Joy To Everyone

Being a toddler mom is hard. Oh, wait! If you’re a parent to a toddler or you’ve been blessed to survive this stage, you don’t need me to explain how or why the toddler years are challenging.

Parenting is challenging enough, but it’s a whole new story when you feel the pressure to teach your toddler to play nice with the other kids, share with our friends, take turns, learn to recognize colors, numbers, and letters, brush their teeth, wash their hands, and use the potty… I could go on and on! If you’re exhausted just reading my list, can you imagine how your toddler must feel? Can you imagine what is going on in their brains? If I am going to guess, their brains are on overdrive.

My daughter, Ruby will be three in early November, and she loves to talk and tell me stories. She also loves playing pretend. As her language improves her stories, and their length continue to grow. So much so, that some of her stories are from things we did months ago. As you can imagine, this makes me pause as I remember times I overreacted or said something out of anger during these events. “Oh, no! What if she remembers the time I got angry with her and yelled?” As a mom trying to do her best, I ask myself this question with worry and disappointment. And like a true mother, rather than seeing the good I focus on the negative, but that’s for another discussion!

This is what I have learned over time, it’s okay to be imperfect. It’s okay to make mistakes. What matters, however, is the story you tell yourself next and the choices you make going forward. No parent out there will tell you they do it right all the time. But what set’s a healthy parent mindset apart from others are those that are honest and open with not only themselves but their children. When I see I am in the wrong, I say it to my kids. I become vulnerable with them. I am honest with them. I am the example for them to foll0w. This is what I call humility. Humility is not a weakness. Humility requires courage. Humility requires us to take a deep, hard look at ourselves. When we fail, we take back our strength by owning the situation and beginning again. This is what I desire for not only my children, but myself.

“Oh Ruby, I love you so much! I am so sorry for raising my voice at you when you had an accident. Mommy should not have done that. I am sorry. Next time can you please tell me when you need to use the potty? To help, I am going to ask you more often, okay? I love you!”

No parent, no child, no moment has it all together. And that is okay! It’s called life and through challenges we grow. Through challenges we create stronger, wiser, and better people. Through the struggle we make our world a better place. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and grow!

Let’s learn to grow together. Let’s create a healthier and brighter tomorrow together! Last week my daughter and I cleaned out our closets. We donated clothing we no longer fit or use. While doing this, I came across my daughter’s old onesie. It was so soft, so little. I could see my daughter wearing it in my memories. Having no use for it now, but not wanting to part with it, I thought to myself, “How can I reimagine this item? Could I turn it into something else?” That’s when I remembered turning old t-shirts into bags and purses when I was younger. I could take this onesie and turn it into a purse she could play with! I couldn’t wait to get started!

As a recourse, I used Zero Waste Kids by Rob Greenfield. Below are instructions for your reference. Because Ruby’s onesie is small, I did make modifications. Rather than cutting 5-inch fringes I did 3 inches, and I did fringes at the bottom of the shirt and at the shoulders. Once we were done tying the fringes, Ruby filled her back with our mini pumpkins! I was so happy seeing her play with her new purse! We brought new life to it and future memories!

Materials:

• Old T-shirt
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Ribbons, buttons, bows (optional)

Directions:

• Lay T-shirt flat.
• Cut off sleeves (bottom if desired.)
• Cut the neckline into an even half circle.
• Cut a 5-inch fringe on the bottom of the shirt. Continue to create fringes across the bottom of the shirt, leaving 1 inch in-between.
• Double tie the front and back fringes together until every fringe is secure.
• Enjoy using your new bag!

After Ruby filled and re-filled her new purse, we decided to take a nature walk. The weather was in the low 60’s, sunny, and simply gorgeous! Where we live, we’ve had little rainfall making areas of the lake near us either completely dry or very low. Because of this, in some areas you can explore what was once hidden from your eyes above. And although the drought is not preferrable, it is beautiful and strange to experience. What was once hidden is now revealed.

As Ruby and I walked on the cracked lakebed, we admired shells and rocks. Twisted, water worn wood told a story of waves moving over it not too long ago. I imagined the fish swimming threw the fallen limbs. Their perspective was revealed to me, and I couldn’t help but smile with fascination. Once done exploring, we made our way back to the car. Hand in hand, I asked my daughter what she liked to do most. She responded with, “Run and play and eat dinner.” I smiled at her simple response. I thought to myself, “I want to be more like you!” Isn’t her response just so cute? It’s straight forward. It’s simple. My toddler lives in the moment. She lives for today. Maybe I should try to see her perspective more often. Maybe I should try to see the world threw her lens more often. Perhaps by doing this, I would be a better parent to her as we navigate through this toddler stage.

Along the path we walked, we saw wildflowers growing and colorful leaves scattered under our feet. We collected a few wildflowers and leaves and brought them home. Once home, we decided to dry press them. This is a very simple and fun way to preserve the beauty of nature.

Materials:

• Flowers, petals, or leaves.
• 1-2 pieces of scratch paper.
• Heavy book or a heavy flat object.

Directions:

• Assemble your flowers, petals, or leaves in-between two pieces of scratch paper.
• Place a heavy book over the paper on a flat surface.
• Allow items to dry and flatten for 7 days before removing the heavy book.
• Enjoy admiring your dried materials!

Hey Mom, your kids are experiencing a lot just like you. Give them a break and give yourself a break too! Tomorrow is a new day! You got this!