Isn’t it great that we have made it to Friday? I am so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, at least as much as Mandy will let me!
Kayla, as you may have guessed from my entry “Morning Interrupted,” could not go to school yesterday, but toward the afternoon she was feeling much better and was able to eat, for which I am thankful. I had a conference call I had to take between 2 and 3, so she suggested that I turn on the WII so she could play games. We almost got into a fuss then, because she asked me to help her get the right game on the machine, then got mad when I tried to hold the WII control so I could make the right selections. Since neither one of us relinquishes control gladly (although I do get to pull rank, which usually guarantees a win, although often accompanied by high drama), it was dicey for just a moment, but we slid past the awkward moment. Right as things were about to get rough, the WII put itself on the right game, in the right place, where she could start playing, and my phone started to ring with the conference call at the same time.
The WII entertained her for about a half hour, then she decided to follow the dogs around and take their pictures. She did a good job, too.
Here are some of her photos. (She told me I could use them for my blog.) I am not sure, and probably am better off not knowing, what she bribed them with in order to get them to sit still for some of the shots. I have a suspicion that paper, which is not to be used as a dog treat, was involved.
Close-up of Darwin
Tyra in the Kitchen (Mandy and Darwin are in the background)
All Three Dogs Entering the Kitchen to Investigate the Crinkling Paper
Mandy Lying in State in the Kitchen
Five minutes before the end of the conference call, Kayla re-entered my bedroom to ask me if she could take out the trash. In whispers I asked why and she told me that she was cleaning so that we could “paint together” when I finished. I had housework to do when I finished my call, but what is a mother to do when her daughter asks that way? The upshot is we painted some wooden and plaster-of- paris Christmas ornaments for about 2 hours. (To work: I early in the day had realized this day with her was going to have to count as a vacation day.) Here is what we ended up with:
Our ornaments
She painted all of them except the train engine in the lower right corner, which I did.
This morning, Kayla is awake and well, with that “bounce-back” happy quality kids have once they are better from an illness. She wanted to skip breakfast, but Mark and I insisted on at least a piece of toast. When the toast was ready to be buttered, she came to stand by me and the toaster oven, and while she was waiting, she announced: “Mom, I smell something spicy.” She paused for a second and then said, “Oh. I am standing by the spice drawer.” I allowed as how that would make things smell spicy, and she laughed and said, “The aroma [yes, she really did use the word aroma – pretty good for a third grader!] is coming up here!” She opened the drawer to make sure, I guess on the theory that if the drawer wasn’t what she was smelling she was going to refuse to eat the toast, but the drawer checked out, so the toast got eaten!
Have a great weekend everyone! Talk to you Monday.
Nancy
Tales from the Mom-Side 