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Friday, July 23, 2010

7 Quick Takes Friday, #73



1. I should warn you that this is The Week Of The Swimming Lessons. (Next week, too!)  I'm so proud of Mia's willingness to blow bubbles in the water and float and jump and listen to the teacher's instructions.
 

It doesn't hurt that her teacher is fantastic -- really, she's so enthusiastic and lovingly supportive that I couldn't imagine a more comfortable environment in which to learn swimming.


She only teaches two or three kids at a time, so I know her eyes are always on my child, but at the same time she's giving lots of one-on-one instruction. 


Apparently though, it wouldn't matter if her eyes were off of Mia for the entire lesson -- I've got my camera aimed out the window the entire time, snapping fifty shots per half-hour session.  It's like I've never seen my child in the pool before! 



2.  I've been so focused on Mia's excellent progress in the pool, that sweet Lauren's been nearly unphotographed all week.  (Which I tried to justify with words on Tuesday.)  I had to make it better, and snapped a few shots of her to provide some balance in my mind. 


This house belongs to three little boys, and she loved playing with their cars.  Really: she loved the yellow car so much that she's kissing it in this picture.  Such a little lover she is.  It makes me happy to know that those rough-and-tumble cars are being cuddled and smooched after enduring years of rowdy boy-play.  The car may not ever get another kiss in its lifetime, but will know it was loved by a pink little girl!



3. This is what swim lessons coupled in the same week with vacation bible school will do to a person:



4. I found Lauren dancing at my computer the other day, banging on the keys.  Yahoo Search was not amused:




5. I stopped by the office of my sweet friend, Jill, for a quick chat this week, and came away with a new book to read.  Have you heard of it?


So far, it's WONDERFUL!  I was drawn in by the first couple of pages, and now I can hardly put it down.  The characters' voices are original and memorable, and the plot is really holding my interest.  I feel like taking a vacation, just so I can read it!



6. Lauren's rebellious little personality is really shining these days.  Thankfully, she's good-natured about it; there's no trace of attitude or hatefulness about it, it's just fun.  She'll blow raspberries with her mouth full of food, shove her hand in her juice cup, and giggle wildly while I reprimand her.  And her latest (adorably) silly response to getting in trouble is to smile her sweetest smile up at me, and ask, "Is dat funny, mama?"

So many times while she's laughing at her naughtiness, I tell her That's Not Funny!  Apparently she's not buying it.



7. Now I need some advice.  If Lauren is attitude-free, Mia is attitude-full.  Something I told her yesterday didn't make her very happy.  I can't even remember what it was -- probably something she wanted to do and I wouldn't let her, so she was getting angry with me.  "You're not a good mama!" she yelled.  Later, on a different subject, she again yelled, "You're NOT MY MAMA anymore!"

I always thought I'd be broken-hearted when I heard something like this from my child, but I was okay.  What I'm wondering though, is how should I respond to those words?  I ended up holding my tongue and just ignoring it -- wanting time to think about the best way to answer her.  But I'm clueless.  What would you say?



Peace out Homies.  Word to your mother.  (Roughly translated, that means 'Have a nice weekend! Stop by Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!')

11 comments:

  1. I love the picture of Lauren kissing the car! Send her over here- the 800 little cars cluttering up our residence have been thrown, smashed, and endlessly stacked, but never smooched. Poor things.

    Hm, about the "You're not my Mama" comment: I've been thinking on it and the only thing I could come up with is, "Well, you're my son/daughter and I love you very much." Is that lame? It's all I got. I guess if my kid rejected that response and kept affirming my... demotion, I'd probably ignore it because my guess is they are aware of the shock value associated with what they're saying. I'm interested to see how others deal with comments like that.

    Have a great weekend, Sarah!

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  2. No advice for mischievous and attitude-ful little girls but much love and support. So glad the swim lessons are going well.

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  3. When Lauren is done lovin' at the Ross's send her over here, we have plenty of toys that feel very mistreated!!

    Way to go Mia!! She's going to be quite the little fish!!

    I have heard some similar remarks by our Isaac. I know he is just angry and trying to find a way to get it out. I tell him that his words mean something and remind him of other, more appropriate ways, to deal with his anger. When he is all calmed down I try to get him to come up with ways to tell me he doesn't like what I am doing and of course remind him that sometimes we just have to do things we don't want or don't like.

    That's all I got. Good Luck!!

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  4. "The Help" is one of my favorite reads of 2010 so far. You will love it.

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  5. I loved "The Help"! It was so very good and difficult to put down. I think you will really enjoy it. I am not sure how to respond to the "You're NOT my mama" comment. I, too, am afraid I will be broken-hearted when I hear those words. Unfortunately my defense mechanism is always dry humor so I would probably respond with something like "Well, let's call her and let HER deal with you, then!" or "Then how do you explain the stretch marks?" or something else equally inappropriate. Probably the right thing is more like empathizing with her anger and letting her know you love her.

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  6. I LOVED The Help. LOVED. And that is my shortest review ever, but I don't know how far you are into it...so I don't want to spoil anything. As for what to reply to an angry little girl...maybe she's just testing out the waters? Seeing what she's allowed to say? Or maybe that's just how her brain processes anger. I'd probably just say, "I'm so sorry you feel mad, but I'm happy that I'll always, always, be your Mommy." I might not say that every time, as it could get tiring, but sometimes she might need to hear it. Even in her anger :) Or something like, "I'm really glad you can tell me that you feel angry!" Because when she's 16 she'll just slam the door ;) Haha. I think you're a great Mom.

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  7. I've been meaning to read The Help, thanks for the reminder!! :)
    As for the comments, I'm not sure. I'd probably ignore, or tell her that it hurts my feelings or something like that. But mostly ignore and not feed into it more than necessary.
    Have a great weekend!! :)

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  8. Love The Help -- I'm reading it, too!

    As for the comments...I agree with Corinne. My boys -- particularly my youngest, sassy Rowan -- have been known to blurt such a thing. I usually just say, "That's not a nice thing to say; it makes Mommy feel bad." Or I completely ignore it. She is wanting a reaction from you, and even though it's tempting to give one, it's probably best to ignore it.

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  9. The Help was the best book I read all year. I abandoned my family duties for 3 days to read it!

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  10. I love all these swimming lesson pictures! And Lauren looks so sweet kissing that car!

    As for the attitude problem, sigh, I've heard it all before. Depending on the situation, I either just ignore it (as in KAT: "You're not my mommy anymore! ME: Okay, that's fine, but you have to put your shoes away anyway) or I say something reassuring like, "Well honey, it's okay to be mad at me sometimes, but I'll *always* be your mom". I think kids react to the phrases that get the biggest reaction from US. For instance, the first time Kat said "I just don't feel like anyone loves me anymore," I found myself completely speechless. Then, I went to great lengths to reassure her she was loved--and now (of course) she pulls out that phrase anytime she's trying to avoid a punishment or get my attention away from her sister. So yeah, I think you're right: a calm, even-tempered response is always best! Good luck!

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  11. Thanks for the book reccomendation! And my 3 year old has been starting to yell stuff when she is mad, the worst so far was "I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU!" but I'm sure there will be more. I've just been staying calm and trying to teach her how it's OK to be angry and give her other waye to express it?

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Hmm...And how did that make you FEEL?