We don't cry about pants.

Somewhere along the line I picked up the parenting method of beginning what is basically a command with "We don't..."  Here are some examples:
-We don't complain about the food we have to eat.
-We don't always talk about getting new toys, we are grateful for the toys we have.
-We don't call other people "narcissist," that's only for Donald Trump.
-We don't bite our sisters' clothing.
-We don't cry about pants.

If you're five, everything that is not leggings is "jeans" and instantly tear-provoking. Therefore I say "We don't cry about pants" at least once a day.  I should have a tee shirt made. Maybe yoga pants with the phrase emblazoned across....nevermind.

       Jeans.              Also jeans.            Still jeans.  

Sometimes I follow up "We don't cry about pants" by calmly stating (aka yelling) "Some children don't have nice pants to wear.  Some children would love to have more than one pair of pants.  There are children in Guatemala who live at the DUMP and get their pants out of the TRASH!"  It doesn't help.

I want to raise grateful children.  It has been very hard to focus on raising grateful children this summer as we uprooted them and moved across the country. Grandparents wanted to spoil them before they left. We have been massively busy cleaning, traveling and unpacking for the last four weeks and our children have spent waaaaaay too much time on their iPads.  (Incidentally, on their iPads they watch pointless video of adults opening and playing with toys, which they then ask to buy.  This will be the topic of a future post.)  Long story short, our children are currently comporting themselves like rude, entitled little beasts.

Stinker on a plane

Stinker in a box

I'm aware that step one is to model gratitude.  It does not always come naturally to me. As I write this, I realize that I should be thankful for healthy children, grandparents and good jobs. I try to remember to tell my children what I am thankful for, including that I am thankful for them.  I try to casually bring up gratitude in conversations. It doesn't always happen, but my goal for the new school is to give thanks for our blessings and our hard work every day.  Also, to get the moving boxes out of our house.  I'll let you know how it goes.

To get the ball rolling.  I am currently feeling grateful for:
-Friends who made a special effort to say goodbye
-A husband who tolerates my own special brand of crazy
-Our parents who bought last minute tickets or stopped by on an anniversary trip to help unpack
-The fact that Arkansas is filled with the friendliest people on the planet
-Two little girls who even at their beastliest are still pretty great