Nope.

Boeden. Oh Boeden. Lance once said “if Boeden had been our first child, he would have been an only child.” Yesterday Boe pushed me past my limit. Parenting is tricky. There is a fine line between coddling and pushing them to try their hardest and be the best version of themself. Parenting Boeden has been extra tricky as we navigate his learning challenges and his plethora of other challenges. He inherently tugs at my heart strings. Yesterday I realized that I have over-coddled Boe. It was something so little- but it made me CRAZY MAD. Lil and I went to his “Club Day” at school- from 8am to 11am. (This time of year is sooo busy. 3 hours in May is like 20 normal hours!) When we first arrived, he ignored us, which I took as him maybe following the rules and getting in the zone for his performance. (Turns out he was just being rude.) He had a half day- so after the event, we brought him home. He never thanked us for going to club day, at one point said he wished it wasn’t a half day cause being home is “boring” and then….wait for it….he made a comment that some of his friends’ parents weren’t at club day cause they work. I looked him in the eyes and said “Do I work?” “Nope.” Rather than list all the ways I work, I crawled into my turtle shell and went silent. (Bensten overheard and I am pretty sure I saw his head explode.) Boeden has always been a kid of extremes. He is extremely confident. Or extremely anxious. Extremely engaged. Or extremely aloof. Extremely tired. Or extremely energetic. Since our little chat, he is now being extremely thankful. Like at breakfast this morning, he thanked Lance for making his breakfast (good), and then thanked Bensten for being his brother and thanked me for “being the best mom ever.” The ridiculous unnecessary appreciation triggers me even more. So I climbed right back in my turtle shell and am essentially giving him the cold shoulder. I am trying to get through to him, which is exponentially harder than getting through to my other 3. I am experimenting to see if maybe saying less is the way to make a point. I am thinking that I have unintentionally over-compensated for his lack of language by filling the silence with too much information. Too many explanations. Too much coddling. All I know is that cleaning my pantry was very rewarding. The finished product (though it won’t last) made me feel accomplished. I don’t always feel very accomplished in this parenting gig. I guess we should all stop and really savor those parenting wins, since they tend to be few and far between. But for now, you might find me just staring at my pantry. (Video attached) And this coming week, we are back to baking on Friday. But, for now, the menu is a bit smaller with limited quantities. I am hoping to increase everything but my routine blood work keeps showing elevated liver counts- so now they are sending me to the hospital on Friday for some tests. I fully believe the test results will be fine and this too will be attributed to my “advanced age” but until I know a bit more, I want to keep next week’s workload on the lighter side. But don’t ask Boeden- he will tell you I don’t work! ;) And Schone's Scones will be at McLean Little League (1836 Westmoreland St.) on Saturday. Please stop by and say hi! We will be selling scones, cookies and muffins starting at 8am! Until we run out… I hope we see you there! -HBS