I'm just another working mom seeking a few moments of Zen and zinfandel between soccer practice and supper. My former beach bartender husband founded 
On Tuesday rather than become annoyed at the fact that I was not going to be able to be productive because both girls were home (Miss C had a snow day and although Miss A’s daycare was open she gleefully said “YES!” when I asked her if she wanted to stay home) I decided to just roll with it. Plus they were gone two nights last weekend with our parents and I was perhaps feeling a bit of mommy guilt.
Snow days, although fun when they are a rare novelty, get old quickly and it’s tough because although schools are closed the rest of the world keeps on ticking and my office is always open and my husband still has to work. Maybe I’m just a wee bit high strung or OCD about the way our schedule should be. Any way, it is a weird balancing act to have the ability to plug in your laptop and work from home. Kids don’t always understand why you can’t make sock puppets and play board games all day because they have the day off.
Not wanting to be a total killjoy, I told the girls we’d go to the park for lunch at noon and sled. By then they’d already watched so much Disney Channel that their brain cells were starting to die and OH MY LORD I actually know all the words to that new Selena Gomez song.
Our neighbor’s little girl had just gotten a new sled so she headed to the park with us and as we were walking I noticed the snow had already melted considerably. Brown patches of grass and dirt mottled the once pristine snow. It didn’t look very promising for sledding but we’d already spent a good 10 minutes or more getting dressed for it so we headed to a little sloped area. We ended up sledding on the “snud,” a mixture of snow and mud, for an hour walking home the girls started making little snowballs from what little snow still remained. I scooped up some snow, threw it at Miss C and as we started a game of snow tag she looked at her friend and said, “See? My mom can be fun!”
Do you consider yourself a fun mom? While I’ve actually embarrassed Miss C singing Party in the USA and I’ve let the girls turn their rooms into stuffed animal jungles, more often than not I am the “let’s go we’re running late, please pick that up, quit fighting, apologize to your sister right now” mom.
I hope I am a fun mom. I am the less stricter of the parental units and we are divorced, so when the boys are with me, I tend to let them be a little more relaxed. I just love them so much and want only the best for them. I too have those frequent moments of raising my voice (very frequent), but overall, I think I am fun. I did go to the store yesterday just so my son could get silly bracelets (those bracelets that turn in to a shapte when you take them off).
.-= Pippi´s last blog ..Help! My Vibrator
I guess children have this mixed feeling of fear and contempt over parents’ perception of “fun”. Anyway, it’s great that you had a great time.
I feel like I say the same things you do, ad infinitum. I read an article not too long ago that suggested when you feel like you’re being “that” parent, pick a day and say “yes” to their requests as often as possible. (Chocolate for breakfast? Yes!) I’ve tried it a couple of times, and it’s a nice change of pace … for me and for them.
.-= Stacia´s last blog ..Living in Circles =-.
Stacia, I like that advice.
I’m probably feeing a little weird guilt…I don’t know! I’m not THAT bad.
(I hope…) LOL
.-= Jamie´s last blog ..The Fun Mom =-.
I figure I’ll be the lame mom so that every once in a while when I decide to be fun, it’ll be memorable.
I had a conversation with a HS friend of mine recently. She was saying that now that we’re in our 30’s she can look back and see how very dysfunctional some of our friends’ families were.
She said once her mom asked which family she’d want to live with if something happened to her parents (weird hypothetical). My friend thought this one mom was SO cool. Now she knows the mom was a pot-head. HA.
.-= EG´s last blog ..Parent-Teacher Conference =-.
Ignore the guilt – I know it’s tougher to do than say, but it’s the moments sledding in “snud” the girls will remember the most.
As for your question, I think I’m a fun mom but am also stricter than most, and my kids’ friends know it. Funny thing is most of them seem to appreciate it – they know we have rules, but many of them would rather hang at our house.
I also hold the record for most “Friend Requests” from my kids’ friends on Facebook than any of the other moms, so I must be COOL!
.-= WorkingMom´s last blog ..How to Spread Infectious Diseases, Courtesy of CVS =-.
WorkingMom…YOU GO !
EG, the pot head comment still has me laughing. Yeah that would definitely take the EDGE of motherhood.
I’m fairly strict. I think. Or maybe I’m just anal retentive.
Any way….I do take the girls roller skating on Fridays after school at our community center. But I should clarify that. I don’t actually skate. I just take them and watch them have a blast.
Maybe I should take up roller blading this year. Only I’d SURELY BREAK MY LEG.
.-= Jamie´s last blog ..The Fun Mom =-.
Busy, busy motherhood.
Wait, school had a snow day and there was no snow on the ground to play with??
I feel there should always be a balance between “fun mom” and “eat your veggies now! mom” (although, I am probably more of a “eat your veggies now!” mom).
.-= Coma Girl´s last blog ..Because Apparently the Stars at Night Are Big and Bright =-.
Coma Girl, in Nashville they call off school if there is just the SLIGHTEST amount of precipitation. We’ve now used all our snow days and they’re going to have to extend the school year by two days or somehow cut back on other holidays built in.
OMG- in MD we have had our butt kicked with snow this year- the kids were off a solid two weeks! Although I do consider myself a fun mom, even I was running out of stuff to keep them entertained. I really try to make it a point to be involved in the fun stuff like sledding, skating, boogie boarding, and danceing around the house singing like a goofball. My poor Mom is the sweetest woman in the world but she never had a silly, wild, fun day in her whole life. I do not want to be like that nor do I want my kids to think of me that way. Sometimes I must admit I get overzealous, like the times we had all day pj parties with 20 kids in the house with pjs on. Or the big twin bday party last year with all their classmates & their siblings (40 kids) bouncing around at our house on hot , rainy June afternoon. But most of the messes can be cleaned up and the occasional booboos can be stitched up. yikes
In the vision I have of myself, I am the funnest mom all the time. In reality, I am far from it. But it’s something I try to work on. I have found a quick game of tag or hide and go seek gets me huge points with the kids (they are younger than yours) and gets me in a mind-frame that helps with the fun stuff.
.-= Brigid Day´s last blog ..Balance =-.
I think it is probably good to have a balance between fun and responsible. If you were fun all the time it wouldn’t be special.
.-= Marsha´s last blog ..Day 56/190: Grumpy =-.
I’ll probably be like you – fun but mixed with the whole business of life. Somebody’s gotta be that parent! They’ll be better off for it in the long run
.-= uncommonblonde´s last blog ..I’m an Olympian at heart =-.