The intimidation that is me

As my lion and I battle the terrible twos there always seems to be some kind of power war going on between us. I have never been a push over when it comes to children. I have battled the most heartbreaking tears and still stood my ground. I've had the "I hate you", "Your only doing this because you hate me", and the "I don't love you anymore Auntie" thrown at me and still stood strong. I have always been the fun Auntie but when it came down to business my nieces and nephews always took me seriously. My son, however, doesn't take me seriously at all. Our struggles usually go something like this: Baby come here-no response- Come here-no response- (a little firmer )COME HERE-this will get me a nonchalant glance-( in my best mommy voice- COME HERE RIGHT NOW- at this point I will receive a little grin- at this point my mother usually says while laughing " I wish you wouldn't scare him like that". We could go on like this forever, usually I end going over to him and picking him up. He also runs from me and laughs, it's a game for him. Going up against a lion is more work then I thought it would be. The tricks and tactics that worked beautifully on his cousins don't phase him in the least. He is far more power hungry. He has to be in charge. As any parent knows this can not happen or else I'm doomed for life. So I suppose at this point I have to put my thinking cap on and come up with a new game plan. I will have to toss all of my old plays out the window and come up with a new strategy to gain the upper hand. It's time to pull on the gloves and go to battle.

Irish toast of the day

"Some may say the glass is half empty, Some may say the glass is half full, But the Irish will forever say 'Are you gonna drink that?'.

mommy ego

So I will proudly admit that my little lion is a mommas boy (he's 16 months). Although at times it can be frustrating to have him hanging on me all the time ultimately it's wonderful to know that he loves me so much. As I wrote in a previous post my little guy started daycare again and I was concerned that he was going to have problems separating. When we got to the daycare today I was frantically pulling his coat off as he sped off to play. He never even looked back, there was no bye mom sorry to see you go.(tear) He was off and running, a busy boy with things to do. A slam to my mommy ego, my little boy is growing up. I am so glad that he loves his daycare and that he has lots of friends but it appears that now I am the one with the separation anxiety. I think the hardest part of being a parent is having to let go, watching your child become less and less dependant on you. I can already see him growing into a little boy, no longer my baby. Each developmental step a child takes is ultimately a step away from you in a way. Great for them, kinda sad for you. At the same time we are rejoicing our child's accomplishment we are secretly morning the inevitable, they will one day grow up and not need us to kiss their hurts better or tie their shoes. All we can so is hold on tight to every moment and never ever take it for granted. Today daycare, tomorrow college.

Irish Blessing

"May the Lord keep you in his hand
And never close his fist too tight."

Irish Blessing

May your day be filled with blessings
Like the sun that lights the sky,
And may you always have the courage
To spread your wings and fly!

Irish Blessing

May your day be filled with blessings
Like the sun that lights the sky,
And may you always have the courage
To spread your wings and fly!

Back to School!!

School starts back up tomorrow. The break has been nice but I'm afraid it has spoiled me. Although I am looking forward to returning it is going to be hard for me to give up the free time I've become so accustom to these past few weeks. I'm curious to see how my lion will react to returning to daycare. I hope he is happy to return and we don't have to go through the separation anxiety again. He loved daycare before but it took a while before he was comfortable enough to let me go without a fight. I'm sure he will probably be glad to get out of the house and see his friends again as am I. I still have to go pick up my books, leave it to me to wait until the last minute. Tonight it's back to packing lunches and setting the alarm.

Irish toast of the day

"Here's to you and here's to me and if ever we should disagree.

The hell with you and here's to Me."

Irish toast of the day

" As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way."

The ABC Song

For Christmas Santa brought my little lion a lap top computer (not a real one). It is supposed to help him learn his ABC's, sounds, numbers etc. He likes to use it as a step stool. The computer did come with a instruction booklet that has a picture of the computer along with letters on the cover. The other night while my son was playing with the instruction booklet (figures) my mother was singing the ABC's with him. The sweetest thing I have ever seen was my mother singing" abcdefg" and my son while clinging to his instruction booklet sang "Ah ah ah ah ah" in the tone of hijklmnop. Here's the catch my little lion will only sing the ABC song with you if he has his booklet. I have tried many times to get him to sing without it and he will not do it. I guess every great artist prefers to have his muse.

