"Why Didn't I Think of This Before?" #1

My girls love hanging around while I do chores.  If I'm washing dishes, Lena is next to me playing in the suds.  If I'm cleaning the bathroom, Maggie is spraying vinegar water on the mirror and scrubbing the sink with baking soda. (NOTE: After becoming aware of their enthusiasm for bathroom cleaning, I made each of my girls a small caddy of cleaning supplies including a spice shaker of baking soda, a sprayer for vinegar water, and some brightly-colored sponges.  They promptly lost interest.)

The other day as I was folding laundry, I found myself saying repeatedly, "Girls! Please don't knock over my piles!"  Suddenly, it hit me.  They could be doing this job!  We put on Schoolhouse Rock and had a folding party.  Not every article of clothing was folded with the precision and care to which I am accustomed, but who cares? The clothes are going into a drawer that will only be opened by the girls as they hunt for just-the-right-pants-for-this-shirt.

One less chore for Mommy, one more valuable life skill for her girls.  Why didn't I think of this before???

FASHION!

I imagine Maggie has had her own unique sense of style since conception.  As soon as her gross motor skills allowed -- at about 18 months old -- she began dressing herself.  

 Her mismatched socks, polka-dots-with-plaids, and skirts-over-pants have never bothered me: clothing is one of the only means of self-expression available to little people whose limited vocabularies and undeveloped fine motor skills stifle other forms of expression.

A few weeks ago, after inheriting a tub full of clothes from our good friend Lainey -- another very stylish girl -- Maggie held a fashion show.  She "hired" models, designed outfits, applied make-up, fixed hair, and wrote a script introducing each model and describing each ensemble.  She even "hired" Uncle Johnny to DJ.

Last week, Maggie, Lena, and I had the opportunity to attend a Matilda Jane show at Pirahna Salon.  Maggie tried on a few pieces,  modeled for her stylist Amanda and the other patrons, and ordered one of everything (which we negotiated down to "maybe one for your birthday").

 

 

 

 

My little fashionista was in heaven.

(Lena was ambivalent.)