have those keychains for free Frostys.  Sam was holding his unopened Frosty in his hand when he decided to inform me that he would not be going to his room, that I couldn't make him, and that I was a poo poo butt butt.  I CALMLY reminded his that it is not nice to call people names and that I probably shouldn't have even given him a treat.  His response?  "Well, you already gave it to me, haha, so it is too late for you."  Just imagine a really snotty tone with that.  Steam was coming out of my ears, but I kept my mouth clamped tight.  I pulled into my driveway, CALMLY walked around the car, opened his door, snatched the Frosty out of his hands, and CALMLY poured it out into the grass. 

Peaks and Valleys

February has been a bit of a fun month so far with the Olympics and Valentine's Day giving us excuses to party.  For the start of the Olympics, I threw together a last minute family party.  Ellie made the "medals" and "torches", the boys separated the M&Ms, and I made the flag fruit dish.  All ideas I stole from Pinterest.  We have been having fun watching the Olympics each night.  I love watching curling.  It is like shuffleboard on ice.  And the snowboarding last night was so exciting with Shawn White's big win.

Today is Valentine's Day.  Not a fun day to be a high school teacher, but my kids woke up excited to get their heart shaped chocolates and little gift.  Tonight we will continue our tradition of ordering heart shaped pizzas (which I won't be able to eat for the 2nd year in a row because diet).

Both the above pictures, when I posted on social media, got comments about what an amazing mom I am.  Really?  Is that what makes a good mother?  Because, honestly, it is something I have been  struggling with lately.  I often feel like a total failure as a parent.  I wish being a good mom were as simple as decorating for occasions and eating treats.  I mean, I hope my kids remember those fun moments.  Hopefully they will remember them more than the moments when I am not at my best, when I yell too much, when I am too engrossed in my phone, or when I am simply not patient enough.

Baseball, Betting, and Bowl (as in Super)

Baseball season officially started last week.  I know every year I complain about baseball season.  It's not that I don't like watching my kids play, I just don't like trying to juggle all the practices and games.  Especially since it is during track season so Tom is usually unavailable.  I took Jack to his first practice on Tuesday, Sam to his first practice and Jack to batting practice on Thursday, then Jack to practice Saturday morning, and Sam was supposed to have practice again on Sunday (but we didn't take him). Anyway, Jack was placed on a team coached by guys I know from church and he has church friends playing so I think it will be a good team for him.  Sam doesn't know anyone, but he is just happy to be finally playing instead of being a spectator.

Moving on from boring baseball talk...Saturday night was Dollar Day at the Sam Houston Race Track.  I thought that meant it only cost $1 admission so I convinced Dianna and Sabrina to come with their families.  Yeah, so apparently it does NOT mean $1 admission.  But the hot dogs, ice cream, and soda were only $1 so at least dinner was cheap.  Plus, I bet on 3 of the races and I won 2 of them.  Each bet cost $2, I won a combined total of $12.20 (still not enough to cover admission, but it did pay for the food).  You might recall that I have a tried and true method for placing bets...simply pick the horse with the name you like best.  Don't pay attention to stats or any such nonsense.  Works every time (well, the 3 times I have gone to the race track in my entire life).

Sunday was church as usual.  I went into Primary to listen to Sam give the scripture and I was tickled to see him as the reverent boy, too.

Sunday evening, we called the kids down to watch the halftime show.  Sam was really excited when Justin Timberlake started singing Sam's favorite song from the "Trolls" movie.  I had to video his dance moves.  Also, it's totally normal that Sam is always hanging out in his underwear, right?