Twirly Skirts and Being Two

The weather has turned hot. My little girls were in need of something cooler. Sew, Mama, Sew blog to the rescue. If you sew ,check out this amazing resource.The girls had received some shirred tops in a hand-me-down bag and fell in love with them. The problem being, there were only two tops and one was really too big for the littles. So with great fear and trepidation, this mama put elastic thread in her bobbin and shirred away. I found myself pleasantly surprised. It worked! The shirring that is. The first top I tried to make for C6 barely went over her head. Hoping it will fit this other girl I know. If you try this tutorial please cut TWO rectangles on the fold. TWO! OK you have been warned.And the twirly skirts??? I adore them and knew the girls would put them to good use.








That is after I convinced C6 that truly this would be fun.She is 2 & a half, quickly approaching three. It is such a hard age. I do not believe in the terrible twos. There is nothing "terrible" about her.(or any two year old) I have complete and utter sympathy for them. They are unable to communicate clearly with those around them. Trapped in their minds are feelings, thoughts , stories and ideas. They desperately want to take part in everything around them. Everything is new, exciting and begging to be touched, tasted and explored. They are told many times a day "no," they aren't big enough or simply left out of what appears to be all the "fun". (I am thinking of C6's fascination of "helping" the older girls clean out the litter box.) I do not think that means we chuck loving discipline and guidance out the window. That does not mean I make excuses for everything she does. It's just my attempt to see the world through her eyes. I find when I do that I have great sympathy for her. I am a thirty-one year old woman and at times, think maybe throwing myself down on the ground and having a good cry would not be such a bad idea. How much harder for someone who has only been living this life for two years?! Praying today to see the world through my children's eyes.

Yup, That's Me! Totally Clueless!

The babe-in-belly my hubbie is pointing to in this photo rides a horse , calls her girlfriend on the phone and fills copious amounts of paper with her very own words.I was totally clueless as a new mom and yet, willing to do anything for that wee babe. I can recall rubbing the baby shampoo into my eyes to test if it was really tear-free. (It's not, definitely milder but not tear-free)There were so many choices-cloth or disposable diapers,shots or no shots, plastic toys or wood toys, could she survive without me while I took a much needed sanity break?!?!?!? Then we added The Boy to the mix and threw in four more kids for good measure. I thought I had a lot of choices before.Humph! Somewhere, in the process of them raising me, the choices changed. They are still hard but very different. Yes, I try to give them all a balanced diet but birthday cake for breakfast killed no one. Toys aren't such an issue with the youngest, I just try to keep her from sniffing the Sharpies too much. I think now about choosing to stop what I am doing and have a conversation or plowing ahead with my agenda. I choose yes to as many messes as I can. I apologize promptly after the meltdown that follows from one too many messes. I pray for the courage,when they are older, to apologize for the wounds I have made. I want to know them and I want them to know me. These are just the random thoughts that ran through my mind this evening, as I sat listening to a small group of couples, on the verge of parenthood. My eyes wandering over swollen bellies, chuckling as one dad's eyes glazed over, listening to a very important discussion of how often a newborn eats. I whispered to myself, "Alot and they want all of you." They do not stop at sweet mama milk. It is a violent,all consuming love. Tonight, I will watch my children sleeping and thank the Lord that He knew what I needed. I will thank Him for the privilege of walking along with this crazy brood of mine. I will ask for wisdom,as there is much I have to learn. I am still clueless.