Flowers on My Pillow

This is the 2nd week that Travis will be gone for an extended period of time for his art residency. This time he left on Tuesday night, and will get back on Saturday to help with some Easter things. 

The one that his absence is getting to the most is Isaak. Isaak is our kid that has a sweet and sour personality. 

I think he's feeling things he can't explain right now. Our children have always been good with words. Isaak has always said, "I don't miss anyone. I don't even know what miss means."

I asked Isaak for help putting groceries away, and he complained because Mica wasn't doing the task. Mica was in the shower.

I stopped and said, "If you can't stop complaining then you can just go to bed. I don't want to hear negativity."

He kicked boxes of JELL-O across the floor. He went to get ready for bed in tears.

I called him in to talk with him once he cooled down. He wasn't very happy at his own behavior, that he had to do something that his brother didn't have to do, and that I sent him to his room.

I walked in my room and there was this on my pillow:

I opened it up and there was ground cover flowers in it.

The next night I asked Mica to practice spelling words with Isaak. 

Isaak said, "Mica go get my spelling words, paper, and a pencil!" 

Mica said, "No! I'm asking you your spelling words. I'm not getting all that for you! It's your job." 

Isaak got really grumpy, and demanding. 

I told him, "Mica's right. You need to take some time to chill out." 

Isaak said, "But you told Mica to help me." I said, "Help! Not do. We'll talk about this after you've calmed down."

When I talked to him I asked, "Are you upset that Dad is not here? Is that what this is really about?" 

He said, "Yes" with a sad look on his face. 

I said, "Isaak it's ok to miss someone. That is calling missing someone. It's not ok to take your frustrations out on Mica and I. Do you want to call Dad?" 

He shook his head no. 

I said, "Ok. Go sit down to apologize to Mica for your behavior, and study your spelling words with him. I'll cuddle you after I'm done with dinner. 

I always wonder in situations like this if I'm handling it right. I know some people would say that Isaak needs a harsher punishment. I know that we're (as parents) always around for him. He's not used to one parent being gone a lot. Yes he needs to be punished, but he also needs positive attention like being read to, cuddle time, and board game time - things that he loves.

Inside Out

This isn't a movie review. A few weekends ago the boys spent the night at my oldest sister's house. She got them pizza and a few movies to watch. One of the movies was Inside Out. Have you seen it? I haven't, but I've wanted to.

Source

I feel like it's a movie that should have gotten more hype than it has. 

Forbes said this about the film:

"This latest Pixar film shares many qualities with the third Toy Story chapter, including a beautiful, rich, unexpectedly complex emotional arc that reveals itself slowly and will leave adults with jaws dropped and eyes damp. The film has possibly broader appeal than almost any previous Pixar film, with plenty for the youngest kids to enjoy but a story aimed at a slightly older near-teen and early-teen demographic, as well as more than the usual amount of smart storytelling and humor to appeal to the adults in the room. Indeed, this isn’t a story simply for the children to enjoy in their own way and adults to enjoy separately — it is a film meant to be shared by parents with their children, to bridge a gap between adolescents and adults, more than any animated film I’ve ever seen."

Mica didn't want to see it. He said, "It's for babies." He has in his mind that cartoons are for younger kids. He's pretty selective in what he wants to watch. He's cool with Kung Fu Panda and any anime flick. If I put on most cartoons he doesn't want to watch them.

We convinced Mica that it would be great for him to watch Inside Out. Isaak has been wanting to see it.

They watched it, and guess who loved the movie? Mica did.

Isaak woke up really depressed this morning. He had a dream that the characters from Inside Out were in his brain. They were super nice. They played with him. When he woke up he wished that they were real. It really bothered him.

Isaak has always been our more dramatic child. I never know if he's acting, or serious. He'll cry for 10 minutes. I'll leave him be if it's something crazy that he's crying about. After awhile I'll check on him, and he doesn't even have any tears running down his face. I'm not saying that he wasn't bothered, but he milked a reaction out of us.

It's hard as a parent of a dramatic child to know if the child truly needs more attention, or if they are playing you.

Part of me thinks: 

Kids certainly need to learn to suck it up. Life is too short to let things bother you all the time. I do spend time with my kids, so I shouldn't feel guilty that they get moody at times. Kind of the tough love approach.

