First, Happy Halloween and Hello Thanksgiving!
Now for the forgetting part. I can remember being at different stages in my life and thinking to myself, very specifically: I'm not going to forget! I swore I would not be a no-fun adult.
And yet, I am finding, that is exactly what I am becoming.
I am feeling a lot this way lately, whether it is in working with the boy-crazy Young Women in our ward or with my kids who love to have fun (fun=mess).
I wanted to have a special Halloween menu yesterday. For breakfast we had pumpkin pancakes with chocolate chip jack-o-lantern faces and apple-cider syrup. That was yummy and fun. For dinner I thought I would make a delicious pumpkin soup (it ended up being butternut squash because the pie pumpkins were sold out), steak, and home made rolls. Well, the rolls were a hit. I loved the soup (so smooth, rich, creamy), but the kids. . . well, they kept reminding each other to eat so we could go trick-or-treating. I'm kicking myself for putting so much effort (mess) into making something that wasn't even a success. Next year I WILL remember to make something more kiddish for dinner.
The biggest forgetful moment was the moment we got home and the kids dumped out all their candy all over the living room floor. I started panicking. . . "Why'd you do that? Hurry, put it back in your bag! Ammon is going to get it!" I viewed dumped candy like dumped legos. Then I started seeing pictures on facebook of kids with their loot, and I remembered those days (which means I forgot if I had to remember) when we dumped out the candy so we could revel in the enormity of junk food and put it in groups of "good" and "gross," chocolate and non-chocolate, chewy and cruchy. Joe says it is a silly thing to feel so badly about, but I really feel awful. This morning I let them dump it out on the kitchen floor and when they get home from school I will probably encourage them to do it again.
So next year: fun food, fun mom. Hopefully I won't forget.
4 comments:
While trick-or-treating was fun, it only lasted an hour or so and my sister and I could make the candy trading last for DAYS. This is where we each had our pile of candy on the floor and spread out into order to see what we each had, then we would trade things back and forth, the most expensive items being peanut butter cups and mounds bars being worth nothing and usually put in the other person's pile when they weren't looking.
It's OK to forget to be fun, I made matthew a Turkey sandwhich for 3 breakfasts in a row. No pumpkin pancakes in sight. But just so you know I would have devoured your soup.
My kids request mummy dogs every year for Halloween. They're easy and the kids love making them. I try to make something a little more filling for Don and I (this year was baked potatoes with chili). I'm sure you'll find something that works for your family :)
My name is Jenny and I fight the uptight, un-fun mom syndrome as well.
Maybe that's why I was put in as nursery leader. So that things at home would seem calm after being at church on Sunday with twenty loud, chaotic (okay, they're not all that way, but it only takes a few) toddlers.
I want to be a laid-back mom, but I really don't think this is possible. But then I think, if I were laid back, would my kids be the kids that the nursery leader dreads or the kids that no one wants to babysit? I think there are definite advantages to having the personality that we have. At least that's what I tell myself. :)
I'm thinking you're being too hard on yourself! It looks and sounds like you're a fun mom for sure. Your kids had great costumes, got to go trick-or-treating, had delicious breakfast and the dinner sounds fabulous and now they get to dump their candy out in the morning and after school!
I don't think you need to make a goal to be a fun mom for next year because you already are!
And I agree with Jenny, that's probably why I too was called to nursery to try to get over the mess, loudness and chaos kids bring to life. Of course, they bring happiness too but it sure is a lot of work!
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