Isn’t it unnerving when you go to take your daughter to a birthday party at Color Me Mine only to have an internal struggle the whole time?

We get there and right off she has to pick out a project to do. If course price is an option that I am in control of but then comes the difficulty factor. I want to let her choose what she wants but I also don’t want to get anything to hard and her get frustrated.

Then we pick colors. I want to have something she has chosen but she can’t really see how it is all going to match up. So do you try to push her toward colors that match up with undertones and the like? Or just let her go with it? An orangey pink with a light purple?

Then the painting begins. I recommend brush sizes but how much more to do you push? Do you push her to edge it right? How about when she accidentally gets a deep cranberry where she wanted light yellow? Do you shuffle to try to get it off or recommend that she do something else? Or wait for her to come up with her own solution? Do you try to help her get rid of brush marks? But how about when that means you would have to help her with the painting?

While the party was fun (it really was) I found myself on this emotional tight rope. I am pulling some strings while trying to not really be controlling while making sure that she felt all the choices were hers. Ugh! I am not quite sure what the mommy rules are with these things and I am sure I messed it up. But she had fun and it so proud of her princess bank. And isn’t it cute? It all seemed to turn out great in the end.