Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is Monday and we are working hard to create some cards for friends and family. I saw this idea in Martha Stewart Living last year and decided this is what Jillian will give to her friends this year. I like how adding the lollipop makes the hearts look like flowers.

They were super simple, just a little time consuming. I had to do the cutting and assembling of the hearts, but Jillian selected the lollipop and put it in for the final touch.

We still need to figure out what to send to family and we're going to be cutting it close. This has been a crazy week. Daddy had outpatient surgery on Monday, keeping me out of the house all day, then other commitments have kept us running the rest of the week. I'm sure we can get it all done and shipped out tomorrow just in time to let everyone know how much they mean to us.

Come on Spring!

Today was Groundhog Day so Jillian and I did a little project. This simple little groundhog craft came to me via an email newsletter that we use for some homeschooling projects. Last year we made a groundhog out of toilet paper roll, but I like this one much better.

Jillian enjoyed painting her groundhog with an old toothbrush and since we didn't have brown paint she made him yellow so he would have blond hair like her.

Thankfully Puxatony Phil didn't see his shadow this morning so hopefully Spring is right around the corner. But Jillian's groundhog had a shadow, though she kept it hidden much of the day.

The Good, the Bad, and the What Were You Thinking?

So once again I make up my mind to make it a habit to post more frequently and once again I fail. However, this time it wasn't because I simply didn't take the time to turn on my computer and write. I have purposely avoided writing because it would mean being completely honest about life around here.

Don't get me wrong. In the grand scheme of things our life is great. We are happy and healthy (except for a week-long case of the snots). But I have come to realize in the past two-and-a-half weeks that the most frustrating part of parenthood is how you can have a seemingly perfect child one day and a terror the next. And I don't mean little meltdowns that take place at random parts of a fairly smooth day, I'm talking about full-blown ugliness that seems to consume the day.

I am not so sure Jillian ever had a chance. I am not a super calm, soothing person. I have several friends who speak with sweet, whispy tones and try as I might, it doesn't work with me. So when I get flustered, frustrated, excited, whatever, I tend to do it big. Yes, I do have my moments when I am calm and collective and that's usually when I'm around others. And I also go to the other extreme where I brush it off and act like nothing has happened. But for some reason I tend to overreact when alone or with those who are closest to me. So it's no surprise that when something doesn't go as planned for my child that she flips out. That's what has been happening lately around here and it's been happening with more frequency.

Last week I was so upset with her that I actually said that I should enroll her in preschool and let someone else deal with her. Then reality quickly hit me with the fact that she'd still come home and probably with other behavior issues learned from other kids that we would have to correct. Sure she'd be out of the house for three hours a day, three to five days a week. But she's home with us for at least 21 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I literally dropped to my knees in prayer one day asking God to help. Help my child become more obedient. Help me react better to her. Help me be a positive example to her.

My answer came in the form of a couple of blog posts by women who are filled with much more wisdom than I.

This post on MOD Squad made me question if I expect more out of my daughter than she is capable of giving. For heaven's sake, she only three. There are times that I expect her to behave on the level of an adult when, truth be told, most adults don't behave any better. I need to be more mindful of where she is NOW. I need to understand that she is still being shaped and instead of getting frustrated that she makes the same comment four times in a row let her know that I look forward to the day when God teaches her that she is being heard and understood by others.

I also need to show her more grace than I am willing to grant her most days. How awful would it be if the God I try so hard to follow just threw up his hands with disgust and said he was finished with me? Following him means following his example.

The next way God spoke to me was through Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts and the blog, A Holy Experience. She spoke to my reaction to Jillian's missteps by writing:

"You are what you speak and you are what you hear and we are our words and our tongue is the tail of our heart."

Wow. The words ripped through me like a sword. Although I have always known this truth, the reality has never seeped into my heart as it did then and there. Again, bringing me to my knees in prayer that God help me offer calm, supportive, loving, yet authoritative words to my child. She only knows how to react by learning from me.

She's a fabulous child and a joy to be around - most of the time. It is up to me to lead by example and remember that she is still a very young work in progress.

