Now that I have two little guys of my own, I’ve rediscovered the wonderful, educational activities the library offers young families.  Our Madison libraries don’t just have story time; they have children’s concerts, art projects and entertainers. And story time isn’t just reading a couple books; it’s storyboards, songs, lessons and even a movie and craft, all centered around a theme or letter – way more sophisticated then the story times of my youth.

Hearing me gush about the incredible South Central Library System, you might get the impression that I’ve had lots of wonderful experiences there. But you would be wrong.

We rearranged our whole day, including naptime, to see a local performer recently. We made it through the first song – and then my little squirmers made a break for it, their beady eyes focused on a nearby park.  In my world, story time’s a success if we make it through 20 minutes of the hour-long event. And I confess, I don’t even try to get my boys to speak softly when we’re at the library – I’m too busy making sure they’re not emptying the shelves.

A neighbor, the mother of a well-behaved girl, told me that she stopped going to a certain story time because “a naughty boy started coming every week.” Makes me wonder how many patrons my two wild men have scared away.

I don’t believe my kids are “naughty.”  It’s more like “trouble-seeking” or “active” or “curious.”  Some would simply call them little boys.

Here’s a snapshot of what happens when we go to story time.

My almost 4-year-old:

• Flickers the lights.
• Tries begging snacks off other moms.
• Makes loud comments/noises.
• Announces to everyone when he needs to use the facilities.
• Gets excited and screams.
• Has an all-out tantrum when we have to leave.

My 1-year-old:

• Nearly knocks over the story board.
• Pushes buttons on the VCR.
• Snatches another mom’s keys.
• Rips off a kid’s name tag.
• Shoves his chubby hand through an opening in the plastic chairs, which is just big enough for his baby-fingers to squeeze a random mommy’s derrière. He finds this hilarious.

I, in my running shoes, spend the whole time watching the pair of them – jumping into action every minute or two, trying to avert disaster.

After especially bad experiences, we’ll wait a week or month or two months before returning.  I can’t say how many times I’ve uttered, “We’re never going back to story time!”

Yet I keep getting sucked back there. What can I say? It’s educational, convenient and free! I love the library, and I’m hoping that someday my kids will too. 

By Brooke Miller Hall

The Mom@Life blog team wants to include the perspective of a mother with little boys, and I’m thrilled to oblige. How about some introductions?

My crew consists of “Mo” who’s 4, very active, sociable and funny. And “Curly,” who turned 1 in May and is into everything. Curly was born with some health problems, which I’ll probably mention in future posts.

With two walkers, well, more like runners – they’re either running or sleeping – our lives our constantly in motion. I grew up with just a sister, so being in a house full of males is something I’m constantly adapting to. Until recently, for example, I didn’t know a skid steer from an excavator.  I didn’t know that garbage trucks can be front-, side- or back-loaders.

In my world, which I sometimes call “Boogerland,” there’s major excitement when a street sweeper comes within a 3-block radius. Curly climbs on everything. Mo does, too, but he’ll also jump off – the cape is optional. Through my boys’ eyes, the best part of Concerts on the Square is the grand assortment of port-a-potties.

As for me, I find the humor in their daily antics. I have to, or I’d go crazy. And I blog because I see how quickly they’re growing up. I know that one day they won’t be riding tricycles around the house, wearing only sunglasses and Crocs. They won’t be fascinated by light switches, the diaper pail or garbage disposal – like they are today. So I write it down here, for the record.

I hope you enjoy reading snippets of our lives. It’s therapy for me. My goal is that it’s at least entertaining for you, and maybe even gives you something to think about or – even better – inspires you to share a comment or experience of your own.

On days we’re not here, you can look for us at betterthanboogers.blogspot.com.

Thanks for reading!

