Thoughts for a Thursday...

(I'm usually the one that takes pictures around here, so it cracks me up when my husband who says "you take SO many pictures, but that's a good thing" happens to grab the camera and snap one when I don't know, and I don't know about it until I download them. )

I thought I'd share some of my parenting practices/tips (and no, I'm not saying I'm doing it right, I'm just telling you HOW I do it)

-Madelyn watches tv. She always has. I'm a tv person, and I've converted Aaron to be a tv person. So since she's been born she's been around the tv. However in the copius amounts of tv that she DOES watch 90% of it is either PBS or Disney(the other 10 is when we actually get control of the tv, and then it's usually Food Network or um, ok..Days of our Lives). Learning shows and shiny happy cartoony stuff (she'll understand the darker side of Disney later on I'm sure)

-We talk to Madelyn ALL THE TIME. It's been that way since the beginning. We narrate daily activties "I'm going to the bathroom now Maddie", "I'm going to make breakfast", "I'm going to kill the cats" etc.

-I get frustrated with Madelyn. I run out of patience and that is ok. I do alot of crying behind the bathroom door and deep breathing. I'm 27 and I get impatient with my child. I could NOT imagine if I'd done this as a teenager (um..CHILD). Why is it ok that I get frustrated? If I didn't..it wouldn't be normal. I'm normal. -ish.

-She eats what she asks for. Which sometimes (alot lately) is "meat and corn", and sometimes (usually in the evenings) is "ice cream". We don't overdo her portions, and we try to toss new veggies in there and healthy stuff, and sometimes she likes it, sometimes she doesn't. We don't force her...we encourage her. "Why don't we try just ONE bite of this?"

-Madelyn basically gets away with everything. We have a very lax policy that if it's not something that can make her break, bleed, or have to barf, it's allowed..in moderation. I'll fully admit that where I ask her NOT to color on the walls, we do have a door that is Crayola central. And again, that is OK. It's ONE door...and it's washable Crayola.

-Oh..more on the talking to her all the time. This is everyone..myself and Aaron, my Mom-who watches her while I work part time, my Dad when he visits her, Aaron's parents..but when we talk/narrate/etc..it's not baby talk and it's filled with stuff that is teaching her. I know that personally it's just unconsious for me. But I'll catch myself on some stuff and either smile b/c I'm proud of myself, or get annoyed b/c if I were a kid I'd roll my eyes at me. Example....Madelyn loves apples. When she asks for one I'll say ok and give it to her...but it goes like this-"Mama, apple, pweeeese?" (we also overkill the pleases and thank yous around here, but she's learning them very well) "Sure *gives her an apple* Apple. Apple starts with? The letter A! Apple! A-p-p-l-e, apple!" I don't do this on EVERYTHING-but on alot of stuff.

-on Please and Thank You..manners etc. My Dad is very traditional southern manners. He was raised saying "yes, mam" and "no, sir" and if I didn't say those same things when I was young I got the very gruff toned Dad saying "yes, WHAT?". In fact when we moved to Yankee-ville erm, I mean Missouri I, as a 4th grader, got sent to the Principal's office for saying "Yes, Mam" to my teacher b/c she thought I was being a smart alec. The Principal had to have it explained by my Mother that that was how I'd been raised, taught, etc. Madelyn will be taught the same way..once we get the pleases and thank yous down. When she asks for something w/out saying please. I don't give it to her until she does...and it's usually on the second try that she adds the please..she knows..she just tries to be lazy sometimes.

-We do what Madelyn wants. Why? A couple reasons. 1) it keeps her happy, and 2) the 'principle'-the old poem (I guess that is what it is) of "Cleaning and scrubbing can wait til tomorrow, because babies grow up we've learned through our sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep, I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep" It's terrifyingly true. She's growing SO fast. And one day soon she won't be shorter than me, and she won't want me as much, and she won't lovingly look up at me and say "Mama, watch tv wis me pweese". So when she does, no matter what I'm doing (blogging, baking, reading) I try to STOP what I'm doing and do what SHE wants. When I feel myself starting to get frustrated with her, that is what I try to remember first. And then I usually sit here and cry for awhile at how fast she's growing. I'm honestly wondering how Moms get ANYTHING done other than sitting around crying about how our babies are just growing SO quickly.

So that's what I/we do. And again, I'm not preaching..just sharing how it goes in our house. And on the other side of things, if anyone has tips for me on how I can get her to ENJOY brushing her teeth...I'd love to hear about it!