The Good Ship Lollypop

I run a tight ship. Yesterday wasn't much fun because my Captain abilities were tested. And tested. And tested some more. It was exhausting. As my mom said the other day, sometimes it isn't much fun to tow the line.

I get a lot of compliments on my kids and their behavior (probably not so many yesterday, however!) I always tell the people thank you, and then something about how I am the meanest mom I know. And I am. I am the meanest mom I know. Not mean like outright not kind. Just mean as in I run a tight ship. It is the only way I can function. I need manners and order and my kids to know their place. I love them dearly but they are not going to be spoiled brats. I need the whining to stop. I don't put up with:

Smacking lips (!!!!!)
Rudeness
Sentences that start with "I want..."
Backtalk
Kicking and screaming and throwing oneself on the ground (oh no, much to my little 3 yr old man's dismay, I don't!)
grabbing
aggressive behavior

I do spank if they get way out of line, but I usually warn them that their behavior is warranting a spanking and offer a chance for them to straighten up and avoid that consequence. I do give them some time alone (in a corner, a room, a chair, "time out" so to speak) if they are unruly, too. I think the thing I give them that helps the most is that I hand them "dialogue" If I see things heading in a frustated or physical direction (toy tug-o-war on the brink) I make them talk to eachother -- "Please let me have a turn next, Paige, okay" or "This is my work, please choose a different crayon and paper" and not grab or pull. If they sass me or ask incorrectly, they have to start over and ask it the right way in a complete sentence before I will act. If they are impertinent, I say, "Oh that is so sad you are chosing to act that way, because now [we are leaving, you are done, etc]." I didn't invent all this, I'm just saying it's what works for me. I also think sleep and a healthy diet (for the kids I mean) are a mom's best offense against bad behavior.

Today was glorious. We were all over the island, we had fun, we listened, we asked nicely, we napped, we had a great dinner in a restaurant. Which brings me to my other topic for tonight: feeding of a child.

It is a high crime in my book that our society's restaurants offer fried with a side of fried to our children. Am I the only one who is outraged? Typical menus include: hotdog w/ff, plain spaghetti with butter only (wtf?!), chicken nuggets w/ff, and quesadillas. It is all colon clogging CRAP! It just baffles me. When we eat out, my kids get chicken, shrimp, steamed or grilled veggies and whatever else we are eating. French fries are an occassional treat. So is juice, so is sprite. I really do think their diet has a large part to do with their behavior, because I have seen my kids on sugar, and it is so ugly. Don't get me wrong, I do allow the occassional donut (as documented on this blog) but it isn't the norm. Tonight for dinner they asked for water as their drink because that is what I was having, then they ate tuna tartare, http://bartlettsfarm.com tomatoes, corn and crab chowder and grilled veggies. Homemade strawberry ice cream for dessert but they were so full they only ate half.

Paige and Graham love sushi. Sashimi to be exact. They can eat a whole lot of it in one sitting. Their favorite is tuna, followed by yellowtail. Graham is getting into the wasabi now, too! They like to eat edamame, and have since they were in utero (hence my blogosphere name, edamamemommy) The awesome sushi restaurant here is LOLA. When they spot it as we are walking by, they now sing the Eric Clapton song, "Lola, luh, luh, luh, luh Lo-la!"

I don't know why I just felt like writing down my feelings on all this tonight.

Cuteness this evening, Paige said, "Mommy help me sing the words to my favorite song, you know, the one about the Twist and Shout" So we did:

Saturday night, and the moon is out
I'm gonna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a cajun beat
When he lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle gonna beg for more
Want to dance to a band from a-Louisian tonight!

then she adds a "graaaaaaaaacious!"

We also called Nana and Grandad as we sat eating our icecream, watching the ferry unload and reload passengers for Hyannis. We waved goodbye and goodnight to them. Then the kids looked up into the dark unobstructed sky, so clear you could see the whole Milky Way, and started saying "Star light, star bright..." Oh and they commented on the ships' lights in the water, since they didn't know the word reflection, they called them "the lights' shadows" glittering on the water in the wharf.