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in Blog on August 26, 2021 by Joanne Ruelos Diaz

Watching My Friends’ Teenagers On Instagram Led To The Stuffed Animal Olympics

There are a few minutes before dinner every night when I lose my mind. It’s when I’m stepping over three throw pillows, two giant stuffed bears, and at least one foam sword all scattered on the floor. I glance over at the couch and there are three more stuffed animals. On the dining table, two more. I once counted how many stuffed animals were on Oscar’s (my five-year-old’s) bed, and there were 29. The clutter was constantly driving me crazy…until I started seeing some unexpected things on Instagram.

Recently, I’ve been following the Instagram accounts of my friends’ CHILDREN. That’s right, kids who are just a few years older than my nine-year-old Leo are posting on Instagram. When Leo was reading picture books, these kids were reading Harry Potter. When Leo was playing with Duplos, they were playing with real LEGO sets (the ones with 500+ pieces!). When Leo was riding in a stroller, they were riding their scooters. Just a few years ago, their age difference seemed big but not that big. They were all kids.

Now when I see these same older kids posting their own stories on Instagram, I literally tap into their recent past and figuratively tap into our near future. I see friends’ kids sitting in THE FRONT SEAT of the car. One just got his driver’s license. I see kids getting their first summer jobs. I see birthday presents in smaller boxes or flat envelopes—no LEGO sets, no stuffed animals. I sense that in one swipe, my own children will be driving off to their first summer jobs and beyond.

On a recent Sunday morning, my boys were getting antsy. Since we’d been watching synchronized diving and BMX freestyle over the weekend, I had the Olympics in my mind. While making some coffee, I tossed out an idea: “Why don’t you have a stuffed animal Olympics?”

To my surprise, both called out, “Okay!” and ran off to the living room. While I puttered around the kitchen, I heard them conferencing to record their Olympics on the iPad. The first event was Karate. They took their two giant stuffed bears and wrestled with them. “Marshlow (named after marshmallows because he’s white) wins!” As I drank coffee, they organized a racing event. Naturally, Speeder won. (Speeder is “a cheetah–the fastest land animal,” either of my boys will rush to tell you.) Magic Tricks came next and Frank, the Harry Potter-themed Ravenclaw Build-a-Bear, came in first place. While I unloaded the dishwasher, I overheard a commercial break. Apparently “Cool Folds Paper Airplanes” was sponsoring the Pet Olympics. In my favorite Olympic event, Cuteness, a small red panda named Monium (short for Panda-monium) won by a landslide.

After all the competitions, their fun didn’t end. With a little nudge, they went on to make award badges for the winners. They pulled out some paper, cut them out, and taped them on.

I felt like I had won the Parenting Olympics for the day—both kids entertained themselves on a weekend morning, both equally engaged and playing happily together with no screaming. For a couple of hours! What a win! When they showed me all the videos they recorded, they were so delighted with themselves. The feeling was contagious. 

The next afternoon, I wanted to keep their delight going just a little bit longer. On Mondays, my older son gets The Week Junior magazine. After wrapping up my work for the day, I had about half an hour before I had to pick them up from camp. So, I decided to make a “special insert” for the boys to discover in the latest magazine issue. I took the list of events that Oscar had written up and quickly wrote a “news story” describing the first ever Pet Olympics and listing the winners of each event. My husband corrected me when I wrote that Paper Airplanes was an event and reminded me that they were actually a Pet Olympics sponsor. I took pictures of their stuffed animals on my phone, printed, and cut them out. I grabbed a piece of construction paper and glued the story and the pictures onto it. Then I stuck the page into the magazine. I stopped myself from caring if it looked perfect (whatever that means for a fake magazine story) and just hoped they’d get a kick out of it.

When the boys came home, they discovered it right away. 

“Huh? What is this?” 

“Who did this? Did you, Mommy? Was it Daddy?” 

“How did they get the pictures?” 

They huddled together to read it. Their little smiles growing a little bigger.

I don’t consider myself a Magic Maker Mom. I don’t know how to make elaborate Halloween costumes or bake special rainbow cakes on their birthdays. But on this one day, I was able to make a little surprise magic for them. Or rather, I was able to join them in the magic of their making. 

Sometimes, I just want to stuff all the animals into a garbage bag, so I can look around the living room and see the floor, a clear space to sit on the couch, the top of the coffee table. But then I realize, unlike the real Olympics which I can expect every few years, I don’t know if there will ever be another Pet Olympics. So, while I can, I step over Monium (#1 Cutest in the 2021 Pet Olympics) and savor that these games recorded on construction paper, on video, and in my memories.

