Twenty-First Century playtime:
5YO: I have to take care of this puppy because my mom got this puppy with her husband but then they broke up. They were married but they broke up and now I have this puppy because my mom’s on vacation and the puppy’s babysitter called in sick.
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Last weekend the kids and I went to the library to do our thing, but instead there was an American Girl Doll birthday with a live-version of Blair, the farm girl. The 5YO taking care of puppies because of divorces and vacations and such was ecstatic. The 7YO wasn’t interested unless we went back home to get her doll. She settled right in on the iPads, since this is her only chance to play video games. She was happy to pause long enough to make a goat charm necklace. I was less than ecstatic because I was going to write, but the little one was so excited–so we farm-partied and had some amazing oranges and won some beautiful flowers from Hepzibah Farms. She loved winning them and couldn’t wait to show her mom.
I guess she didn’t want mom to see all the pretty water the flowers were in because she poured that onto the backseat floorboard.
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One day I was gone and my wife was folding laundry in the bedroom. When she went out to the kitchen she found the kids had gotten thirsty and fixed their own drinks. They were sitting on opposite ends of the couch. One was drinking out of a large milk carton and the other preferred sipping from a carton of vegetable broth.
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While I was fixing the 7YO’s camera, she sat on the bed next to me, not so subtly reminding me that she also wanted me to install her canopy.
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I mentioned watching The Dark Crystal saga recently. This week we also watched Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and we had a lot of fun with it. I hadn’t seen Spider-Ham since I was a kid, and that particular character cracked them up. I really like the Peni Parker/anime character, who I had never heard seen. It had enough substance and fun that I think the kids will like it even more if we watch it again. I know I missed some of it because I was also working as waiter and snack wrangler.
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The 7YO woke up ill one morning and was going to stay home. The 5YO began a tantrum that ended with the 7YO’s vomit at her feet.
5YO: Maybe I will go to school.
And go she did–with her pants on backwards for only the whole day.
Somehow we missed it, but I’m not sure if this was on purpose or not because she has worn shirts backwards because she likes certain ones better that way. I have video of her running around the gym track in a princess gown.
She wants to be Morticia Addams for Halloween. She is certainly more bold in her fashion choices than I ever have been. We’re hoping to make a family outing to the new Addams Family movie soon.
Maybe I’ll bring down my old Charles Addams collection I bought when I was a kid so we can read that together.
Stephen McClurg 