Probably not what I was expecting my then two year old Sweetpea to say. I remember looking at her and thinking who. are. you???????? Oh yeah that’s right, you’re echoing things I say. As Sweetpea has grown, so has her logic, her vocabulary, her curiosity, and her capability.
Mom, Can you tell me what this does?
This past week preschool had a “wear your favorite color” to class day…Sweetpea’s response, “Mom, I need something spectacular to wear tomorrow.” We ultimately settled settled on a favorite dress…Then follow this by the excitement that it’s her day to do her laundry…It’s moments like these I remember but also forget Sweetpea is 4. I forget what 4 is supposed to mean.
Sister Playing
Then I slow down from the hundred other things I’m supposed to be doing and watch a quiet moment between sisters. I look at what they’re playing with and realize four and one are….four and one. It’s me calming down and being patient. It’s realizing that though I told someone to put their toys away (seventeen hundred times), someone probably didn’t register it or see their toys on the floor. It’s realizing that the “water on the stone” still applies. It’s remembering that Daniel Tiger is still an interesting show.
One day this won’t be a major accomplishment or even a toy in our house
So to say life has been smidgen intense is an understatement.
Moved to another country
Had a second child
Learned how to use the pressure cooker
Found some awesome crock pot and pressure cooker recipes
(I really like the “Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts” concept. Each paper cut/fun moment isn’t in itself difficult…but a thousand of them…sometimes it can be a bit much. George mentioned this concept when talking about parenting…I think it fits well)
So until my camera is fixed, I will just write about my fun morning today.
We woke up at 5:45- 6am (or was it really 3am when Sweetpea joined the three of us in our queen sized bed?…I was almost kicked off the bed how many times?). I know for certain that at around 6am, we all saw George off to work. George thankfully had taken out today’s trash and walked the dogs.
Because Trash is Easy: We have four trash cans.
Any rational person would think getting to preschool by 9 should (SHOULD) be a breeze.
…I really want to encourage curiosity in Sweetpea. So while we are eating breakfast, she starts to teach me how food is processed in our body. A very important part of the morning. So we watched a 3 minute video on the digestive system. We’ll see what I get taught later today on said video. Our little sponge likes to teach me. (Her latest interest is the Solar System and planets — Thank you Magic School Bus!).
You’d think 3 minutes wouldn’t impact the morning but somehow it was 7 and then 7:30 (wait yes I do…I talked to my sister amid seventeen thousand interruptions :)). Shower later, I insist on putting on my makeup (which might only be moisturizer and some eye make up with a side of … one-day-I’ll-look-polished *sigh*) while Sweetpea finishes showering in our non slip shower by herself.
Standing in my robe, I realize that a) Sweetpea is ready to leave, b) <<what is the blog name for baby #2?>> is ready and c) I haven’t made Sweetpea’s lunch for preschool. I hate feeling disheveled. I mean being a mom is the most rewarding and amazing thing I have ever done, but for goodness sakes I’m still a person here. So fine. It’s 8:45am. We should be in the car now. I take a minute to pretend to be put together. Sweetpea picks out my earrings, bracelet and watch and we go to the kitchen to make lunch. I REFUSE to spend hours making a cute lunch. I just don’t have hours to make that perfect bento box (and I get shamed for it by Sweetpea’s teacher…).
We get outside, it’s raining (thankfully I checked the weather so we’re good). We get to the car…yup. I forgot Sweetpea’s lunch. Back to the house.
Then preschool. One of the mom’s offers to watch baby 2 while I drop off Sweetpea. Can you ask any other day???!!! Here I am scrambling to repack Sweetpea’s backpack, it’s raining, Sweetpea just kissed baby 2 who is now screaming bloody murder, and we are staying calm. It’s really not that big of a deal. No one has died, nothing major got ruined. It’s actually quite comical. So yes baby 2 will be carried and not in the car seat. So wrapped in her amazing blanket, we walk down the hill (after my friend realizes it’s a lost cause :)). Oh you know my umbrella topples over, I tell Sweetpea to put her umbrella up…so she lifts her arm with her closed umbrella (touche child I didn’t say open it…the rain coat will do).
The clock at preschool says 9:23am.
I call my Mom to thank her for years of fun mornings.
I’ve had some additional free time in my schedule of late due to some changes around our daily routine. Since we have additional “free” time — we’ve had more time for activities! Some of our activities include using tongs, pouring, and cooking.
Our Work Station
Using lentils, which from my reading are not poisonous raw but can cause some tummy upset, we played in our “kitchen.”
Pouring Goodness
Yes. Later on, we decided lentils belong on the floor…
WHAT?! I know I had siblings who ran away at 1.5-2yrs old but I’m not ready for “I leave you” said clear as day. Of course the timing of said announcement was perhaps the worst possible moment. There could be worse situations but as I ran after her with the two leashed dogs, I was thankful for the heads up. Mommy I leave you.
As my heart started to calm to a less break-neck-pace, I looked at my daughter and thought about soap. People say that these years are reflected in teen behavior…so I will have a smart mouthed, independent, confident, capable lady. I look at her fearless resolve, her love of adventure, her open attitude for change and I think the problem might be me. That’s what my mom always said of me as a child. The more she tried to control me, the more I either rebelled, yelled or generally didn’t listen. I just have to hold the bar of soap and not squeeze it. Sometimes … I get caught up in my agenda rather than seeing the big picture. In this particular case, that close by (and busy) street was my big picture.
As I mentioned in my March Madness post, our mornings have become mad dashes to get out the door at some “reasonable” hour. The reasonable part is often before the sun is up, so I question reasonable. However, I have been trying to think of activities for the morning (and evening) where Sweetpea can have some meaningful work. I’ve spent my requisite time researching (read I looked on Pinterest) and found that good tools for people her age are: matching, counting, sequencing, sensory goodness. In an effort to incorporate these concepts into our daily routine, we have instituted teaching time.
Teaching Kitty Bear to Count
Or more specifically, as I am getting ready for work, I often ask Sweetpea if she would like to teach Kitty Bear how to…this morning it was count (with a matching freebie). The actual toy said 18 months and up (as I recall), but I think it’s a great counting and matching tool. We have an interest in counting which usually goes like this: 4, 6, 7, 8, 9. 10, 11, 12 repeat.
Mama Thyme 