The Things That NO One Told Me.

I heard so many different things when I was pregnant. This will change my life. Nothing will ever be the same from now on. Once I saw his face, life would make sense. Motherhood will be the most beautiful, inspiring thing you have ever experienced. These 'pearls' have proved themselves to be true over and over again in the last 3 years. There are times (let's be real, I'm a pansy, I do it a lot...) that I look at my son and I cry. I am so proud of who he is and what he does. He's THREE for pete's sake, it's bound to get so much worse. People were right, I never KNEW my heart could know such love. But what about the stuff no one ever told me? There is so much that people forgot...or maybe just wanted me to find out for myself.

1. Parenting is by far the most difficult things I have ever done. Not because I struggle with disciplining Isaac, more due to the fact that I have no SELF discipline. Do you know how HARD it is to put a sobbing child in time out that is screaming, "Does this mean we aren't friends anymore?!"

2. Who in the HELL forgot to tell me that parenting is so friggin' FUNNY?! Here I go with self-discipline again. I simply cannot stop laughing at my son. Yes, he is mouthy, but what he says is the TRUTH! I can't discipline my son for speaking his mind, especially when he does it so honestly. Example #1: I like to crouch down and get on Isaac's level when I talk to Isaac. We have this thing where all I have to do is say 'eyes' and he looks at me. I try not to get in his face, but sometimes when I am trying to talk to him, I am RIGHT THERE. He looks me square in the face and says, "Mom, your face bothers me right now. Please close your mouth and walk away." OF COURSE it angers me, but he isn't saying it hatefully.
Example #2: I got new glasses. Isaac broke my old ones when he was about a year old. The whole side piece broke off and I have been sporting opera style glasses for over two years now. It was far overdue. I asked Isaac if mommy looks nice in her new glasses. He says yes and continues to say sweet things..."you are beautiful, mommy"...."so cute!"......"I love your face with glasses on them!". I don't wear them regularly, just when my eyeballs can't handle 16+ hours a day with contacts plastered to them. Once a week, maybe. Last weekend, I wore them Friday and Saturday. I popped my contacts in when we were running uptown and he says...innocently and very matter-of-factly..."Mom, no glasses look ugly. I got used to your face when it wears glasses."

Let me repeat, he is NOT mean. He is very nice to his friends at school and his teachers have sung his praises many times. It is the pure innocence of his thoughts that amazes me. Brandon and I don't hold back when talking to Isaac. We address him as an adult so maybe we have created this fact-generating child? My fault or not, I do teach him to say things more nicely. BUT....not before turning my head and laughing my chubby little butt off.