This is our second post for Build ‘Em Up and today’s topic is “The Joy of Playing With Your Kids.” So link up, visit each other’s posts, and visit Kelly, Courtney, and Jennifer today!
I think this is one of my favorite things about being a mom. I absolutely love playing with my kids.
But sometimes the day gets in the way. The to-do list. The laundry, the cleaning, the dogs needing to be fed or walked, and dinner needs to be cooked. The phone is ringing, texts are coming in, emails need to be answered.
And there’s my sweet little Hudson, saying, “Mommy, can you play with me?”
Sometimes just the little request from a sweet little voice is all I need to drop whatever I’m doing in that moment and forget everything except what he and his brother want me to do. For a little while. Ha!
Life is distracting. I wish we could all be completely devoted to our children with no other responsibilities or distractions, but it’s just not that way.
So, now I try to carve out little chunks of time to play with them. Sometimes individually, but most of the time together. I may have to referee them to get them back on track.
In my early years as a mother, I played so much with Hudson. It was just the two of us. We were constantly reading, singing songs, working puzzles, and learning. I was teaching him and he’d soak it all up like a sponge. He’d repeat every single thing I said to him.
Sure, we had our fair share of distractions, and I didn’t spend the entire day playing with him, but we had a lot of uninterrupted time together.
After Hayes was born, I spent a lot of time feeling bad that I couldn’t give Hudson my undivided attention, and as Hayes got older, I felt bad that I couldn’t give him the kind of undivided attention that Hudson had at his age. They weren’t yet playing with the same things and there was still the housework and the emails and the dogs.
But as they’ve gotten older, and Hayes has gotten closer to Hudson’s age, we’re back at the point where we just play together. We play hard! We wrestle, and chase, and run, and play with balls.
We build castles, forts, and race tracks. We construct barns and zoos and all of the animals come over to play.
My little boys aren’t real big into make believe. (Thank goodness, because I’m not very good at make believe.) Everything is pretty much black and white with them. And they play hard!
Since moving into Nana’s house, a lot of those household duties aren’t here for me. It’s not my home. We help with the upkeep of the home, of course, but there’s not constantly stuff to tend to.
And I consider this a major blessing for one simple reason. It’s given me so much more time to play with my kids.
We love to be outside learning how to play soccer. We ride bikes. And sometimes I just sit on the floor with them while they watch a movie. I love this little age, and I love to play with them. It keeps me young. It keeps me in tune with what they like to do. What they’re saying and what they’re learning.
I also really appreciate their independence, and that they can and will play without me. Sometimes they just need a little dose of mommy. They need a lap to sit in, or someone to help them build the race track so they can push the car down the track. They need a little bit of redirection to stop fighting and start playing again.
But what is better than a sweet little request from your little boy? “Mommy, will you please play with me?”
Of course I will!
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Hello! This is the first time that I’ve stopped by your blog! I will be back often! Thanks for hosting the Linky. I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s entries!
Hey Bonni! Thank you so much and thanks for commenting today!
You are such a good mom! 🙂 And what a fun time to NOT have all the responsibilities and be able to play with your boys – I know you are thankful for this time – even if it’s not exactly what you might have wanted! ha!
Haha! Yes, there are definitely little surprise blessings in all of the roller coaster of our living situation. It’s just so hard to be mindful all the time- I am guilty of checking my phone too often and trying to multitask while I play with them. And playing with them is really so fun!
I’m laughing at the difference between your post and Courtney’s! But I’m sure you each are loving being a boy mom/girl mom.
Hahaha I had the same thought when I read Courtney’s post! She is an amazing girl mom and it seems so different than being a boy mom. But when you get down to it we’re all trying to teach our kiddos the same valuable lessons. I love learning how to do boy stuff!
I love that you are making the most of this time at Nana’s and seeing the blessings in it! That’s just one of the ways that you’re such a good example and an encouragement to me. You are a good, good mama and I appreciate the way you love Hudson and Hayes. It’s clear those boys are as smitten with you as you are with them 🙂 XO
Thank you, friend! Wish we could all get together for play dates every afternoon!!
Such a wonderful post! Many Blessings….. Jayma
Thank you, Jayma! And thanks for stopping by!!
I LOVE playing with my son too. Is there anything better than getting to see them discover and learn new skills? The expressions on their little faces is priceless. And I love being there along side him as he explores.
You mentioned feeling badly about not being able to give Hudson the undivided attention he got before Hayes was born and then also not getting to give Hayes as much one-on-one time as Hudson had. This is something I really struggle with as we talk about growing our family. I know it will all work out though. It’s nice to know other moms struggle with that too.
Oh, Colleen. I struggled with this before Hayes was born, and I still struggle with it. It definitely does get better, but I have a lot of guilt when I think that some of his speech delays may be because he’s just the youngest and doesn’t get me undivided attention. But he’s also a lot more adaptable than Hudson ever was. 🙂 You will work it out. All families do. There are a lot of fun things that come with birth order, but as they grow up and they play together more and do the same things, this becomes less of an issue in our house. 🙂
that is so funny. yes – boys would surely rock my world huh? 🙂
I think that’s a great way to look at staying with Nana! It really is giving you a little more time without the household duties. I can just imagine those sweet boys playing and I bet it’s heavenly! I can’t wait until mine can talk more with me 🙂
I love your positive outlook on things–like living with Nana! I’m sure it can be difficult at times since it’s not your own house (I know it would be for me!) but that’s a great way to look at it!
I love that you are making positives out of your stay with Nana. Such a great way to look at things! I want to come watch playtime with your boys, I bet it would rock my pink-filled world 🙂
I love this! Playing with little boys is just the most fun!
Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! This is so in tune with what I have been doing with my little guys this week to celebrate Easter. So glad to find another Mama Blog with the same goals. Many Blessings to you on this day before Easter.