Over the past couple of months, I’ve added some great new blogs to my blogroll. I just love connecting with other moms, and getting a glimpse into how they balance their crazy, beautiful lives!
Thank you so much to Sara of Moms Need Timeouts Too! for the Life is Sweet Award, which prompted me to think about some of my new faves. Sara’s twin girls just turned two, so we obviously have a lot in common. And I just learned she’s an only child, like me, and I always think that’s interesting to go from a base knowledge of one child, to having multiples!
So, besides Moms Need Timeouts Too! (don’t you just LOVE the title of that blog?!), what are those new faves of mine???
Pontifications of a Twin Mom. Julia is such a beautiful mom, inside and out, to her twin girls who just turned one. She is a great writer, and she posts some really thought-provoking and inspirational pieces. Check out her “True Beauty Conversations” on Fridays (here’s the link to one of my favorite posts).
Twins Plus One, Three Times the Fun. In addition to being a great writer, Holly Ann is quite the juggler. Her tagline says it all: “Being a Mother of Multiples was the most exciting, frustrating, adventurous, exhausting, and wonderful experience of my life…and then I had another baby!” Holly also balances a job outside the home, too. Her boy/girl twins are three, and her younger son is one....wow.
Double the Giggles. Margie’s twin boys are 19 months old. She juggles them with an awesome sense of humor. And she recently posted about having flown with them = she’s my hero.
Our Life with the mg Twins. Carrie’s twin girls are a couple of months older than our girls. I love to read about what’s they’re up to, as it provides a glimpse into our not-so-distant future.
…and there are a couple of not-so-new-to-me blogs that I’ve really been enjoying lately.
My Sweet Life with Two Twinkies and a Cupcake. Barb’s blog was one of the first I read when I joined the blog world a little over a year ago. I somehow kinda fell out of touch with her, but I’m so glad to have reconnected. Her boy/girl twins are four, and her younger son is the same age as our girls. Be sure to check out the series of posts on autism she’ll be doing during the month of April.
Life Not Finished. I’ve also been reading Dolli-Mama for a number of months, dating back to before her now-nine-month old twin girls were born. She’s also mama to three-year old Mr. Mischief. :) Dolli-Mama is hosting an awesome link-up on Fridays, called 52 Weeks of ME, encouraging us mamas to focus on ourselves, even if just for a few minutes, each week. She’s also a great writer. Check out one of my favorite recent posts of hers, about finding the silver lining of a house full of sick kiddos.
Please feel free to accept this award and pass it along to five other bloggers (or six, in my case!)…or no pressure if not…I just haven’t taken the opportunity in a while to highlight some of the moms that keep me sane on a daily basis. Thanks, Ladies!!!
Ticker
March 31, 2011
March 30, 2011
An Amelia Bedelia Moment
I distinctly remember being introduced to the Amelia Bedelia series of books in the first grade. At the time, I thought it was the most charming, witty, and hilarious prose ever to come out of our elementary school library.
I hadn’t thought about Amelia in many years, until I ran across a compilation of three stories on the clearance table at one of our local bookstores a couple of years ago. I snapped it up, and I enjoyed reading about her antics to my then-three-month old girlies.
Amelia had gotten tucked back on a shelf, until one of the girls dug her out a few days ago. “New book! Haven’t seen in while!” they exclaimed. And of course we had to read it right away.
I realized quickly that the storyline was lost on the girls. The idea of dusting the furniture…with powder…instead of actually cleaning it…was not charming, or witty, or hilarious to them. And on the off-chance they were taking notes, I surely didn’t want to plant that little seed in their heads!
It may have just been a coincidence, but we had what I think was our first Amelia Bedelia moment over the weekend.
We were getting ready to go out to dinner, and I was washing some grapes to take with us. I was gabbing along to the girls in explanation. “If a restaurant doesn’t have fruit on their menu, then Mommy takes fruit with us, so we can eat it after our meal.”
