celebrations / crafting with children / family / IN MY KITCHEN / MOTHERHOOD

december 19


P1010032

"I can’t hold back my tears any longer…"

That would be a quote from my five year old daughter as she lay prostrate on her bed, hugging the neck of her rocking horse that was pushed up alongside her.

"I just know I’m never going to get a real pony."
"Cricket(
the pony) is the only thing I love in the whole world!"

Me: But don’t you love mommy, and daddy, and mary and elizabeth, too?

"Yessss. I love you all, but Cricket is just the only thing that love. I can’t hold back anymore."

I have to admit, my dear Emma feels deeply. It literally broke her heart last week when she had to put a big, doe-eyed stuffed fawn (a companion to this book) back on the shelf at Barnes and Noble.

"It just needs me. I can’t bear to put it back on the shelf."

And it broke her heart even more this afternoon when she accidentally found it stashed away under my bed, waiting to be wrapped. But it was sweet. Her heart was broken for me, because…

"…we can’t afford to get many presents. And now you won’t have many special surprises for me."

(I hope you’re reading all these quotes with lots of dramatic inflection and phrasing.)

She’s just one big, soft, pulsing heart. She feels deeply and responds to everything deeply. Dan and I always remark that she’s a lot like the classic nursery rhyme:

   

There was a little girl,
    Who had a little curl,
    In the middle of her forehead.
    And when she was good, she was very good.
    And when she was bad, she was horrid.

Well, at this point, I can’t even remember what I came her to post about. Something about gingerbread houses or how absolutely edible this one is.
After I erected the structure of the gingerbread house today, I gave Emma full reign. I was going to try to make it something Martha-Stewart quality, but in the end decided to just let go and let her make her own fun. It was wonderful to watch.

Happy Wednesday.
Six days until Christmas….
Here’s a song for you that we’re singing along to today…


P1010032

"I can’t hold back my tears any longer…"

That would be a quote from my five year old daughter as she lay prostrate on her bed, hugging the neck of her rocking horse that was pushed up alongside her.

"I just know I’m never going to get a real pony."
"Cricket(
the pony) is the only thing I love in the whole world!"

Me: But don’t you love mommy, and daddy, and mary and elizabeth, too?

"Yessss. I love you all, but Cricket is just the only thing that love. I can’t hold back anymore."

I have to admit, my dear Emma feels deeply. It literally broke her heart last week when she had to put a big, doe-eyed stuffed fawn (a companion to this book) back on the shelf at Barnes and Noble.

"It just needs me. I can’t bear to put it back on the shelf."

And it broke her heart even more this afternoon when she accidentally found it stashed away under my bed, waiting to be wrapped. But it was sweet. Her heart was broken for me, because…

"…we can’t afford to get many presents. And now you won’t have many special surprises for me."

(I hope you’re reading all these quotes with lots of dramatic inflection and phrasing.)

She’s just one big, soft, pulsing heart. She feels deeply and responds to everything deeply. Dan and I always remark that she’s a lot like the classic nursery rhyme:

   

There was a little girl,
    Who had a little curl,
    In the middle of her forehead.
    And when she was good, she was very good.
    And when she was bad, she was horrid.

Well, at this point, I can’t even remember what I came her to post about. Something about gingerbread houses or how absolutely edible this one is.
After I erected the structure of the gingerbread house today, I gave Emma full reign. I was going to try to make it something Martha-Stewart quality, but in the end decided to just let go and let her make her own fun. It was wonderful to watch.

Happy Wednesday.
Six days until Christmas….
Here’s a song for you that we’re singing along to today…

20 comments on “december 19”

  1. she is so sweet, oh my gosh reading those quotes I could hear her crying these words out, I wanted to go and just buy that pony for her myself. Such passion!!

  2. i love the depth of emotion that they have -and the drama, oh the drama. one of our girls is quite similar your emma in this post. it’s always a delightful surprise to hear how she’ll express herself.happy holidays to you and yours, molly!xoxo

  3. oh yes, very familiar. i was that little girl with the curl. i love her. i love that she can’t hold back. and that she’s concerned about you having special surprises for her. precious.

  4. I love the story about your daughter. I cannot relate – I have 2 boys. 🙂

    I can relate to the gingerbread houses though. That’s what we did all weekend. I too was going to try for something MS but finally left it to the kids. Ah, letting go.

    I LOVE that BNL song. LOVE IT! Did you find a way to download it or are you just listening to it over and over and over on the internet like I’m doing?

  5. Oh my! What a cute and teary story. At least she is in touch with her feelings and really reminds you of the spirit that’s around this time of year.:)

  6. OH how many times I have recited that same poem about my little girl. Two years ago, our neighbors actually bought a real pony for their little girl and paraded it around the neighborhood Christmas day. What a hoot. Love the song – thanks for the link. I’m sure I’ll find a way to spend a few hours exploring new tunes over there.

  7. I love how emphatically Emma feels what she feels. Reading this made me remember how as a kid you feel something to your very core, completely unfiltered. So sweet.

    And is it really only six days. I really need some elves about right now.

  8. It does seem like daughters are more “theatrical” with their feelings. I still remember the specific day when my dd was about 4 and I saw another little girl sulking, as girls sometimes are – and I thought “I’m glad my dd is not like THAT.” Sigh But it’s that “theatrical-ness” that also makes them fun in other ways.

    I’m glad you decided to let her do the gingerbread house w/out parental interference 🙂 It’s usually not a temptation for me, b/c I am not creative enough to do such a thing well…if I did it people would probably assume my kids did it anyway.

    This is one thing I’ve come to realize…children enjoy the doing, the making, the creating. The finished project is not what is important. They might hardly even care about what happens to the finished project – they just love the creating.

  9. Oh she is just soo precious. I do love it when our children learn that the surprise of giving from the parent is just as important as the kids receiving the gifts.

  10. She was telling me at dinner how “…I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer, I just want a REAL pony so badly!I want a pony just like Mickey and I won’t get one until I’m like TEN.” Of course she was very dramatic and had a sad face on. It was actually kind of sad she wants it so badly!

  11. What a sweetheart. Those quotes are priceless. I often write down some of things Ben says because I need to remember them- they are so funny or poignant.We went the same route with the ginger house…let him do his own thing. Although ours is just graham cracker- small scale because it actually does get eaten over here!The chub on the littlest little- incredible. They change so much so quickly at this age don’t they?Happy HOlidays!Jen

  12. Another hearty cry reading your post..it makes a great release from getting wound up tight about there only being 4 days to go!Emma sounds incredibly similar to our DD and I totally understand what it’s like to watch them ‘melt’.Wishing you and yours all that you wish for yourself…..and Happy New Year!I am looking forward already to your blog and our seemingly parallel lives!xxx

  13. Sometimes it is just too much..all those emotions in their little bodies.I am so loving those cards in the background of the gingerbread house…LovelySuzie Sews

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