The New York Times says “firstborns are smarter” in a new scientific study on the relationship between birth order and I.Q. This is good news for me, as the oldest child of four. I’m just not really convinced. I have 3 girls, and while they’re all smart as a whip, I don’t know that I’d say one is smarter than the other. (Not that I’ve ever had their I.Q. tested.)
I think Stacia was our earliest (and best) talker, but I always chalked that up to spending 5 years of her life almost exclusively around grownups. Of course, maybe that’s the crux of it all—children who hear only adults speaking, who are talked to frequently and who get more attention may grow up with an advantage.
I don’t know, but it probably won’t stop me from letting my siblings know that I’m the smartest. It was in the New York Times! Check out the article through Juicebox widget on my sidebar, and let me know what you think!
When Sarah first announced that this week’s Show & Tell theme was Things That Go, my thoughts went immediately to my youngest daughter. Lorelai is a big fan of all things that go—trucks and trains, especially. She even chose a train theme for her bedroom—no frilly butterflies or fairies for my little girl!
Last year’s birthday was a construction truck theme. This year, she has her sights set on a marshmallow party. I’m not 100% sure what that means, but I do know there will be s’mores. Inspiration for the cake and decorations still eludes me. Her 3rd birthday was much easier to plan. Yellow and black balloons tied to orange cones from the soccer equipment along with trucks we already had (The cupcakes were housed in the back of a Tonka dump truck.) spruced up the place.
For her cake, I went super simple. Wilton was not at all involved! Dirt mounds should be messy so I didn’t even have to try that hard to smooth the chocolate frosting. Just add toy trucks and our construction scene was complete. I bought the construction hats at a party store, added a truck sticker and wrote each child’s name on it. Kids love dressing up so it’s always fun to find a way to work that into a birthday party.
The kids played some digging games to unearth a truck in a tub of birdseed. They raced their trucks in the next game, then got to take them home in lieu of goody bags. The trucks from the cake, and the leftovers from the digging game, were Lorelai’s to keep. She still plays with them to this day. The set I bought had even come with a toolbox carrying case for storage. (At the party, we used it to hold the napkins and silverware!) It was one of the easiest and least expensive parties we’ve had in a long time. I should have anticipated this kind of payback. A marshmallow party! Seriously?
Planning birthday parties is kind of my thing. I’ll just have to get a bit more creative this time around.
This post is part of Show and Tell Tuesday at Mom’s Marbles. Join us every Tuesday for a new topic and link up with smart moms sharing even more great ideas! (Also, don’t forget to stop by on Monday when I contribute Money Saving Mondays—ideas for living your life Inexpensively.)
Today was an epiphany surrounded by laundry, wrapped with a 3-year-old in nothing but underwear and a shirt half over her head. “Help me!” was her muffled cry, but as I made my way to her she was suddenly freed of the tangle. Proudly pulling the shirt down over her head, she announced, “I got it! I don’t need you.” My heart broke just a little bit.
I was taken back to the night several years ago when my oldest declared that she was not a baby and did not need to be tucked in. She marched up to bed all on her own. I curled up on my own bed with tears welling in my eyes. My little baby didn’t need me anymore. Gone were the days of cuddles and kisses, Goodnight Moon and the insistence that it wasn’t bedtime until Mommy pulled the covers over her body.
The tears were ready to flow when I heard a tiny voice call out, “Mommy? Can you come tuck me in?” We both went to bed a little more peaceful that night, me knowing my little girl still needed me (just a little bit) and her knowing I would always be there when she did. For her, that will always be true, but isn’t the point of parenting to raise your children so they won’t need you anymore? One day, all three of my girls will grow up and away – needing me less and less as the years go on. My heart will hurt, but it will mean I was successful.
I don’t think it will happen all at once. Slowly they’ll just need me less and less. One by one, they’ll begin to lean on one another or friends. Or a spouse. Until suddenly I’m not the one they think of first when they struggle, and they have to pencil in “call mom” on the calendar. They’ll probably still think of me when they want to cook their childhood favorites and I’m the one with the recipe in her head. I hope I’m first on the list when they want a night away from their own children.
Most of all, though, I hope they always know that even when they no longer need me daily, I’ll always be here when they do.
And then there was one (who still requires a backpack and insists on being in the picture)
I don’t make traditional New Year’s resolutions because they just aren’t fun. Plus, Back to School time is the real reset in our household. Brand new backpacks, sparkling lunchboxes, newly sharpened pencils and clean, white notebooks—it all just feels so fresh to me. I use an academic year calendar so I can start August with clean, white pages.
It won’t last long—Brenia’s first Brownie meeting was earlier this afternoon. Stacia’s Girl Scout meetings begin next week and my dance class starts the week after that. The calendar hasn’t even arrived yet (of course, it would help if I ordered it!) and already we’re filling it up. School events, Scout meetings, dance class and whatever else the girls will decide to do this season are quickly filling our days.
It’s time to get back on track after slacking off all summer. The first thing I need to do is get back to planning a menu. Chaos has reined for the last several months. I do better with a menu plan and I’m making an official School Year’s Eve Resolution to restart the process. Step 1: Go grocery shopping! Yeah, I’ve been slacking off a lot there too. On the upside, our expenses have been greatly reduced but it will be nice to start having some food around here.