Immediately, from the den: “Fruit not on menu! Fruit on [Baby A]’s plate!”
Duh, Mom. Everyone knows you don’t put fruit on a menu. It goes on a plate, and we eat it from there.
I hadn’t thought about Amelia in many years, until I ran across a compilation of three stories on the clearance table at one of our local bookstores a couple of years ago. I snapped it up, and I enjoyed reading about her antics to my then-three-month old girlies.
Amelia had gotten tucked back on a shelf, until one of the girls dug her out a few days ago. “New book! Haven’t seen in while!” they exclaimed. And of course we had to read it right away.
I realized quickly that the storyline was lost on the girls. The idea of dusting the furniture…with powder…instead of actually cleaning it…was not charming, or witty, or hilarious to them. And on the off-chance they were taking notes, I surely didn’t want to plant that little seed in their heads!
It may have just been a coincidence, but we had what I think was our first Amelia Bedelia moment over the weekend.
We were getting ready to go out to dinner, and I was washing some grapes to take with us. I was gabbing along to the girls in explanation. “If a restaurant doesn’t have fruit on their menu, then Mommy takes fruit with us, so we can eat it after our meal.”
Immediately, from the den: “Fruit not on menu! Fruit on [Baby A]’s plate!”
Duh, Mom. Everyone knows you don’t put fruit on a menu. It goes on a plate, and we eat it from there.
March 29, 2011
I'm THAT Kind of Twin Mama...[gulp!]
…and I didn’t even realize it!
One of the more common questions we twin moms get is, “Do you dress them alike?”
My preferred way to dress the girls is in coordinating outfits…the same dress, for example, but one is pink and one is purple.
We do have quite a few duplicate outfits, but many of those are gifts, and some of them I’ve bought for pictures or special occasions.
(With our girls being “very fraternal", as I like to say, I don’t feel so much pressure to dress them differently. There’s no mistaking that one has blue eyes and blonde hair, and one has brown eyes and brown hair…so if they have on the same outfit, there’s still a big difference in their overall appearance.)
When the girls are at home, they are very rarely dressed alike. At least to date (before I implement my hobos-be-gone approach to the girls’ spring / summer wardrobe), they wear some kind of knit shirt and some knit pants…most likely whatever tops the bin in the closet.
If I had characterized myself, I would have said that I was a go-with-the-flow mama, one who didn’t “overemphasize” the girls’ twinhood.
…but…
I painstakingly cleaned out the girls’ closet a couple of weeks ago to participate in a large consignment sale. I decided to check out the consignor’s only pre-sale late last week.
I went through the racks of clothes and saw so many adorable clothes…but I left empty-handed.
Why?
Of course there weren’t any matching outfits to be had, and I found myself…paralyzed.
If I bought this adorable sundress for Baby A, would Baby B look just as “dressed” in this bubble suit? If I got this smocked dress with Baby B in mind, what would Baby A wear?
I really don’t think I was so challenged by the lack of “coordination”, but by the wearing occasion and the “dressiness” of the outfits I was considering.
In any case, I was really surprised by my reaction. I wouldn’t have pegged myself for a matchy-matchy mama…but maybe I am, at least in some respects.
I know this “issue” is a short-lived one. It won’t be long before the girls are choosing their own clothes and developing their own unique style…and I promise to try reeeeally hard not to let that paralyze me.
One of the more common questions we twin moms get is, “Do you dress them alike?”
My preferred way to dress the girls is in coordinating outfits…the same dress, for example, but one is pink and one is purple.
We do have quite a few duplicate outfits, but many of those are gifts, and some of them I’ve bought for pictures or special occasions.
(With our girls being “very fraternal", as I like to say, I don’t feel so much pressure to dress them differently. There’s no mistaking that one has blue eyes and blonde hair, and one has brown eyes and brown hair…so if they have on the same outfit, there’s still a big difference in their overall appearance.)
