Ok, so letting go and letting the kids just "do their own thing" when it comes to crafts, cooking, projects, etc., is pretty much one of the hardest things EVER for me. I cringe when Annie's dollhouse gets untidy (which is funny because my real house......never tidy), and I had to actually bite my tongue to keep from asking her why she moved the KITCHEN in the dollhouse UPSTAIRS?!?!?!?!?! When one of them wants to help cook, I am like a helicopter hovering over every movement and I pretty much have to tie my hands behind my back to keep from reshaping cookie cut outs and to keep from grabbing the spoon back when things start to slop out of the bowl.
That being said, when I asked Annie what she wanted her birthday party theme to be this year, and she said, "Travis and Ol' Yeller"......I was actually not very excited. See.....that's not very girly. Or cute. And most importantly it doesn't have matching plates and napkins. But ever since we read the book Ol' Yeller last fall, she has been in love with the story. She has turned her Playmobil people into Ol' Yeller characters and they are her absolute favorite thing to play. And she has THE BEST imagination of any person I have ever met in my life. So, after I offered a few other suggestions that DID have matching plates and napkins, she politely declined and said, "Old Yeller". So....I very hesitantly said okay.
We sat down today and made her cake together...Annie and I. I gave her free reign on the topping of the cake without being bossy about where to put things (Ok, I was a little bossy, but MUCH better than normal) And the end result of this Ol'Yeller birthday cake topped by my sweet girl - absolutely perfect. When I looked at her smiling at that cake when we were finished, I realized that there was no other cake in the world that would have been more perfect than this one. It is just....Annie. As it turns out, her party is going to be perfect, cute, and matching - cause it matches my Annie girl.
Next week I will be starting a support group for moms like me. Items on the agenda:
1. Clean your own house and quite worrying about the dollhouse.
2. It's okay if the heart shaped cookie looks like a blob.
3. What difference does it make if the stuff slops out of the bowl - your kitchen is always a mess anyway.
4. No one cares about matching plates and napkins. Seriously. No one.
5. What to do when your 6-year-old makes better cakes than you do.
And most importantly....
5. The end result of letting your kids be creative and not butting in is so much better than your dumb adult idea.
*I take no credit for the creation of this adorable cake....this was all Annie :)*
*Cake is a made-up scene from Old Yeller....Travis and Arlis walking down a road when they see a bobcat going after their calf - and Travis has his gun aimed at the bobcat, ready to save the day.* (there is no way in the world my unimaginative mind could have come up with this).
We sat down today and made her cake together...Annie and I. I gave her free reign on the topping of the cake without being bossy about where to put things (Ok, I was a little bossy, but MUCH better than normal) And the end result of this Ol'Yeller birthday cake topped by my sweet girl - absolutely perfect. When I looked at her smiling at that cake when we were finished, I realized that there was no other cake in the world that would have been more perfect than this one. It is just....Annie. As it turns out, her party is going to be perfect, cute, and matching - cause it matches my Annie girl.
Next week I will be starting a support group for moms like me. Items on the agenda:
1. Clean your own house and quite worrying about the dollhouse.
2. It's okay if the heart shaped cookie looks like a blob.
3. What difference does it make if the stuff slops out of the bowl - your kitchen is always a mess anyway.
4. No one cares about matching plates and napkins. Seriously. No one.
5. What to do when your 6-year-old makes better cakes than you do.
And most importantly....
5. The end result of letting your kids be creative and not butting in is so much better than your dumb adult idea.
*I take no credit for the creation of this adorable cake....this was all Annie :)*
*Cake is a made-up scene from Old Yeller....Travis and Arlis walking down a road when they see a bobcat going after their calf - and Travis has his gun aimed at the bobcat, ready to save the day.* (there is no way in the world my unimaginative mind could have come up with this).
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