Comfort in Routine

In a way I am sad that the Christmas season has come to an end. We took down our tree over the weekend and packed away the rest of the Christmas decor and now the house looks, well, blah. But there is a level of comfort in returning to the same-ol-same-ol.

Jillian and I did not leave the house on Monday. We played with one of her art projects (a fabulous gift from a friend that will become a favorite gift of ours to give), did some school work, had plenty of play and music time, and completed a craft project for today's music class.

Jillian has been part of Kindermusik for nearly 3 years. There have been times when I have questioned continuing the program, but she loves the class and loves music. This session the kids are learning music that has to do with weather. Snow is the current topic so we had to make snow boots that she could take to class. It was a fun little activity that we did after nap time.

We used a brown paper bag, dot paint, stickers and cotton balls. Jilly had so much fun decorating her boots.
One had pink and green dots with snowflake stickers and the other had purple and blue dots with snowman and penguin stickers. The cotton balls served as "fur" lining to keep the snow out of the boots and to keep her feet nice and toasty.

She had a lot of fun stomping around in the snow that apparently filled her playroom. She even laid down on the floor to make a snow angel and trotted around with her bells singing Jingle Bells.

It was a fun afternoon and a great way to begin a new year.

Gift for God

At this year's MOPS Christmas party we chose a gift that is going to make it on to our list of family traditions. What God Wants For Christmas is a neat Nativity lesson that can be enjoyed by the entire family. It comes with a pop-up manger, a book and 7 boxes that you open each day for 7 days. The first six represent those who witnessed Christ entry into the world. Day 7 reveals what God wants for Christmas.

It shouldn't be a surprise that what God wants is us, but as we talked about it the days leading up to the final day, Jillian was convinced that God wants a camel.

In addition to reinforcing the story of Christ's birth, the set is a fun little play toy for Jillian. She lays in the floor each night and has the figures act out her version of the first Christmas. The dialog that goes along with the production is quite entertaining as she makes sure the shepherd and the wise man speak nicely to one another and that they don't talk too loudly to wake up Baby Jesus.

Snow Angel

We had our first snowfall of the season today. Kids didn't go to school so there was plenty of activity outside our door before 9 a.m. Jilly jumped into the action by making snow angles along the sidewalk up and down our street. She seemed to have had a great time for a couple of hours until she finally got a little too cold and needed a bit of hot chocolate to get back on track. The morning ended with a couple of kids in the house with hot cocoa warming their hands and the Grinch on TV. It was a great morning, in spite of not being able to accomplish a thing on my "to do" list.

Peaceful Evenings

We babysit the second-grade girl who lives across the street each afternoon. She is with us from the time she gets off the school bus around 2:30 and her parents come home, before 6. Let's just say that the house is not at all peaceful during that time. She is a sweet girl, but having two girls who are very strong willed together is, well, interesting. I feel as if I can't leave the room for more than 10 minutes without hearing Jilly squeal because she's irritated that either the little girl is taunting her for some reason or because she's looking at her. It makes me wonder why anyone would want more than one child....It's not really that bad. The girls have had many more sweet moments together than not, it's just that those annoying times are amplified.

Either way I have employed a new rule: once Mattie is gone we turn on the Christmas CDs, flip on the fire, light candles and try to bring the day down to a peaceful tone by the time Daddy gets home from work. Yesterday was picture perfect.
I have a box that I wrapped with green foil paper a few years ago to hold our collection of Christmas books. It only comes out this time of year and is a virtual treasure chest for my child. She adores books and especially these. She was quite content browsing through and "reading" everything from Curious George's Christmas and Frosty the Snowman to the picture book of Christ's birth and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

It's quite entertaining listening to her. She has an amazing memory, especially when it comes to books, and either recites each page word for word or some version of it. She is so hungry to learn to read and we are working on it, though not as intense as I had planned, but that's OK. Her enthusiasm doesn't show any signs of diminishing.

Having these couple of hours each evening alone with the sounds of Josh Grobin belting out Christmas classics have made a big difference in the way our day ends. It is much more peaceful and joyful. In addition to bringing our home down to that level after a high-energy afternoon is important to me, but I hope that the act of reconnecting with the characters in these special books creates special memories for Jillian as well.