Operation Tomato

I posted this once and then took it down in fear of being judged as a bad mother or incompetent...but I'm putting it back up and starting Operation Tomato today...I'm not perfect, far from it actually and have never professed to be...if someone happens to stumble onto this blog with the same issues as I am currently having with miniG and it helps in some way, then that's pretty great...if not, then no harm done...

So, I'm going to start a journal about raising my kids....I'm a stay at home mom...homemaker...primary caregiver...whatever label you want to put on it, but here's the thing...if that's what I put on every job application from now on as what I'm currently doing...then, I should probably approach it like a job right? Well, sort of...

I have good kids, Chunkamunk is a very happy baby and miniG is super smart and funny and listens MOST of the time...it's the rest of the time that I want to focus on in this journal...

Have you ever been part of a mom's group or play group or reading circle and seen the mom with the kid that comes when called, sits still when asked to, and is polite and charming? Then there's another mom with the kid that's running laps around the room during reading time and when mom says it's time to go throws himself on the floor and screams bloody murder and the poor mom looks like she's about to die with embarrassment?

Well, my kids are somewhere in the middle as I think most kids are..rather day to day they run the spectrum from one end to the other right? Good days and bad days?

Well, why can't I have the first scenario more often that not? I think I can...but it's going to take some work on my part....the issue with my family (not that there's a big one), but I'm not consistent 100% of the time....and kids are smart....really really smart...and as soon as you let something slide, you're back to square one...

And here comes the discussion of nature vs nurture...miniG is very active, with a LOT of energy and he's got a strong little will that he loves to exert...and while I want him to obey I really don't want to break that will entirely...I want him to grow up learning how to make the right decisions on his own...and therein lies the whole duty of parenthood I guess :o)

Anyway, I got this book "Raising Godly Tomatoes" that talks a lot about how if you can train your child to obey you, no matter what, the first time he's asked, then every else is cake (for the most part) because hey, if they listen to you and obey you then...they will do what you ask them to do...wow, that's pretty simple...well, that and taking care of every infraction every time and not letting anything slide...that's tough!!

I haven't gotten very far in the book and there's a lot that I either don't completely agree with or just is not possible for me, really the main point that I am taking away from it so far is being 100% consistent...not 90%, not 95%...maybe 99.9999% but that's pushing it...

I won't post these journal entries on FB, they are more for myself, to see what progress I'm making, what works and what doesn't...but, if you choose to read these, please keep in mind that my kids are good kids about 80% of the time...it's that other 20% I'm focusing on...so please don't get the impression that I'm the second mom in the scenario up there, cuz I'm not!! :o)