new rules

Okay, it's official...it's truly been too long since I've blogged. I've had to change my blogger password because I could not remember my old one. Ever since I was pregnant with Lola, my brain cells have been doing this downward spiral into nothingness. Pretty soon it's going to be all mush!

Every so often I stumble upon some parenting advice that I actually try to implement at home. This one I thought was great because I have problems with it constantly. While out and about I am constantly saying to (mostly) Bella and (sometimes) Lola - don't touch that, use your eyes, not your hands. Their suggestion was the one finger rule - your children are allowed to touch almost anything they want when out and about, shopping or whatever. But just with one finger. It's not "Don't touch!" Instead, it's "You may touch that bag of cookies on the shelf with one finger, Bella." They get to act on their curiosity, get to see what things feel like, don't feel suppressed, all while not leaving me with high blood pressure and the unwanted job of re-stocking the shelves!

So we tried it while at Target the other day. When we got into the store I explained our new rule to them, to which they seemed pretty happy about. Our first stop was the restroom, where Bella and I went into one stall and Lola went into another. Well, Bella and I finished before Lola and we waited...and waited...and waited.

Me - "Lola, are you alright in there?"

Lola - "Yes, Momma"

After waiting even longer....

Lola - "Momma, does that one-finger rule apply to toilet paper, too, because I'm having a really hard time with this"

Ahem, so once I re-explained the rule, it worked great! I've had to tell it again (and again) to Bella, but subsequent trips to the store have been much more pleasant...for me at least.