Please Don’t Judge Me!

In the days before children, and even when MW was still too young to voice her opinion about what she wore, I judged other mothers for the way their children did or did not dress. “If she would just put a bow in her hair!” or “Forget the bow, just comb it! I just don’t understand. It only takes a minute!” Well, now I understand! That mother had chosen her battles carefully and hair was just not the battle she chose to fight that day. These days, I’m picking my own battles while hoping to instill a bit of independence and confidence in my precious little one. As you might notice in the gorgeous ensemble she’s sporting (photo above), she’s every bit confident and very proud of the fabulous job she’d done. I just smiled and remembered these encouraging words spoken by a friend who now has teenagers, “Thank you for letting her be a child. That’s the kind of thing childhood is made of.” I no longer judge other mothers based on the way they or their children are dressed. Uncombed hair just might mean teeth were brushed in peace. A disheveled appearance is not indicative of days without a shower or clean clothes, it is however, evidence of being “real.” So please, if you see me out and about with MW and her hair doesn’t appear to have been brushed, or she looks a bit unkempt, know that I’m picking my battles, and please, don’t judge me!

I need to take a minute to comment on my previous post. T did partner up with MW and together, they put her room back in order. Since then we’ve explained to MW that it is her room and the messes she makes are hers to straighten. Thus far, her room and playroom have been kept orderly! Hooray! Yea!

T and I both turned 27 this week! Since our birthdays are two days apart, we usually have a nice dinner at home one night and go out to dinner on the other night. This year we spent T’s birthday at home. We put the kids to bed early and enjoyed a fabulous steak dinner with roasted asparagus and a glass of red wine, and cake and ice cream! Then last night, for my birthday, we planned to eat at a little café downtown, but upon arriving, we realized they were closed, so we went to Outback instead. It was a nice dinner and it was bliss to sit across from one another in that little booth and just talk! It was refreshing! I love times like that. I felt like our souls were knit even closer.

A few days before my birthday a large box arrived via Fed Ex. Hmmm….T was here and actually greeted the driver at the sidewalk. He carried the box inside and guess what it was? My birthday present! T had asked me what I wanted and I never came up with anything…well, he had been paying attention to comments I’ve made over the last several months. I’m a dreamer with regard to houses. Take me to a house with nasty wallpaper and gross carpet, chipping paint, etc. and I go all romantic. I imagine who had lived there before and what their lives were like. I see past all the ick and I always see something beautiful. (T is much like this as well, which is how we wound up with our house!) Point is, for years I’ve been tearing out ideas and filing them away in my dream binder. That binder is basically a collection of items and design/decorating concepts that I love. T paid attention to one item I’ve torn out pretty consistently over the last couple of years…the Starck Louis Ghost Chair. Just a dream. Just a dream. That entire binder is full of “just a dream.” Well, that’s one dream that’s now a reality! That big box held a Starck Louis Ghost Chair!!! I couldn’t believe it! And what’s even more special to me, is that it’s perfect with my great grandmother’s antique desk that’s in our living room! How neat! I sit at that desk when I write and again, it’s the romantic in me, but there’s something so special about sitting in this amazing chair given to me by my incredibly thoughtful and attentive husband, and writing at the desk where my grandmother and her mother had both written. What a special gift!

T3 is cruising big time! He’ll walk until he falls, crawl to the nearest spot where he can pull himself back to his feet, and he’s off again. It’s amazing! He’s become so much surer of himself in the last few days. Yesterday morning I was holding T3 while I watered some plants. He was squirming to get down. The problem was that we were on the driveway. I knew he’d tear up his clothes and skin his knees and feet, but I finally gave in to his squirming. Little man crawled to MW’s golf cart, got behind it, and pushed it all over the driveway for about 35 minutes! He fell four or five times, each of which I ran to him to help him back up. Each time as I lifted him back to his feet, he screamed out in anger, mad that I might take him away from his little game. Finally, it was time to go inside. I picked him up and he threw the biggest temper tantrum I’ve seen yet! He screamed and wiggled and kicked and threw his arms. I popped him on the leg, which ended the bowed back, and put him down for a nap. He is ALL BOY! Praise the Lord!

Oh, I might add that he got a bit artsy this week...by eating chalk! He also gleefully threw his ball into the toilet and then happily splashed in it with BOTH hands! And yes, I was right there...it all happened in the amount of time it took me to take three steps!