i pitched a big fit.

just need to admit in a semi-public forum that i just pitched a big fit.

foot stomping.  name calling. fist banging on the table. ugly words coming out of my mouth. fit.

it probably would've been fun to have caught it on camera.  i'm sure my face looked a bit like some of these (but with more foot stomping and fist banging):

so much frustration and emotion, all over a mistake....a mistake that ended up being fixable.

the fit i pitched could've been worse.  but it was ugly enough. man oh man, why did i do that?!

i was working on some little invitations for a little gathering to honor the moms that are leaving the AFM...and, after buying the cardstock, making, printing, cutting and labeling the invitations, realized that i left off the name of one of the moms that is leaving.  i thought there were 6 leaving.  there are 7 leaving.

i then proceeded to moan and groan and do all of the aforementioned things...not to mention trying to explain to my 5 year old why i was acting the way i was (she was sweetly trying to console me..."you didn't do such a bad job, mama...it's going to be ok....").  may it be a teflon moment that doesn't stick (no one can argue that calling yourself stupid in front of your child is a bad idea).

i was angry to think that i wasted 30 minutes and would have to spend 30 more minutes redoing what i was ALMOST done with.

i was tempted to rip up all the invitations and throw them on the floor (but that would just create an even bigger - tangible - mess that would have to be cleaned up!).

instead i took a closer look at the invitation and realized i could fairly easily squeeze the extra name into a space that just happened to be big enough...and, once again, using sharpies proved to be useful as you can't even tell that the added name wasn't a part of the original print.  it's a little smushed...but i'd be willing to bet that no one is going to notice.  (i'm so grateful that i didn't act like a 3 year old and rip up the invitations!)

silly me.  so upset over nothing.

i can't tell you how often i've said to my kids "make a mistake, make it great" --  coaching and encouraging them not to rip up their artwork or shred their homework in frustration when they make a mistake but to look for a way to correct the mistake...

...add a cute little flower to cover up a spelling error
....put an extra sticker to cover up the smudge
...figure out a way to creatively change your mistake into a part of the finished product

practice what you preach, dianna.  don't cry over spilt milk (or yell or let out a disgusted sigh or stomp around and make it all even worse).  don't jump to the conclusion that everything is ruined and all is lost.  figure out if it's fixable...or figure out if it needs to be redone.

does pitching a fit ever really help?

so what if i had had to remake the invitations?!  i could've bought 6 more pieces of cardstock...and the .60 worth of color printing isn't going to break the bank, that's for sure.  i can spare 30 minutes of my life to remake, print, cut and label 20 invitations.  thankfully i didn't have to...but, even if I had, it wouldn't have been that big of a deal.

silly me. so upset over nothing.