Hurry up, Grow up

This weekend was especially busy for me. Traveling to see family, needing to be in ten places at once, I found it hard to catch my breath. I noticed myself leaning on my 3 year old, Ella to do the things that I would normally do for her. She has always been independent and has wanted to flex her wings at every corner. This time, I was letting her. She just learned to potty train in November, but now I was letting her get on the potty, wipe and wash her hands all by herself. I had to ask myself, was I doing this because it was what is best for her, or me? It certainly freed up a good chunk of my day not having to rush back and forth to the bathroom. I started to look at other areas that this was happening. Putting her shoes on, getting herself a snack, feeding her sister yogurt or asking her to check on her baby sister. Am I making her grow up too fast? Is this what you have to do to your oldest child when other littles ones come along?

I am the oldest sibling in my family. Five years older than my brother and eleven years older than my sister. When my brother was born, he was like my little doll. I wanted to play with him all the time. When my sister was born, I felt like she was mine. My real baby. I was accustomed to babysitting and caring for my siblings at a young age. I feel like this is where my care-taker side comes from. I know that it helped shape me into the Mommy I am today, but it was also at times a lot of pressure.

I've decided to try to be more cognizant of my expectations of Ella. I also want to make sure that my daughter stays as young as possible, for as long as possible.

Mommy Mantra - Make your kids an incredible Part of your life, not your WHOLE life.

Last night for dinner we had homemade tomato sauce with slow cooked pork and rope pasta. A nice salad and french bread. The girls ate all their dinner and Don took them to give them a bath. Ella started asking for "something special" almost immediately after dinner was over. I didn't have anything in the house that I could remotely consider a treat. I decided to cut into some fresh pineapple and get creative. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she had heart shaped pineapple pieces with all natural pink sprinkles in front of her. She gasped, beamed from ear to ear and skipped away with her treat. She yelled, "Thank you Mommy." Get creative tonight, it doesn't always have to be cookies ice cream. Any creative dessert ideas out there?