About Us: The kind of kids you can't take to...

Fancy restaurants, the last minute workplace meeting scheduled on your "supposed" day off, uptight relatives' homes, etc.

Actually, I have brought my kids to 'those types of places' and endured the looks, sighs and 'polite' suggestions.

Loud, inquisitive, rambunctious, energetic, argumentative, strong-willed. Yes, I have those types of kids. And most days, I'm pretty glad about (albeit wiped out by) this reality.

3 feet in the air- as usualMy son, 5, (we'll call him 'Mowgli', since he has gorgeous shiny dark hair, and sometimes people think he was raised by wolves) struggles to not ask you about that weird mole on your face, jumps from the top step in our 10ft celing Colonial Revival, and uses words like Sarcophagus over dinner. Yes, I linked it; no need to be shown up by a 5 year old.  

 My daughter (we'll call her 'Pocahontas' since she's a free spirit), is decidedly a complete and utter people person; she wants no part of alone time or being put down for a nap (we do it anyway!). She never took a pacifier, blankie or any other type of outside comforter. She wants only to be with someone, in their arms, playing chase and jumping together. She will scream to high heaven if she isn't kindly invited to join you when you use the toilet.

So yes- I have those kind of kids, and probably, so do many of you. Good news! Those kind of kids, grow into those kind of adults- brilliant, daring, courageous, ambitious, caring and bold. But it takes lots of patience to see them as more than 'a handfull' sometimes. I have made it a goal to encourage moms and look for encouragement wherever it may be. So, in the grocery store, when a mom is struggling to parent well the child who is throwing a tantrum, I look at her. I'm sure you've been looked at before in the grocery store when your child is throwing a tantrum. You get the kind of looks meant to embarrass you. The kind of looks that make you want to give in to the tantrum just to make the scene stop. No, that's not the kind of look I give- I give the 'yep, mine did that yesterday' look; the 'hold firm mommy!' look.  I love when other moms look at me that way too!

What kind of kid do you have? How do  you struggle to parent well? How do other moms make it harder or easier for you? Let us know!