Giving in....

Last week I gave in...

I gave into child pressure; I gave into peer pressure; I gave into the marketers and advertisers.

I bought my child a Rainbow Loom. Okay, technically, my kid bought herself a rainbow loom – she chose to use her allowance now instead of waiting for Santa to bring her one.

For some odd reason, my adult brain feels that I should justified this purchase. My kid does not care, she is just happy – she was starting to get sick of making her bracelets (I did buy her a pack of elastic refills) using pens.

Here are some of my reasons for why the Rainbow Loom is a good investment...

1. It is only twenty bucks. Actually, it is a little less than twenty dollars. Twenty seems to be my magic amount to spend on a toy that may not be played with for more than a month.

2. My kid was going to spend her allowance on a Barbie doll, which I know would probably not be played with for more than a week...
   
   
3. Making bracelets is helping her with her fine motor skills and hand eye coordination
   
   
4. She is learning to follow instructions
   
   
5. Hopefully, she will learn to see the pattern of how these elastics combine (math skills) and make up her own designs (creativity).
   
   
6. It keeps her quiet and busy.
   
   
7. At least she is not watching television while she is being quiet and busy. Granted, she is now staring intently at my iPad trying desperately to follow the instructions from a nine-year-old girl.
   
   
8. It is something she can do by herself. Okay, I admit that this has yet to actually happen, as a lot of the bracelets and charms seem to require parental involvement. Though I quietly admit that looming is sort of fun, I am anticipating the day when I no longer hear “MOMMY!! HELP! I can't do this....”

9. Her bracelet creations are tiny and are easy to put away (hide). Lego castles and other three dimensional “art works” are both hard to store and often cause great deal of distress when it is time to disassemble or disposal.
   
   
10. As a friend told me – stepping on these little elastics is a lot better than stepping on a piece of Lego.

Do you loom? Or, Do you feel like you have to justify your purchases, or can you just go out and buy something because it is fun?

Another New Year!

I am proud to say that I kept my resolution about not making resolutions.

I do not really believe in New Year resolutions; I think every single day is an opportunity to make a fresh start; to try to do better; to have a somewhat clean slate. So, why not make resolutions on say January 23 instead of the 1st (granted, that is Chinese New Year...).

Anyway, last year I did make some New Year wishes and thought it would be nice to review them, and see if I can come up with a few more. Wishes are things I would like to happen, but are not a to-do list that will cause guilt if I do not finish before next year arrives.

1. Folding laundry quicker – well... I still have last year's laundry sitting in my dryer right now...

2. Cleaning the house – the house remains in a state of organized chaos, but we are all alive, no one died of food poisoning, and we do not have some weird fungus growing on us or our stuff, so I consider this a win...

3. Unpacking from the move – still have some boxes, but we did find some bed linens; so, it is a start!

4. Write more – I am writing now!

5. Read more – There is a book on my bedside table with no pictures in it, and I got to use my library card more than once this year (my daughter uses her card a lot)

6. Try be happier – I think I am a fairly happy person, most of the time, okay, some of the time, okay... occasionally

7. Worry less – probably never going to happen, I just find different stuff to worry about

8. Be the Best mother I can be – this is a goal I plan on working on for the rest of my life

So some new wishes:

1. Try to go to bed earlier

2. Try not lose my temper as much

3. Try to tell my little one I Love Her at least once a day, especially on days when she is driving me crazy, and when I want to give her to her grandparents. And, try to tell this to her when she is conscious, not when she is asleep and looking like a little angel.

4. Continue to try to be the mother my daughter needs me to be

What are your new year wishes?

Happy New Year!