Easter Bunny gives mommy a gift

Jack woke up sobbing this Easter morning, before the sun truly cracked over the horizon. I went in and rubbed his back, trying to coax the bad dream out of the little guy.

J: "I won't get an Easter basket!"
Me: "Why not?"
J: Racked with sobs, "Because, becaaauuusse...I got out of beeeeddddd!"

We had told him the night before if he got out of bed and goofed around that the Easter Bunny might not come. Ugh.

Morgan piped up and said, without hesitation, "I'll share my basket with you, Jack!" They crawled in to my bed and slept until the Easter Bunny could hide the eggs.

That's an "awww" moment, right? Well, I felt bad for a couple of reasons.

I had just scolded Morgan a few days ago, and I was still feeling kind of bad. I don't like the word, scolded. It's hard and, like the action, sort of mean and condescending. But I forgot all the conscious-mindful-brain link info I'd digested in the last 5 years of their little lives and turned to the hard-wired parenting that is in all our brains: What would my mother do? Except I went old-school: What would my grandmother do?

She didn't worry about my level of understanding, kindness quotient, emotional IQ. She took swift action when I crossed the line with either a kitchen utensil or a mean glare.

But it works, I'm tellin' ya. Morgan saw my face and heard that roar start to build in my voice when I called her name. And we all walked away unscathed, I hope. We'll find out later, I guess.

We've talked about sharing, and I've fumbled around with the latest parenting techniques when I've found her holding her brother's toys hostage in some childish pleasure we never quite shake or see a that look in his eye when he's about to do something he knows is off-the-charts 'No.' It kills me when my children act like... mean children. Correcting it feels like a mine field sometimes. Go too far, they feel really negative about something we all do, not far enough and you're that mom getting those calls from the parents who actually finished that parenting book.

Apparently, Morgan is getting something good out of our parenting. In a crisis, who she is comes out fast and true. "I'll share my basket with you."

And hey, maybe that Easter Bunny boycotting our house thing might serve us well. At least one more night? We could really use the extra sleep around here.

A Few of My New Favorite Things

Each month I hear about cool new products, teaching tools, expert-approved little tips that I like to remember, so I thought I’d share a few of them here around the beginning of each month and maybe have a slim chance of remembering them because I can’t keep a dern thing bouncing around my brain once I walk 5-feet in any direction from the point of input.

• I love, love, love to coupon! I've been couponing since I was in grade school and mom let me keep the rebate checks if I collected all the box tops and receipts. One of my fave new sites is www.grocerysmarts.com. Click on your state and it will run down the best coupons by store, where to print them or what flyer they arrived in at your mailbox. It's a super simple way to save cash without the tedious coupon hunting. I spent $7 on 10 items at a recent quick stop at Walgreens (didn't have the twins, so it was a luxury) and got L'Oreal shampoo and conditioner free!!! (I know, I really have to work on my photo skills.)
  
  
• I'm always looking for new ways to keep the kids occupied/obeying the dictator that is mommy. This came from a parenting magazine: Wake the kids with a riddle! You just give them one line after each a.m. accomplishment; i.e. making beds (who does that unless MIL is coming?), brushing teeth, peeing in that terrifying monster in the tiled room…Then give them the answer when they sit down to breakfast, or, after they have eaten half of breakfast, or just one bite of each offering, OK, just one bite of protein. Here's a quick few to help get you and your little ones out the door: Where do fish keep their cash? In a Riverbank! What walks all day on its head? A nail in a horseshoe!
• I've always known there was a good reason to hoard those free pizza magnets. Stick one on the car door as a reminder for that field-trip waiver or to load up the diaper bag before the 2-hour car trip to grandma's. When you go to open the car door, the placement of the tiny magnet can save loads of time in the morning running back and forth for paperwork, change of clothes, the kids. And if you’re really crafty, you can coat the magnet in chalk paint and write those really important but easily forgettable things on the tiny magnet, which I think is better. Looking at that magnet with keys in hand tempts me to swing by said pizza place. Here's a recipe for DIY chalk paint from www.inmyownstyle.com.
• I want to make this using felt! A customized clock with tiny pics of toothbrush, pants, breakfast, school house to get the kids motivated about what's happening that day. Every morning I get grilled on what the plans are for the day, and when. Put each on a velcro backing, just rip pics out of old mags, so you can switch it out as they graduate from library time to karate or ballet class, and then tiny lips with an X over it for quiet time (next to a glass of wine if it's after 8 p.m.!).

Share your tips with us! The twins and I would love to hear how you get through your day with love, laughter, lack of whining and a semblance of sanity!