to being a better mom...

I was inspired by this post written by my friend, Natalie. When I read it, I was taken back to my own childhood...and as I remember it, a near perfect childhood. I love that each day, my mom took time out of her busy life to just be a mom. To get down on the ground and wrestle with her children, to build snowmen, to play house, to go on bike rides, and have picnics. I loved it when she would read to me, and sing with me, and play hide and seek. It's interesting how such simple things, can have such an everlasting impact. I want to be that kind of mom. The kind of mom that builds Lego towers, and engineers train track frames. The kind of mom who plays dress ups and polly pockets. I don't want to be remembered as the mom who was always cleaning, or the mom that spent half her days on the computer or the telephone...or the mom that couldn't put her book - or the bills, or the scrub brush, or her lesson manual - down for just a few moments. It only takes a few moments to create lasting memories...memories that children might possibly carry with them into adulthood. So I am now committed - to myself and to my children - to being a better mom. I'm going to let my hair down and roll on the floor with my kids. With them I'm going to color and paint more, mold and create more, explore and discover more, imagine and pretend more, and most of all laugh more.

Today we molded several colors of play-doh into snowman heads with hats (100% Ruby's idea). I rolled the heads, and she made the hats...

Then we got several pieces of fruit from the fridge (and an egg), and used them as models for these little creations...

Ruby may not remember what we did today, or yesterday, or last week, or three weeks ago...but I hope she always remembers the way she feels when we spend time together.