SuperMom, I am not

Feb 01

SuperMom, I am not

When Maren was just shy of two, I found her like this:

What mom?  I'm beautiful!

I still remember her deer-in-headlights look as I busted her.  She knew she was being naughty, but couldn’t help herself.  The offending instrument in this case was not a marker, or Sharpie, or paint.  My Maren got into my mascara, and, as an observant little booger, tried to put it on in the eye region, just like me.  And she tried to put mascara on her favorite baby doll, too.  I love that I grabbed the camera instead of yelling at her.  I love that she was trying to use the correct application, even if the tool was not hers to use.  Maren is a rule-follower to her core; I can trace this quality back to her toddlerhood.  ‘Twas always her curiosity that got her into trouble.

Yesterday, I found Greta like this:

IMG_2991Do you see any resemblence to Maren’s expression?  No.  Greta stares at me with defiance and purpose.  She’s thinking, “I won.”  Greta knows that she is not supposed to touch my make-up, but was absolutely full of glee that she circumvented me to get to my bathroom and go to town.  I love that I once again grabbed the camera.  I love that she, too, attempted to mimic me in her application.  Upon being busted, she defiantly showed me what she had been doing and tightened her death grip on the offending eye liner.  When  I wrangled it away, she had an absolute fit.  This girl knows what she wants and fights (hard) for it.

Curiosity and spunk.  I love these qualities in my girls.

Oh, and the obvious conclusion is that I am clearly a delinquent parent that I routinely leave my children unsupervised often enough for them to commit such shenanigans.  I’m sure  I was doing laundry washing dishes cleaning talking on the phone to a girlfriend.  Whoopsie.

12 comments

  1. Latoya /

    I love it! I’m with you…I have a similar picture of K (around the same age). Her reaction to being busted was more similar to G’s. : )

  2. KellyE /

    Haha, I love this post. Love the pictures! My two would match up in their reactions as yours did. Is it birth order, have I lightened up, or where they just born that way?? I’m going with the last one in my case…. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

  3. Pat Powell /

    Jen – Super Mom – I am not – so let me just be a very interested commentator along the way – I am interested in all you do – and try to keep up with it – I am so very proud of all you do – Love you girl and all you do Ma XXXXX

  4. Gotta love those faces…. Hugs, Lauri

  5. My boys would also have those birth-order appropriate expressions! And I confess that they would have found the time to do such things while I was napping…

  6. They are so, so cute!! Love your reaction to their make up adventures.

  7. I love those little faces and hearing their antics! When Amy and Julie were young, they were playing down the basement with Grandma Mathie’s collection of “dress ups”. George and I heard them coming up the stairs singing, “What makes the Redman Red?” from the Disney movie, “Peter Pan”. They had found an old tube of Aunt Dodo’s red lipstick in a purse and smeared it all over their faces! George too grabbed his camera and today it is one of my favorite pictures of them! Their expressions are priceless!! Love, aunt annie

  8. Rita O'Brien /

    I don’t remember either of my girls doing this but my grand daughter did it a few times with zinc cream, marker and diaper rash stuff. I love their spunk.

  9. Patty Wheeler /

    We grandparents are giggling right now! Payback. 🙂

  10. walker girl /

    While making dinner for DD one night, she got into my makeup. She used what I thought was my new tube of revlon color stay lipstick that was $8 for 0.004 oz. (Yes expensive right. This is the one splurge I give to myself.) Let’s just say they call it color stay for a reason. The next day she looked like she had hand foot and mouth disease,(only of the mouth) since it was stained on her. And I also realized that it was not my new one, but an old one I no longer used. I had to humble myself and say I was sorry. I wish I would have been like you and grabbed my camera before I yelled at her. Instead the photo I have is of her with big tears in her eyes, running down her face and dripping off her chin from me yelling and a lipstick stained face.

  11. Kathy Swim /

    They are so beautiful even with misplaced makeup! It says something that they want to be like you! Keep up the good mom work! You are obviously doing a great job. From a 60 year old mom and friend of your parents.

  12. I have a Greta too 🙂 All spunk & spitfire.