What DO You Do Part Three

I'm back again today, linking up for What DO You Do? 

This week's questions were: 

1. How do you entertain with a house full of kids?
2. What kind of traditions does your family do during holidays?
3. How do feed relationships with non-mommy friends?
4. What do you struggle with the most as a SAHM? What is your best funny/embarrassing/cringeworthy mommy moment?

1. My answer? Simple. We don't. Not really, anyways. We've never really been the "entertaining" type. Now that's not to say that we don't enjoy time with friends, or hanging out with other couples. But we don't really do a whole lot to "entertain" -- there's usually only one couple that tends to  come over to our place. They come just before bed time to spend time with our kids, who love them, and once the kids are in bed, we play cards, watch a movie, or sit around chatting into the late evening. They leave. We go to bed. There are no decorations, hor d'oeuvres or mood music. No activities really planned. So we aren't really "entertaining" per say! 

2. Our Holiday Season is pretty similar from year to year, with a few new activities thrown in for fun and enjoyment! We eat Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at my husband's Uncle's house, with all our cousins and their kids. The day after Thanksgiving, we put up our tree and decorate the house. 

We try to get out at least once to see the Christmas lights in our area. We make sure we get our picture taken with Santa -- and its now a tradition, it seems, for me to get in the picture with the kids, while my husband gets out of it! Come Christmas, the kids each get to open one gift on Christmas Eve -- a new set of pajamas and something little to go with it. This year, they are getting new slippers. We also try to get out to Christmas Eve service at church. Christmas morning, after we've done stockings and the tree, we get ready and head to one side of my husband's family for a small morning gathering. Mid day, we make sure to call my family in Maine. And late afternoon, we head back to the same house we spent Thanksgiving at for an evening Christmas and family 
dinner.

3. The one friend I have that is a non-mom is close to my age, with a lot still in common with me. We enjoy the same kinds of movies. Read a lot of books, which we can share, and later talk about, occasionally. Our husbands are good friends. We both have the same sarcastic nature -- so we can banter back and forth a LOT. And she loves our kids -- just as much as they love her! When it all boils down, we may be moms, but we're still just people. People that have things in common with other people other than the fact that we've born little creatures! 

4. I'll be straight-up honest right now: as a Mom, I still struggle every DAY with patience. There are some days when I know I should let my kids help with chores -- teach them a little responsibility, and how to take care of their things. But sometimes, it's just that much easier, and quicker, to do it myself. It takes everything in me to step back, let go of having to control everything, and let them learn. A daily battle, folks. Tantrums? Again, it tries my patience a lot. Not so much my youngest, because I remember from a few years ago the frustrating learning process. But my 4 year old? Sometimes its hard to remember that she's ONLY four ... and still learning herself. Even though she's been doing the "throw a fit when I don't like something" thing for a couple years, she's still working through emotion. It wears me out, though -- and I have to calm myself, in the moment, so I dont immediately flip out. Ignoring things isn't always as easy as it sounds. 

As far as funny or cringeworthy moments, it wouldn't be the middle-of-the-store tantrums or the crazy outfits my daughter picks out herself. Instead, its the random things she says, loud and clear, in the middle of somewhere public, when she doesn't realize its inappropriate, or could be misunderstood. 

Like a few months ago when S saw her shadow and started thrusting her hips to make it dance. And then let loose with "Mom! Look -- I'm a boy!" as if to say she had a penis, all while motioning to her nether region. She was so loud, I'm pretty sure they heard us in SOUTH Carolina! Or the time in the Commissary when she saw two women shopping together and announced to everyone that the little girl with them had two mommies and no daddy -- but that was okay because some families are just like that! Thankfully, those women {who WEREN'T a couple, mind you!} had a good sense of humor and laughed hysterically the whole aisle as they passed us! 

Looking back, things like that are HILARIOUS. In the moment?! Not so much. {And amazingly, with that girl, it happens more often than not. I can never guess what she's going to say from one moment to the next!} 

Safe to say, life with kids can be entertaining in a variety of ways. Whether we're coming together with friends, kidless or not, getting together to entertain and enjoy time with family for the holidays, or being entertained by the things our own kids say, life -- is never boring!