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February 22, 2012

The Thirsty Crow and Baby A the Resourceful

Since we emancipated the girls a few weeks ago, taking down the baby gates that had delineated their playroom sanctuary from the rest of the house, we've all had a lot of new experiences.

The girls have...

...seen me put in my contacts every morning, as I can't just leave them playing for a moment while I run upstairs...they accompany me everywhere.

...helped sort and "fold" laundry...and I've had to give up some of my perfectly-aligned stacks of socks and washcloths.

...learned to carry their cups from the table to the sink...giving me hope that I won't bear soul responsibility for dishes for the next 15 years.

...gotten pretty proficient in taking things to the recycle bin...and I hope they're learning to respect the environment.

...and on and on and on.

Many of these are housekeeping-oriented learnings, and I know it's time the girls start to get a larger sense for how things work around the house.

There have also been so many sweet moments, too. I love...

...when the girls come to see what I'm doing in the kitchen, and then they run back to their play kitchen, full of new inspiration.

...when Baby B comes to find me in the kitchen, just to say, "I love you, Mommy," and then skips back to her playing.

...that the girls find Sasha's toys and try to take them to her (although the thought of cat slobber on their hands makes me go through even more baby wipes during the course of the day).

...seeing the girls reading at the kitchen table, just like Mommy and Daddy read the paper, and Mommy enjoys her books.

And along those lines, I captured one of the cutest things (I think!) in recent weeks. On Day 3 of the unleashment, I was working in the kitchen to get lunch ready. The girls were reading at the table, and I was thankful they were entertaining themselves long enough for me to peel a couple of kiwis.

I wasn't paying too much attention, only enough to know where they were and that they weren't swinging from the chandelier.

When I finally focused on them, here's what I found...

I couldn't help but think of the Hindu folktale, The Thirsty Crow. The crow -- seeing a tiny bit of water at the bottom of a tall pitcher of water -- works and works to put pebble after pebble into the pitcher to bring the water level up so he can drink.

Baby A wasn't comfortable on her knees at the table, so she assembled a pile of books (with Baby B's help, it should be noted), until she was just the right height.

Add "the exhibition of new resourcefulness" to the list of things the emancipation has brought us.

11 comments:

Brad Jenkins said...

Isn't it amazing the things they come up with? I love the fact that they take ideas back to their kitchen to work on. Our girls do the same thing even though they aren't yet emancipated to the kitchen.

It also works the other way. They've been putting silverware from their dishwasher back into their drawers, so I had Brynne help me put the actual silverware away last week. She took one piece at a time, handed it to me, pointed to the right drawer, clapped, then grabbed the next piece.

Great stuff!

championm2000 said...

Unleashment...I am going to use it!

Yes, their resourcefulness is quite impressive!

Marcia (123 blog) said...

LOVE IT - they're so clever. And her smile!!!

Don't you love how they gang up to do things these days? :)

Julia said...

Mandy, as I've read these past few weeks, I've been so impressed and proud of you for all the change that you're embracing with your girls.

I know it's not easy, and even something like going sans stroller or impromptu outings for lunch are a really big deal, and you can't help but think about all the millions of things that can (but you pray they won't) go awry. You keep plunging ahead, logging all those trumphs! It's inspiring and encouraging to me. Thank you!

Johanna at The Baker Twins said...

Clever little girls! I love how proud she looks. :)

Deanna said...

She looks so proud of her resourceful achievement!

I keep reading the title of this post as "The Thirsty COW"... which makes me think about milk! ??? : )

Helene said...

I love it!! Now, that's serious resourcefulness right there!

Never underestimate how smart they are, right?

Mandy said...

This is pretty amazing! She is one smart cookie, well they are I mean.

Anonymous said...

love this :)

i love the fact that my kids know about recycling and how to put things in the bin. makes me feel that i'm doing a good job on SOMETHING :)

having them unleashed seems to be working out pretty well, huh?

Unknown said...

What a clever solution!! My kiddos help with the recycling all the time - they know what goes in the bin with the "arrows' and what goes in the cans bin (although not much goes in there anymore as we've pretty much given up pop). Jacob and Sarah also help set and clear the table (Adam likes to put out the silverware, too). There is definitely a light ahead!

Rebecca said...

Dare I say you're starting to enjoy their freedom a little bit too? I'm so glad that you're seeing the good and not just the evil! LOL

Just read your post about your keychain and loved it. I have nothing like that b/c I lose everything, but it's nice to see that not everyone in this world is as flaky as I!