Her Mother's Child

This girl has been a mess. She has been grounded more often than not. She likes things to be her way. All the time. She is persistent. She is strong and determined. She is just like her mother.

Give her a craft or project to channel that energy and she is at peace. Did I mention she is like her mother? She loves the fabric store and has been talking about a "sewer" since she noted the kid's sewing machine at JoAnn's.

Today I started the "cloth napkin" marathon because they will be needed in one daughter's lunch box this year. Kate took the opportunity to play with scrap pieces I couldn't use to make baby doll clothes. She was in her glory and needed to dress up for this "special day". She wore her flower girl dress! Now that is special. I love how she plans outfits and accessories for any given activity and so much of the time, I just have stifle my giggle and go with it.

In elementary school I remember tying a sweater around my neck in the dead heat of the summer because the new JCPenney Fall catalog showed a really pretty girl wearing hers that way. So it appears that practical dressing may also be a gift she's been given from her mother!

We've struggled with bedtime battles for quite awhile now. She isn't afraid. There doesn't appear to be any anxiety. She just wants to see if we are as persistent as her! We are. So I started a responsibility chart on Monday. I can't honestly say what prompted it, but it turns out that girlfriend likes to mark things off a list! No reward. No incentive. No bribery. Just a list that includes "go to bed without crying" and I'll be darned, she is going to bed without crying so she can mark it off her list! Now, I happen to be an index card junkie because I LOVE to make little lists reminding me to do everything from menu plan, laundry, clean the house (which has sub-sections, of course!), appts, errands, etc......I need the reminders at this season of my life, but it all started because I get great satisfaction marking things off my list.

The cloth napkin saga started when I read the teen commitment letter from Lauren's new school stating they require cloth napkins in their packed lunch everyday. Apparently they are "green". Me? Not so much. I suppose I will be learning a little along the way too. However, once I started making them, I realized this would be pretty simple to apply at home. I made quite a few today and have some additional fabric Kate and I plan to use tomorrow to make more. They are so small that I believe I won't notice the additional laundry and I could certainly afford to cut back on my paper product purchases at Sam's Club each month. Who knows, paper towels could be next to go???? I may just have to put that on my list.