1m2aSandbox

I spent part of the weekend doing those
boring chores around the house that no one wants to do but everyone
needs to, and which make you feel very virtuous when you finally
get to cross them off your list. One of those chores brought me
into our musty basement and in contact with an old trunk of toys
from my childhood. Remembering there was a doll’s cradle in
there, I took a few minutes and cracked the thing open.


I found the cradle, ready for assembly and reeking of the 1970s
with its lovely gold and brown polyester. And as a bonus, I
discovered my old Betsy Wetsy doll. Maddie’s been interested
in babies and life-like dolls for a while now, so I figured
I’d give her a few new things to play with.


And let’s face it: I’m happy to train her to give a
hand with the newborn.

Yep, we’ve got a family member who
is growing at an astonishing pace. She’s rapidly outgrowing
her seasonal clothing, almost faster than suitable clothing can be
found for her. You could truly say she’s growing like a weed.


If weeds grew sideways and had ridiculously large bellies.

Maddie’s begun to show tiny hints
that she’ll soon realize Mommy’s word isn’t
Immutable Law: that just because it comes out of my mouth, it
ain’t necessarily Gold.


Yesterday we went to our church’s mid-week service with our
small home group. Brian’s worship leader and is there every
week, but Maddie and I rarely go because it’s in such close
proximity to bedtime. During the day I was preparing Maddie for the
evening outing – a trip she usually loves, because she adores
our church nursery and always loves hearing her daddy sing.

After posting my recent entry encouraging
new moms to get out there and find some play dates, I had a couple
moms confess to me that the idea of play dates intimidates them. I
can completely understand that; it’s just like the whole
playground thing, where you’re approaching a new group of
people and know there must be rules but don’t know what they
are. And above all, you don’t want to either offend someone
or leave the impression that you’re a bad mom.


The good news is that we’re all that insecure, so if
you’re having a new friend over for a play date she is just
as nervous as you are! But just to help you gals out, I’ve
written out some basic guidelines that may help you steer through
your first few play dates like a pro. Lest you think I made these
up, rest assured that I sought advice from my more experienced
girlfriends before I set out on my first play dates. So these are
the result of many voices of wisdom!

I’ve noticed a recent trend in
Madeleine towards deliberate craftiness that is disturbing, to say
the least.


When she wants something from me she’ll often ask several
times, even though I always answer with “no”.
Eventually she’ll start saying, “Yes!”
“No!” I reply. “Yes!” “No!”
until it’s kind of a game in itself and it’s clear she
doesn’t really have a hope of changing my mind.


Except that sometimes she will switch, and say, “No!”
in the clear hopes that I’ll absentmindedly reply,
“Yes!” Every time I catch it and smile knowingly at the
little minx, she’ll look a bit chagrined but unabashed.

Maddie’s becoming quite the social
butterfly these days; she’s expanded her play date horizons
beyond hanging with her good friend from the neighborhood Naomi,
and is now making more of an effort to invite over or head to
friends’ houses in other boroughs. She’s been spending
more time with her friends from the church nursery and will soon
need her own Blackberry to keep up with her busy schedule.


As great as these play dates are for Maddie, though, I’ve got
to confess something.


I’m not scheduling these fun times so that my daughter gains
valuable interaction time, develops her inter-personal skills, or
learns how to make nice with others.


I’m doing this for me.

Maddie received an awesome target="_blank"
href="http://www.sensationalbeginnings.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=O+1+4323X">
rock and bounce pony for her birthday last summer after
falling in love with the one in our church nursery. We figured
she’d enjoy it for a long time, but thought it would sort of
come in and out of fashion.


Instead, she’d simply become more and more enamored of the
thing, and given her love of all things adrenaline-inducing, I
think it’s just a matter of time before someone –
either the horse or the girl – gets hurt.