Ha. No.

"Are you always this calm?" he asks.

Ha.  No.

The boys and I are occupying the other three chairs in the sitting area by the Starbucks fireplace.  They are enraptured by iProducts, so everything is momentarily peaceful on the homefront.

"You just have this great spirit with them.  They're going to grow up great.  You are, like, the best mom ever."

Oh, no.  No, no.  I'm not that girl.  You caught us in a peaceful moment.  I'm not that girl.  There is actually a video on Tyler's iTouch in which I am throwing a maternal fit.  Yep.  He caught it all on film.  (I'll be deleting that tonight.)

Watch me when we're racing out the door to school.

Or when someone shouts in the car.

Or when they eat another meal that is 100% processed. Not a single fresh or organic item on the menu.

Or when we are so close - so close! - to bedtime, when the day is almost mine, and then silliness sets in.  I can't compete with silly.  Cannot.

Calm?  Not always, no.

But thank you for the compliment.  Turns out, positive reinforcement is effective for all ages.

p.s. If you see a mom doing a good job, tell her.  'Cause she likely doesn't think that she is.