1. The lunch you brought to work today contains a Sponge Bob yogurt tube and granola bar with rainbow chips. 

2. You have a favorite Backyardigan or a Wiggles crush (or both). 

3. Family bathrooms are your friend, and you strongly favor department stores that have them. 

4. You boycott restaurants that don't have changing tables. 

5. Yes, you know there's applesauce in your hair. And, no, you don't especially care. 

6. When you pass a porta-potty, you may just yell, "Look, a porta-potty!" 

7. Ditto #6 but with street sweepers. 

8. Your walking path naturally follows the route of your garbage truck. Or maybe it’s your mail truck. Hey, free entertainment. 

9. You always seek out parking spots next to the grocery cart dispensary. That way, you can maintain visual contact with your buckled-in brood while returning the cart. 

10. Just try talking for five minutes. Seems like those pesky kids sneak their way into almost every conversation. 

by Brooke Miller Hall

After taking on the Mom@Life blog, I sent out several e-mails to women who inspire me and who I respect, hoping to get some help with this endeavor.

I am the mother of three teenage girls and have limited mom experience.  Although I have a few stories about potty training and skinned knees while my girls were toddlers, those early years are a distant memory.  While I can’t wait to have successfully launched my girls into college and beyond, I am not there yet.  That is where my friends come in! 

Jeannie is the mother of three children who are all in their 20's or late teens. Her youngest is in college and her oldest is married without kids. She’s been married for what she describes as 30 years of  “excitement, learning, teaching, a few good arguments and lots of love and great times." 

She has gone through counting pennies at the end of the month for groceries to being able to donate money to other families in need. She has gone from living with no family around in the middle of the California desert  and living closer to family. She says, “both come with good and bad, but we love Madison and find our route now consists of back and forth to Minneapolis/St Paul where all three children now live.”

Jeannie’s time is spent working, gardening, working with glass, knitting, reading and giving unsolicited advice to any young person willing to listen to her, which is more often than not.  Kids are like a sponge, and Jeannie enjoys being the water. 

She loves to talk about her experiences both good and bad that have come from living life her way.

It was August before his senior year, with football practice in full swing. But his position in the high school hierarchy did not reflect his adulthood. Even though I thought my hardest parenting was behind me, my true test was just a few hours away.

My husband and I never missed our kids’ events, it was the highlight of raising children – for us it to watch them succeed at the things they enjoy the most. But this Saturday morning would be unexpectedly different.

I arrived at the football field ready to watch the first scrimmage of the year, the beautifully poetic “beginning of the end” as he was starting to do all of his “lasts”. As the scrimmage ended, however, while the parents began to make their way back to their cars and I stood around to talk to the players and coaches something weird was happening. The team was sitting under the pine tree and the head coach was yelling, while no one seemed to know what was going on. All the sudden, my eldest son gets up and throws his helmet on the ground.

The next few minutes are somewhat fuzzy. What happened the night was the cause for all of this. My nice, thoughtful, never-in-trouble son had gotten caught at a Liquor store buying alcohol by the wrestling coach. The next few hours consisted of some crying and upset voices in our house. He had been suspended for half of his senior year football season. One of the things he loved the most had been taken away from him, at his own fault.

While he was attempting to grapple with how to react. I continued asking myself questions like “What should I do? What should his punishment from us be? Do we fight the suspension at school? How do we make this experience something he can learn from?”

Part of the issue was that I don’t completely agree with the athletic code of the school. I am not the biggest fan of such harsh rules in general, especially since I was not a steadfast follower of them myself when I was young. It is the subsequent suspension process that I dislike the most because it can sometime pit friends against friends, parents against school, and parents against parents. I am not a fan of conflict, but the bottom line was he had broken a rule he knew about, and knew what the consequences would be.

What amazed me in the end was that after talking with our son he was able to come up with his own form of redemption. He volunteered to speak at the athletic meeting that all freshman and parents must attend. There he was this big senior, big athlete fighting back tears as he told his horrible story and on the side were his teammates some of them with tears too. What happened next was wonderful – he had parents coming up to him to thank him for telling his story because they have tried to get across to their own kids the importance of following the rules and what can happen if you don’t.

So unlike some families that try to avoid the limelight when things go wrong, we found strength in sharing our sadness of losing one-half of the football season, which makes feel like I have done something right (a feeling not often felt by a mother).

by Jeannie Retelle