Parenting boot camp

This week has been a hard week in the parenting department.  Mr. 1 continues to rampage the house and continues to get teeth (he's gotten 8 in the past 2-3 months - 4 molars and 4 incisors - and he is not a happy teether).  Meanwhile we've been dealing with the hard issues that come with parenting older kids.  Try-outs and the anxiety of waiting for results - then negotiating not getting the part you want when your brother does.  Breaking the rules and lying about it - and convincing your brother to also do it.  Understanding that gifts are not necessarily all about you.  We're enjoying the boys so much as they get older but some weeks it's really tough to keep it up.  But then the disappointed boy congratulates his friend who got the part.  Heartfelt apologies are made and accepted.  And we make it down the mountain even though it's scary.  So often I worry that we're doing it all wrong and not raising the kids I hope we are - but then there's a glimmer of who the boys are becoming and I'm so proud of them.  And take a deep breath and deal with the next crisis, hopefully a bit better than I dealt with the last.