Basic Mom Week in Review - 10/25/15

5 Things That Actually Happened This Week and the Lessons I Learned

1. Before we left for the library, my 6-year-old made herself a to-do list on a makeshift clipboard:

("leveing" = leaving)

At some point after we returned home, she updated her to-do list:

Lesson: It's good to know that someone is keeping track of my daughter's whereabouts.

2. My 6-year-old brought her wallet to the Dollar Tree and was desperate to find something to buy. After talking her out of many unwise items, this conversation ensued:

6-year-old (holding up some sort of Halloween baton): Can I please get one of these?

Me: I'm not buying it for you, but if you really want it, and you think it's a smart way to spend your money, you can buy it for yourself.

6-year-old: I really want it.

Me: Okay, but I think if you are going to buy one for yourself, you should buy one for your sister, too. Otherwise she will try to fight you for yours.

6-year-old: [thoughtful pause]

6-year-old (holding up an ugly rubber rat): Then maybe I'll just get this rat. I know she won't want one of these.

Lesson: My daughter's first instinct is to sacrifice what she really wants rather than do something nice for her sister.

(Side note: She ended up getting the Halloween batons after I asked the very legitimate question: "What exactly are you going to do with a rubber rat?")

3. While we were grocery shopping, my 2-year-old filled my phone's camera roll with about a dozen photos of her . . . umm . . . lap.

Lesson: My daughter is never allowed to have a phone of her own.

4. I showed my husband before and after pictures of a Facebook friend who has lost a bunch of weight doing the 21-Day Fix (her transformation is amazing). This conversation followed:

Husband: What'd she do? The 21-Day Fix?

Me: Yeah.

Husband: Let's do it!

Me: [gives husband a death stare that says "What?! Do you think I'm fat? I know I say I'm fat all the time, but you are never supposed to agree with me in any way, especially not by suggesting that I should do something to change my body. How could you say such a thing to me? Do you have any idea how fragile I am? I grew two of your babies inside me - my body will never be the same!"]

Husband: I mean . . . me.

Lesson: I don't think that's what he meant, but I do think he got the gist of my death stare.

5. We took my daughters out to their favorite restaurant (Noodles & Company), and they repaid us by playing with their naked baby doll in public like this: