Afternoon in the Life...

I follow a really great group on Facebook called Toddler Approved. It's always chock-full of great ideas, and having done several of them, I can say that it's one of the best sites for toddler sensory/art/behavioral techniques.

I saw a great post about "Fizzle Pumpkins" that I thought Avonlea would really enjoy. We painted a couple of our pumpkins a few days ago, and she really enjoyed it, so I thought it would be fun to step it up a little.

We paint at our house at least once a week, and Avonlea really enjoys it. She's also pretty good at keeping the paint off of herself and on the paper/other surface we are working with.

At 4:45 I got the painting equipment together. I mixed the paint up while Aria played on the floor peacefully. Avonlea was excited about painting, so she was running back and forth in and out of the house. I brought Aria out and put her in the Bumbo seat, along with our metal colander and a spoon. She enjoys "making music", so I thought she would enjoy it while Avonlea and I painted.

We started painting, and right away I found out that my paint/baking soda ratio was off. It wasn't gliding onto the pumpkin like paint would normally, it was looking more like clumpy cottage cheese, and sliding off. I was frustrated, but we pressed on. Avonlea seemed to be enjoying herself, so I just let it go.

Aria took a really great nap today, but she slept early, so she was ready for another nap early. She started to get fussy only a few minutes after getting outside. She had tossed aside the spoon and was instead leaning over as far as possible and playing in the dirt (of course).

I decided to speed the process up and bring the vinegar out in a cup with a straw. Of course, Avonlea couldn't manage the technique, so I was helping. But because the ratio was off, I'm pretty sure it wasn't as spectacular as it would normally be.

During the entire time we were painting, we were being buzzed by flies. I'm not sure what it is about our house, but the flies and the ants are TERRIBLE. We have a fly trap that we have been meaning to put out, but just haven't yet, so I decided, after 10 minutes of trying to swat the flies, that I would put up the fly trap.  So I left the girls outside and went in to get the rope and fly trap.

I came back out and Avonlea had taken the paints in her playhouse. While I was hanging the fly trap onto the roof, I was trying to yell to Avonlea not to pain the inside of her house. I finally got the thing hung up (it is full of water, so I couldn't just set it down to stop Avonlea), stepped off the chair, and my knot came undone and fell to the ground, completely breaking apart and splashing stank water all over me.

At this point, I am frustrated. I look in the house, and Avonlea is disobeying and painting the inside of her house--with her fingers. I carry Aria inside and put her on the floor with some toys. I go back out and carry Avonlea inside and rinse her off and wash off my legs, which had been sprayed by fly trap stank water. I put Avonlea in time out, and gather Aria, since she was angry about being put on the floor.

After Avonlea's 2 minute time-out, I take her back outside to clean up her mess, which of course she can't clean up well, but I have to follow through on in order to be a good mom.

The whole time I am thinking, why did I even attempt this nonsense??

This happens to me SO OFTEN. I have good intentions, and then it all gets mucked up somehow. *sigh*