Parenthood - we muddled through it

Our children didn't eat the healthiest meals. Amy tells people about our dirty little foodie secret - we ate Hamburger Helper. Heck - I admit it. The meals were easy and fast. Stroganoff, goulash, and cheeseburger - they tasted good, so the kids liked them. They also ate lots of spaghetti and pork chops/chicken and rice, grilled cheese, and soup. Your basic meat and potatoes. We'd serve vegetables with these meals, but it was tough getting Jud to eat them. I think we had the best luck with canned corn. Amy was more adventuresome.

 

It must have been "make a funny face" photo

We allowed them to order Happy Meals at McDonald's - before they were healthy. They loved the prizes and the fries. I bought sugary cereals - like Cap'n Crunch, Fruit Loops and another fave of mine - Lucky Charms. They're magically delicious, ya know. I grew up on the stuff and still like it today. We got Cheerios and Pop Tarts too. On weekends Paul sometimes made pancakes and eggs.

I was the baker - A & J helped me crack eggs for chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes they'd crack them right on the counter, missing the bowl. I'd try not to be impatient with the extra mess. It took extra work - I'd have to grit my teeth not to snap, as I'm not the most patient person in the world. I've written before about how rolling out Christmas cookies put me over the edge. Amy recalls how I threw the dough at the wall one year. Happy Holidays!

Loved those Easter outfits

Amy and Jud were lucky in the play department. I liked doing that! We went to lots of parks - we'd all get stir crazy at home. McKinley Park in Creston had a fun (and unsafe) kids area with a little swinging bridge and gliding animals that could knock unsuspecting kids down or unconscious. School playgrounds, Green Valley State Park and Rainbow Park - we liked them all. I loved pushing the kids on the swing. We also took Amy and Jud to cool playgrounds in other towns. Our dog Moki thought he was one of the kids. He'd go down slides with them.

Speaking of Moki - we made sure the kids grew up with pets. I know it's not for everyone, but I'm an animal person. It wasn't always easy for Amy and Jud to have Moki as a doggy brother. When he was 6 he starting drinking lots of water - and was eventually diagnosed as diabetic. I cried - thinking it was "curtains" for him. But no - we worked with our vet Dr. Brus to get him normalized on insulin. Everyone in the family eventually learned to give him the shots he needed twice a day. And we all had to make sure he didn't get any food besides his doggy food. Moki lived to age 13, followed by Odie - a plain but good hearted girl. Samantha the Pantha kitty was Amy's birthday gift when she was in 3rd grade. She lasted until last year bless her lil kitty heart.

I suppose I yelled at Amy and Jud too much. We attended parenting classes when Amy was 2 and learned to give "time outs" instead of spanking. Even so, at times I lost my temper and reverted to my childhood training of a whack on the backside. I hope my children weren't permanently traumatized. Amy was very stubborn and could last on our timeout bench for a long time before she would apologize for a transgression. Jud had to be relegated to his room - his 3 year old self would go into such tantrums, it was scary. Or he'd stop breathing and Paul would shake him and we'd yell "breathe" when he'd turn blue. I'm glad he grew out of that stage!

Looking back, it's amazing our kids grew up as well-adjusted as they did. Probably despite of everything we did rather than because of...
I like to read our niece Katie's blog about raising her children. The blog along with hearing my co-worker Becky's stories about her kids' antics bring back so many memories of the stages of child rearing.

This morning the CBS Morning Show featured a Mom who adopted a baby from Africa. The little girl turned out to have a severe heart defect. They tried to treat the problem once she arrived in the U.S., but she lived only 33 days and passed away recently. But the family loved her so well during her short time here - in photos she looked so happy to have a mom. I sobbed thinking of our baby Patrick - who died due to a heart defect after only 6 days of life in 1991. Stories like that bring it all back. I scared Odie with my antics! She had to get up from our chair - poor puppy. I would have liked a longer chance to mother Patrick.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Pat Bullock. I miss your strength, humor and intelligence. Thanks to my children who sent a nice gift, and for making me a proud mother every day. And to Pablo - who left me a nice and funny card today - and I'm not even his mother!