Wacky Wednesday: Gum Happens on Eyebrows

I was in the kitchen doing dishes.  

I thought she was cleaning her room(that was what I asked her to do).

She comes to me with tears in her eyes and I see this sad face:  

Umm, Who gets gum on their eyebrows?!? My daughter apparently! While holding in my laughter I was trying to figure out what happened.

Here's her story: 

 Mom, the gum was sticking to my fingers when I was trying to put it in the garbage.  I tried to get my fingers unstuck and the gum just went on my eyebrows(hand gestures included).

The more questions I asked the more she stuck to her story, but gum just doesn't "accidentally" get in your eyebrows. 

And, for the record, she usually spits her gum in the garbage.

I thought this was hilarious, as I'm stifling my laughter, until I had to attempt to get the gum off those eyebrows!  As my brother said in a text, "Ya know, eyebrows are a catch all for everything, Lol."

1. I tried a warm washcloth hoping it would do something. No such luck, it only caused tears.  This is gum that we got at a parade months ago, it's cheap and it hardened real fast on her eyebrows

2.  I tried Adam's Peanut butter, no luck. If you haven't read my opinion about Adam's Peanut butter, please check it out: Not all Peanut Butters are created equal

3.  I was frantically texting my mom at this point.  She said a greasy peanut butter works best.  I found a peanut butter I only use to bake with and rubbed that on those gummy eyebrows.  Ahhh, success!  It still took some work but most of it was removed.

**She still has a tiny bit of gum left on 1 of her eyebrows.  I'd had enough tears and we just snuggled while watching a movie! It will eventually come off, but right now it just looks like a scab...

And, yes, I'm laughing about it now that the dramatic screaming is over.  I'm that mom who makes her daughter clean her room...such cruelty I know

 

What crazy gum stories do you have?  Please share, I need to know I'm not the only one!

Beware of little fingers...

Ok, so my daughter has a cold.  To streamline this afternoon and make it more relaxing, I thought it would be best to skip swim lessons.

With the moods that were showing up, a nap seemed like the best option.  Once she got in bed, the typical stalling techniques were used:  needing to go potty(i don't say no to this because I like to avoid accidents), playing with toys and she got her hermie book stuck between the wall and her bed(this is a new one).  Since these were somewhat typical I thought she'd settle down and fall asleep.  She is sick after all.

At this very moment she's still playing in her room as I'm frantically writing this.  I attempted to snuggle with her in bed because some days that's just what she needs.  I got in her bed and snuggled, but as soon as I closed my eyes I felt a little finger touching my eyelashes.  Trying not to giggle and be the parent, I told her to close her eyes and go to sleep.  Once again I closed my eyes.  Next thing I know I feel little fingers on my chin moving down my neck.  Now, it's really getting hard to hold my laughter and be serious.  However, I held it together and told her, again, to close her eyes and go so sleep.  Well, as I was pretending to fall asleep I felt a little finger touching my eyelashes.  At this point I'm quite proud of myself for not laughing whatsoever.  I told her as I was getting out of her bed, to just go to sleep!

Then, as I was folding laundry in the living room, I called my mom so we could laugh together about this attempted nap! And, yes, I sent a text to Catrina..I mean, who doesn't like a good laugh toward the end of their workday!

Off to get my 3 year old out of bed, but now her room seems awfully quiet!  I'm thinking we'll have a dance party since her new favorite music is Mandisa's Good Morning song.."it's a good morning, wake up to a brand new day..."

Are 2 better than 1?

I'm a mother to 1.  Multiple people have tried to convince me that now is the time to have a 2nd child.  And, yes, I hear them out, but my husband has health concerns in regard to another pregnancy.  I've learned to listen to my husband! And, I've also have many people make it more than clear to me that I have a much easier life than them because I only have 1 child.

I'd really prefer to be treated as a parent instead of being marginalized because I only have 1 child.  The fact is, parenting is HARD no matter how many kids you have.  Yes, my life is different with 1 child, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm a parent. And, I realize that having multiple children adds extra craziness to life.  I obviously haven't lived it, so I really don't understand, but I can only imagine.

Recently, at the park I had a refreshing conversation with a mom that has multiple children. She was quick to include me in her circle of friends.  This mother observed that I'm a mother of 1 and ya know what she said, "I feel sorry for you because you have 1 child.  I have multiple children and all of them play together.  You are your daughter's playmate, entertainer, and everything all in 1."  I don't think this lady realizes how much this conversation meant to me.

All the sudden I had a fellow parent validating my position as a parent.  So,  I felt encouraged and refreshed. It lifted my spirits in a week of letting go and dropping my child off at preschool.  It also allowed me to  reflect on the opportunities I have as a parent.

I have a friend with multiple kids down the road.  We had an accidental meeting at the library today and I offered to bring her toddler home with me.  She needed some rest and it is always fun having a playmate for my daughter at our house.  My friend was well composed, but she has a lot going on in her life and I'm pretty sure she felt like this:

When these kids are together I see the benefits of having multiple children because there's so much laughter and joy in playing together as children.  And, then, it frees me up to get some neglected housework done!

Someday I would love to have another child, whether biological or adopted, but it isn't the right timing. So, at the moment I'll enjoy lending a helping hand to those friends that God puts in my life and enjoy the time I have with my daughter.