Saturday, February 26, 2011

One-On-One

As I mentioned briefly yesterday, Brooke has been having some issues with her attitude. She's a great kid and her behavior is incredible.. It's just that will and mouth on her that gets her into trouble. I have been trying to be extra patient with her because I know her life is changing just as much as mine is. I thought that spending some quality time with her would help her feel extra special and help us kind of reconnect.

I made plans for Adrienne this afternoon and let Brooke pretty much call the shots. It breaks my heart when I think about the simplicity of her requests... To go to McDonald's with nobody else (She listed our entire family who wasn't invited. Lol) and to go home and snuggle and watch cooking shows. I told her we could go to the movies or shop or whatever she wanted but that was what her little heart desired. She gets her fair share of Happy Meals and she snuggles with me daily but somehow the fact that we would be alone is what really excited her.

I must say, having just one child for the afternoon was almost a little bit weird! I was amazed at how easy it was and how getting our food and going to the potty wasn't quite so much work. Mostly, though, I just enjoyed the uninterrupted conversations and giggles with my oldest princess. I heard lots of funny stories and silly tidbits about her little life and somehow grew to love her even more. She and I then went home to snuggle for about an hour and then we played with puzzles and read books, all without interruption.

At one point Brooke said to me, "We like being alone without Adrienne!" I had to explain to her that while we enjoy being alone sometimes, Adrienne is still just as important and special. I then compared it to when John and I go on a date without her and she seemed to get that. It's got to be a hard concept for a four-year-old!

Sometimes I struggle as I feel divided between my daughters. I never want them to even have room to sense favoritism because there is not an ounce of that in my heart. Despite the challenges of splitting myself evenly, the wonderful gift of giving my daughters each other is more than enough of a benefit to make up for it.

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