Ice cream and redonkulous cat-tastrophies

Before you read this, please understand I am EXHAUSTED. So if I make no sense, that's why.

Today, I had a thought. Marriage is like putting ice cream in a cone, then problems come and life "heats up" and the ice cream and cone fuse together, cone gets gooey, ice cream melts and imagine trying to separate the ice cream from the cone at this point. That is called divorce.

I had another thought -- well, actually, a couple of connected thoughts -- today. We'll call it wisdom gleaned from Shrek Ever After. If you haven't watched the movie, these next 2 points will probably make you scratch your head in confusion.

1. Don't be a Rumplestinkypants. First of all, "no one wants to make a deal with you, Mr. Rumplestinkypants." Don't be a parent that "makes deals." This is not "Let's make a deal," you are responsible for your kids and you have to make decisions and be the parent. Not be the deal maker. Secondly, when your kids are talking to you, don't dismiss what they are saying immediately. Listen, process, then respond. Sometimes they have some great ideas that we just dismiss immediately and harshly, hurting their feelings in the process. Some "witches" can be un-melted with time, others can't be and anyways, whether you can unmelt the witch or not is not the point. If you can avoid having problems altogether just by listening and thinking before you respond, you should.

2. Be Redonkulous. Frequently. Laughter is wonderful for the soul and for the parent/child relationship. And for the post-baby belly. So the next time your kid does something redonkulous or cat-tastrophic or just plain annoying and stressful, just laugh for a minute. You'll laugh, they'll laugh, everyone will get a good laugh and come out less stressed. It really is worth it.

So that's all my wisdom for today and I'm too tired to figure out a cute sign off, so have a good night.