Parenting three kids under three is hard. Very hard. I have great kids, but I feel completely overwhelmed at least once a day. I consider it a good day if I make it to bedtime without completely losing my cool. Lately I've been trying to remind myself of things that matter and things that don't matter. Does it really matter if the boys have a nap? It certainly helps the rest of the day go better, but if they miss one every once in a while it's no big deal. Does it matter that my kids have fun playing with each other? Absolutely. Does it matter if we are a few minutes late to something because Isaac wants to put his own pants on? Not really. Does it matter if I encourage his independence in a constructive way? Definitely. I am naturally a very controlling person, so these kids are teaching me a great deal of patience and are helping me to let go of things that don't really matter.
I've also been trying to see each day through the eyes of my kids. Sometimes I'm frustrated because I don't accomplish everything I want to in a day. If I review the day through their eyes, though, it helps me change my perspective.
Through my eyes: The boys wouldn't nap. Frustrating! Then we had so much time to burn that we drove around for a while even though we didn't have any errands that needed to be done.
Through their eyes: We had so much fun playing with each other during nap time! We pulled Isaac's mattress off of the bed, had a picnic on it, then played under his bed like a fort. Once mom gave up on nap time we drove around looking for tractors. It was awesome! Then we found a train and chased it all over town. Best day ever!
I don't know if that's what they really think, but it helps. :)
1 comment:
I think having 3 kids is just hard. I don't know if it's harder than 2, but I know it's a lot harder than 1! Just keep going, you're doing great!
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