Wind and a blur of color

T-shirts and sneakers whiz by in a blur of rainbow colors. Heat from sun-warmed metal radiates through our clothes. Wind lifts my hair, tangles it. The volume of her voice rises and falls as we, too, rise up and glide down, around and around.

Mother and daughter, we survey our domain. We lean to the side, fingers wiggling at the little Daddy down below. I spot a petite train. She exclaims when she sees a playground. Grins are exchanged with nearby riders sharing our little bit of airspace.

Her joy in this moment is worth the nausea to come.

This week's writing prompt from Galit at Write on Edge: "This week I want you to conjure something. An object, a person, a feeling, a color, a season- whatever you like. But don’t tell me what it is, conjure it."  Our limit was 100 words.

iPhone Photo Phun: Airplane

Linking up with @BelleBeanDog for some iPhone Photo Phun!

My all-time favorite iPhone photo? This one. Taken a few days ago. My child was being hilarious, so I grabbed my iPhone and clicked. I wish it hadn't come out so blurry, but I'm thrilled to have captured such a perfect moment.

Completely unaided, my 3-year-old daughter packed her little blue tote bag, put on her favorite princess heels, set up her pink princess chair by the wall, sat down, and crossed her legs. 

Then she exclaimed to me, "Mommy! I am playing stuck at the airport waiting for a plane."

She sighed, and huffed, and puffed.

"Why is my plane not coming?"

"I'm going to be late!"

I think she nailed it. Don't you?

 

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Link up your phun phone photos here!

The clingy kid

Alright people, I am ready to make a confession.

I do not like to play.

I get painfully bored playing preschool games. I do not enjoy sitting on the floor. I can only change the 3" tall princesses' clothes so many times before I have a pounding headache. Play-Doh? Just makes me antsy about the mess.

I do not like to play.
Gasp! What a horrible mom.

I guess I should say, I do not like to play, but I do it anyway.

I am a busy work-from-home mom. I work for an advertising agency. I also blog, tweet, take care of the house, do laundry, run errands, and cook meals. I also take time out each day to play with Amelia.

Granted, it may not be for long. 30-45 minutes of undivided attention from me makes her day. I find a way to stop what I am doing and let her take the reins. During this time, she directs our play. Sometimes, if my schedule looks clear, we go out to a playground or indoor play center. I encourage her to venture out, to have confidence playing alone. I will also find moments to join her. To interact. To cheer her on as she climbs a tower or chase her as she runs and giggles. I admit, I do not love it. But the joy on her face breaks down my walls and forces a smile. Those moments are priceless.

Eight or nine times out of ten, do you know what happens?

We meet "the clingy kid". A kid, usually much older than my own, whom is so enamored by a mom in the mix of kids, he/she becomes my shadow. Many times, this kid will approach and ask,
     "Will you play with me?"
A question posed not to 3-year-old Amelia, but to 33-year-old me. 

Here is another confession...

I completely avoid this kid.
Gasp! How terrible!

I do not want the responsibility of entertaining someone else's child. I generally answer with, "I need to watch my daughter today." And the clingy kid? Usually follows me for a few minutes (or more) before finally turning away.

Maybe this is wrong of me... but I don't. like. playing.

I do what I can - as happily as possible - for my own child, but entertaining one I've never met? Just goes a step too far. However, the clingy kid tugs at my heartstrings. I wonder, why is this little guy/girl craving attention? Do they get undivided attention at home? Are they crying out for parental involvement? Trust me, I am not that cool. Why ask to play with me?

Maybe they are simply lacking social skills? 

Why does this happen so often?

Do you know the clingy kid?

Can I see some ID?

My precious Amelia loves her stuffed animals. To her, they are more than just toys.

They are her best friends..

Her students...

Her babies.

A couple weeks ago, Amelia decided to throw a tea party. She helped her favorite fuzzy friends get all dressed up. She arranged them in a circle so they could converse and enjoy each other's company. Then she distributed the "teacups".

