There Was a Little Girl

Nursery Rhyme Time with Bethany

There Was a Little Girl

By Mother Goose

There was a little girl

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

And when she was good

She was very, very good,

But when she was bad, she was horrid.

I think I may know that little girl.

I figured I should write this down sometime so Molly can have a documented copy of what it is like as her mother.  Bless her heart.

First things first, Molly is not a bad child. Slightly mischievous at times, playfully sneaky, and the girl definitely knows what she wants and what she doesn't.  But she's really not "bad".

In fact, "when she was good she was very, very good". Just like the poem states.  She is super quirky and fun. She loves to be silly and play. She is so proud when she feels she can do something "big".  She loves books, singing songs, and dancing.  And she loves to laugh. One-on-one time is so much fun with Molly.

Then there's the OTHER side of Molly.

I've always struggled with Molly's ease of stating when she doesn't want something.

My other kids...

Mom:  "Its time to clean up!"
Child: "No.  I don't want to clean up."
Mom:  "Let's play a game to see how fast we can clean up!"
Child:  "OK!"

Molly...

Mom:  "Its time to clean up!"
Molly:  "No thanks."
Mom:  "Let's play a game to see how fast we can clean up!"
Molly:  "No thanks."
Mom:  "Please?"
Molly:  "No.  I don't want to clean up."
Mom:   "Let's sing the cleaning up song!"
Molly:  "No.  I'm going to play instead."

Mind you, she says "no" in a very kind "Neh, I don't feel like doing that right now" kind of way.  If I start to push it, the "no" turns into "NO!"  Followed by a stink face and growl or angry tone.

She definitely has her times of kicking and screaming as well.  She's WAY better at that than any of my children ever were.

Molly's worst time is waking up when she's not ready.  Whether someone is waking her up or she wakes up and wasn't ready for it.  It's AWFUL.

Mom:  "Wake up Molly."
(Molly nestles in a little)
Mom:  "Molly.  You need to get up."
(Molly grumbles and continues to ignore)
Mom:  "Molly..."
(Molly cries.  Like uncontrollable, loud cries.)
Molly:  "I WANT MOM!"
Mom:  "I'm right here."
Molly:  "I WANT MOM!"
Mom:  "I'm right here holding you.  I'm mom."
Molly:  "I WANT MOM!"
(Just continue to hold her until she finally calms down.)

I realize this is not really her fault.  She's half awake and obviously isn't 100% there.  But it is no fun to deal with.  She sometimes does this in the middle of the night as well.  She would just wake up and scream and yell for me.  There was a period of time where she did this EVERY NIGHT.

Anyhow, I love Molly.  We'll leave it at that.  She is wonderful.  I am grateful for her fun loving spirit, humor, and even her mischievous smile.

But for the record, this is the real Molly.