Two-Fer's

I pride myself on being able to be efficient. I like efficiency and I like to think of ways to be more efficient, and multi-task (even though I know that it probably isn't more efficient, it FEELS like it is). Part of feeling efficient is a certain choosing of tasks that need to be accomplished, and then paring down how well they need to be done, and also how picky I can be about stuff (ingredients, matching, dirtiness level of most anything, etc.) So I've gotten really good at the two-fers. Basically its how can I accomplish two things at the same time and get meaning out of it. Over the course of having three kids I've learned that I'd rather have them with me than not. This comes from baggage that I carry with me, I know that it is not normal and can be an issue, Im also not ready to address it or change anything about it. That being said, I work with my baggage. I go for two-fers. How can I benefit both myself and my children? Two-fers. Examples, Madeline takes swim class on monday mornings. Instead of watching her swim class, I swim laps alongside the class. I get to watch her and get a workout in. My work girlfriends are great at this. We had our Christmas get together this weekend. Normally a cookie exchange, not this year! We assembled dinners to freeze, while drinking wine. Putting one of the kids in charge of sorting the recycling or putting the silverware away while I work with them and chat. Two-fers....its a way of life.

Clever

I've always been kind of weirded out by how well and I know my kids, and in at the same time just how long it takes for me to get to know them. With the addition of more children, the time it takes for me to really get to know them (or, notice these said things about them) increases.

Madeline is a lot like me, she can be sweet and kind and then if you piss her off just right she will let you know just where you can go. I've sort of aligned her with me most of the time, we team up girls vs. boys, she is my helper. She's my girl. I've always had an extra special spot for her in my heart and feel extra close to her. Just in the last several months her personality has really started to emerge. She has become very maternal, taking excellent care of those around her. She loves to help and complete tasks she starts. She loves to dance and sing and takes pride in doing things her own way.

The most interesting thing that I've gotten to observe from her recently is that she is very clever. She has a way of solving problems in interesting ways which offer such a nice insight into her emerging personality. I feel that I can be clever at times. However I do have to give proper credit, John is very clever and is able to solve most any problem quickly and creatively. It is very humbling to have your three year old daughter suggest a solution to a problem that you would have likely never considered yourself.

The best example I can give of this is this, she was to go to bed however her over sized puppy had gotten wet due to a leaky sippy cup left in bed. This puppy is very important for sleeping with at night. Both John and I tried to convince her that she shouldn't sleep with this puppy, etc. Suddenly she suggested "why don't we do like this" and flipped him over so the underside (aka the dry side) was up and she proceeded to lay down and settle in for the night. Very simple solution and very clever girl.

I sure hope that this is a sign of more creative, innovative and outside the box thinking that we will see from Madeline...Dr. Madeline, perhaps?