Irish toast of the day

My great Aunt sent a book she put together with some information linking the present family to our Irish ansestors. The book has tid bits of information about the Irish and specific information about my ansestors. It has been a great read. Along with other things there are also a few pages dedicated to Irish toasts, blessings, and proverbs. I have really injoyed them so I will share them with you. Even if you are not Irish you will be able to find the humor, sincerity, and love in the words. I hope you enjoy.

" When Irish eyes are smiling, watch your step!"

If you liked this toast check back I'll be posting them daily. At least until I run out.

The Fork Mystery

So for a while now my little lion has been working on using a fork. He is really very talented and creative when doing so. I spend the majority of my dinner watching in amusement as he uses his fork to play the drums on the tray of his chair, brush his hair, and as a dart ( you never know where it's going to land once he lets it fly). Now, I know that he knows what the fork is for because I have showed him a multitude of times. Also at dinner tonight he would scoop up mashed potato's with his hand, shove it in his mouth( and all over his face) then proceed to put the empty fork in his mouth. I wonder when this will pass. I can't help but find it too adorable to resist I am however going to have to break this behavior. Along with strange uses for his table utensils he also lets me know that he is done with his meal by throwing whatever food is left over the side of his chair. This is a very messy announcement. We are working on using words but he seems to be content with his obvious methods of communication. On top of that if I do not remove the tray fast enough to please him he pushes it overboard. Whoever made the highchair and the "lock in" tray had not met my son the powerhouse. By the way my son is a big boy for his age. Who knew that a meal could be so amusing?

The Lion??

So you are probably wondering who the Lion in my life is. He is my amazing son who I love, adore, and am eternally grateful for. My Lion was born in August of 2005 his zodiac sign is Leo (the lion). While I was pregnant I did a ton of reading on the Leo child and my Lion has definitely fit perfectly into the role of a leo. Since the day he was born it has been fairly obvious who the king of my house is. It's amazing to me how such a little thing came packing one hell of a personality. He is always the center of attention and he wouldn't have it any other way. Even though he is not speaking enough to fully communicate he has no problem expressing what he wants and the fact that he wants it right now. Now that he is getting older it is becoming a challenge for me to express to him that he can't always have his way. His little feelings get hurt so easily and it breaks my heart when they do. Still it is a lesson that must be learned. Being an only child and living with his mother and grandmother my lion gets plenty of attention, so much actually that if we are not fully paying homage to him he will stand right in front of us and clap his hands (looking for an applause). If the applause does not fully meet his need for attention he will pull on my hand until I get up and then he will lead me where ever it is he wants to go. Most of the time I end up standing in front of the T.V ( a few feet away from where I was content on the couch) holding his hand. All in a days work serving my little lion.

The Leo Child
A typical lion cub, this child will be happy and cheerful as long as he gets his way. A little too full of himself, he will attack if he feels thwarted or his position is threatened. Although you should encourage his natural leadership qualities, you must also appeal to his sense of justice and fair play, otherwise he will turn into a show-off.
Blessed with an innate sense of dignity, they thrive on power and applause and need to be adored. Or should it be worshipped! But do not let him get away with making demands. Teach him to respect the dignity of others too.
On the brighter side, these youngsters are playful, affectionate and a lot of fun. They enjoy games of challenge and chance. Though intelligent and quick to learn, they can be a little lazy. So it is important that you inculcate discipline and good study habits and also give them responsible and dignified duties to perform.
They love indulging themselves and spend lavishly. Not only do they like spending on themselves, they can also be very generous. These little charmers also fall in and out of love easily, so you are for a tough adolescent phase. As a fire sign, their passions run hot, hot, hot!
You need to provide them gentle discipline and lots of love and affection. Do not ever destroy his pride with harsh orders. Always remember that you are the lion tamer. Build his courage and confidence with love instead.