Failing Motherhood 101

If thse were my first two kids I'd be in tears right now. In my mad rush to get everyone working together to clean, I forgot to even check about groceries. Bart is the grocery shopper in the family and while I did get a few things last week, I hadn't even checked recently.

So, we get up and it's time for breakfast. The boys ask for toast. I burn it. They ask for milk. I grab the only pitcher in the fridge and pour Leon a glass. He politely asks if it might be spoiled, and I realize that I've served him buttermilk. The yogurt I gave Wilson looked too gross for him to eat. And so they ate very little.

Had they been my first kids I would have felt compelled to run to the store and make bacon and eggs, but instead I laughed and so did they. I explained that dad does the shopping and Leon mentioned that "it's like you're the man and dad is the woman."

Thing is, they don't care much about food anyway. And we'll buy milk and juice and next time breakfast will be better.

The boys are thrilled with a day to play video games and hang out here. They have finished their first quarter in Texas and the new quarter here starts Monday, so I'm waiting to put them in school then.

I'm playing little attachment games with them, trying to focus on that aspect of things. I give permission to do things with the payment being a hug. I make a lot of eye contact, etc. These boys seem to have the capacity to attach easily and don't argue about hugs, or stiffen when touched, so those are good signs.

So, even though I wasn't a perfect mom this morning, we'll all OK. And I think that is a big key. In a new placement, something I wished I would have known years ago during our first placement, the kids pick up on the anxiety of the new parents. If the parents are anxious, the kids behaviors go sky hi.

So, it's buttermilk and burnt toast boys, and we can laugh. And you can relax. And so can I.