Warnning !

Warning ! Practicing Attachment Parenting techniques may lead to affectionate independent child, be fore warned.

It was one of those days. It started this afternoon when my child was making a Lego tower. She would stack a few blocks then step back, place both her hands on her hips tilted slightly back, pause staring like an artist trying to get the image perfect, then utter, "Mmm No". The blocks, apparently were not quit right. Then adjust the blocks and repeat the above mentioned actions. I enjoyed the moment.

Then later, I had my husband move the beds so I could vacuum. Our daughter's toddler bed was pushed up flush against my side of the bed. My husband took what he thought was an opportunity to move the toddler bed 4 feet away from my side of the bed. But I was not sure what to make of it. I had expected to move her bed sometime this year. But not yet. Though, her vocabulary is larger than average (and in two languages) her enunciation is weak. As far as I was concerned she could sleep next to me until her speech was on par with the other children her age. For me, her speaking clearly was the sign I needed to have in order to acknowledge my child's accent from baby to little kid. She just turn 2 yrs old this spring. My husband didn't see it that way any more despite the fact he was the one to recommend she be in our room until she can talk and walk to get us if she needed us. He was not happy about her climbing onto him and the occasional kicks.

Later that evening as we got closer to bed time her daddy went through the normal 5 story books (hence the large vocabulary) then I did the sing along songs. While she was sitting on her bed playing I took a moment to go change into some pajamas. When I returned, there was my daughter standing between the beds. She was doing a little dance to the music that was playing. She threw her arms out in front of her motioning to my PJs and said "Oh, mommy" smiled and repeated a few times. She loved my lounge pants with Japanese styled cheery tree branches and blossoms. I felt as though we were out shopping for cloths and she was exclaiming 'These are the ones'. She wanted to tie the draw string at my collar and made a series of twists "knots". The moment felt good. I felt we were connecting. She was trying to care for me just as I dote on her. I thought to myself that we are going to have a long relationship, a tender one.

We did a few dances. Then it was time. I said it was time to turn the lights out. She crawled into her bed, hugged her doll and I flipped off the lights. I then went to her bed and half laid down with her. I stroked her hair and she petted my head. And she passed out. Something was a miss though. I was so proud of her. She was so independent and even returned the affections I gave so freely. I left her bed and was both happy and sad. She'll always be my baby. My very very independent baby.

Great Birthday Gifts for $20 or Less

Seems as though the cost of everything is on the rise. Many of us are trying to think of ways to tighten up household spending without losing certain standards of living such as affording healthy foods, good books and still putting away savings for retirement. See post here.

I think birthdays are another way to save. The below presents are all under $20 and some less then $10. I think these presents are worthy gifts for family, friends or one's own child.

Handmade Gifts

One of my friends is getting sheets of felt, cutting shapes and sewing crowns. Her child will bestow these special gifts at each party he attends. I was informed by the crown crafter, that the most recent birthday honoree wore his crown during the whole party with pride !

If you are not a crafter then head to Esty it is a great website to find handmade items. The site allows artist and crafts persons to have on-line shops to sell their creations. Most toys are made of felt, cloth, wood, or recycled materials.

A search under "handmade" for "wooden waldorf", will give you a list of handmade toys. I bought some wooden figurines; a gnome ($6.50), trees, hedgehogs, mushrooms, a Leshiy (forest creature $10.00) from the artists called "Mamaroots" and "Youreinspired". The products were well constructed, painted and delivered well packaged. They both have items under $20.

Books - you can never go wrong with a great book.

Many Dr. Seuss books can be had for under $15 per book. We have a few of Dr. Seusses books, as does many parents. "The Foot Book" is fun for small children. Our daughter gets to get a kick out of it. "The Sneetches and other Stories" is another great book. The Sneetched are divided into those with stars on their bellies and those without. The stories goes on to tell how the Sneetches came to realize that it is not what a Sneetch has, but who they are that matters.




Another favorite author of mine is Shel Silverstein who's books are between $12 and $20. Silverstein stands out for me because it was my first grade teacher that use to read "A light in the Attic" or "Where the Sidewalk Ends". She was a the sweetest woman and I remember always feeling warm and intrigued when she read to the class.