When the girls are at home, they are very rarely dressed alike. At least to date (before I implement my hobos-be-gone approach to the girls’ spring / summer wardrobe), they wear some kind of knit shirt and some knit pants…most likely whatever tops the bin in the closet.
If I had characterized myself, I would have said that I was a go-with-the-flow mama, one who didn’t “overemphasize” the girls’ twinhood.
…but…
I painstakingly cleaned out the girls’ closet a couple of weeks ago to participate in a large consignment sale. I decided to check out the consignor’s only pre-sale late last week.
I went through the racks of clothes and saw so many adorable clothes…but I left empty-handed.
Why?
Of course there weren’t any matching outfits to be had, and I found myself…paralyzed.
If I bought this adorable sundress for Baby A, would Baby B look just as “dressed” in this bubble suit? If I got this smocked dress with Baby B in mind, what would Baby A wear?
I really don’t think I was so challenged by the lack of “coordination”, but by the wearing occasion and the “dressiness” of the outfits I was considering.
In any case, I was really surprised by my reaction. I wouldn’t have pegged myself for a matchy-matchy mama…but maybe I am, at least in some respects.
I know this “issue” is a short-lived one. It won’t be long before the girls are choosing their own clothes and developing their own unique style…and I promise to try reeeeally hard not to let that paralyze me.
March 28, 2011
Why I Park Illegally
Now don’t go hating before I explain…
...I’m not talking about snagging a handicap spot…or even fudging that my girls are still infants to park in the spot for expectant and new mothers…
No, I have always parked about as far from those spots as you can get, usually in the far recesses of a parking lot. I don’t want to risk anyone dinging my car, and I know those extra few steps certainly won’t hurt me.
[Years ago, the first time one of my girlfriends rode with me to the grocery store, I parked in my usual far-away spot. She later joked that she was looking for the shuttle service to take us to the door!]
Since the girls were born, little has changed, but I have altered my approach a bit.
Given my no-door-dings motivation, I would normally never park next to a cart return. But I try to find one that is far, far away from the front of the store, perhaps that is only used during holiday madness when the lot gets full.
I pull leisurely in beside it, straddling the line between two parking spots (illegally!), so that there is ½ of a parking space between the cart return and my car. I use that space to load and unload the girls from the stroller.
Tragedy rehearsal at its finest, I know, but I have this crazy scenario that races through my mind sometimes, about a wayward car hitting the stroller when I have my back turned, putting one baby in her carseat.
With the car on one side of the stroller and the cart return on the other, I feel like I have a little framework in which to operate more safely.
And, once the girls are loaded in the car, I only have to walk a couple of steps to put our cart up.
Now when the girls get a little older and are walking beside me, I may have to come up with an alternate plan…
...or maybe we can hope for the implementation of that shuttle service…
...I’m not talking about snagging a handicap spot…or even fudging that my girls are still infants to park in the spot for expectant and new mothers…
No, I have always parked about as far from those spots as you can get, usually in the far recesses of a parking lot. I don’t want to risk anyone dinging my car, and I know those extra few steps certainly won’t hurt me.
[Years ago, the first time one of my girlfriends rode with me to the grocery store, I parked in my usual far-away spot. She later joked that she was looking for the shuttle service to take us to the door!]
Since the girls were born, little has changed, but I have altered my approach a bit.
Given my no-door-dings motivation, I would normally never park next to a cart return. But I try to find one that is far, far away from the front of the store, perhaps that is only used during holiday madness when the lot gets full.
I pull leisurely in beside it, straddling the line between two parking spots (illegally!), so that there is ½ of a parking space between the cart return and my car. I use that space to load and unload the girls from the stroller.
Tragedy rehearsal at its finest, I know, but I have this crazy scenario that races through my mind sometimes, about a wayward car hitting the stroller when I have my back turned, putting one baby in her carseat.
With the car on one side of the stroller and the cart return on the other, I feel like I have a little framework in which to operate more safely.
And, once the girls are loaded in the car, I only have to walk a couple of steps to put our cart up.
