Happy Monday to you all! First off for those of you who have sent kids off to school in the last couple weeks…HATS OFF TO YOU!!! It is no small task! Amongst sending our oldest off to kindergarten, we then left for Mexico on his third day of school ( I know, rough life). Luckily for us my mom was able to come and care for the kids as well as some pretty rock star neighbors who helped assist with transporting our oldest to school. Yes the trip was great but we were ready to come back and settle into our new reality. What we didn’t know was what they new reality was going to look like!?!
We have officially entered into a new dimension…I mean stage 5 HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM, solar meltdown! Do any of you feel me on this? I would love to know! Now before he started school we felt we had a pretty good handle on not having too many set plans for right after school those first few weeks/months due to the fact that he would be getting used to being in school all day. What I wasn’t prepared for was the crying and let me tell you crying about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! If I said the wrong thing, looked at him wrong or his brother walked by him the wrong way. It was a losing battle daily. Then came this past weekend. So I have had to wake him up for school every morning (he will probably be the teen who sleeps until noon). He goes to be early like 7:30 early but when morning hits he is still sleepy. So this first weekend being back home after our trip to Paradise we thought “great, he can finally sleep in”. Nope, this little guy was up at 5am both Saturday and Sunday! So what does that mean for the day? Struggle…and I mean the struggle was real! Just when I thought I had this back to school thing down, BAM. So after some chats with him about school (he said he doesn’t act this way at school), thank you Lord! I asked him what might help him be successful at home. In a nutshell this kid thrives on reinforcement. After some thinking and discussing, I remembered that he is really interested in the classroom “clip chart” for behavior. It dawned on me. Why not make one for home. So this morning I got all necessary supplies and thankfully it was a day that an Amazon prime ordered showed up ( hey, I needed the cardboard) and proceeded to make a pretty awesome clip chart. I even had clothes pins to write both boys names on. When I showed it to my oldest he was pretty pumped. What I didn’t expect was what came next…”Hey mom, you and dad need a clip too”. I was flabbergasted! Well, sure kid, what parent doesn’t need a clip? Actually it makes total sense. That way the hubs and I are keeping our moods and behaviors in check. I am really hoping that this helps in the afternoon failures I have experienced as of late. Nothing makes you feel more like #momfail then coming home after you have had a great day and dealing with emotional meltdowns until bedtime. Of course, I know I am not the only mom or parent to have dealt with this but wow, it is a real thing.
So as we embark on the third week of school I am bound and determined to make afternoons more successful because right now, WE ARE FEELING IT! Of course as I type this entry he is being as good as gold, probably because he earned some phone time and we are going out to eat for a school fundraiser, but hey a win is a win! I would love to hear from you what is working for you? How do you get through the afternoons with an emotional, irrational tyrant (ok maybe not a tyrant but close) without feeling like you are in a hostage situation? This too shall pass, right?
Until next time, may you have joy in the journey!
Under the Clutter 