FO & a great quote

Here's the wee one's first hat of the year. It's the Modified Tam & she prefers to wear it as a regular hat. *sigh* Oh well. I'm going to CO some mittens this afternoon. She's got gloves (store bought) but anyone who has put gloves on a 3 yr old knows mittens are much easier! I used TLC Amore in white for the hat & will use hte same for the mittens.

My ILS came down this past weekend. We had a nice time despite it only being a couple days. So today I was updating my Myspace page & wanted a new quote. I found this one & it made me giggle over something that happened this weekend. The quote is:

The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children. (Elain Heffner O Magazine 2003)

So this weekend the wee one was having nachos for dinner & was allowed to eat them in the living room at the coffee table. Well, a tomato & green pepper hit the floor. MIL sprang into action. I dont want to say she flipped out b/c she didn't really. Let's say her ideas of toddler cleanliness while eating is different than mine. I'm not being critical or snarky---we've joked about our differences & I dont want you guys to think I'm badmouthing her. I adore the woman & am SO LUCKY that she's my MIL!

The wee one is 3 1/2 & sometimes misses her mouth if she's eating in the living room. I'm lax in that department & that's that. I've accepted it & if you can't then I'm sorry!

So I grab a napkin & clean up the cubed veggies. Accidents happen & she's only 3. It's not as if she dumped her entire plate out on the carpet.

So this morning when I was changing my quote & came across the "art of mothering" it made me think of that incident. I want to raise the wee one to enjoy life & look for the good in it---not to be afraid of making a mistake or a mess. We all make mistakes & we all make messes. It happens. Obviously I dont let her spill food all over the place & take an "oh well, la di dah" approach but if something gets spilled by accident I want her to know that it IS fixable & cleanable. Same goes for playing---a few weeks ago she was painting & literally got water color paint from Michaels all over the place. The kitchen table, the chair she was sitting in, on her pants, shirt, stomach (thru the shirt!!), hands, face, feet. You name it, there was paint on it. Do I tell her that she needs to be neater? She's 3 & learning how to use things. No, I cleaned up the table & chair, got her clothes off her, wiped the paint off her & found a long soak in the bath tub got her feet & hands clean. The shirt had to be washed 3x!

Reading the quote today hit home that I want my daughter to enjoy life & realize that there are bumps in the road but there is always a solution.

Tomorrow is Disney on Ice! I dont know which one of us is more excited! It just might be me!! We have awesome seats (on the ice!!) & the wee one will be dressed like Snow White again. Will update & post pics!