Mama Called The Doctor...

{And while she was on hold she said, "How many more days until school starts?"}

So, I thought I would try to get some sewing done today. Maybe get a few flannel items crossed off the to-do list, and of course, because I'm down here trying to get some birthday jammies done for her, my daughter decided that she needed to work on the sock monkey kit that I gave her last Christmas.
I really wanted to foster this kind of mother - daughter bonding and showed her how to do a whip stitch. Encouraged her to thread the needle, "Yes, I know you've tried fifteen times. Try again." Shared my polyfil with her, "No, you don't need that much, put it back. Put it back. Put it back." Tried to keep her focused, "Don't touch that. Put that down. Stop poking that. That's not what that's for. Yes, that's my candy. I don't know why they don't make Turtles look like Turtles anymore. STOP STABBING THINGS!!!"

While I haven't been the most patient parent/person when it came to passing on the dying arts of cooking, baking, knitting and sewing to my children, I do, on occasion try. I don't cope (I just made a typo of 'dope'---maybe a little Freudian thing happening there) very well with the sloppiness and mess associated with teaching my children a new skill. Which is totally surprising, because I am so not a neat freak! I tend to use the, "Here, let me do that," approach; you know, "it's just easier if I do it", etc. etc.

I'm not proud of it, but that's the way it's been.

I've tried to teach both my children to knit. My son? It's not his thing, but I'm proud to say that he did give it a, albeit small, shot. My daughter? She's pretty good, that is, when she stays still long enough. I was hoping that giving her a skill that required her to sit still might encourage her to, I don't know, SIT STILL??? She's affectionately known as our "Whirling Dervish" Quite honestly, she has always moved so quickly from one thing to another that the only clue you had that she was about to move onto something new was when you heard the one word that filled our family with dread.

"Oopsie."

"Oopsie", covered everything from spilled milk, candle wax poured down a sink, sneaking chocolate, falling into a Bay, any number of broken fragile items to jewelry going down the toilet.

Well, that was when she was a little girl. She's soon turning into a big girl and we know this because her vocabulary is expanding. No more "Oopsie"; no siree. Now we're going to hear (as I did earlier today) "Uh-oh, that's bad."

AND THE DOCTOR SAID,

WHY IS THERE A NEEDLE STUCK IN THAT MONKEY'S HEAD????

X-ray, stat!