Ask theMrs!

it's time for our first ever edition of Ask theMrs! i have lots of interesting questions coming in... you guys are gonna keep me on my toes! so let's just jump right in!

From Facebook:

what is the single most difficult thing you've had to deal with as a parent? I'm pretty much asking: what's the worst thing one of your kids has done and did the punishment fit the crime?

i didn't have to think too hard on this one! without sharing things that will make my kids hate me when they grow up, i'll try to explain. one of my children learned to walk really early. like as in at 7 months. this same child could climb out of their crib and unlock doors by a year old. not a good time! so i spent the first several years trying to simply contain him in the house. we tried every kind of lock you can imagine and nothing worked. i lived in a constant state of fear over this, going so far as to not let others babysit out of fear that they wouldn't supervise well enough. all of this came to a head when, at 2 years old, he managed to get out of three locked doors and sneak out of the house while we were sleeping. resulting in me calling the police, them finding him and me nearly having a nervous breakdown! to answer your question: the punishment was a bedroom door that locked from the outside. so i'd say YES! it fit the crime.

What I want to know is...how do you get so many people to fall head over heels in love with you?!?! lol Seriously, you seem to have so many people who love you and so many close relationships and somehow you make them all feel that they are your best friend. What is your secret? It seemed I only had time for one relationship like that and she moved to FL. And because I am at home with the kids it isn't like I have time to meet very many people. Seriously I need like a step by step guide on how to make new friends and not just acquaintance friends but friends who can see you without your "mask" and love you anyway.

i'm going to try to do this justice because it is a really good question. i feel like i should say thank you? yet that seems odd? i don't know so i'm just gonna move on and answer. i think being a stay at home mom of young kids is probably the hardest season to make friends. it's not like we have tons of time to reach out to people and have deep conversations! that being said, it's totally possible with some work. one of the things that hindered me in this area in the past was being too closed off with myself. i'd been hurt too many times, especially by female friends, so i never really put myself out there. i came to a point where i realized i have to let people in. even knowing that inevitably i will sometimes get hurt. i guess the way i try to have good friends is to be a good friend. here's what i mean: at the end of the day, what most of us need most is love. and most people are not getting it nearly as much as they need it. my heart is to encourage people and simply love them, whether they reciprocate or not. so if i see a post on facebook and think "i love her!" i will tell her, right away! or if i'm in a store and i see a cute keychain that i just know someone would love, i get it and mail it to them with a little card. i try to find ways to show the people in my life that i love and appreciate them. because really that's what people need the most. some people return it tenfold. others don't. but that's ok too. some people just don't have it to give, but they still really need to receive it. now on the flipside, i'm not the easiest friend always either! i'm feisty and moody and opinionated and very difficult to deal with at times. my friends have to put up with a lot. thankfully they see through those things and love me anyway :)

as for finding friends, you have to get out there, as hard as that is. whether you join a mom's group or women's ministry at your church or a zumba class or whatever. and when you do that, be yourself, 100%. those that love you will love the real you. those that that don't? you don't need anyway!! good luck :)

and our last question for the day, from a dear friend on facebook:

how do you deal with babysitting two boys who are so much smarter and better looking than your own childrens? how do you explain to your kids that you love them but they will always be inferior to the specimens of perfection they see every day?

i've never dealt with this, so i don't have a good answer. but i suppose if i was in your position, i'd just ask theMrs' kids to go home so your kids don't feel so bad!

thanks for all of your submissions! if i didn't answer your question, i will next time!

please keep sending in your questions! theMrsanswers@gmail.com