Toothwhale

Three is bouncing, climbing, sliding, and princess cake

 

Now they've both celebrated turning three at the inflatable party place. She did it her way -- with a princess cake. 

Who she is, rethought

I woke up feeling sad about what I wrote. I thought it would make me feel better to write it down and put it out there, but, instead, it made me sad. Harper's resisting and refusing, screaming and defying -- it does wear me out. But, it's only part of who she is.

There's also the her who thinks always of Henry, her brother and best friend. The her who likes to sing, to snuggle, to give hugs. The her who holds onto my neck and says she wants to grow up to be a mommy just like me. The her who loves to climb, to jump, to race, to swing and slide, to go places and see things, to play and pretend and explore and create.

The her who is only beginning to become who she is.

She may not be making my job as her mother an easy one, but she's worth the hard work of finding more peace and compromise. So, I have work to do. We have work to do.

Who she is

Tonight, she chose Ian Falconer's Olivia as her bedtime story. No other choice would have been more right. The children's book about a feisty piglet ends this way: "When they've finished reading, Olivia's mother gives her a kiss and says, 'You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway.' And Olivia gives her a kiss back and says, 'I love you anyway too.'"

I love her anyway, and I know she loves me, too, but Harper wears me out. She wears me and Jake and even sometimes Henry, out.

For nearly three years, I have been telling myself that she is in a phase. That it will pass. It will get easier. She's just tired. Or hungry.

I think I am beginning to see something, and it's not a light at the end of the tunnel. It's that this is not a phase. This is who she is. This is WHO SHE IS.

Although, I hope not.

I still hope not.

Because this person is difficult to parent. Very difficult.

Natural lotion and lip balm for kids

My mom gave Harper a light pink hoodie with a faux sheepskin lining for Christmas, and when I put it on her yesterday before we went out for quick trips here and there, I couldn't help but take her picture, she was such a little pink lamb. 

Today when I uploaded the pictures I'd taken yesterday, I got a closer look at the few of her in the hoodie. Right away, I noticed the freckle on her neck and her eyelashes. I also noticed the skin on her cheeks was dry, and her lips were chapped. I know winter is rough on my skin and lips. Why should it be any different for my little ones?

Thinking about slathering the kids with lotion and lip balm got me thinking about the products we use. Being conscious about what we put on kids' bodies seems like an extension of being conscious about what we put in kids' bodies.

I found a couple of articles online about natural beauty products that I think offer good help with deciding what to buy and use on kids' dry skin and lips.

The Southern Living article How to Buy Natural Beauty Products says "Bottom line -- organics are the safest way to feel confident in what you're buying." The article also reminded me about the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep cosmetic safety database.

At Simple Mom, I found Tsh Oxenreider's post about Natural Beauty: Clean Skin, Teeth, and Lips. There, she explains that you can make your own lotion. The same goes for lip balm, although she shares that she likes pure lanolin -- the wax taken from sheep's wool and the same stuff nursing moms use on cracked nipples.

Look for my little pink lamb to be better moisturized in future woolly close-ups. 

Gastroenteritis took down the weekend

Gastroenteritis -- known at our house as tummy bug -- blew through here and took down the weekend. Harper was hit by it as Thursday night turned into Friday morning. Henry went down at about 3:45 this morning. Jake and I hope to withstand the germ force and remain standing through the next few days.

Friday was supposed to be a big day. (Any day when I'll put on makeup qualifies as a big day.) The plan was for me to drop Harper off at preschool, keep Henry with me, and later meet Jake at one of the schools we've applied to for a kindergarten evaluation. After the evaluation, Henry and I would pick Harper up early, Jake would go back to work, and we'd all meet back at the house in the evening to kick off the weekend.

But Harper was in no shape to go to school, so something had to change about that plan. Jake called into work for the morning and stayed with Harper while Henry and I went to the evaluation. Afterward, Jake went on to work, and Henry joined Harper on the couch to catch up on some PBS KIDS shows. Harper hadn't kept even a little bit of Gatorade down all day, but when she went to bed early Friday night, I thought for sure she'd wake up feeling settled.

She slept through the night but vomited first thing in the morning on Saturday. I felt a little crazy with anxiety and could see that she looked thinner than normal. "She's so skinny," I told Jake. I worried about her becoming dehydrated if she couldn't hold down some liquid soon. I wanted to do something, but all I could think to do was vacuum. Jake said we'd call the pediatrician when the office opened.

By the time they would have opened for weekend hours, though, she was coming around. She found Henry in the playroom and got right to the kind of his/hers play they do so well. This time, it was Boba Fett's snack day. They covered their child-sized table with plastic play food and sat the other Star Wars bounty hunters down to eat. Later, they pulled the cushions off the couch and jumped from one to the other, and pretended to be Batman and Batgirl on a hunt for the Joker. It was so good to see them back together as partners in crime(fighting).

Jake and I had a date planned for Saturday night. We were going to go out to dinner and maybe take a walk afterward. With Harper still recuperating on Saturday and lots of germs potentially swirling around our house, we didn't feel right about having a babysitter come. Sigh.

We hit the couch for a Netflix rental and went to bed thinking we'd make something better of Sunday. Then Henry came into our room in the tiny hours and said, "I don't feel good." 

We've been giving church a try in the new year, but we won't be there today. We'll just have to take it slow, do what we can, and hope for a well week next week.

How about you? What did you do this weekend? Let me live vicariously!