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Jelly Belly Shop - Superfruit Mix - 5.9 oz bag

I really outdid myself with the twin's fifth birthday party. I felt like Kate from that train wreck of a show on TLC.

After postponing Disney indefinately, we decided that we'd have pony rides at the party, and I invited the entire preschool class. The weather was perfect, I think most everyone had a good time. But as my husband and I raced around that morning, blowing up more balloons and revisiting the rules of 'balloon stomp' and 'pin the tail' games, (we still forgot the blind folds), he looked over at me and said, "let's never do this again".

And I felt the same way. It was so much work, and the kids, I think they had a great time, but they were so overstimulated that there were a few less than pretty moments. And I was so busy hosting, I barely got two photos and didn't get to see my own kids ride the ponies. I felt like I was trying to make time stand still by throwing streamers at it.

The gift opening, despite my best efforts, still turned into a free for all where cards, carefully selected and decorated, got thrown aside as they ripped into wrapping paper, and I frantically tried to write down who gave who what.

I do it at Christmas too. I work so hard, trying to make 'perfect' memories (yes, I realize how ridiculous that is). And ultimately, I end up stressed and exhausted, and they get overwhelmed and overindulged. And I know, as I am doing it, that it is my own fear of missing something. Or some attempt to make up for the times I yelled at them or had to be the big downer voice of reason.

But is it better to stop trying? I guess we'll just do what we do and deal with any mistakes later on when we are called out on them. Parenthood is, well, you know, it's challenging, on levels that haven't been challenged before. You can't hand it in all typed up like a term paper and get a grade. You can't follow a recipe, as the ingredients keep changing.

At five, life is easier in a lot of ways. But I am seeing how it evolves, into something much more complex and dynamic that it was when food and sleep were the main issues.

And as I type this, I know, I'll keep trying. I'll try to remain calm, try to keep things flowing and expectations low, but I am too hands on not to plan and execute. I guess I'll hear all about it when they turn 15. Until then, pass the streamers.

Chester County Mothers of Multiples
Semi--Annual Sale
Saturday, March 13, 2010
9 a.m. til Noon
The School at Church Farm (CFS)
1001 East Lincoln Highway
Exton, P.A.
Check out our selection of gently used items, including:
clothes
toys
books
nursery Items
outdoor play equipment
car seats
strollers
maternity clothing
and much, much more!
We accept Cash and Personal Checks for purchases.
We do not accept Credit Cards.
For additional information and directions, please visit our website at

and click on “Clothing Sale.”

Another snow day? Are you kidding me? And this snow isn't even fun to play in... it's blown on high winds over hard, dirt encrusted old snow sprinkled throughout with dog poop land mines.

And as we all struggle to remain entertained and active on yet another cancelled day of school, I find myself staring longingly at the kindergarten registration papers.

Days like this are filled with highs and lows. When I get us all sculpting with clay I feel like a success, and then when two almost-five-year-olds melt down in tears and a cacophony of whining because they cannot perfectly render the visions they had in mind for their artistic creations, I end up leaving the room to calm myself down.

I do not think perfectionists are setting themselves up for a happy life. Nothing is perfect, and to believe it can be is to be ultimately disappointed, philosophically, right? However, I want them to want to achieve great things. Where is the line? How do you teach flexibility? Yoga classes? Are there workbooks for this?

Anyway, I have them settled for the moment on a Leappad and a Vtech art desk and am appeasing the guilt I feel for not posting more often. I want to, but day to day seems to leave less and less time for a simple email or phone call. Time is flying by and I can barely keep on top of the basics, like groceries and laundry.

I remember processing patents for high tech companies, and while I felt pressured and at times overwhelmed, I never had this degree of combined stress, overwork and an underlying sense of failing a little at everything. I know, I know, the woes of the stay at home mom, but seriously... I never thought it'd be this hard, mentally.

Could it be that this sense of failure is my own perfectionist streak rearing it's ugly head? The apple doesn't fall far, as they say. So, I suppose the lesson here is to be easier on myself, and through example, teach my kids to be more lighthearted in their own lives.

So, who cares that my bedroom looks like the fallout zone from a recent civilian uprising, or that my husband and I have eaten so many chicken nuggets in the last four years that we both have to battle high cholesterol? It's a snow day, the light in the winters of children throughout the western world... and damnit, I am sure there is more fun to be had. And my son just called in to me from the other room. He said, "Mommy?"
"What?" I answered, distractedly.
"I love you."

Seven participating attractions of the Brandywine Museums & Gardens Alliance offer FREE admission this Sat., Jan. 23:

· Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, PA
· Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE
· Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, Wilmington
· Delaware History Museum, Wilmington
· Hagley Museum & Library, Wilmington
· Rockwood Museum, Wilmington, and
· Winterthur Museum & County Estate, Winterthur, DE.

In addition to Free Museum Day, you can enjoy free admission to the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover, DE every day, and the Delaware Art Museum waives admission fees every Sunday.

Two four-year-olds, brother and sister, a morning to play dress up.

The game is Prince and the Princess... a slight spin from Mom and Dad, because in Mom and Dad they take care of animals and go on trips. In P&P, the Prince tries to fight off dragons and monsters while the Princess attempts to set up a wedding ceremony in her plastic high heels, yelling at the Prince to stop swinging his sword around.
Hhhmmmm.
Perhaps I have overdosed them on Disney?
Time will tell.

I read an interesting book called The Sixties, in which the author reminisced about starting up an alternative school in London, and of how they believed in free form education. They were rebelling against the soul crushing uniforms and endless memorization of the straight schools.

And then she said that in her sixties now, looking back after raising her own child, she can see that the mind develops over time, and that a small child cannot get through all of the conceptual layers at once. So it is actually preferable to have them memorize. She sees that it is really, more helpful in the long run to just get the rules of grammar and mathematics down, as tools to use later, because they have the rest of their lives to ponder the deeper meanings of things.