Mommy-ing

This Girl

This girl.

At the time this photo was snapped, the outside temperature was about 34 degrees. I was sipping my coffee in the kitchen, when I glanced out the window and was transfixed by the young lady creating a pottery bowl on the back deck.

She had been relegated to the deck when, after she used the wheel in the house, clay decorated my walls in a splatter pattern. She is so different than I. I need plans, patterns, instructions. She hates all of that! “I just want to wing it, Mom!” And she does. And she creates beauty. She is beauty. She shines from the inside

My Baby is Ten

Mommy-ing

How is it possible that my baby is TEN?!?!? Ten years ago, we were traveling to the NICU every two hours to nurse him and hold him during the longest week of my life. Now he is building scenes from books out of Legos, and learning that writing has it’s advantages.

This year, when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he responded immediately with, “Breakfast in bed!” Then added, “and I want Bethy and Donald to be here!” Both of those wishes happened, and his aunt Bethy even made him vegan bacun.

Independence

Mommy-ing

I am not a “mess” person. When my kids ask to play with paint, I imagine the paint falling out of the container, I think of the water spilling, I think of the wet brushes scraping across my table and walls, I imagine the not yet dry works of art falling onto my floor, and I say, “No”. When they ask to play in the hose, I see the muddy clothes tracked through my house, and I say, “No”. Unless I can take the time to hover, my kids are denied all kinds of creative freedoms.

So, when Abigail came to me, open cookbook in hand, and asked to bake a cake, she already had the look of disappointment spreading across her face as I said, “Yes!”

“Wait. So, I can?” she confirmed excitedly.

“Yes. But you have to clean up your mess.” And she did! She followed the recipe, made the cake, and cleaned everything up all by herself! Since then, I’ve let her do more activities that are messy. Does she clean up as thoroughly as I would? Of course, not. But she tries. And you know what? A little pink paint on the floor is a small price to pay for the glow of independence I see in her eyes.

P.S. I helped her put the cake in the oven and take it out… Baby Steps to cooking freedom. 🙂

A Continued Tradition

Mommy-ing, Pinked Out (girl stuff)

When I was eight years old I watched in awe the neat, clean stitching appear from the back of the sewing machine. My mother was a master stitcher. Staring determinedly at a mis-matched pile of fabric, she’d pull some of this, some of that, push it through the machine, and voila! out would pop a purse, or a wallet, or a dress, or a robe. Longingly, I begged her to teach me how to sew. Although she had eight other children and precious little time, she patiently demonstrated how to cut, match, pin, and carefully stitch together my first pillow. A shirt was next. Then more pillows! After I learned to read a pattern, there was no stopping me. I had acquired a skill that I’d fall back on for the rest of my life; because my mom had taken the time to show me how to do it instead of saying, “not right now”.

“Not right now” is exactly what I’ve been telling my daughter for the past year whenever she asks me to teach her how to sew. It’s never convenient, I’m always afraid she’ll step on the pin cushion (another story -remind me to tell it), stab herself with scissors, or just not listen to me. Last week, I stopped making excuses. Abigail amazed me! She listened, she was careful when she was pinning, she didn’t poke herself with scissors, and she used the sewing machine with respect. Over the next few years, I’m excited to watch what she creates, and it gives me a warm, squishy feeling inside to know that we share this skill. And I truly understand how my mom felt when she saw my first finished pillow. Proud beyond words.

Tooth Fairy is Bankrupt

Mommy-ing

“MY TOOTH IS LOOSE!!!” Logan yelled, running up to me with his fingers in his wide-open mouth pushing his tooth forwards and back.

“Well it’s about time! That looks like it’s gonna fall out in a couple of days.” I turned back to preparing dinner, exhausted from working all day.

“I’m gonna get TWENTY dollars!”

I froze. “Twenty dollars?!?”

“Yeah, when Alex lost his tooth, he put it under the pillow and the tooth fairy gave him twenty dollars!”

“I think Alex may have a different tooth fairy than you.”

But, there we were two days later putting a twenty dollar bill under a six year old’s pillow. We were young and we felt guilty. Compare that to a few weeks ago, when Abby lost her first tooth…

“I LOST A TOOTH!!”

“Awww, while I was gone??” I whined.

“Yep, it just fell out! Now I’m gonna put it under the pillow for Tootheetina! She’ll probably bring me something.”

“Yeah, like a quarter.” I stated matter-of-factly.

“Or a hundred dollars!”

Tootheetina (from Pinkalicious for those of you with boys) left her two dollars and a note. Three teeth later, Tootheetina is re-thinking the note business. 😀

My friend says her tooth fairy leaves little toys instead of money, and I like that idea too. What does the tooth fairy bring at your house?

Priorities

Mommy-ing

Dear Lord,

Thank you for giving me moments like this that remind me to check my priorities, and also for the talent to capture those moments forever.

Becky