Mrs. Potato Head

Remember that toy? Well, we resurrected one from a bin in the basement that used to hold all of Dom's (my nephew) toys for his visits here. Actually - there were two in the kit - how appropriate! 

They really get into it. It's funny how different they are. Myla is very focused on realism. She knows where to place the eyes, ears, earrings, nose, mouth, hair/ hat, and feet & arms. (Yes - they have arms now!) Addie is more creative about it. She mixes and matches everything - to see what the outcome might be like. She giggles sometimes about it too... right along with Myla and I. Sometimes, Myla becomes frustrated by things not belonging - and tries to 'help' Addie. While I like to encourage team-work between the two of them, I also don't want to discourage Addie's curiosity and willingness to see things differently. So this is one rare instance where I'll request that Myla let her do it her own way. But it got me thinking. Both attributes can be beneficial in life. Maybe they will always make a good team :) 


It also got me thinking, about how nice it could in fact be to have 2 sets of eyes (especially as a mother of 2... Anyone?) Maybe a third arm protruding from the top of my head? (We're back to that "go-go-gadget-arm again.) I don't think her experimentation is all that uncalled-for. She may just be trying to figure out a way to better me for my duties as a mom. ;) She's being futuristic here! 


TIP: Teaching kids the "right" way to do things isn't always necessary. I like the idea of fostering an 'out-of-the-box' thinking style/ approach, personally. New and wonderful inventions don't come from viewing or doing things the way we are 'taught', or have always viewed/ done them... I don't want to stifle her intrigue, her willingness to try something different, an ability to be content with her own ideas, or to dissuade her independent thinking. Our society places so much importance on intelligence and knowledge... and compliance. But what good is it to anyone if people don't know themselves/ aren't confident or comfortable displaying their own uniqueness/ thoughts/ ideas. Let's teach our babes to be UNafraid of "not blending in".  Quite a bit of good can come from being "wrong" about certain things. 

3 wonderful QUOTES today: "The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself."  ~Rita Mae Brown, Venus Envy
"A 'Normal' person is the sort of person that might be designed by a committee.  You know, Each person puts in a pretty color and it comes out gray."  ~Alan Sherman
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."  ~Friedrich Nietzsche

WHIDFML: We decided to "go for it"; Our first family vacation flying somewhere warm during the winter! [How could we pass it up, when the flights and the stay are free? Our only costs will be food and fun. That is a rare opp.] It's official - the flights are booked!