The Queen's Rambles

I don’t think I have a camera problem. I think I have a never-sitting-still-child problem. And maybe a photographer problem. I’m really disappointed I couldn’t get a clear shot of Elsa and her little ponytails, but this will have to do. I will try again when I’m feeling better because it is so danged cute I can hardly stand it!

I’ve had a weird fear about trying to do her hair because I have fat fingers and very poor fine motor skills. Basically I thought it would be a total fail, so why even bother? I watched a few “how to” videos and quickly realized that it doesn’t have to be perfect. No one can perfectly groom a toddler. Yesterday she was standing on Erik’s stool, happily playing in the bathroom sink so I took the opportunity to wet a comb and practice ponytails while she was happy and distracted. The execution sucked, but the look itself was very cute. Maybe with time I can improve my skills. As I always tell Erik, you can’t be good at anything the first time.

But the whole point of this entry is Erik’s reaction. She is cute obviously, but I would take some better pictures and post them if it was just about the ponytails.

Erik saw her and his eyes lit up. “Wow! Look at her hair, mom! Wouldn’t it be cool to snip those things right off!”

Not the reaction I was looking for. Honestly, I didn’t expect a reaction from him at all, but for him to declare that he wants to snip off her cute little ponies? Oh noes! I had to nip that right in the bud.

I very, very, very sternly told him that he would do no such thing and that if he did he wouldn’t have any video games or TV time until after Christmas (since Christmas seems like an eternity away for him). I hope the lecture stuck very deeply in his mind because I will have such a fit that Santa himself won’t be able to hold me down if Erik decides to see how fun snipping off those ponies might be.

Erik is way too smart for his own good. During the lecture he kept saying “It’s just hair. What’s the problem? It’s just hair.”

One thing is for certain, the child is no shrinking violet. That’s the biggest source of strife in our family. He is very self-confident and believes he is 100% right about everything. I love him. I love that he knows his mind. I think his attitude will take him far in life. However, it makes parenting him extremely frustrating at times. Shocking though it may be, sometimes mother does know best.

On a completely different note, we were going to bake our Christmas cookies today. I hate making sugar cookie cutouts. Hate hate hate. So much work for so little payoff (I have yet to find a recipe I really enjoy). UGH. But it is really fun for kids, so I do it every year. Gotta have those experiences, right? I remember how much I loved doing Christmas cookies when I was a little girl. My mom would never do them with us, so I always did them with the pastor’s wife.

Yesterday I mixed up some dough and we were going to do the rolling, baking and decorating today but I woke up achy and sick. Every time I think that maybe I am feeling better, I get up and walk around. I am quickly reminded that I am sick and shouldn’t be moving around.

Erik has been trying his best to help me, which is very much appreciated from an intellectual and mommy-heart stand-point. In reality? Not so helpful.

First he told me I just needed to eat, so he went down and ordered Mike to come upstairs and cook me something. “Mommy, I’ll solve the problem! When my belly hurts it’s because I’m hungry. Problem solved!” So he does listen to me sometimes. I’m glad to know he listens, even if it takes time for him to realize I know what I’m talking about.

Then he wanted to massage my legs, so he and his sister got into a fight over who was allowed to touch my legs. I finally gave up and went to upstairs to escape, but he wouldn’t let me go so easily. I feel really guilty, but I had to trick him out of the room and lock the door behind him. He is very compassionate and sweet. He’s also six. So, you know, not your go-to massage person.

Ugh. I am feeling really poorly so better wrap this up. I wish we had a nice soaking tub. We are in the process of prioritizing things that we need to buy/do to the house. I think a nice soaking tub is pretty much on the bottom of the list, but I wish it could be bumped up. We were going to get a new dining table this month, but I think we have decided to hold off on that (I recovered the chairs so it is not as bad as it was) and get new furniture for the basement instead. The couch and chair are falling apart. To be even semi-comfortable you have to make yourself a nest of out pillow pets. This can be a tricky business, especially if you forget to pay attention to the unicorn’s horn.