Crossing the Line

Travelling with Young Children

2024-03-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

Snow day

2015-02-23T12:14:00.001-08:00

How Did it start?

2011-05-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

And I'm Off...

2011-05-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

As a teen there was a late night when we were at a cottage near the beach and my brother my boyfriend and I were all giggling away. My father yelled up the stairs and said “You are crossing the line.” This immediately moved into an hour of jokes about the “line.” This line has followed me throughout my life as I am often one to cross the line. I have found in parenting there is a true line that we are aware of but often push the limits of. I have decided to put together a series of help topics based on avoiding this line. This paper will explain my journey towards my creative parenting book or website entitled “Crossing the Line, Surviving Public Appearances with a Young Family.” This book could also be named “Get Out While They’re Still Cute; Surviving Public Appearances with young children.” I will discuss the origins of the book, and how I have changed my direction from more professionally driven to more family driven goals and bring creative thinking into parenthood. My Plan for this project is multi-faceted. First and foremost, wouldn’t it be great to publish a light and fun book about the truth behind parenting. Despite developmental psychologist’s models of how children “should be” isn’t there so much truth to needing a book that is light, easy to read and fun that helps people understand that they are not alone in their parenting woes. While pregnant in addition to What to Expect when You are Expecting, I read Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy which was more honest and fun textbook than the former. I hope to do the same with parenting. Secondly, it is a great chance for me to put down and keep my thoughts and ideas as well as memories of how I raised my children so I can be sympathetic to their needs when someday I am a grandparent.

Number 2

2011-05-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

I am quickly figuring out why they gave #2 to the Number twos… The terrible twos are more than just that. They are the dumping years. Of course this includes potty training and the poop stories that go with it, something I will discuss at another time. The Dumping years is quite simple actually. Sometimes the dumping of items occurs when they are mad but usually this is an experiment of sorts. I am trying to convince myself that this is normal and not done to try and send me over the edge or test my breaking point. This almost always occurs when I have crossed the line by staying somewhere too long or letting them stay up that extra minute. The other times it occurs is when I am trying to get a small piece of housework done. For example I try to get ahead and empty the dishwasher. They decide to QUIETLY empty a whole bag of smart food that someone has left on the counter all over the living room rug. Now a chore that should take me 10 minutes takes me 20 while I clean up the next mess.

Some examples of the Dumping Stage:

Dumping rolls of toilet paper into the toilet.
Dumping a whole box of kix cereal into the tub.
Dumping toothbrushes down the drain. (John removed another 3 this week)
Dumping chips and cereal into the wading pool.
Dumping out my shampoo and conditioner (always a new bottle) into the tub while bathing.
Dumping popcorn all over the livingroom rug.
Dumping waterbottles out in the middle of the floor, or in the car
Dumping cups of water onto the bathroom floor while tubbing them.
Dumping out every toy in their room or book of the bookcase when they are put in there to nap.
Dumping out (by kate) all of Patricks clothes from the drawers, basically evicting him.
Dumping sunblock all over the deck.