Now when the girls get a little older and are walking beside me, I may have to come up with an alternate plan…
...or maybe we can hope for the implementation of that shuttle service…
March 26, 2011
Eating in Restaurants
Since the girls were released from “house arrest” when they were three months old, we’ve taken them to restaurants on a relatively regular basis.
At first we timed our outings so they would nap in their carriers. Then we graduated to feeding them Cheerios while we ate…and eventually to giving them a small snack – usually cubed cheese, crackers, and fruit (all brought from home) – while we scarfed down our food.
Those meals were not exactly relaxing, but it still gave me a break from the kitchen and allowed us to get out of the house a few times a month.
My goal was for the girls to eat a meal in a restaurant alongside us by the time they were 18 months old. I was SO very proud when they beat that goal date by a full month…at our all-time favorite Mexican restaurant, to boot!
Since that time last summer, we’ve been taking the girls out to eat about once a week. We don’t make it out every single week, but I really try not to do it any more often.
I want the girls to have experience in a restaurant setting, as hopefully they’ll inherently understand what’s acceptable and what’s not.
But I also have this fear that the girls will begin to like the restaurant food better than Mama’s Home Cooking…and I refuse to have them balk at our dinner table! I rationalize that statistics are on my side if I limit their eating out to one of 21 meals a week [and yes, I have a spreadsheet…HA!].
I still do a little prep work before we go out to eat…
...for a new restaurant, I research their menu and decide what I’ll order for the girls. Unless we’re going to a restaurant that serves fresh fruit, I always pack a little cup of grapes or blueberries to mark the end of the girls’ meal (just like at home). I take the girls’ high chair covers, their toddler forks and their cups of water, and plenty of wipes.
…but little by little, it’s getting easier and easier.
The girls are usually content to sit in their highchairs while we wait for our food, and they even know they’ll have to wait on Mommy to cut it up and for it to cool off before they can eat. They’re pretty consistent with eating what we order them. And as long as we don’t order a seven-course meal (yeah, right!) they’re basically content to sit until we all finish our dinners.
Last weekend, Hubby and I had a late dinner date planned on Saturday night, so we didn’t go out to eat with the girls. It was the funniest feeling I had…
…of course I LOVED every moment of our dinner date. There’s nothing like relaxing over food and drink, and I don’t have to worry if Hubby is touching the underside of the table…
…but I found myself really missing our weekly “date” with the girls. It’s actually **fun** now, and there’s nothing like feeling like a cohesive foursome, out for a fun family dinner.
I didn’t know to look for it, but this certainly seems like a new milestone!
At first we timed our outings so they would nap in their carriers. Then we graduated to feeding them Cheerios while we ate…and eventually to giving them a small snack – usually cubed cheese, crackers, and fruit (all brought from home) – while we scarfed down our food.
Those meals were not exactly relaxing, but it still gave me a break from the kitchen and allowed us to get out of the house a few times a month.
My goal was for the girls to eat a meal in a restaurant alongside us by the time they were 18 months old. I was SO very proud when they beat that goal date by a full month…at our all-time favorite Mexican restaurant, to boot!
Since that time last summer, we’ve been taking the girls out to eat about once a week. We don’t make it out every single week, but I really try not to do it any more often.
I want the girls to have experience in a restaurant setting, as hopefully they’ll inherently understand what’s acceptable and what’s not.
But I also have this fear that the girls will begin to like the restaurant food better than Mama’s Home Cooking…and I refuse to have them balk at our dinner table! I rationalize that statistics are on my side if I limit their eating out to one of 21 meals a week [and yes, I have a spreadsheet…HA!].
I still do a little prep work before we go out to eat…
...for a new restaurant, I research their menu and decide what I’ll order for the girls. Unless we’re going to a restaurant that serves fresh fruit, I always pack a little cup of grapes or blueberries to mark the end of the girls’ meal (just like at home). I take the girls’ high chair covers, their toddler forks and their cups of water, and plenty of wipes.
