princesses

What’s in a Name?

I was in the car with Sydney, 5, and we found ourselves discussing the Disney princesses. Mulan came up.

“Mulan is a funny name,” said Sydney, wrinkling her nose.

Eeek! My daughter’s a racist! I automatically thought in a split-second. She’s offensive to all Chinese people because she’s dissing Mulan’s name! I need to teach her that Mulan may be an unusual name in English, but that doesn’t make it funny, just different. I hope I’m not too late. This HAS to be a teachable moment…

“Mulan is a funny name, Mommy,” Sydney continued as my mind raced.

“It’s got Moo. Like a cow. Moo.” she said.

“And lawn. Like mow the lawn,” she finished.

“Moo like a cow and Lawn like mow the lawn. That’s funny!”

Ohhhhhhhhh.

Maybe she’s not racist after all!

April 2, 2012 By Katy6 CommentsFiled Under: funny things Sydney said, idiot, princesses, Sydney Tagged With: Disney, kids, prejudice, princesses

The Half Way Mom

I usually make fun of myself on this blog. I point out how inane things like my son talking about his butt, or my daughter loving the Disney princesses, reflect back on me as a bad mom. I mean, really, butt talk is NOT classy nor are the princesses the healthiest role models.

My husband says I have a complex. He’s probably right. So I’m going rogue today by talking about something that doesn’t make me feel like a bad mom. Rather, it makes me feel like the half way mom.

Let me explain.

Recently, I was driving to work listening to a local morning radio show. “Where will you be in 10 years?” asked the DJ.

“Well, that will be 2022,” thought one of the other DJs.

2022?

Holy cow, my son will be 18 and a freshman in college in 2022.

He’s 8 ½ now. In 3rd grade. He still misses most of his face when he uses a napkin. Sometimes, he still pees all over the floor. (REALLY?!) But he’s nearly half way to college, which means I’m almost half way done raising him.

(I guess there’s always a chance that he’ll live at home until he’s 35…)

Still, who he is at age 8 is worlds away from who he was as a baby, toddler, and preschooler. And my daughter just turned 5. Five! She’s going to kindergarten in the fall. I’ll be the mom of two school-age children then.

How did THAT happen?

At this momentous time in my life, half way towards raising my son before he leaves for college, I feel the need to look back on the early years from infancy to preschool.

Then…

Here are the Top 10 Things I WON’T miss about those early years:

1. Diapers

2. Ear infections

3. Temper tantrums

4. Choking hazards

5. Tinky Winky, Dipsy, La La, and Po

6. Trips to the Emergency Room for super high fevers, something called Nurse’s Elbow, and assorted Hot Wheels parts stuck up the nose

7. Having a step-stool in the bathroom so they can reach the sink. That step-stool made me trip at least 63 times a day!

8. Noses and butts that don’t wipe themselves

9. That it took 20 minutes to walk 1/2 a block

10. That the whole world and every single minute of every single day revolved around mama

And, to be fair, there are things I will miss about the infancy, toddler and preschool years.

and now

Here are the Top 10 things I WILL miss about the early years:

1. Naps (Hey, I’m an honest blogger!)

2. 8:00 bedtime

3. Sitting–and fitting–on my lap

4. Fuzzy, footed pajamas on a fresh-washed kid

5. Cute character dinnerware

6. Stopping to admire puppies, kitties, and big kids

7. No need for haircuts

8. Never having to say, “Because you have school tomorrow!”

9. That it took 20 minutes to walk 1/2 a block

10. That the whole world and every single minute of every single day revolved around mama

What about you? Whatever age your kids may be, what it is that you WILL or WON’T miss as they get older?

And, hey–don’t make me feel like a bad mom for saying I miss naps!

March 1, 2012 By Katy133 CommentsFiled Under: Bad Mom, butts, Experienced Bad Mom, good mom, princesses Tagged With: bad mom, butts, Experienced Bad Mom, good mom, kids, princesses, raising kids

The Bad Dad’s Princess (Disney Week)

If you’ve ever taken your family to Disneyworld, you know it’s both exhilarating and exhausting. This, of course, means it’s the perfect setting for misadventures in parenting. Today I share the first of 3 posts stemming from my fam’s recent trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. Because I’m a genius (!), I declare this week “Disney Week” on Experienced Bad Mom.

Let’s get started with the badness:

Meeting characters at Disney is a rite of passage. You all remember my son’s face when he was forced to meet Rapunzel and Flynn last year.

This year, some of the first characters we came across were Jasmine and Aladdin. My son, 8, crossed his arms and waited for us outside the meet ‘n greet area.

He. Is. Done. Meeting. Princesses.

Meanwhile, Sydney, 5, was anxious to meet a princess and prince.

The line wasn’t too long–there were maybe 5 or 6 kids in front of us. As I held Sydney’s hand, I turned to my husband and asked, “Would you like a picture with your Disney princess?” I held her little hand up to him and smiled.

He cocked his head and peered around me.

Where’s he looking? I thought.

He checked out Jasmine standing behind me and said, “Nah, I’ll wait for one of the other princesses.”

Uh, I was talking about YOUR princess holding my hand! Plus, he’s holding out for a hotter princess? This one was in a bikini top, what else could he be hoping for?!?

Sydney, thankfully, was oblivious to it all and enjoyed meeting her princess and prince.