Our First Girls Day & Changing My Expectations...

My plans for our 1st Girls day...
I had a long list of places to shop, eat, get our nails done, get groceries, come home and get chores done at home before her dad & brother got home from ice fishing.  All of these plans with my newly 3 year old daughter, Amelia.

How the day actually went... 
First we went to Goodwill, she enjoyed walking around Goodwill & checking out everything. She was hungry by the time we left, so we bought some pretzels to have in the car. I opened them, but of course she opened them more and they went everywhere. Oh well..they are just pretzels. Onto the next store, Home Goods. She didn't want to sit in the cart, she wanted to walk...there are breakables EVERYWHERE, so I was cautiously holding her hand while we walked through the store. By the time we got to the back of the store, she was ready to check out. So, we did.  Onto the next place, JoAnn Fabrics. She was enticed by this store. She kept reminding me that this was the store that her & grandma shopped at. She found cloth that she liked & filled the cart with crafting magazines that she said we should read. I found the fabric I wanted for a new dress that I want to make and a few St Patty's day decorations; she did great in JoAnn Fabrics. 

Next up, Trader Joe's...she was starting to get hungry for lunch by this point, so I needed to hurry. I let her help me pick out a few snacks to delay the meltdown and she proceeded to open the box of Trader Joe's cheese crackers and eat away!   We made our way out of Trader Joe's and headed down the street to Chipotle for lunch. I knew this would be a quick stop to get some lunch...WRONG. There was a huge line and she wasn't impressed & was getting tired. We finally got our food & enjoyed our delicious lunch together. We both LOVE chips & salsa.  After our yummy lunch, we headed to get our nails done! She was so excited and had been talking about it all day. This was the most excited I had seen her the entire time. We arrived at the nail salon & she was seated right away for her very first manicure. She of course picked bright pink nail polish & sparkles to go on top; you would have thought that she had been there 1000 times! She sat like an angel & loved every minute. She didn't say a WORD the entire time. After our manicure, she raved on and on about how nice the lady was and how much she loved it. She took a quick nap on the way home and we played Barbies when she woke up. We had a wonderful 1st girls day together.



Highlights of our Day...

Shopping at Goodwill - She loved checking out all of the purses and couldn't decide which one she wanted. She ended up not even buying one. She forgot about the purse, when she found a power wheels to sit in!

Lunch at Chipotle - I love this grin. My baby girl loves Salsa & Chips just like I do.

Her First Manicure - She was so excited. She talked about it all morning until we got there. She sat like an angel, listened to the nail stylist and sat so quietly at the nail dryer. Afterwards, she kept telling me how nice everyone was there (no one spoke to her) haha. She also told me that the next time we go, we should get our toenails painted...because that is what everyone else did. Definite highlight of her day & mine too!

Playing Barbies together when we got home! She took a quick nap in the car on the way home. When we got home, she wanted to cuddle & play Barbies. We dressed all the Barbies & put them in her mini Barbie house.

Changing MY Expectations... 
Sometimes, I set too high of an expectation about how the day will go and all the things we will accomplish, see, etc.  Sometimes I forget that she is 3 and not 15. Sometimes I forget to slow down & just enjoy the moment. Sometimes I forget that life isn't about rushing to the next thing or the next moment, it's about enjoying the one we are in right now.

I realized that I just needed to Let it Go.  
Let go of the 10,000 places I wanted to stop and things I wanted to get done. I thought about the things that I absolutely wanted to get done that day and forget the rest. This day was about spending time with my daughter. Having our first mother/daughter day and making memories that she will continue to talk about with me and those around her. I am so glad I had this 'a ha' moment.

What the day should really be about...The Here & Now. What does Amelia want this day to be, what does she want to get out of it, what will she remember the most?   She wants to remember having fun & laughing with her mommy...so that is what I gave her!

BE THE CHANGE: 
So, after changing my expectations in the back of that Home Goods store, when I realized this wasn't about ME checking out every single thing in the store & getting my checklist checked off; I felt so much better and really thought about enjoying this day with my little girl. It is amazing how differently the day went, I didn't feel upset or annoyed when she was about to have a meltdown, I felt compassion that I wanted to make her feel better & how to change what I was doing or where we were going. I am very thankful for this day with my wonderful little girl.   


Have you ever had to change your expectations based on the child or the situation? Did it help?

Thanks for reading!

Choose Happy
~Becky