…but little by little, it’s getting easier and easier.
The girls are usually content to sit in their highchairs while we wait for our food, and they even know they’ll have to wait on Mommy to cut it up and for it to cool off before they can eat. They’re pretty consistent with eating what we order them. And as long as we don’t order a seven-course meal (yeah, right!) they’re basically content to sit until we all finish our dinners.
Last weekend, Hubby and I had a late dinner date planned on Saturday night, so we didn’t go out to eat with the girls. It was the funniest feeling I had…
…of course I LOVED every moment of our dinner date. There’s nothing like relaxing over food and drink, and I don’t have to worry if Hubby is touching the underside of the table…
…but I found myself really missing our weekly “date” with the girls. It’s actually **fun** now, and there’s nothing like feeling like a cohesive foursome, out for a fun family dinner.
I didn’t know to look for it, but this certainly seems like a new milestone!
March 25, 2011
Fab 5 Friday...and ME!
I seriously can’t believe it’s FRIDAY already...I guess time flies when you have a fabulous week! :)
1) Since we didn’t have plans to take the girls to dinner over the weekend, we decided to make snack time on Saturday afternoon more of an event. We went to one of our favorite locally-owned restaurants and got an appetizer of spinach-artichoke dip. We let the girls "sit in chairs like big girls” (i.e. they didn’t have to sit in high chairs), and we all really enjoyed that little treat.
2) I took the girls for a walk, hand-in-hand, in the neighborhood on Sunday afternoon. Since it was pretty sunny I put on their sun hats. If I do say so, it was stinkin’ adorable to see them toddling along on either side of me with those plaid bonnets.
3) The weather through the first part of the week was fantastic. Knowing we were headed for much cooler weather starting Wednesday, I took the girls for frozen yogurt on Tuesday afternoon. Then we went downtown and walked around the Square and made a couple of blocks. It was such a nice change of scenery…and the first time I’d taken them downtown – sans stroller – by myself.
4) The girls accompanied me two other times outside of the stroller this week, once to the bank, and once to an office supply store for a quick errand. I am still only comfortable to do this if I can mostly have both hands free, but the practice is good for all of us.
5) The girls’ conversation skills continue to amaze me. While this is not a lengthy example, it’s a funny one…Hubby asked Baby B for a nose kiss one night. She looked at him and grinned and told him “no”. He acted offended, and she said, “Maybe tomorrow!” Hahaha!!!
And what did I do for ME this week?
I have not one, but TWO, things to report!
Miss Jennifer was here on Friday afternoon and I left the house to run an errand. I was done quickly, and I called Hubby to see where he was. He said he was just pulling into the driveway at home. “Avert! Avert!” I told him. We met at the yogurt shop for a mini-date. I indulged in some candy-coated goodness that I would never share with the girls, and we relaxed for a few minutes and wound up the week. It was such an awesome spur-of-the-moment treat!
And on Saturday night, Hubby and I went for a late dinner after the girls were in bed. We ate at a Mediterranean restaurant downtown, the first restaurant we ate in when we moved here. I had an awesome homemade pizza and a great salad. And we even had time to swing by the Dairy Queen on the way home.
(And yes, that’s a lot of yogurt / ice cream in one week…but man, was it good!!!)
Thanks so much to Dolli-Mama for hosting the 52 Weeks of Me! Challenge. It's a great way to recognize what we do for ourselves each week.
I'm also linking up with my great Aussie blogger friend, MultipleMum, who's doing a "What I'm Grateful For" link-up today. I'm grateful for lots of fabulous time with my girlies this week...and some fabulous alone-time with the hubs!
1) Since we didn’t have plans to take the girls to dinner over the weekend, we decided to make snack time on Saturday afternoon more of an event. We went to one of our favorite locally-owned restaurants and got an appetizer of spinach-artichoke dip. We let the girls "sit in chairs like big girls” (i.e. they didn’t have to sit in high chairs), and we all really enjoyed that little treat.
