Sunday, April 4, 2010

Let Them Live Their Lives!


I remember a quote from Steve Carell in The Office. It goes roughly something like this, “I don’t know why people say it’s so hard to raise kids. Give them some pizza. Give them some candy. Let them live their lives. They’re adults, for Christ’s sake.”

I applied a bit of that wisdom today, and you know what?! It worked! It was fabulous.

My husband and I believe that Parker is getting his two year molars. That means that unexpectedly and at random, our child turns into a writhing, head turning, totally UN-FUN creature.

All was well today until I heard Parker’s shrill scream cut through the monitor only about 30 minutes after he went down for his nap. I could tell by the way he sounded that he was in pain, the poor guy, and he wouldn’t be going back to sleep. I had already given him children’s motrin, and he had been refusing our other teething tricks, so there wasn’t much more I could do for him besides be with him.

Well, he could have given a rat’s ass that I was there to “be with him.” Upon entering the room, he threw his bunny at me from the crib, he started trying to rip down his turtle aquarium, and he banged his head on the mattress. He was one angry dude.

Eventually, he did calm down. I held him and took him downstairs, but he was still just fussy, whiny, and generally discontent. I’m thinking, “Ok, kid. I would love to just chill and play with you, but if you’re not going to even do that, I’ve got things I can do.” I looked over at his Easter basket and saw the never-before-eaten candy bracelet!

I strapped that bracelet on him, showed him how to lick it, and – you’ve got it – he was in heaven.

So, what did I do from there? I let him live his LIFE, for crying out loud!

Parker sat on the couch in a glorious daze, licking and sucking and chewing, and watching Ni-Hao Kai-Lan (Ugh!) for about a half an hour! I was able to leave the room several times WITHOUT any zombie hands and whiny voice following after me. I switched the laundry, organized the kitchen closet, and stripped the bed sheets for washing.

The last time I checked on him, he gave me an empty string and a smile. I threw the string away, put his shoes on, and we headed outside for a wagon ride. He has been my beautiful, lovely bub ever since. Thank you, oh-so-wise, Steve Carell. You are a parenting expert extraordinaire!

16 comments:

Diminishing Lucy said...

Ha ha. That just makes me grin.

Oddyoddyo13 said...

I should listen to that guy more often if he's going to spew out life lessons like that!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful! It seems so simple, so why don't we do these things more often?

kathryn said...

Well, there you go. And here WE thought it was all about feelings and nurturing and having Mommy hold you close.

Little did we know it was REALLY all about candy bracelets! (Which I adore, btw.)

I hope you've stocked up...for those hard days!

Sharlene T. said...

Great idea! Blogs sure beat keeping handwritten journals, right, SITSta! Hope you don't stop when things get even more hectic. Have you hired your 'staff' yet? Better go ahead and do the work, they could be held up in traffic...come visit when you can.

Devan @ Accustomed Chaos said...

Found you from SITS - LOVE the name of your blog! So happy the candy necklace worked - its hard to see your kids in pain (teething ... ughh!)

Devan @ Accustomed Chaos
http://accustomedchaos.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

geez you reminded this old mom and grandma about days that had long been submerged in the corners of my memories. TEETHING the curse from hell. sounds like you handled it beautifully. enjoyed your post. found you on SITS. drop by my site sometime---i don't write about teething but i do a lot of reflecting on having been a working mom.
dianeswords.wordpress.com

B @ Sweet Limes said...

Those are some great words of wisdom! I let my little guys have freedom and live their lives too a little. It's great to watch them learn and grow, and now when I HAVE to get things done I know it's possible.

SweetPea said...

I just found your blog from POM and I think I love you. :) And you are my kind of parent! I took gave my daughter a candy necklace yesterday while the husband and I were out to dinner just so we could finish our pizza in peace. We put the necklace on her, showed her that it was in fact edible and let her suck away! I've never seen her so happy in my life...and I was able to finish my pizza and have some adult conversation. Win win in my book!

If you want to check out my blog, head on over to http://lifewiththesweetpeas.blogspot.com

Shelly - Tropical Mum said...

I found you through P.O.M. I loved the "zombie hands". You crack me up!

Thanks for the giggle.

Your new follower,

Shelly

Nuttymonkeymama said...

Ahhhh.... It feels great just to let go once and awhile. A candy necklace for a peaceful half-hour is a fab trade, if you ask me!

My youngest is just one, and also teething. We pop him in his highchair with a popsicle. For however long it takes for him to eat that popsicle he's blissfully happy which means we're blissfully happy.

Ms. Diva said...

Good job Mom!!!! My grandson, 9 months, was here for the weekend and he is teething! Holy Moly I forgot how difficult teething is on babies!!! So you and Steve Carel rock!

IKR Designs said...

LOVING the quote! Hilarious!

Stopping by from Connect MEme Monday..late as usual!

Hope you are having a great day!

Kristi {at} Live and Love...Out Loud said...

Parenting advice from Steve Carrell? Hilarious! I could use some candy right now.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a great day!

Kristi, Live and Love...Out Loud
@TweetingMama

Venus said...

Love it! I'll have to get myself a candy bracelet and keep it handy for when this will inevitably happen to my little one. :-)

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