Being Fun and Unpredictable

I’ve given a lot of information over the past 21 days of this series. It’s been a little overwhelming for me and hopefully not too much for you. I feel like a lot of it is freeing and I am very passionate about the idea of Teachable Parenting, but I never want to come across as preachy. You can get so wrapped up in the “how to” parenting stuff that even the gentle discipline approach can become a beating for the adult. It’s not supposed to be that way.

Children are a lot of work. They are for me anyway. It’s exhausting. For the people that comment nearly everyday “You look like you have your hands full” or “they sure are strong willed aren’t they” Yes. Yes I do and yes they are, but I’d rather full than empty. I’d rather strong than weak. It’s not as bad as it may look in passing. I get to have a lot of fun with these little fire balls. So, today I want to share a parenting tip that is more about enjoyment together.

In Wild Things the book recommends changing it up, being unpredictable or risk being dismissed. They give a story of a mother that made spaghetti and meatballs for her husband and two sons (ages twelve and fifteen) and served it on the patio behind their house. In the middle of dinner she picked up a handful of spaghetti and chucked it at the boys. The salad and meatballs shortly followed. Both boys were so amazed that they just sat there, stunned at first, and then began laughing harder and longer than they ever had in their life. None of their friends believed them when the boys told them what had happened. This mother was neither predictable nor dismissed. She was a hero.  

Now, I am not suggested scoring through pinterest for calculated ideas on how to be the unpredictable mom. I think you need to be yourself and I think you need to have fun with your kids in whatever way shape or form that looks like to you. Not everyday is going to be fun. And I think we’ve all been there when our idea of having fun turns out to not be very fun for the whole family. Let it go. Try again another time.

My latest crazy fun which I haven’t shared on this blog yet was the Color Dash Bubble Bash that I did with my children. It was also a beautiful lesson in paying it forward because BB4K is an organization that helped fund my daughter’s summer therapy this year at her dear school. Not only were we able to give through the money raised for the event, but we had blast! The event happened over a month ago and they haven't stopped talking about it since.

That wasn't some creative idea that I came up with and it doesn't have to be. Or if it is like the spaghetti thing than that's great too. Ort it could be spur of the moment idea. Another recent super, crazy, fun activity was when my husband and son were flying a glider in the park and my husband decided to tape his phone to the plane to see video from the planes perspective. You can imagine what my seven year old thought of seeing himself on the video like that.

I gripe about my kids in a light hearted way because I want others to know that for most of us motherhood is not a cake walk and it's normal to feel like your are loosing your mind. It's also normal to feel like you are experiencing the fullness of God's blessings everyday through the beautiful children He's given you. They are a lot of fun, and sometimes it's up to us to join in! 

I previously mention the post I wrote called "Turns Out Mom Was Right" and I share some of her more unpredictable moments, which turned into unforgettable memories. I also explain why these experiences meant so much to me.

Think back to your childhood when did you see your parents kick back and loosen up? What were the times that you laughed the hardest? What kind of fun traditions or wild spontaneous memories are you building with your children? 

I think you know what the next teachable parent challenge is! Have fun…