I discovered recently that while my house is child proofed for babies and preschoolers… it is not childproofed for school-aged children. Ask me how I found this out. Well, let me tell ‘ya…
We had invited our new neighbours and their two children — a 5 year-old and a toddler — over to our house for breakfast: bagels, coffee, juice, etc. Despite the age difference, Maja and their older daughter play fairly well together and had escaped upstairs to play away from the adults and babies. Happy sounds were coming from up there, so clearly there was no reason to investigate. HAH! We were wrong. So very very wrong. Because, you see, the difference between 5 year olds and 3 year olds is that 5 year olds can read; they have more reasoning powers and are just a little more likely to start up a project/activity that a 3 year old probably wouldn’t think of.
You’re just dying to know what they did, aren’t you?
Paint. The kids found a paint-by-numbers kit that I had stashed in a cupboard and completely forgotten about. They opened the kit, opened the paints and proceeded to do some facepainting. With acrylic paints. No wonder they were laughing.
No harm was done and 99.9% of the paint ended up on their faces. Maja emerged as a beautiful butterfly and her friend was a Cheetah (I first guessed a tiger, but I was soon corrected). The only problem: when acrylic paint dries it shrinks… and guess what? It doesn’t wash off with soap and water.
After my initial incident with Maja on my bike a few months ago I was reluctant to put Madeleine on the bike. We bought a carrier for her about 6 weeks ago, but didn’t have a helmet until this past Sunday. Once we had the helmet there were no more excuses… so Richard spent some time on Monday afternoon putting the new carrier on his bike… and off they went! Madeleine LOVED it; Richard didn’t crash. All was good. Tell me if she isn’t the cutest thing EVER on the back of a bike?!?
For our first bike outing as a family we headed off to the pool for our first dip of the season. The water was a little cold, but both girls thoroughly enjoyed it. And Mads fell asleep on the way home:
It’s good that we now have our bikes set up for kid transportation. With the rising cost of gas we’re trying to limit our use of the car for little jaunts around the neighbourhood. Really, we’re all set for a variety of things: double stroller for longer walks; red wagon for trips to the farmer’s market and for picnics; bicycles for activities around the neighbourhood. It’s good for our health, it’s good for the environment, and it’s good for our wallets.
sorry, I pulled yesterday’s post. I should rant more often… I get more traffic. :) Thank you to to all who commented. Here’s the revision:
Yesterday I was frustrated by the response I got when I had to leave work to attend to my child. I understand that it wasn’t the best day for it, but when my baby’s butt is as red as a tomato and her face is purple from screaming… well, it needs to be attended to. NO ONE likes a sick kid — it messes everything up. I had plans for the day, too, like going to the pool to swim some laps. Didn’t happen.
Either way you slice it balancing work and children is hard. We’re supposed to be living in an era that supports working mothers. When one of my children is sick I will put everything else aside and deal with it, because my children come first. It’s not up for discussion.
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Maja has recently learned how to dress herself with some degree of reliability. Remember the day of stripes? Well, what I just found out is that when kids learn to dress themselves they also know quite well how to un-dress themselves, too. When you’re 3 years old and the mood suddenly strikes you to get undressed, well, you usually go with it. Doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing.
The mood to get back to nature struck Maja the other day as we were watering the flowers in front of the house. In the middle of our chore Maja suddenly announced:
“Mom! I’m a Queen! Look at me”
I look up and see feet, legs, a tummy, and Maja’s dress over her head.
“Maja, put your dress down”
“No! I’m a Queen! Look!!”
One arm has been freed, seconds later another arm is freed from the dress.
“Maja, please put your dress back on”
The dress is off, lying in a heap at her feet.
“Mom look! I’m a Queen!”
Dancing ensues as the diaper comes off.
“Maja, get in the house. Now.”
We have a huge amount of baby-related items in our house and, for whatever reason, a lot of stuffed animals. The majority of these stuffed animals have absolutely no sentimental value and were just random gifts — like from a neighbour from our old street or a stranger in Arizona… Maybe it’s just an easy gift to give? Hey, you’re a cute kid. This is a cute stuffed animal! Cute things belong together… so this is for you! It’s not like Maja or Madeleine actually play with even half of the stuffed creatures we have in our house. So, a few weeks ago while the kids were still at school, I donned some dark clothing, put the Mission Impossible theme song on the stereo and embarked on a super-secret stealth-mom cleanout: I rounded these unloved items up, heartlessly tossed them into a garbage bag, and deposited them at the local thrift store. The deal is done.
It was oddly freeing and Maja hasn’t noticed their absence at all. Now ya’ll, don’t get your knickers in a knot: her favourites, and any stuffed creature with sentimental value (gift from family, close friends, or one that proved to be very cute) have remained. But the random Britney Spears bear? GONE.
Stumble It!
