Mama Blacksheep... Parenting Fail Turned Win

All parents have them… Those moments when that nagging question creeps into the back of our minds--am I doing a good job? And, chances are, most of us are doing just fine by our kids. Yet, we still get the feeling when we’re less than perfect, and none of us are, that maybe we should be doing better.

The other day, my four year old, Chace, asked me if he could read me a story. I was curious since he doesn’t read how he was going to pull this off. When I asked him what book, he said I’m just going to tell you the story. He proceeded to tell me a pretty damn good version of “The Three Little Pigs.” I was proud of his ability to remember the entire plot, but I found myself wondering where he learned the tale. It wasn’t one we had read together. He told me his teacher, Judi, used to tell it to them. I then spiraled into a negative head space that went something like this….

I should be telling him more stories. We haven’t been reading as many books lately. Is he bored staying home with me all summer? What else does he know that I don’t know he knows? I should be a better mom. Am I not doing enough activities with them? Am I not teaching him like I should be? I mean, I’m a teacher by profession for Christ’s sake.

Chace then asked me if I knew any stories to tell him. So, I gave him a completely butchered version of “Little Red Riding Hood.,” which he totally loved. This helped shift my mindset from the negative self-talk. It’s hard to juggle all of the roles we play in life. And with our kids, it’s impossible to get it all right all the time. Instead of letting moments like this haunt me for the rest of the afternoon, thus exacerbating my feelings of ineptitude, I needed to think about how to take these gut check moments and turn them into parenting wins.

I remembered Chace talking about sock puppets at one point, so I thought it might be a fun multi-day or at least multi-step activity to make some sock puppets representing the characters in “The Three Little Pigs,” so we could act out the story. The sock puppet creation would be one project. Then we would need to build the three houses. Finally, we could bring the story to life through a puppet show.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that every time you feel guilty for checking your email and not completely tuning in to your child’s tenth performance of the “Hot Dog Dance,” or turning on one more show to give you time to flip the laundry or start dinner, you should need to prep and put on a full-scale puppet show performance (I’m a teacher who’s home for the summer). I’m just saying don’t let it ruin your mood.

You could miss making a really great memory by dwelling on your shortcomings.

Mama Blacksheep: Family Mini-Vacation 2016

We're off!!!

This year, during Dave’s week off from work, we took a mini-vacation to the White Mountains and Belfast, ME. After visiting Santa’s Village last summer with our neighbors and absolutely loving it, we decided to give Storyland a shot. My in-laws spend their summers on the Penobscot Bay in Belfast, Maine. Since Storyland is on the eastern side of the White Mountains, we figured we’d take a trip over there to spend some quality time with family after our time at the park.

I am a total prepper, compulsive almost, so it was necessary that I check the website a gazillion times prior to visiting. First, I just wanted to know the basics--hours, ticket cost, etc. I revisited several times to check out the park map and also read some blogs to get some tips from people who have already made the trip.

We left on a Thursday morning at around 7:30, and, with a pit stop, arrived at Storyland at around 10:00. We opted to not bring a stroller, knowing that if we all of a sudden decided we needed one, we could rent. We managed the day without and just carried around a backpack with diapers, wipes, PBJ fixins, and snacks.

I took some advice I read on the blogs and we headed to the left when we entered the park. It seemed like more people were going right, so we were able to hit the first several rides with very little crowdedness, even enjoying some time on the splash pad. Honestly, we didn’t wait very long all day. We hit up the left side of the park hard, enjoying lots of rides that both Chace and Andrew could experience.

We had a little snack when we got to the farm area with the ride-on tractors. We then hit a couple more rides before deciding to have lunch at the pavillion. While we did pack sandwich supplies and planned on purchasing drinks (too heavy in backpack) and maybe a small snack, we overdid it a little and bought some food as well.

As I expected, the boys did not have as much gusto after lunch as they did before. We rode the teacups and then tried the Polar Coaster, but that was a no-go (Andrew was an inch too short, and Chace got cold feet).

We ended our day at around 2 o’clock with a ride on the train. It was a great way to finish up, but I also kind of wished we had ridden the train first since it gives you a good overview of the park. While there were a few things on the right side we didn’t get to, I thought that four hours was pretty solid for a four year old and a two year old.

We spent that evening at the Storybook Inn. It was literally right next to Storyland, which was super convenient. After we settled in, we spent a little time at the indoor pool and then went to dinner at the Spaghetti Shed.

My grandmother's license plate used to say "BKIND," so I thought it very appropriate that we saw this sign at a restaurant serving her favorite food. 

We went to bed early and slept in, signs that we got our money’s worth at Storyland. We left for Belfast at about 10 am. The kids were cranky at first since they hadn’t worked out their morning energy, but both eventually fell asleep for part of the three hour ride.

The best part about our trip to Belfast was that it was a surprise for Dave’s parents. The anniversary of the passing of Dave’s brother was the next day, so they were very excited to have family close by for support. Dave’s sister Kristen and her family were also there, so the kids were able to spend some time with their cousins. We headed straight for their RV resort and said hello. Then, we let them get back to work and checked into our hotel (a mere 500 yards from my in laws’ place).

We had some lunch and let the kids play on the lawn. We also took a dip in the indoor pool. Dave and I even got to spend a blissful five kid-free minutes in the hot tub. We headed back over to the RV resort for happy hour. The kids played on the playground while Dave and I got to meet some of his parents’ friends. At around 7:30, Kristen and her family arrived, so the kids had a great time running around and taking rides on the golf cart. We had a nice campfire and some quality family time. It was a wonderful night.

The next morning was a little rough as Chace’s swimmer’s ear returned. We had initially planned to spend a good portion of the day in Belfast, but given the rain and Chace’s obvious discomfort, we headed for home at around 11:30.

Not quite as energetic on the ride home. :)

We arrived home at around 3:00, rested and exhausted all in one. Isn’t that the way when you vacation with kids?