Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Ivan the Great

Wonderful, wonderful children. I honestly think they were put on this earth just so adults can learn from them. We have three children and you would think by the third one I would know exactly what to do and how they will react, NOT!


Ivan (the great or terrible) went to preschool today for the first time. I didn't think he was ready in the fall because of potty training accidents and I just wasn't ready to let him go yet. Now he is more than ready to bolt out the door.


We started the new year off right sending him on the first Monday of the brand new year. I tried to teach him a few things on my own at home throughout the fall and I was "Mrs. Mommy", so of course he wants to use that against me only because he is feeling insecure. For the past two weeks he did not want to go and said he wanted to go to school with Mrs. Mommy. My husband and I, and grandma talked it up and made it sound sooo good. We took him passed the school and even tried to take him to the sitter at church and he screamed and would not let me leave without him. His sister was even there. He did NOT want to stay.


This is a little boy that I say will be someones boss one day. He is very strong-willed, can figure anything out on his own and is very smart. He knows his ABCs when HE wants to say them and can build anything and play with anybody. He is a very outgoing boy and not shy at all.


My oldest girl was very shy and I knew what to expect. My second oldest boy was just like Ivan but I didn't have any trouble getting him to go places. Needless to say, I was nervous to let him go and his attitude could be either great or terrible when I got there. I didn't know what to expect.


The morning went really well and he was excited and took a bath and everything was great. He talked about the toys and all the fun he will have. I took pictures and he was all excited, then it hit him. "Is my sister going to be there? No, you are a big boy. Then he balled. I love you soooo much mommy and I love gramma. I don't wanna go." This kid knows how to play me but I didn't cave. You have to go and you will be fine. I changed the subject and we went to the store to get one thing before we went to school. He was still crying. I told him, do you want mommy to cry. No. We went into the store and he was fine again. His normal self. He told the lady at the counter "I'm going to school today". He continued to have a nice conversation with her. He loves people.


Then we got to the school. I didn't say a word because I didn't want to jinx anything. He said, "are we here?" I said, "Yes, Ivan, are you ready?" "Yep." He followed two other girls in the door, running, and went into the wrong room. I let him do the talking and the other teacher led him to where he needed to go. She knew his grandma Shirley so he was all smiles then. He took off his jacket and started playing with the toys and talking to his teacher. I said "bye, Ivan, I'll pick you up when school is over." I turned around and didn't look back. He did great and now he tells people everything that he did at school with excited, drug out sentences of ABC'sssss, oreossssss, funnnnnn and on and on and on. I am one happy mom.


From a mom's standpoint, if he would have cried it would have been hard. I know this happens with all kids and I have two older ones, but with your last child you come home and the house is empty and filled with mixed emotions. I am very happy though because at this point if he would not have been okay with it, my empty nest syndrome would have been a lot harder to handle. Now, I can come home and enjoy my house and do the things that I need to do without the guilt.


To all mom's, hang in there and be calm and patient. Everything always turns out and it is just hard to go through. I feel like a first time mom again, but every kid is different so I kind of am. . . . .

Life Changes

Today, I was watching SpongeBob with my 3-year-old. Mr. Krabbs wanted to open his restaurant for 24 hours. Mr. Plankton, his competitor, told him there is no way that it could happen. He said you won't have the customers to support it and your employees won't be able to do it. YOU'RE CRAZY!! And of course, Squidward didn't want to work the hours that he already had. SpongeBob, on the other hand, couldn't wait to get started.


How many times have we heard something that we didn't think could possibly happen and it happened, and it was successful. For example, Wal-Mart when it came into town and eventually grew bigger and bigger and opened 24 hours. The littler stores didn't think and hoped it would not happen. Why did it happen? Manpower, support, creative thinking and faith.


Does anyone remember not having a cell phone in their vehicle or at their side at all times? It wasn't just too many years ago. I remember driving an hour on the weekends to come home from college without a phone and didn't know that it was dangerous. If I would have a flat tire, if there was an accident or if I just needed directions I would have to find a quarter AND a phone booth. Even thinking about the growth of the phone from the wooden box phone to call a switchboard, from the rotary phone, push button phone, big bag cell phone to the tiny cell phones with cameras and MP3 players that we have now. Geniuses among us.


I don't know a whole lot about politics, but the rumor is that in the future we are to be compared with smaller countries that live with less. The goal is to have trains and buses as our main means of transportation. Cars will be seen less and less. When I first heard this idea I disregarded it and did not believe it. I gradually thought about it and realized the money used to "save the world" has to come back around sooner or later; taxing things that we are not familar with. I don't know where this is going to lead or how true it even is, but it makes a person think about what we have and how are we going to use it to better ourselves, our family, neighbors and economy.


The whole point to this blog is to never say never. Could you imagine if we all used our inner intuitive for the better and was a part of the inventions available to us now that we never thought would happen. I am a person who likes to think outside the box, but have a hard time making it happen. We can make it through if we all used our inner intuitive to help ourselves and each other.