Happy New Year!

Happy 2012!

We made it through the holidays, and ALL kids are back in school!  Woo hoo!  So thankful that our oldest son is healthy again and trying to get back in shape from a staph infection that had him hospitalized for over a week and out of school for 2 months!

I am very optimistic about this new year.  Last year was a tough one for our family.  My dear Mother passed away.  We moved my Dad in with us (YIKES). And of course, Meghan just came home.  (Double YIKES).  Our house which was a very nice fit for 6 people was stretched to fit 8.  I have 3 boys in one room, 2 of which are oil and water in every way.  And our house is raised up 12 feet due to the threat of coastal flooding so my elderly father is forced to walk up a flight of stairs every time he enters the house.  We need to make a change.  So along with my Mother's passing, my Father's moving in, and the stormy first year home with Meghan, we had the house on the market for a good part of the year.  The good news is we had a lot of people looking- the bad news is, every time I had to show the house I had to clean the house because my kids are MESSY and I didn't want it to look cluttered.  Despite my best efforts, it did not sell, people said it was cluttered.  Well, yes.  I know, that's why we are moving.  We had so much EXTRA furniture from Dad's place that had to go somewhere.  Plus 3 boys in a room....and anyway, people aren't supposed to be looking at my furniture they are suppose to be looking at the house.  People have no imagination.  So finally I had enough of people calling to say that they just HAD to see the house that day (with no warning) that they were very motivated buyers and that our house was exactly what they were looking for.... yada yada yada.  We took it off the market.

So, here we are, the start of a new year.   Meghan is showing signs of real attachment to me.  Everyday she asks me if I can come have lunch with her at school.  And she tells me she loves me  "very much"  all the time.  

As for myself, I am working on patience with Meghan.   We are still battling at meal time.  I would say that 5 nights out of the week our dinner time is upset by her.  The routine goes something like this... 1) everyone comes to dinner. 2) Meghan says "I no like this"  I tell her don't say I no.  She corrects herself, "I don't like this".  (By the way - It could be anything - she will tell me she doesn't want it- even Chinese food).  3).  I tell her it's good, you liked it before and try it.  4).  She pouts into her plate.  5).  Most people are finishing their dinner.  6).  She   a) drops food on floor or b) spills milk.  7).  I tell her that she is not getting dessert until she eats and then I pick up her fork and give her a bite. 8)  a)she starts to eat or b) starts to cry, food still unchewed in her mouth.  9)  Everyone else is done, table cleared, dishes done, dessert done, I am preparing lunches for the next day and Meghan is finally starting to eat her meal.

This evening ritual gets under my skin so much.  I am so frustrated with her.  She will eventually clean her plate and drink her milk but WHY do we have to go through that every night???  Can somebody please give me some incite? 

She has another habit that is really driving me over the edge right now.  Her questions.  There is an old saying that there are no dumb questions....  I beg to differ.  Whoever coined that little phrase never met my Meghan.  Here's an example.  She just took her bath and I am now blow drying her hair, as I have done nearly every night for the past 14  months.  About half way through she says, "what are you doing Mommy".  Now on paper that reads like, well, maybe she wanted me to explain about the blow drying process.  But had you actually been in the bathroom with us it was asked because she wanted me to say, "I am drying your hair."   Yesterday after school, we had to hurry and have a snack, hurry and change clothes because we were going to cheerleading practice.  Meghan was very excited, we grabbed her pom poms, said goodbye to the brothers and announced to all who would listen that she was going to cheerleading and off we went.  5 minutes later from her carseat she asks., "where are we going?"   Really???   I could be taking a shower and she will walk in and say "what are you doing?"   Drives me crazy.  This is what I need my patience for.  So every time she asks a Meghan question I ask her back, "what do you think I am doing?"  She always knows the answer.  I have asked her to think about the answer before she asks the question.  We'll see how that goes.

The "why?" questions don't bother me as much as Tom.  Here's a classic Meghan why question....  We arrive at school in the morning to drop her off, just as we have done every day for the past 14 months.  The same teacher everyday opens the car door to let her out.  Meghan just stands there.  The teacher says, "Come on Meghan..."  What do you think Meghan says?  "WHY?" 

I know. I know.  I need patience.  Patience patience patience.