2) I took the girls for a walk, hand-in-hand, in the neighborhood on Sunday afternoon. Since it was pretty sunny I put on their sun hats. If I do say so, it was stinkin’ adorable to see them toddling along on either side of me with those plaid bonnets.
3) The weather through the first part of the week was fantastic. Knowing we were headed for much cooler weather starting Wednesday, I took the girls for frozen yogurt on Tuesday afternoon. Then we went downtown and walked around the Square and made a couple of blocks. It was such a nice change of scenery…and the first time I’d taken them downtown – sans stroller – by myself.
4) The girls accompanied me two other times outside of the stroller this week, once to the bank, and once to an office supply store for a quick errand. I am still only comfortable to do this if I can mostly have both hands free, but the practice is good for all of us.
5) The girls’ conversation skills continue to amaze me. While this is not a lengthy example, it’s a funny one…Hubby asked Baby B for a nose kiss one night. She looked at him and grinned and told him “no”. He acted offended, and she said, “Maybe tomorrow!” Hahaha!!!
And what did I do for ME this week?
I have not one, but TWO, things to report!
Miss Jennifer was here on Friday afternoon and I left the house to run an errand. I was done quickly, and I called Hubby to see where he was. He said he was just pulling into the driveway at home. “Avert! Avert!” I told him. We met at the yogurt shop for a mini-date. I indulged in some candy-coated goodness that I would never share with the girls, and we relaxed for a few minutes and wound up the week. It was such an awesome spur-of-the-moment treat!
And on Saturday night, Hubby and I went for a late dinner after the girls were in bed. We ate at a Mediterranean restaurant downtown, the first restaurant we ate in when we moved here. I had an awesome homemade pizza and a great salad. And we even had time to swing by the Dairy Queen on the way home.
(And yes, that’s a lot of yogurt / ice cream in one week…but man, was it good!!!)
Thanks so much to Dolli-Mama for hosting the 52 Weeks of Me! Challenge. It's a great way to recognize what we do for ourselves each week.
I'm also linking up with my great Aussie blogger friend, MultipleMum, who's doing a "What I'm Grateful For" link-up today. I'm grateful for lots of fabulous time with my girlies this week...and some fabulous alone-time with the hubs!
March 24, 2011
Dressing the Part
As a parent, I knew there were all sorts of things I would be responsible for teaching my children…their ABC’s, their numbers, their colors, how to spell their names, and the battle cry for our favorite sports team (can I get a “Roll Tide!!!”???).
Of course I knew I would be teaching them more ambiguous concepts, too…like respect, and obedience; that I would try to set a good example in standing up straight, and eating well, and exercising, and reading.
I hadn’t given a lot of thought to instilling a positive body image, though, but it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately.
I should interject that I don’t consider myself a “hair and makeup” girl. I have never owned a set of hot rollers…wouldn’t know how to use them if I tried. Before the girls were born, I wore makeup every day, but only the basics...I favor basic lip balm (or gloss, if I wanna get a little crazy) to lipstick any day.
When I was pregnant, I heard plenty of horror stories of new moms not finding the time to shower for days on end. I vowed that would not be me. And with very few exceptions, I’ve upheld that promise to myself.
So WOO HOO…I can check “basic hygiene” off my list. But it dawned on me not long ago that that is no indication of me being well put-together.
Just because I’m clean doesn’t mean I’m presentable. Think mismatched pajama bottoms and a random tshirt, sometimes paired with a hoodie. No wonder the delivery guy diverts his eyes and makes a hasty exit off the porch!
Of course I would never go out like that (making a run through the Starbucks drive-thru doesn’t count…).
But if I’m embarrassed to walk down the drive to the mailbox some days, what kind of example am I setting for my girls to take pride in their appearance?
And sadly, I realized I dress the girls almost as shabbily. They have plenty of adorable outfits they wear when we go somewhere, but at home they wear onesies and pants.