I was not invited to the tea party that morning. So I took the 25 minutes of free time to do a little computer work.

When it was time to check on the tea party again, I was shocked. This is the scene I found:

Apparently, Amelia serves more than tea in those cups! Long Island Iced Tea, perhaps?

Looks like a pretty fun party.

And I wasn't invited.



Beautiful Princess

The clip-clop, clip-clop of plastic princess shoes is a never-ending sound in our home during daylight hours. Princess fever has hit at full force. Jeans? Pants? Things of the past. Our little queen-in-waiting requires skirts and dresses now, often with a fluffy and sparkly tulle skirt to complete the ensemble.

With Amelia's birthday fast approaching, this was the perfect time to browse the lovely princess costumes from CostumeDiscounters.com. I selected the Rose Princess Costume for Toddler. It met all of my discerning princess' criteria:

• It is pink 
• It is frilly
• It comes with a shiny crown

 Do you know what else? It has built-in LED lights on the skirt! She was instantly transformed from a regular pink princess into twinkling royalty with a press of a button.



(Photo from website - apparently, my princess does not allow photographs.)



Shipping was very fast, and the quality is nicer than you would see in the big box discount stores. Plus, you don't have to wait until Halloween!

Need an Easter Bunny for an upcoming school or church event? Want some memorable Easter photos of your kids in bunny ears? Costume Discounters has several costumes to choose from. Super heroes, movie characters, animals... even sexy costumes for grown-up masquerades. Most everything you can think of, in all sizes.

Dress-up play is great for the imagination. Surprise your little Superman or Snow White with a new costume today!

Note: I received the Rose Princess Costume at no charge for the purpose of this review. Costume Discounters had no input in this review. All opinions are solely mine.

A little focus, please

Amelia is a very lucky and spoiled girl. She's the youngest on one side of the family, and the only grandchild on the other. Between Santa, grandparents, aunts and uncles, she came away with a truckload of new toys for Christmas.

I was soooo looking forward to these new toys. Winter weather traps us indoors most every day, and I had high hopes for the excitement of new playthings. So why is Amelia playing with each toy a matter of 3 to 5 minutes?

She needs help getting a game set up - but she won't finish playing it with me.

She bounces on her new trampoline - for about 45 seconds.

She drives her new Tinkerbell big wheel around the house - until she spots yet another toy.

She plays her electronic drum pad for a couple minutes. She colors for several seconds. And in between each activity, she calls out for Mommy. She wants help getting something out. She wants me to play something new. She decides to have a snack break.

These new toys didn't help me one bit! I'm busier than I was before Christmas. Crossing my mommy fingers that this is just a phase from the excitement of it all.

Toys!

My work is fabulous enough to give us this whole week as vacation. And I'm too busy to write! Too busy playing with my girl and her fun new toys. Santa brought her a small indoor trampoline! So while it's too cold to go outdoors, we're bouncing ourselves silly here. We're playing games, dressing up in glamorous princess accessories, coloring, and reading new books. Over & over again.

We'll be with more family members in a few days. And word has it she's getting a Sit-N-Spin too! So we can bounce and spin until we fall over.

No wonder kids like toys so much... they're FUN!

I'll get back to my usual blogging schedule when the real world comes back to my life on Januay 3rd.

A fossil dig and some magnets (a family outing)

Only metro Atlanta gets an entire day of rain and stays below 35 degrees. It is nasty out there. Family and friends all over Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina are stuck indoors with lovely snowy scenery out their windows. We get to look at puddles.

So as not to let the weather win the battle, we struck out on a mini road trip at 10 a.m. this morning. We took Amelia to a new science museum, the Tellus Northwest GA Science Museum. It's not very big, but they had several dinosaur bone replicas and tons of pretty minerals in all colors. Amelia enjoyed picking out all the purple ones. It was a nice family outing, and it gave us a reason to get out of the house. Amelia's favorite parts were the fossil dig area and the "family backyard". We made it a nice day to be together in spite of the gray chill out there. Steve gets so little playtime with his girl each week, and we try to make our weekends special.

