I've been a little emotional this week... it's my "bad" week- and if you need to ask what that means, just don't go there... you don't really want to know the details. Suffice it to say I just feel emotional, and bummed out again... and like my children keep shooting up before me- daily taking steps toward leaving me (a long time from now, yes, but getting closer every day). I shed tears today putting away baby clothes that I'm not sure I'll ever get to use again... looking at my "baby" who isn't one anymore, and seeing how even she, little pixie child that she is, actually has grown a lot lately- I've actually hauled out the 24 mos/2T clothes to hang in her closet now, and the 18 months clothes I thought we were going to stick in forever (like the 12 month size lasted about 8 months!) are already beginning to be outgrown (except never in the waist... she is still such a skinny little thing). And Carolyn especially has really just blossomed this fall in her independence. She's always wanted to do things by herself, but lately I've been finding myself doing a double take when I realize that she really is capable of handling freedoms that would have been much too much just a few months ago. She really loves being given responsibility and the respect she feels when we back off a little and let her make her own choices even about something as simple as adding pepper to her dinner seem to make her shine. I think this is the golden difference between a child taking freedoms (even "age appropriate" ones) versus a parent lovingly granting the same child the same freedoms. Rather than the freedom resulting from an autonomous decision on the child's part, the release of that same freedom coming from the wisdom and love of the parent keeps the line of authority unbroken in the family, and even in a subtle way, serves as a reminder to the child that she is part of a greater unit.
But I wasn't really going to talk about all that in this post. For some reason I haven't been taking many pictures lately (except of bows... and everyone around me is SICK of hearing me talk about them!), so I just have a few of those little successes that make even an emotional, kind of grouchy day, a good one- at least from the perspective of the little ankle biters. :)
Today I had two brain waves. They are stunning. Amazing. Totally something you'll want to copy... Okay, something you'll read because I blog and that somehow makes me awesome. Here is what I did.
Scenario One: an extra dozen eggs in the fridge, long past the expiration date. What to do with them? Brainwave! I sat Carolyn down at the kitchen table with the eggs and helped her crack them one by one into a bowl... and after about the first 10, she really got the hang of it! Cracking eggs is her favorite part of baking cookies (except eating the batter of course) and she was thrilled to get to do it to her heart's content... so I don't suppose the eggs turned out to be a total waste at all.
Scenario Two: the Dead Zone in the afternoon. Post naps, pre dinner, time when there's plenty of housework around to do and essentially no motivation to get moving on it... it's too early to bust out a movie... Today I had a plan. On an impulse a few days ago I bought a tube of those little glow sticks at Michaels for $1. And so this afternoon, the girls and I closed ourselves in the closet under the stairs and lit them all up, and made necklaces and bracelets and tiaras, and had a general party. Nora and I lost interest after about half an hour... but Carolyn kept at it for over an hour! This was an excellent way to spend a dollar, and an hour with my children. :) I will be going back to Michael's for more to add to my "snowy day" box.
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