Spring?

Its is unbelievably cold here! The boys don't understand why it isn't suddenly warm on the first day of spring. Also B has to go to school on his first day of "spring break" since they are making up for January snow days. I am surprised he went off without too much complaining this morning. I did put some candy in his lunchbox and he was super excited about grandma picking him up from school.

This weekend was...ok. Like I said, COLD. And L was sick, so we did very little. My mom came in Saturday evening which is great, she is staying for the whole week. My dad is coming mid-week. Tomorrow my BIL will drop off niece & nephew. Yikes. We did sneak away last night for dinner & a glass of wine. It was low-key (I didn't even change my clothes) and really nice after a rough day with the kids.

I am having a hard time with the "empathetic parenting" and "no drama discipline" these days. I KNOW I shouldn't yell and threaten and bribe. I KNOW I should be more patient, kind, unconditionally loving....but HOW am I supposed to do this when my children are so so truly awful sometimes? I mean, I DO love them, always, but I can't act loving towards them when they are calling me "stupid" and pinching me. Or running around the store yelling and having a tantrum because I won't buy them the $300 life-size Darth Vader figure in the toy aisle (we don't go to non-grocery stores usually, their little minds were BLOWN. and I am sticking to amazon prime forever and ever).  I understand the concept of "time in" and "giving love" but I'm not sure how to execute it with my kid that doesn't like to be hugged or touched.

The stress of this and other things has driven me even more into WANTING things. I did order some swimsuits...after we booked the plane tickets & vacation rental I realized THIS IS HAPPENING and I don't want to wear the same threadbare cheap tankini top another summer. Also some sandals, because I konmaried all mine, they sparked nothing but Meh and some recollections of foot pain. We also recommitted to our tried & true "beach-ready" diet plan which is quite simple and involves cutting back substantially on booze & cheese. We sacrificed greatly for the cause by finishing off our stores of both last weekend. The plan was effective 5 and 10 years ago, lets see how it works on 40-year-old bodies.

We finished another excellent TV series this weekend and I've been thinking about it the past two days. I really enjoy watching a few episodes a week of amazing, thought-provoking, drama. So many of the books I've read recently have really let me down. I'm about to abandon yet another one (so boring, no character development). Television shows, lately, have consistently delivered. Why is one considered a complete waste of time and another a laudable activity?  I've found that either can be either. You can certainly waste your time reading silly books, and you can watch some great mind-expanding things on television.

I am hungry and I have no food left. I may have to go peruse the vending machine offerings.