The self-help blog

So yesterday was one of the most difficult days I've ever had with Amelia. The "terrible twos" have most definitely arrived in our household. No one told Amelia that she's not two yet. Wooooah, that girl was a monster!

Today has been an excellent day. She has been nice and somewhat behaved, and we got a chance to spend the morning playing at a new indoor playground/giant sand box. Fridays are the best!

I've been thinking where I want to go with this blog. I'd love to create something witty and insightful that will make mommies of toddlers nod their heads and smile each day. But who am I kidding? I'm not going to market this thing. I'm not going to have followers. But I do like to write. And I know my life could certainly use a regular schedule of "me" time to reflect on how I'm doing and what is truly important.

I will always strive to be three mommies in one. But what I need to learn is when to put more effort into one vs. the other. And that it is OK to let one go now & then. So for the next few reflections, I'm going to share my success at being each of the three mommies that day. Even if the success is small. A little hip, hip, horray for myself can only make me stronger.

Friday, 1/22/10

I was a Perfect Mom.
Took Amelia to the play place to meet some friends. Stepped back when she needed to try something on her own, and played by her side when she needed reassurance. She tried things she never would have tried 2 weeks ago! I'm proud of the growth and confidence she showed today.

I was a Happy Mom.
Playtime was so much fun! Devoted my attention to my daughter and enjoyed every minute of it. Climbed through an inflatable tunnel, dug in the sand, cheered Amelia on as she braved some new adventures on the playground. I wasn't tired, wasn't sore, wasn't bored. I was happy.

I was a Working Mom.
Granted, this is easy on Fridays. I only check in briefly but spend most of the day away from actual work. But I got a couple quick things done to help me move towards an upcoming deadline. A small little load off my back, anyway. Lighter feels better.

Happy weekend to all!

What do you mean, three moms?

Doing the mommy thing is not easy. No one said it would be. But I don't think I realized just how much I would bounce around the emotional spectrum on a daily basis. As a chronic over-achiever, I thought I could be the Perfect Mom, the Happy Mom, & the Working Mom without skipping a beat. 21-1/2 months after my gorgeous Amelia's birth, the realization that these three identities don't always mesh is hitting me in the face... and it hurts.

The Perfect Mom reads all the books, follows the rules, and ends up with a brilliant, sweet, and happy child. It's all a breeze, right? Ha. More like impossible. The pressure placed on a mom, both by herself and by society is astronomical. And unrealistic. And just plain stupid. Especially when said child nears the dreaded age of two.

The Happy Mom can play on the floor every minute of the day, enjoys reading the same baby book over & over & over a gazillion times, and doesn't know the meaning of bored & lonely. A mom's love for her child makes all of the daily, repetitive tasks enjoyable, right? Ha. Surely no one out there can be the happy playmate for a toddler every minute of every day. The level of energy for such activities diminishes by age. Thirty-two is no match to two. Not even close.

The Working Mom has it all. A career, contacts outside of the home, a touching relationship with her child. Especially the mom who gets to work part-time from home. She has the best of all worlds, right? You guessed it - Ha. Working Mom has as much of a balancing act as the circus performer on a tightrope juggling cantaloupes. And probably gets paid less.

So where does this bring me? I work and I'm a mom. And I am definitely not perfect. Nor am I always happy. I want to be everything to everyone, and I struggle every day to make myself realize and/or remember that I cannot. AND THAT IS OK. I'm on the journey of a lifetime, and I'm looking forward to where it leads.

So why write it in a blog?
Well, why not?!?

We'll see where this blog goes in the future. Maybe today is just one of those funky days that will pass and I won't come back for months. Or maybe my blog will get discovered by thousands of followers who find it comforting, witty, and down-to-earth. Maybe I'll support my family with huge advertising sponsors and become famous! There I go, trying to be perfect again....

How about we just wait & see?