Privacy please

I was just in the bathroom starting the shower for my 9-year-old daughter and she gave me the heave ho. She was like "Mom, I need some privacy please." Great. Fine. But, aren't you the same girl that walked into the bathroom this morning as I was sitting on the toilet and proceeded to have a conversation with me before I could finish using the toilet? Yes, I believe that was you. Why is it that when the door is closed, my children don't think they're supposed to knock. They don't care what I'm doing in there. They just know that they need to be in there with me. I notice kids don't really do that to their fathers. Maybe because they just don't want to be party to what's going on in the bathroom when a man is in there. I don't know. I do know I need a better lock on the bathroom door.

Everyone's a critic

Who do you listen to? Are you one of those people that gets everyone's opinion before making a decision no matter how big or small? I can't decide if I'm one of those people. Even for something simple, like a movie. There are a bunch of movies out now that I could take the kids to, but I just don't know if I want to waste the $300 it will cost for the three of us to go to the theater. I read that Cars 2 wasn't good because it focused too much on Mater. Um, hello, Mater was the funniest part of the first one so why wouldn't he be good in the second one? See what I mean? Should I trust the person who wrote the review or should I go by what three of my Facebook friends say when they post what a great movie it was? Decisions, decisions. The internet is making it so easy to get other people's thoughts about everything. And while it is so wonderful to have all that information at the tip of your fingers, it can be frustrating as well. Now I don't have much of an excuse if I make a bad choice on a purchase. I can hear all those reviewers saying "I told you so" when I get something that Mitzi from Minnesota said was a waste of money. I've been shopping for a car lately and reading the reviews has been making my head spin. It's no longer just getting the info from Consumer Reports. Now there are dozens and dozens of sites that review cars and zillions of people who have something to say about the latest car style. Just when I had my hear set on one car, Joe G from Jersey says don't buy that piece of junk! I need a fairy godmother to tell me what to do some days. Or maybe I should just do whatever I want and deal with it!

Go play!

Last night, I was invited to a get-together with some friends. They are all neighbors and I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous of their neighborhood! Anyway, it was so nice to be able to sit with some adults and chat and not worry about entertaining the kids. Why? Because they had a sandbox and a swingset and the woods and a campfire and each other! That was the key part. One mom joked that the benefit of having more than one child is so that siblings can be playmates so the moms don't always have to be. Did you ever see the movie Grownups? If you haven't, rent it today. I swear, you will laugh out loud, but you will also nod your head in agreement. There is one scene where Adam Sandler's son is outside and doesn't really know what to do with himself since he doesn't have a phone or hand-held gaming device or any other technology. His dad watches him and silently urges him to find a way to enjoy the rock or stick or dirt or whatever might be in front of him at that moment. So last night, my kids went into the woods. Sure, two of us followed them in when we were told "Sabrina is stuck" (she wasn't) and then my oldest came out with some serious battle scars all over her legs, but she was so proud of herself for keeping up with the older boys. It reminded me of when I was a kid and the grownups would sit around the picnic table out in someone's backyard and when a kid ran up to one of them, the standard response was "go play." Telling your kids to go play is not a bad thing. It's not done out of annoyance or the desire to get rid of your child. Believe me, you are not doing your child any favors if you are constantly organizing crafts and making sure they have something to do every second of every day. You are doing them a favor if you let them use their imaginations. And watching those kids - boys and girls ranging in ages from 3 to 11 - just made me realize that my kids will learn so much from those impromptu hangouts (no, I will not call it a playdate). And while they are having fun with their friends, I am having some fun too. I'm going to make sure my kids go play more often.