By Renee Martinez
Is it me or is the weather so bad that the children should have stayed in school and skipped summer vacation?
I actually like rain. I enjoy the peacefulness that comes with a nice dreary, rainy day. It always induces a contemplative mood for me. With kids, the experience is a bit less spiritual.
On a rainy day the kids complain more. The house begins to feel like prison, then the children start to revolt and eventually the house starts to look like a junk yard…which is the point at which you are finding me.
This summer may be a bit different. El Nino, the warming and cooling of eastern Pacific waters off the west coast of South America, has developed and is expected to persist through the winter months. According to Pablo Pereira of the LA Weather Examiner, “In the USA, look for more precipitation in the arid Southwest, less wintry weather across the North and a reduced risk of Florida wildfires. The downside can include damaging winter storms in California and increased storminess in the South.”
All their craziness is making me really tired (and a little crabby).
Boy #1 complains that he’s bored and has nothing to do. If I let him, he would play the Wii non-stop, but I don’t let him. His Wii playing time is limited to maybe 3 times per week for 30 minutes per playing period (when the little guys are in bed). With most of his friends at camp this summer (plus all the rain), I can understand his boredom. I remind him how lucky he is to have brothers to play with as built-in playdates.
Characteristic of Boy #2 is the knack for causing trouble when he is bored. He pushes one brother or hits another, then complains that his brothers are bugging him. Generally, #1 and #2 play well together. They’ve been playing with Legos a lot and using their imagination. They also both enjoy doing crafts and drawing.
Boy #3 is loud, so there’s always lots of noise when he’s around. He doesn’t realize how loud he is, he talks so incredibly loud that it sometimes makes my ears hurt. I’m getting his hearing checked just to be sure he doesn’t have a hearing problem because when I ask him to speak quietly, he yells, “I’m talking quiet mommy!” Boy #2 is also in a hitting and throwing phase.
Boy #4 is almost walking and doesn’t want to stay still anymore. Once he starts walking, I’m worried about him getting into Boy #3’s things because it’s going to cause some craziness.
It may be more stressful, (and I’m exhausted) but really, with a little creativity, there are plenty of thing to do – as long as I’m a little more patient than normal. One good thing about El Nino is that my garden is looking incredible!
About the Author: Renee Martinez consults and speaks professionally on social media marketing, integrated marketing communications, public relations and branding. She is the president of Ruby Marketing Communications (www.rubymarcom.com), a boutique marketing communications company that specializes in providing branding, social media strategy and integration, and creative services. Her blog (www.lisac95.sg-host.com), provides resources on everything marketing and social media for her active audience.
Renee has contributed as a featured monthly columnist in the monthly jewelry industry publication, JCK on matters related to internet marketing as well as in InStore Magazine as a featured blogger where she writes about developing effective marketing strategies for the jewelry industry using social media. She is the founder of: Social Media Biz Summit (www.socialmediabizsummit.com), the first large-scale SM conference to come to Buffalo, NY; #jewelrychat, a weekly twitter chat for the jewelry industry and www.RaisingBoysWorld.com. Renee teaches social marketing courses at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY for the business school as well as offers small group social media marketing training and educational seminars for businesses in Western New York and beyond.
Renee has dabbled in internet marketing arena since the early 90′s and is not ashamed to call herself a “marketing geek”. From chatting in AOL, “sharing” music on Napster, and teaching HTML classes before it was considered “cool” to developing comprehensive social media strategies, effective public relations campaigns and managing online communities (most recently Chevy Girls Buffalo).
She enjoys being able to help people find their voice online and to create buzz about their product or service that will give them the results they desire.
Renee can be found on Twitter (@reneemmartinez) and Facebook (http:/www.facebook.com/RubyMarCom).
