Prince and Princess really like helping Mommy with the laundry. When we moved here, pushing the buttons on the machines was a major motivator for Prince. Joy could get him to behave better by telling him he wouldn't be allowed to push the buttons if he was a bad bay. And it worked.
Seeing this fine (if fleeting) example, Princess loves laundry too. She always has. She pulls clothes out of drawers and scatters it all around. Then she puts it back in the drawer (sometimes).
Tonight we found out just how much she loves the laundry.
"It started in the hall," Joy says. "She was playing with the laundry and she was putting it on top of a suitcase. We often take the clothes to the laundry room in the suitcase. She was frustrated that it wasn't going in the suitcase. I told her, 'It's Sunday. We don't do laundry on Sunday, Princess.' Then I sat with her and labeled whose clothes were whose, because she likes that. She guesses who owns the clothing and I confirm it.
"Then I come out to the living room and left her to play in the laundry. I do try to keep the real bathroom problems in the bathroom so she doesn't play with those. So we hear her crying and making a fuss. Then we see laundry coming into the laundry room."
The laundry poked through the curtain, stayed midair, and then dropped. Then more laundry showed up and flew a couple feet. Then more laundry. No baby could be seen holding the laundry. It was hilarious.
"The more laundry showed up, the more crying we heard. My understanding is that she was frustrated in the manner she had to get the laundry out here because I didn't help her with the suitcase."
My guess is she was frustrated because almost the only time she leaves the house is to do laundry. So if Mommy doesn't do laundry, she stays home. She only gets to come out in the wash.
"Yeah, going out of the house is really important to her."
Today we left the front door open with the screen closed so our neighbors knew they were invited to come in for church - Joy had invited them. Princess made several mad dashes for the doorway. She would open the door, say 'Go!' and then wait for me. I picked her up and carried her away on my shoulders for a while. Once she got loose, she'd head back to the screen door.
But anyway, she finally came in the room with the rest of the laundry. She pushed it into a pile in the middle of the floor, crying all the way. Then she fell to her knees to scream her passion to the laundry. "Like she was worshipping it! You would have thought she was in terrible agony, or mortally wounded." Weeping over a lover.
Then she got up and came to Momma for some crying. Thankfully, I recorded this last part of the episode for your enjoyment. "If you don't like crying, you might as well not watch it. It's amazing to try to understand the reason for this temper tantrum."
She kept on weeping unconsolably ... until I played the video for her. She heard herself crying, looking over at the video, and smiled. She saw her brother pop in, said his name, and started laughing. We showed it to her 2-3 times and she was a happy camper again. "All was well."
"Go figure. The psyche of a one year old."
"But I do have to thank her for helping me get the laundry done because during the weekdays, she will remind me when I forgot. That is very helpful because I tend to do things I think my children need. Since she really does need to go out with me to do the laundry, it is a motivator."
Seeing this fine (if fleeting) example, Princess loves laundry too. She always has. She pulls clothes out of drawers and scatters it all around. Then she puts it back in the drawer (sometimes).
Tonight we found out just how much she loves the laundry.
"It started in the hall," Joy says. "She was playing with the laundry and she was putting it on top of a suitcase. We often take the clothes to the laundry room in the suitcase. She was frustrated that it wasn't going in the suitcase. I told her, 'It's Sunday. We don't do laundry on Sunday, Princess.' Then I sat with her and labeled whose clothes were whose, because she likes that. She guesses who owns the clothing and I confirm it.
"Then I come out to the living room and left her to play in the laundry. I do try to keep the real bathroom problems in the bathroom so she doesn't play with those. So we hear her crying and making a fuss. Then we see laundry coming into the laundry room."
The laundry poked through the curtain, stayed midair, and then dropped. Then more laundry showed up and flew a couple feet. Then more laundry. No baby could be seen holding the laundry. It was hilarious.
"The more laundry showed up, the more crying we heard. My understanding is that she was frustrated in the manner she had to get the laundry out here because I didn't help her with the suitcase."
My guess is she was frustrated because almost the only time she leaves the house is to do laundry. So if Mommy doesn't do laundry, she stays home. She only gets to come out in the wash.
"Yeah, going out of the house is really important to her."
Today we left the front door open with the screen closed so our neighbors knew they were invited to come in for church - Joy had invited them. Princess made several mad dashes for the doorway. She would open the door, say 'Go!' and then wait for me. I picked her up and carried her away on my shoulders for a while. Once she got loose, she'd head back to the screen door.
But anyway, she finally came in the room with the rest of the laundry. She pushed it into a pile in the middle of the floor, crying all the way. Then she fell to her knees to scream her passion to the laundry. "Like she was worshipping it! You would have thought she was in terrible agony, or mortally wounded." Weeping over a lover.Then she got up and came to Momma for some crying. Thankfully, I recorded this last part of the episode for your enjoyment. "If you don't like crying, you might as well not watch it. It's amazing to try to understand the reason for this temper tantrum."
"Go figure. The psyche of a one year old."
"But I do have to thank her for helping me get the laundry done because during the weekdays, she will remind me when I forgot. That is very helpful because I tend to do things I think my children need. Since she really does need to go out with me to do the laundry, it is a motivator."
I have to ask this since it keeps nagging at me: Why isn't she allowed outside? Can't you take walks around your complex? I understand it is all fenced in so isn't it safe as long as you don't leave the gated community? She seems to have a great need for being outside it really confuses me when it is stated she only goes outside on laundry days. Thanks!
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