Another part of me thinks:

Kids feeling shouldn't be ignored. Isaak has been upset because Mica's in The Student Council, Chess Club, and more. Isaak's too young for a lot of those special things. Mica's an independent player, and always has been. Yes Mica plays with Isaak, but it's minimal. Isaak's face lights up when I play bouncy ball in the hallway. His face is crushed when Travis helps Mica plant seeds that were given to him. Spending time with a kid who is moody will only be positive, and bring us closer together.

Do you have a child that is moody?

Random Tid Bits

1. It finally snowed here. 3 to 5 inches to be exact. All the schools were closed for a day. People were complaining about the snow. They were saying, "Bring on spring." We actually need more snow! We've had our fair share of cold days, but not as much snow has come down as usual. I don't want the farmers to suffer. Then food prices will go up.





2. I know many people say that men are less moody than women. I'm sorry I just don't buy it. There is an apartment of four males that go to school here. They had a falling out with one. The one was crying he was so upset. Then they had a falling out with another. There was a rumor that that one was dropping out. He took all his stuff, and didn't come to school for a week. He came back to school, and was upset that there was a rumor going on about him not returning. This isn't the first time we've had issues with boys/men. 

We had an issue with an apartment of girls to. They worked thing out on their own. One girl moved out, another one moved in, and they all still talk. Am I saying that girls are not moody? No. I'm just saying that it totally depends on the person, not their sex.

Last week I was upset about something. My husband said, "Get over it!" I was a little put off by his reply, but I did just that. I got over it. The next day he was upset with something that was not in his control. I said, "Get over it." He said, "You sound just like your Mother." Funny...I thought I sounds just like him. He lost sleep over this issue that was not in his control. It's just another example of how boys can be moody. 

Why is there a misconception that girls/women are more moody than boys/men?


3. Usually I do try and get reviews up as soon as possible. It is harder in the winter time because it's dark when I wake up, and it's dark when I get home. I try and write reviews over the weekend because I can take better pictures; making for a better review. Not that I always put products through a major test, but part of reviewing something is using it, washing it, and putting it through the test of life to figure out if it's a good product, or not. I don't want to review something that I haven't had the time to use. 

What are your thoughts on this?


4. I read a really great article about the brain. You can read it here. It was brought on by Phillip Seymour Hoffman's passing. It wasn't about him, it is about addiction, and how the brain works with addiction. I've never understood addiction so well! This article truly made me get it. 







Did you have strong emotions regarding the Coke commercial during the Super Bowl? I watched it, and didn't think anything of it. To me it was just different languages forming together to love Coke and America. In other countries they typically speak 3 languages. Many of us don't know other languages other than English. When you think about it many, not all, but many of us have relatives from Germany, Sweden, Poland and so on. We're a mixture of all different places. I happen to like that we're a mix. One of my favorite artists Robert Rauschenberg said in a video that I have that we have to start thinking globally. I think he's right. As much as I failed at learning Spanish, it's still important to broaden our minds. We're not alone here on this earth. Coke did their job...people are talking about their commercial. As for the song, it was written by a feminist lesbian. I want to hear your thoughts, and I'm not going to judge you for disagreeing with me. It's the land of the free supposedly. Be free to share your opinions.

She brings up some good points!

Three Year Old Tears

Isaak's been difficult lately!

The other night we went out to dinner. Daddy took the boys to the restroom to go potty, they washed their hands and Daddy tore off the paper towel for Isaak to dry off his hands. Isaak had a melt down. He was honestly really upset that Daddy tore off the paper towel off the dispenser and he did not! Usually I take Isaak potty and Mica goes with Daddy. I knew Isaak was like this about paper towels. How was Daddy supposed to know Isaak was going to be so dramatic over something so non important to us?

The boys came back to the table. Everyone seemed happy enough. Then Isaak started crying again because the waiter brought the boy's drinks. The waiter happened to take the paper off the straws before serving them. I knew right away why Isaak was crying. So crazy, but I knew! Isaak loves tearing the paper off his straw at restaurants. How do I know this? Because I once tried to help him with his straw and he freaked out at me. After he got done crying; I told the waiter why Isaak freaked out because really it's kind of funny! He laughed.

When we got home Isaak went number 2. He got mad because I didn't tell his potty "Bye Bye" when he flushed it! He was practically throwing himself on the ground over it.

Isaak's particular about things. Lately it's been really bad. It could be a stage, from the weather switching, because it's getting dark earlier, because he's finishing up a cold, or all the above.