There’s nothing wrong with onesies and pants, of course, but in most cases I’m talking about last year’s onesies and whatever random pants are atop the bin in the closet. (Size 9m onesies still fit in the stride, but are short in the sleeves…that actually works perfectly as I don’t have to roll their sleeves up at the table, and if they do get a stain, it’s no big deal!).
As I step back, I’m afraid we look like hobos…clean hobos…but hobos nonetheless.
What kind of message am I sending to the girls?
That we “dress up” when someone is going to see us, but we don’t owe it to ourselves to look presentable on a day-to-day basis?
I’ve made another vow to change things up this spring.
When we do our spring shopping for the girls, I’ll still buy their cute outfits, but I’m also investing in a variety of knit tops and shorts, “outfits” to wear at home. I’ll commit to the tedium of rolling up their sleeves, when necessary, and I’m just going to deal with stains as they inevitably occur.
And for myself? I am going to commit to doing some shopping for me…to finding something that’s easy and comfortable for chasing the girls and dancing the Can-Can…but that allows me to hold my own in conversation with the delivery guy…one that sets a better example for the girlies.
I haven’t gone so far as to committing to something CrAzY like wearing makeup every day (although I keep up my lip balm routine religiously), but I think this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Of course I knew I would be teaching them more ambiguous concepts, too…like respect, and obedience; that I would try to set a good example in standing up straight, and eating well, and exercising, and reading.
I hadn’t given a lot of thought to instilling a positive body image, though, but it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately.
I should interject that I don’t consider myself a “hair and makeup” girl. I have never owned a set of hot rollers…wouldn’t know how to use them if I tried. Before the girls were born, I wore makeup every day, but only the basics...I favor basic lip balm (or gloss, if I wanna get a little crazy) to lipstick any day.
When I was pregnant, I heard plenty of horror stories of new moms not finding the time to shower for days on end. I vowed that would not be me. And with very few exceptions, I’ve upheld that promise to myself.
So WOO HOO…I can check “basic hygiene” off my list. But it dawned on me not long ago that that is no indication of me being well put-together.
Just because I’m clean doesn’t mean I’m presentable. Think mismatched pajama bottoms and a random tshirt, sometimes paired with a hoodie. No wonder the delivery guy diverts his eyes and makes a hasty exit off the porch!
Of course I would never go out like that (making a run through the Starbucks drive-thru doesn’t count…).
But if I’m embarrassed to walk down the drive to the mailbox some days, what kind of example am I setting for my girls to take pride in their appearance?
And sadly, I realized I dress the girls almost as shabbily. They have plenty of adorable outfits they wear when we go somewhere, but at home they wear onesies and pants.
There’s nothing wrong with onesies and pants, of course, but in most cases I’m talking about last year’s onesies and whatever random pants are atop the bin in the closet. (Size 9m onesies still fit in the stride, but are short in the sleeves…that actually works perfectly as I don’t have to roll their sleeves up at the table, and if they do get a stain, it’s no big deal!).
As I step back, I’m afraid we look like hobos…clean hobos…but hobos nonetheless.
What kind of message am I sending to the girls?
That we “dress up” when someone is going to see us, but we don’t owe it to ourselves to look presentable on a day-to-day basis?
I’ve made another vow to change things up this spring.
When we do our spring shopping for the girls, I’ll still buy their cute outfits, but I’m also investing in a variety of knit tops and shorts, “outfits” to wear at home. I’ll commit to the tedium of rolling up their sleeves, when necessary, and I’m just going to deal with stains as they inevitably occur.
And for myself? I am going to commit to doing some shopping for me…to finding something that’s easy and comfortable for chasing the girls and dancing the Can-Can…but that allows me to hold my own in conversation with the delivery guy…one that sets a better example for the girlies.
I haven’t gone so far as to committing to something CrAzY like wearing makeup every day (although I keep up my lip balm routine religiously), but I think this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)