It feels like just yesterday I was celebrating JaMonkey’s 8th birthday. Apparently eight is the new tweenage because the last week of school and the Summer has proven to me that my little girl is growing up way too fast.
It all started when she came home from school during the end of the school year. I noticed that she was wearing some kind of lip gloss. It was a very shiny lip gloss with a tint of color to it, something I wouldn’t have bought her for sure. I was worried that she was using other little girls lip gloss at school and was preparing myself to have the “why we don’t share lip products” conversation when she confessed everything to me. “Actually, it’s your lipstick. I took it from your bathroom and brought it to school in my backpack.” My jaw hit the floor with the realization that not only had she taken something without asking; she wanted to impress her friends with it at school.
Following this same incident, she came home one day and asked me to take her to the mall. Again my mouth dropped open to let in the fruit flies. My daughter hates (or hated) the mall until this very moment. I stopped bringing her and just started picking out all of her clothes for her. But she had a specific request which also caught me off guard. She wanted to buy a purse. Her exact words were, “Mom can you take me to the mall so that I can buy a backpack? Not like the backpack I already have but one of those little backpacks that sits in the middle of your back and holds little things in it. Like a purse but really it’s a cute little backpack.” My brain went numb, and I didn’t have time to answer before she skipped away.
Add the random “twinsies” that I’ve gotten from her about liking the same foods; my head is in a whirlwind on how to handle my baby girl growing up so fast. But there is an upside to her becoming so grown up. She now has more responsibility. Her own set of chores to help out around the house is always a plus. But there was one major change that I told her was on the high priority list. Her Summer morning routine was about to get a new set of rules because she wakes up so stinking early.
This post is sponsored by Thomas’ Breads with The Motherhood. All opinions are 100% mine.
1. No waking her Sister. Squish likes to sleep in, so leave her alone.
2. Don’t come into Mommy and Daddy’s room.
3. You can watch TV or play on the iPad.
4. Make yourself something for breakfast.
That last one is my favorite. We’ve taught her how to use the toaster and her favorite thing to eat in the morning is a toasted bagel. Last weekend we went the Atlanta Street Food Festival and got to see the Thomas’ Breads toaster truck. They were giving out free breakfast like Thomas’ Bagels and English Muffins for everyone and had some fun games for us to play. They had our new favorite Blueberry Thomas’ English Muffins as well. We’ve gone through 2 bags in the last week already.
Squish was triumphal about winning a bunch to take home with us. It also makes those early morning breakfasts easy for JaMonkey. I had forgotten how yummy Thomas’ English Muffins were. Did you know that Samuel Bath Thomas moved to the United States from England and created the English Muffin through a secret process that included griddle baking to create a muffin that was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside?
After our yummy breakfast, the girls tried all sorts of new home cooked foods while we listened to music. It was an awesome day. Plus, we got to bring home a ton of Thomas’ Bagels and Thomas’ English Muffins for the girls to continue enjoying at home. I know that JaMonkey will have a great breakfast in the morning before we drag ourselves out of bed.
As for the tween behavior, I’m pretty sure it was coming from girls at school, and now that school is out I’m ready to bring back my sweet little girl and enjoy her childhood some more. Because I’m not ready for her to want nothing to do with me until she leaves the nest. That’s too long for me.
Make sure to follow Thomas’ on Instagram!
