Privacy Glass...

Someone once said: "If you want the attention of your children, get on the phone..."

Well, I'm going to add on to that. If you want the attention of your children, get on the phone, converse with friends, try to make dinner, do laundry, go to the bathroom, work on the computer, balance the checkbook...the list goes on and on and on.

It never fails at our home--my kids can be in the far reaches of the house doing whatever it is that they do there (making mischief no doubt) and then the phone can ring. It's like they have sensors in their brains that go off whenever they hear that electronic sound: "DING--mom's on the phone...time to go!"

Recently I was trying to make an appointment for my car to be serviced. I fed my kids breakfast and sent them downstairs to watch cartoons thinking that that would guarantee me at least 15 minutes of "quiet time" so that I could take care of what I needed to.

Yah, right.

I was speaking to the car dealership when my son comes running up the stairs and decides that now is the time to have a conversation with me.

Mommy: (speaking to the dealership on the phone) "So, I would like to bring my car in next week..."
Devin: "Mommy, mommy MOMMY, MOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYY!!!"
Mommy: "Devin, I am on the phone, this is my turn. Go watch your cartoons..."
Devin: "Mommy, Sienna pooped. You need to change her..."
Mommy: "Yes, Thursday will be fine...Devin, go downstairs!" (the last part hissed through gritted teeth)
Devin: (louder now) "Mommy, Sienna popped. You are being a BAD mommy, you need to change her NOW!"
*note at this point the gentleman on the phone has heard me trying to dissuade my son from talking to me and has heard all of the interruptions so he kindly asks if I need to call him back. I tell him no...
Devin: "Mommy, Sienna pooped and took off her diaper...and YOU are going to be so mad at her and I told her that boys pee outside and that girls pee in the toilet and that she is a girl and has a 'gina and that Daddy is going to be really mad because she is jumping on the couch...MOMMMMMMMMMMYYYYY YOU ARE NOT WISTENING TO ME AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!"

At this point I abandon my conversation and decide that A. it is pointless to try to talk on the phone with a 4 year old around and B. I REALLY need to go investigate whether or not Sienna did in fact take off her poopy diaper. That is something I cannot ignore.

I think that ignoring is skill that as parents we have to hone. There are many instances in my day where I actively choose to IGNORE what is happening around me. For instance, when Devin is showing Sienna how easy it is to jump off of the top of the couch. Or, when Sienna decides to chant "toopid mommy" over and over and over and over and OVER again while riding in the car. (I swear they know that we can't reach them in the backseat so they let it all fly freely back there...), Or perhaps, when the kids are irritating the heck out of each other, picking and picking and PICKING til it seems that someone will not survive the situation. Oh yes, I have become a master at ignoring. Sometimes.

Other times I over pick my battles and definitely feel like I need to ignore MORE. We can't "catch" everything and we definitely can't mediate EVERY situation. If we tried we would go insane very quickly. Like before noon on a good day.

So today while I was driving home listening to the constant bickering going on in the backseat I decided that I was thankful for the radio, which I was able to successfully blast over them. I also dreamt of privacy glass and wondered how much it would be to install in my rig...

Realistic? Probably not...but hey...we all do whatever we can to get by.