my easy parenting

Yesterday I woke up and was exhausted from a hard night with Taj. I have no idea what is wrong, I am playing the guessing game for now, it could be teeth, which I know he is cutting, or it could be another ear infection. I only think ear infection due to him choosing to fall asleep on my chest instead of his bed. Although I do know that teething can make their ears hurt.... see I am guessing!

When I have moments like these I like to do what I call my easy parenting for the day. This is where I pack snacks, swimmers, beach toys, the little ones and head down the beach in between Taj's sleep times. I do this as I don't really find it difficult to put my feet in the sand, have a paddle with them, build sandcastles and some of the time just sit and watch them play.

Although yesterday, the first hard day doing my easy parenting made me realise that I don't think there is any easy parenting. Maybe it is just luck sometimes that we have days that are less chaotic then the last? I guess you have to take into account there are three people with all different wants and needs, we all have different emotions, ways of expressing ourselves and passions.

I sat and wrote this post down the beach yesterday afternoon as I really needed some me time after a hard start to the day. There is nothing I like better then putting my feet in the sand and water and to feel at peace as you look out to what looks like the end of the world. As I sat and wrote about my easy parenting, a whole flock of seaguls flew over head and no I didn't get pooped on, but it did cross my mind. I thought of all the things that had made my day go so pear shaped.

When we were down the beach just before Taj's lunch time sleep, I was about to go for a swim on my own while my girlfriend looked after the little ones for me. Taj had just gone back to the edge of the water and all of a sudden screamed like you would not believe. He had been stung by a blue bottle, and it was a huge one. The poor poppet screamed for about half an hour, he was in a lot of pain and I am sure it was shock too of not knowing what had happened and why he was hurting so much. Not only did I have him very upset, I also had Keely upset who was sad that she had to leave with me to go to the first aid room to put Taj under the warm shower to ease the pain. It was fun to have two little ones crying, especially with a sleep deprived mum! I must say I am pretty proud of myself as I kept my cool and let the chaos become part of me. Before long Taj had stopped screaming, Keely had realised that Taj was very sore and needed some sister cuddles, and I was on my way to get an ice coffee to ease some mummy stress.

I still do see the beach as a place I take the little ones for my easy parenting, this was a day that was a bit more chaotic then the last, but we got through it. I was able to have a 10 minute swim on my own last night before I put Taj to bed, which was nice. It was not much time, but sometimes those 10 minutes can feel a lot longer. I knew the night would be hard to settle Taj, which took me over an hour. But today is a new day and I know I will just go with the chaos that comes with it. If all else fails and my easy parenting goes a little more chaotic then expected, I can always put my feet in the sand and water.... or my head in the sand!