Aiming Low

When I saw a new blog site called Aiming Low, I felt like I had come home. That's what I do! I am a professional er...low aimer. I can list five instances from last night where aiming low was my method of survival.

1. When I got home from work last night, my kids were covered in mud. They had been playing outside and were as happy as three little hogs in the sunshine, or mud hole or whatever makes little hogs happy. Molly's little tan pants that she was wearing were completely covered in mud. (Sorry, sister in law, those pants are not coming back down the pass down lane) I looked at her and at Matt and at the other happy children and said "you guys sure are having fun outside...Awesome." Then I went indoors to find the bottle opener and the wine.


2. When I was putting pj's on the kids last night Matt pointed out that one of "my children" had carved some drawings in the wall with a pen. Not drawn...carved. I went over to look at it and said, "That's a very good A. At least she didn't write it upside down."

3. My oldest daughter told me she hated the new reading books I just bought her. She loved them for 5 days and then two nights ago, she "hated" them. I put them up and last night when she was looking for them I told her I threw them away. She started getting pretty upset and I reminded her that she told me she hated them so I didn't think she wanted them anymore. After about 30 seconds of sadness and torture I gave her the books back. Does that count as aiming low...or just a low blow.



4. My youngest daughter will be one on Monday. She takes medication for her heart three times a day. When I was first started this I freaked out because I can't even manage to take one birth control pill a day. How was I ever going to get three doses of heart medication into my young child, at regularly scheduled times throughout each and every day of my life? Without another option, I have become very good at this routine. Sometimes she takes the medication happily, acting like it is a special treat. Other times she absolutely refuses and I have to hold her little head and put the medicine into her mouth while she screams and protests. (not my favorite method) Anyhoo... last night she was taking the medicine pretty well. We were on the floor reading books and I left the medicine in her line of sight. When she saw it she reached for it and I squirted it into her mouth. It takes about 4 squirts to get the whole dose so I was being patient and taking it slowly so I could avoid the clamped head method. Right after one of the squirts some liquid landed on my arm. I thought to myself, is that medicine or drool, and then I licked it to check. It was drool, that's great, wouldn't want her to not get her whole dose of medicine. Then it occurred to me...my standards for have hit an all time low.

Hmm, that's only four examples...guess I should have aimed lower.