While young kids, like preschoolers and toddlers, can be physically exhausting to parent at times, I think as they get older it begins to transition into mental fatigue. When they're small, it's constantly saying 'no', cleaning up messes, baths, laundry, getting pee out of the couch, saying 'no', up in the middle of the night, disciplining, etc. The list goes on and on just as the work does.
Now that C4 is on the cusp of 10 and Madison is 7, the challenges are all new to me. I felt like when they were little it was black and white. Disobedience=discipline. You hit your sister, you get spanked. You tell mommy 'no', you get spanked. Well now I feel like there are so many gray areas and it's mentally exhausting. Not just because there are issues to deal with, but because we don't want to screw them up!
There are countless examples, but here's one. First the background. C4's in his 3rd year of hockey. Since season #1, while other kids' parents carried in their equipment, C4 has lugged his over his shoulder. While other parents have dressed their kids, C4 has dressed himself. My husband wanted him to be responsible for his stuff and not rely on us.
Yesterday when we arrived at his game (which was 45 minutes from home), C4 came around to my side of the van with tears in his eyes and said, "I forgot my stick." He told me because he knew his father wouldn't be happy. After a quick second of "What do you mean you
forgot your stick. It was right on top of your bag. You knew you had a game, blah, blah, blah.", we moved on to solution thinking.
So in this gray area, do you
A) Teach the kid a lesson. Make him watch his team play and teach him to be responsible for his stuff, therein punishing the whole team.
B) Totally 'fix' it for him. Go to the pro-shop (thankfully they had one) and buy him a new $100 stick, irritated by the whole situation. And add a lecture on the way home.
C) Buy him a new $100 stick and make him pay you back over the next 6 months.
D) Show him mercy. Remember that you are not perfect. In fact, you forget things all the time. Buy him a stick without resenting it. After all, he is only 9.
What would you do? What did we do??? I stayed in the car with sleeping Trevor. My husband who was somewhere between option C and D, was looking at the sticks in the pro shop when C4 came in and told him his buddy had an extra he could use (a lefty!). So, in the end, C4 solved the problem on his own, which really was the best solution and we kept our money.
But these challenges are more and more frequent. There's a fine line between showing mercy and totally coddling your kid. If we bought him a stick, is he going to be a spoiled brat, gain a sense of entitlement, or end up on welfare as an adult?
It's a thankless, tiring job, just like when they're 3, but still totally worth it.
C4 is number 15, black jersey. At the end of the clip, you'll see he gets hit from behind AFTER the whistle...not cool. But we won, 3-1.
The family comes as a package deal and their package includes a puggle named Stewie. He and Gunner did very well together and besides 3 dinner rolls and 6 raw eggs from the countertop, he behaved quite well.
Other favorite pictures from the evening:
Maddy and Ninny
My 3rd trip in 3 months...I'm on a roll!!! Colombo's birthday was on the 11th and our good friend and neighbor, Bob's was the 19th, so we conceived a plan for the 4 of us to go to New York City to see "Wicked" at a Wednesday matinee. 
We shared family style salad, penne ala vodka, chicken parmesan, tirimisu, and a chocolate decadence type thing. It was all so very good!!!
She is simply amazing. Thank you so much!!!
Times Square at dusk 
Looking at his birthday book...all pictures and journaling over the last year.
Breakfast time
Colombo in his old (very old) jersey
C4 and his buddy, Kevin
Nathanael is vertical! 
Baby Madison 2002
1st birthday
Nathanael danced his shirt off and almost his pants!