While the girls are at school tomorrow, Lorelai and I are setting out for a series of errands, with a trip to the grocery store at the top of our list. I think I’m going to take a cue from a few of the great gals in the newInexpensivelynetwork and jump on board with Menu Plan Monday. That should provide both a productive use of my blog and proper motivation. Besides, everyone else is doing it!
Wordless Wednesday: Lorelai had 9 inches cut off in June for Locks of Love. Since I have never gotten around to blogging her 1st haircut, this will have to do. Besides, if a picture is worth a 1000 words, then 27 pictures is almost a whole novel!
When the girls created their summer fun list, I knew they were overly ambitious. I was clear that we wouldn’t get to some of it, but I had high hopes that they would have a fun summer anyway. Over the last 2 months, I launched my business nationwide, took a (somewhat) spur of the moment business trip to Chicago and was diagnosed with diverticulitis (don’t look it up—it’s gross). Because I am lazy very busy, we have pretty much neglected the summer fun list in favor of staying home where I can work as well as recuperate. On an up note, my 3-year-old is learning many wizard spells courtesy of our Disney Channel marathons. That has to count for something. (Shutup.)
With less than 3 weeks until school begins, it’s time to dust off the list and have some fun. In true slacker staycation-style, we’re kicking off with PJ Day. I like this because I pretty much stay in pajamas all day anyway it allows for crossing off multiple items with out getting dressminimal effortleaving the house oh, screw it, it’s because I’m lazy. The girls very carefully selected their pajamas tonight since they’ll be wearing them for 24 hours. I grabbed the first only clean set I could find. They’re already planning breakfast—pancakes a la Stacia. Which is fine with me because it teaches her valuable responsibility (it totally does!) and it’s one less meal for me to cook.
We’re throwing in crafts (#31), a movie marathon (#36) and possibly even board games (#39), but I don’t think my idea of calling it our “big sleepover” (#6) is going to fly. I’ve also decided to shoot for crossing off a back-to-school item since I did promise the girls baking. I have blueberries and bananas for muffins, which we’ll freeze (mostly) for breakfasts. Having fast, easy breakfast on hand is pretty much the only way my kids get to eat in the mornings when we’re rushing off to school. I don’t really do mornings. However, I do clean up nice (cue gratuitous photo of me looking fabulous at the Mommy Needs a Cocktail party):
I am the mother of 3 girls. When I first heard I was having a girl, I didn’t envision pink ribbons and curls. I’m more the purple streaks and funky hats type of girl, myself. I never quite felt like I fit or really knew where to belong. Growing up, I was always told that if I wanted to support my expensive taste I would need to marry a doctor or lawyer. No one ever told me I could be one. I was determined to empower my girls to be whoever they wanted to be. I think we all strive to do just a little bit better than the generation before us. For me, that meant giving my children choices I never had myself. While I have fond memories of Barbie, Cabbage Patch Kids and Strawberry Shortcake, I didn’t want to streamline my own daughter into any specific stereotypes.
Stacia - my official preteen
I made an extra effort to buy our oldest daughter Tonka trucks, Hot Wheels and boy dolls to balance out the Disney princess, Barbie dolls and fancy hairpieces everyone else threw her direction. Stacia didn’t turn out to be a tomboy, but she isn’t a girly girl either. She landed somewhere in the middle. Mission accomplished. Stacia has a style all her own—a little funky, sometimes wannabe punk with interests ranging from baking to motocross. Her latest fashion craze was mismatched holiday socks (but only if the holiday wasn’t any time soon). She reminds me a lot of myself, actually—which is probably why it’s a struggle to get along.
Brenia at Scout camp
My 2nd daughter came along and had all the same choices. Her life included attending her older sister’s soccer games and a ride-on motorcycle mixed with frilly clothes and a dress-up trunk. She couldn’t have cared less about trucks and hasn’t voluntarily worn a pair of pants in 4 years. Brenia announced at age 2 that she absolutely must have dresses because “princesses do not wear pants” and no amount of Aladdin-viewing would change her mind. This is the child who randomly appears in our scrapbooks wearing fairy wings or giant faux pearls and wears a skirt to go camping.
Lorelai at Touch-A-Truck
On the other hand, our youngest is the son we never had. Except, remember I have 3 girls? She has always been fascinated with trains and trucks. I can bribe her at the grocery store with a $.97 Hot Wheels car and have perfect behavior (sometimes). Her fashion phases run to colors. One year, she would only wear green. It didn’t matter what it was so long as it had green on it. However, a tomboy she is not. Her color of choice this year? Pink—in every shade imaginable. She enjoys frilly dresses. She loves princess movies. Lorelai will don a tiara and heels to ride her Thomas the Tank Engine around the house.
Snakehead Ed
I think the choices they’ve been given have left them free to become who they are. Each of my girls comes with a style all her own. They have personalities that run the spectrum. Their interests are varied and plentiful. All three of them are just as happy with snakes as kittens. These girls enjoy trucks as much as ballet and often dig in the dirt with their fresh manicures. Our summer of fun has included all of those, so far.
Touch-A-Truck
The event that best showcased the lack of gender lines in our house was Touch-A-Truck. We went specifically for my two biggest truck fans—Lorelai and my nephew—but Brenia had just as much fun. Of course, the highlight for her was running into a school friend. Lorelai loved it all and buckled herself into each of the drivers’ seats. Levi’s favorite part was touching a “big wheel,” followed closely by the “firefrucks” and “woo-woos” (otherwise known as police vehicles) both featured in my new favorite home video:
