Throwing the kids under the bus...

This weekend we were talking about the Internet and our kids with a group of other parents. There are a range of ages of children and I find that I am able to use things my boys have done as examples. Yes, I throw them under the bus. I do actually tell the boys that I've had these conversations and why and make sure they know the context. They understand it. Having said that, often times the people we are talking to don't personally know my kids. I'm afraid they might have a bad impression of them.

I have had the ability and privilege of staying home with my boys. I play with them, love them, yell at them, teach them, etc. It has been a most rewarding experience. They are awesome. They do great in school, most of the time. They are well mannered, most of the time. They are loyal to their family and friends. Like all kids they have had bad moments and those tend to be the things that are discussed. Bummer!

Here's the deal though. We have gone through a lot of things where we had no references or people with similar experience to help us navigate that and I am all for co-parenting with every good parent I know. Regardless of how awesome you are at handling things, regardless of how many times you've warned your kids against things, they will still get into trouble. I love that I have a group of people who I can sit around a table with and we can all share our experiences good or bad...this worked or this didn't... how do I get out of this?... how do I avoid this?

What they don't see is my 17 year old running around the house playing Nerf war with my 3 year old, or both older boys (21 and 17) playing hide and seek with the "baby".  They don't see them doing the dishes because I made dinner, taking out the trash, washing the cars, helping build a fence, or babysitting so their dad and I can have a date night. They don't see us praying together around the dinner table every night and then cutting up about our day. They don't see family game night or movie night where we all just hang out and laugh. I have great kids! I'm super proud of them! And now you know...

Until next time,
Julie