A Few of My Favorite Things

I love singing to my kids at bedtime.  As they get older it doesn't happen quite as much.  Little Bee will talk my ear off about all the wonderful things that happened that day and my son is a typical nine year old boy not caring for it quite anymore.  How I long for those days where we would all snuggle in bed together and sing with one another.  I miss those days.  My heart aches for them.

My daughter still loves me singing to her or singing along with me when we can fit it in at the end of a long day.  Sometimes I will stretch her bedtime routine out just to do so.  Tonight was one of those nights.  One of our favorite songs is "My Favorite Things" sang by Julie Andrews in the movie "The Sound of Music".  How we love the music in that movie.

Today we sang it several times together before I asked her the things that make her sad and what are a few of her favorite things.  Here's her list:

Sad things:

Cat scratches
Boo boos
Fighting with her brother
Mommy and Daddy being mad or yelling at her
Flying bugs annoying her (I laughed at this one because they were pestering her outside earlier when she wanted to practice her cartwheels.)

Favorite Things:

My Family
Playing with the cats
Snuggling with Mommy
Bedtime with Daddy...tickle wars
Playing games with her brother
Her sister spending time with her and letting her play on her phone & I-pod. (Oh technology!)
Her Uncles visiting her (they're coming next week!)
Her Toys
Shopping (Oh boy, I'm in TROUBLE!)

Her list was L-O-N-G....
It went on
and on
and on
and on...
until I had to end the fun and tuck her in for the night.  Part of her was having fun with it, the rest was stalling off the inevitable.

After tucking her into bed I went into Goalieboy's room where he was reading a Roscoe Rules book.  He was reading and he liked it...SCORE!  Reading is a constant struggle with him so I celebrate when he finds a book (especially a series) that he will read.  I'm hoping this streak continues.

He didn't want to go to bed (of course) but wanted me to lay with him.  He has a lot of trouble falling asleep at night this last year.  Lots of anxiety and worries for a child so young.  He didn't want to sing with me or have me sing to him but I was pretty persuasive.  In the end he even joined me.  Victory!  My sweet little boy is still inside the tween he's becoming.  I then proceed to ask him what made him sad and what made him happy.  He was very precise, so neither list was long but heartfelt.

Sad things:

His fish dying (I wanted to cry.  It's been weeks but it still haunts him.)
Mommy and Daddy being mad at him
Little Bee "beating him up"

Favorite things:

Family
Playing with Little Bee
Hockey
Wii
DS
Electronics


Looking at their list of favorite things I am very proud that family comes first.  We all agree that we are nothing without family.  The primary sad things centered around family too...upsetting or fighting.  Those are definitely things to be sad about and things we can all work on together.  I look at these lists and even though some of the sad things are really sad they are okay.  I am proud of my kids and just looking at their lists I see that they're priorities are straight and the rest of the things are age appropriate.  I love them with all my heart.





Here is a list of some of my favorite things:

My family
Time with my husband
Happy kids
Weekends with my stepdaughter (Dancer Girl)
Peace and quiet
No arguing
My friends-Supportive and Fun
Books
Ice Cream
Brownies
Wine
Blogging
Twitter

My sad things:

My kids disappointing me (fighting, not listening)
My husband working two jobs and long days
My husband making many sacrifices to keep a roof over our heads
Being unemployed
Little time to spend with Dancer Girl
Not being able to do or give my kids more
Not being able to go on a fun vacation with my family
Not always being a tolerable person (as in I get upset and frustrated easily at times)

I'm okay with my lists.  My family is and will always be my top priority through thick and thin.  I am who I am because of them.  They keep me going and I'm proud of each and every one of them.  I will move heaven and Earth for them. My sad things are unavoidable.  I'm working hard to change the things I can and accept the things I can't.  The important thing for me is to focus on being happy as a family and keep making changes for the better.

What are a few of your favorite things?