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Remember when I said I didn't want to start blogging, because I didn't want to stop blogging and feel guilty about it?

....

Kids change a lot in six months. My baby just turned two and he now says things like, "ma day goo" when you ask him how his day was. He lights up at all things train and truck. His two-year-old birthday party had a giant bulldozer center piece on the table. If you ask him what book he wants to read he replies emphatically with "mo mo tuck! mo mo tuck!" and dashes off looking for his monster truck book. He has the whitest blond hair I've ever seen come from two brunettes. He is both compliant and outspoken depending on the circumstance. (Sister tries to steal toy: outspoken with rage. Sister asks nicely for toy: compliant, sweet, and hands it over.)

The cutest trick we taught him of late was leading up to his birthday when we asked him 150x/day how old he was going to be, to which he originally replied "figh" and held up his hand. He eventually morphed "figh" to the French word for two, deux, but still held up his entire hand, and I praised him like he'd completed elementary mathematics before his second birthday.

My daughter prefers bad company to no company and loves to be at my side at. all. times. Even if I'm in a crummy mood and snapping too much, she still wants to hang out with me. (Drat.) (JK.) (Seriously, I'm kidding. I know I'll miss it.)

She stands at the bathroom door and says, "I'll be right here in case you need me, Mama."
(Excellent.)
She asks if I want to go in the basement to do finger paint. "Wouldn't that be so fun?"
(I was thinking messy.)
She phrases all questions in a way that tries to trick you into answering 'yes,' always. "Mama, that's okay I can have more apple cider?"
(...mmm, no.)
She thinks treats come after every meal, which would bother me more, but she does consistently eat her vegetables, just in case.
(But 9 times out of 10, still no.)

She recently picked out a bath-time baby doll, whom she diligently bathed and fed with a bottle full of water every morning. For two days. And then she got freaked out by it's life-like peeing and now she skips the waterworks and throws the baby, bottomless, into her stroller and packs her up for the park. Baby dolls are her jam right now.

The aforementioned bulldozer and baby doll came from an unexpected blessing. We had some family in town and a doting great aunt gave each of the children $20 to spend on a toy at the store. They never made it to the store together, so I inherited the gift of taking them out. I wasn't sure what to expect: fits over only one toy, interest in big ticket items, the most annoying toy ever finding it's way into my home, etc. Instead, it turned out to be a fantastic gift.

If you have never taken your child into the store with the intent to purchase them a toy, I officially recommend it. I have literally never taken my kids and said, "let's buy a toy!" because we have a ridiculous amount of them. It's not even close to being necessary. However, I think we may institute the process once a year just to be able to say, 'yes.'

I learned so much on that trip to Target with $40 in hand/child's owl wallet!

1. Kids don't need the priciest thing on the shelf to be happy. We went in with $20 for each of the kids. We spent $19 and change on each toy, and came home with coins for the piggy bank. Whenever they picked something that was over $20 I just said, "Sorry, Sweetie! We don't have enough money for that one, pick a different toy." And it worked because this concept of toy picking was so new and exciting. They were both thrilled with their selections, and came away with some good birthday ideas for the things that didn't make the cut.

2. It's good to teach your kids about money. We certainly understood this for the long-term, but we have yet to implement any kind of allowance or formal chores in our family. Our kids have tasks and jobs, but they are primarily assigned at random and not performed for money. Having them understand that they had money to spend, they couldn't spend more than what they had, and to physically hand the cash over to the cashier and receive the toy in exchange was great practice.

3. I need to say 'yes' more. I am a no-machine. Sometimes I've accidentally said 'no' to something as an automatic reaction when the answer was so clearly 'yes' that it made me look like a lunatic. No treats. No television. No, I can't come with you to get your socks. No, I don't want to watch you go potty. No, I prefer to brush my own hair. No, because I don't want to clean up the mess. No, because you didn't eat your dinner. No, no, no. I want to say 'yes,' more. I want to give up a little control so that I can be the one to OFFER ice cream instead of the one who begrudgingly gives permission because they ate their peas.

Don't get me wrong: #momlife, am I right? That's what we do. We control because we care! (#newhashtag) If I don't make you eat your peas, who will?! But I refuse to go through life without enjoying my kids, on some occasions, the way those without the responsibility/privilege of raising them do.

Take $5, $10, or whatever you choose to afford, and take your kids to the store and pick out a toy you would never say 'yes' to while running an errand. Let that trip be about them on purpose. ('Cause we all know most trips usually end up about them regardless.)

If you're like me and make a habit of 'no,' take your kids out and practice saying 'yes!'