Related

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: big kids

About Joanne Ruelos Diaz

Joanne is a writer, editor, and children’s book author living in Northern New Jersey with her husband and two boys. All together, they share lots of laughs, a love of reading, and one bathroom. She has a children’s book coming out in November 2021 called THE LITTLE BOOK OF JOY, and it shares small ways to celebrate and find joy every day of the year. She finds all different kinds of joy by writing for children and grown-ups. You can see a little more about Joanne at JoanneRuelosDiaz.com.

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Comments

  1. AD says

    August 26, 2021 at 10:54 am

    This melted my heart! My kid, too is growing up too fast. Keep the good times rolling and karate chopping!

    Reply
  2. Nicole Rowley says

    August 26, 2021 at 4:26 pm

    Inspiring a child’s imagination is one of the most important parts of motherhood! What a meaningful moment.

    Reply
  3. Mabelle says

    August 26, 2021 at 10:49 pm

    Awwwww — love this. It makes me hate the zillions of Nerf guns in my living room a little less.

    Reply

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67. The answer is 67. Yes, I’ve checked my work! Maybe someone who passed calculus can explain? 🤪 -M

#mommath #drowningindishes #summerbreakisnotreallyabreak
Happy weekend - and a big thanks to our June spons Happy weekend - and a big thanks to our June sponsors! Every month, we like to take a little time to shoutout our partners who help support the show + remind our listeners of some of the great deals our sponsors are offering. For more info, specific promo codes, and links, just search the brand name on our website, and they'll pop up in our episode show notes. We also collect ALL our active promo codes (even the old ones that are still working!) in our email newsletter - which is full of other great things we want to share with you, too. Tap on this image at the link in our bio to subscribe today. 

Meet our NEW partners this month . . .
🗣️ @connectspeech (early language support!)
💙 @appahealth (1st month of mentorship free!)
💄 @thrivecausemetics (15% off your 1st order)

And welcome back to . . .
⭐️ @paireyewear (15% off your 1st purchase!)
⭐️ @autoapprove ($100 when you refinance!)
⭐️ @outschool ($15 off your child's 1st class!)
⭐️ @mindandchild ($20 off Parenting 101 course!)
⭐️ @flowkey_com (20% off subscription piano app!)
⭐️ @stitchfix ($20 off your 1st purchase!)
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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #travelingwoes #travelingwithkids #familytravelmishaps
New on the blog this week from @kiamhammond: Learn New on the blog this week from @kiamhammond: Learning About Juneteenth, As A Family.

"Like many families, mine is still figuring out how to teach our children about Juneteenth, as learning the history wasn't part of my education or my husband's when we were kids. The good news is, books written for children and families are a great way for the whole family to learn (and there are a lot of them!)."

Click this image at the link in our bio to read Kia’s book recommendations and more ways to start the conversation at home with your family.

#juneteenth #history #blackhistory #parenting #juneteenthbooksforkids #summerreading
New episode! As moms, we can be hard on ourselves New episode!

As moms, we can be hard on ourselves…and sometimes we just need to hear the simplest, oft-repeated pieces of advice and encouragement to remind us that it is all going to be OK. Join Meagan and Sarah for a reflection on eight pieces of wisdom that have carried us through motherhood struggles at every age and stage. We are offering them to you, to ourselves, and to all of our future selves in Episode 369.

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #momtruisms #momtruths #parentingadvice #motherhoodstruggles
Just a “hello” from last-week-me, who spent 30 Just a “hello” from last-week-me, who spent 30 minutes moving 25 chickens by hand from their home to the new chicken yard, because they refused to go on their own. And then an hour moving them back, because same.

It reminded me a lot of mothering a toddler, and got me wondering: what’s the most ridiculous thing mom life has brought you in the past week? -M
New episode! Have you ever fantasized about atten New episode!

Have you ever fantasized about attending a camp-like environment for grown-ups? Much about the classic summer camp experience is appealing to us (though not EVERYTHING--we could certainly do without the bugs), and the idea of simply showing up for a perfectly curated experience without any responsibility, or planning, sounds AMAZING. Listen to this fun More Than Mom to hear all of our must-have activities (like food and wine tastings, yoga, personal style consults and more!), things that would be a hard no (like swimming in the gross, murky lake or participating in corny, guided crafts) and our daydreams about creating a Mom Hour Retreat (maybe someday?)!

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #summercamps #womenretreats #momretreat
New on the blog this week from @jaymesherrod: LGBT New on the blog this week from @jaymesherrod: LGBTQ+ Resources For Parents (And Anyone Who Wants To Learn!). 

"The fact is, none of us will get it right every time. Not with each other, and certainly not with our kids. But it’s important that we keep showing up and having the conversations anyway."

Click this image at the link in our bio to access Jayme's roundup of resources.

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