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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

My Snowman's Name is "Blue" and He Wants Me to Calm Down in Momville


Here he is folks!  "Blue".  I'm tellin' ya... Lily is obsessed with blue.  Even though there isn't a blessed blue thing on that guy, his name was a decisive "Blue!"  And Blue is a great example of how I'm not as Christmas-Zen as I may have led you to believe the other day!


Let me tell you what else... I do NOT remember building a snowman to be so much work!  And he isn't even that big! But then again, I've never built a snowman with a two and three year old.  It was... interesting.  Mostly, it was cold and wet and the snow wasn't as great for packing as I'd hoped.  But I was determined to give them this "first snowman" experience because you never know when you'll get another good snow.  And as frustrating as it was, I'm glad we got out there that day... cause it's been rainy and nasty ever since!


I learned an important lesson in the 45 minutes it took us to build Blue... to calm the heckity-heck down!  And I learned this lesson right after I heard myself barking "DON'T TOUCH THE SNOWMAN" to the very children I was trying so hard to give this fantastic winter wonderland experience of snowman-building to.  But because I was doing all the work of making him and because my back was hurting and because my fingers were freezing and because my kids are kids... I was afraid someone was going to bump him and ruin all my hard work.  So I yelled at them not to touch what was supposed to be their snowman.  

That's when it kind of hit me... "Jessica, you are making this all about you!"  Isn't it funny how quickly things can flip from "I want the girls to experience the joy of building a snowman" to "I want the perfect picture of the perfect snowman experience?"  Or does that only happen to me?  



So I took a deep breath and tried to relax.  I still didn't let the girls destroy all the hard work, but I did try to be more patient with their clumsy and cute preschool "helping."  And when Blue was complete, Lily was SO EXCITED.  We've been reading a lot of snowman books and singing lots of Frosty... so it was definitely fun for her to build her own watch Momma build one for her.

And I purposefully built him right outside the kitchen door so they could see him for as long as he lasted.  But then it was kind of creepy cause Blue haunted me for a few days.  It was like every time I saw him out of the corner of my eye I heard him say "Stop being a control-freak Jessica..."  I'm trying Blue!  Cut me some slack!  



It's Lily that really helps me remember what all these little experiences are all about... it's about connecting with my kid.  She was so excited about her snowman.  And then she came into the house and immediately went to the tree to point out to me that "it's just like outside snowman Mom!" (the ornament St. Nik brought her on Dec. 6) so that was cute... so see her making all these fun snowman connections!



She monitored his "melting progress" very closely and was so sad for him when the weather got all rainy and we watched him shrink into nothingness.  "Poor guy!" she said.  And then of course it was "we build nuther snowman Momma?" right away.  Yes Baby.  We'll build another one as soon as we get more snow.  And who knows, maybe Momma will actually let you have a more active role this time?



RIP Blue.  Thanks for the reminder to let my kids be kids.  And to worry less about the "perfect experience" and more about just enjoying the experience!

I wish you all a white Christmas!  Filled with many happy snowman experiences!  Or cookies by the fire, if you're getting a lot of rain like us!  Merry Christmas!!!

12 comments:

  1. oh my goodness - - that face she's making in the pic with the melted snowman - - you captured it so perfectly - - so much like her daddy!

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    1. Yep. That's my grumpy-but-sweet girl!

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    2. I don't know if you'd call it grumpy, mostly serious and analytical (oops spelled that wrong but don't care!)

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  2. Jess, I love you. I struggle with the same thing! Praying for you!!

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  3. This post is one of my favorites to date... Way to capture the essence of what it is to be a Mom and build a snowman. I really do think your girls will remember "Blue" in all his glory. In about 15 years, these pictures/the story will be epic! It's especially exciting to hear this story knowing full well how much your girls are talking now. SO CUTE! LY. <3

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    1. It was a pretty funny experience. Ah, kids...

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  4. You are most definitely NOT alone!! I built an entire snow family last year. If you look, you'll notice the pictures are taken when it's absolutely dark outside. I took them the second I completed the project. I wanted my kids to enjoy the finished project...not be part of the project. I get too frustrated doing things with preschoolers. Maybe I'd be a better mommy if I did more with them and learned the lessons you did. Eh...I've got two more chances to get it right. I love how your snowman was a creeper out your window. Hilarious!!

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    1. Well I "learned my lesson" but I still don't think my preschoolers could build their own snowman haha. Baby steps! You're a great Mom Hil!

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  5. does your base have a good kids' library? Sadie and the Snowman is one of our wintertime favorites...about a snowman that gets rebuilt every time it snows and then animals eat the face (hmm that sounds gross) and it melts and the next time it snows the whole process starts over. Very cute.

    and great post. The balance between being too hands off and too hands on is a delicate one, to be sure!

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    1. We have many good base libraries nearby. I'll have to check that out! Literally ;o) And I'd be curious to know how you handle that parenting skill with three busy boys on your hands! Hat off to you lady!

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    2. um...no clue. lots of consciously removing things from my day that distract me (be it dirty dishes or internet time or whatever), lots of praying, lots of appreciating and utilizing every minute to myself (or minute with the H or minute with a christian lady friend) that I can snag, lots of appreciating and utilizing every minute with my kids...I fail often but it's so sweet when everything works =)

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