Lately, for some reason, I’ve been feeling like a pretty terrible mom. It seems as though we have run out of steam for our summer. When we get up, there’s usually no plan for the day, and Button and I end up sitting around like lumps. Of course, this has resulted in a lot of whining and frustration. On both ends, really. But, having no motivation, I’ve made no moves to change the situation. So today, on my sister in law’s recommendation, we went to the park to play with some family and have lunch. On the way home, Button tells me, through a veil of unwarranted tears, that she doesn’t like me anymore. She said I am not fun. We get home, and I place Button in quiet time. This isn’t a punishment, mind you, it’s a daily ritual we have instead of nap time. She starts whining and crying and asking for juice. When I go into the kitchen to get it, I furtively pray to God: Why doesn’t she like me, Lord? What am I doing wrong? I know I don’t hate being a mom, we’re just in a slump. Help me! I heard, in response: When’s the last you did anything together?
Dang, Lord. Way to twist the knife. It’s not as though I haven’t WANTED to do anything, or spend time together… I’m just so tired all the time, and there’s house work to do, and groceries to buy, and you know, Lord, we have ballet class, and playdates…..
Pretty terrible excuses when you get them all out like that. So, after quiet time, I gathered supplies and we sat down to do something fun. Something for just the two of us. We made homemade play dough. After seeing this article on Fairy Dust Teaching, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I think the glitter was my favorite part.
We used the traditional ingredients: salt, flour, water, oil and food coloring. I was going for a darker blue, something more like the night sky, but, without black, this was the best I could do. Oh well, it still turned out very rich. And of course, I had to stop her several times from eating it… What is it with kid’s and play dough?
