The Princess is either lucky or unlucky, depending on how you look at it. Her mother is dedicated enough (or is that crazy enough?) to notice things like how cute that braid looks with that hat on a cold morning at the bus stop in just the right amount of sunlight, and just happens to have a camera in her pocket to record the moment for posterity.
Set the table with festive placemats and napkins. Mix up one can of frozen lemonade concentrate. Add cranberry juice for color. Serve in a glass with an orange slice and a fancy straw. For a princess-perfect snack, spread a flour tortilla with cream cheese and jelly, roll up and slice into spirals. To complete the tea party, add an excited eight-year-old Princess.
Cheers!
We had a very unusual pre-Christmas snowstorm here, with about two feet of the white stuff! Of course The Bossman and I took the kids outside to play. As I was helping my three-year-old Superman down the hill, I urged him to walk in the footsteps left behind by his older brother and sister, for easier footing.
Looking up at me, he shook his head and stated firmly, "I want to make my OWN footprints." And that really got me thinking. My son might follow his older siblings' lead in some areas of his life, but he is indeed his own person and will do things in his own way, blazing his own trail. And that is a wonderful thing.
Dress, found on sale rack: $65
Hairstyle: $9.98 (curling iron purchased at Target on the day of the dance)
Mega-Pack of toilet paper: $8 (also purchased at Target on the day of the dance)
Forgetting to clean up the clutter on the stairs before posing for photos: Priceless.
(Oh well, thank goodness for photo cropping. I hope you had a fun weekend too!)
Well, I finally decided that The Princess (age 8) is old enough to learn to sew on a REAL sewing machine. Last year we bought her a "child's" sewing machine, and I'm not going to mention the brand, but it just does. not. work. well. at. all. It is impossible to thread and then it doesn't like to stay that way, so you end up spending more time threading it than actually sewing.
But The Princess really wanted to learn to sew, and she kept asking me to help her with it. Not wanting to face that uncooperative little machine, I urged her to stick to hand-sewing until she was "ready" to get a starter machine.
But The Princess did not really find this a satisfactory answer. And finally, I had to admit that it really wasn't. I mean, she sees me machine-sewing a lot, and it is only reasonable for her to want to try it for herself.
So, this morning I gathered up my courage and found her some safety eyewear, and we had our first lesson using my precious Bernina. After several nice straight rows of stitching (all by herself!), we both still have all of our fingers, so I'm calling it a huge success. Now, the serger... she's going to have a wait a few more years before I let her touch that.
Today, with the double-whammy of a teacher workday and a "wintry mix", we were stuck in the house all day. Now, admittedly, the kids drove each other a little crazy and I had to use a lot of creativity to keep everyone happy. But I was secretly thrilled to be trapped at home.
You see, with the hectic schedule that comes with raising three children, I often feel more like a "Stay-in-the-Car Mom" than a "Stay-at-Home Mom". Sometimes it's just nice to have nowhere to go, and to be able to focus on simple pursuits like a good book, a hobby, and maybe an art project. Being "at home" together allows you to reconnect and forces you to communicate (for better or worse!). And it reinforces that this place we call home truly is the most important place in the world.
Maybe we should all make an effort to have more "at home" days and less "in the car" days. It would certainly benefit our environment, and I'm thinking it wouldn't be such a bad thing for the family either.
One of the most important parenting skills is knowing when and how to give your kids a push and let them go out into the world...
All the while, being there to help them when needed.
If we're going to be friends, there is something you need to know about me.
I don't like messes.
I was never one of those kids out making mudpies and catching bugs. I mean, I love to play outside as much as anyone else, just... neatly.
And so that is why it's so very tempting for me to help my toddler eat "messy" things, like yogurt. But if I do that, he will never learn to feed himself. So I have learned that I must stifle the urge to commandeer the spoon, choosing instead to stand by with the wet paper towels and an encouraging smile.
You will never hear me bragging that I'm the best parent around, but I do think I'm pretty good at getting my children to help with housework. They know how to do several simple tasks and have a few chores that they do regularly. In the interest of getting YOU a little help, here are my suggestions for encouraging small children to help out around the house. (I have no advice for those of you who have teenagers, though!)
1. Start early. The younger your child is, the more likely they are to think it's fun to help you with housework.
2. Don't expect too much, too soon. Be sure to choose tasks that are very simple, and appropriate for your child's developmental level, to avoid frustration.
3. Don't expect your child's help to actually be "helpful". At first, it will seem as though you could get the job done much more quickly if you just did it yourself, and that's probably true. But an investment in time now will pay off with real help later.
4. Be complimentary. Praise your child's work, and resist the temptation to re-do it yourself to "fix" it.
5. Assign each child a simple job that can be their own responsibility each day. In our house, Radar feeds the cat and The Princess feeds the fish.
6. Try to convince the kids that helping out is a privilege. For example: "Yes, I think now that you are 5 and you are tall enough, you can help me put the dishes in the cabinets."
7. Use rewards. For example: "If everyone helps get the laundry put away, maybe we could go to the park for a little while."
8. Use logical consequences when the kids are reluctant. For example: "If Mommy is the only one cleaning up the toys, it will take a lot longer than it would if we all worked together. And then we won't have time to play that game you want to play."
9. Say yes! If your children ask to help you with something you are working on, figure out a simple way for them to participate. This can be hard to do when you are in a hurry, but it's important to take advantage of their interest.
10. Have fun! Listen to fun music while you work, or use that time to talk about your child's day at school.
