The Children Entertain Themselves

While Julia is in her bedroom singing Christmas carols, Madeleine is entertaining her own self.  She just walked into the living room, talking to herself, carrying Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, two snow globes, and a bottle of blue dye that came from her American Girl Science workshop last winter.  She plopped herself down on the couch and began paging through the Harry Potter book.

ME: What are you looking for, honey?
MADELEINE: Oh.  I'm just playin' a game.
ME: Oh.  Okay.

Several minutes later...

ME: (going over to give Madeleine a kiss)
MADELEINE: I'm playing, like, a FREINDSHIP game.
ME: Oh, that sounds fun.
MADELEINE: I'm, like, looking through my book to see how my friends are doing. I make it all, like, they did TERRIBLE, to make it more exciting.
ME: Oh, no, they're doing terribly?
MADELEINE: I make it, like, they're in DANGER.  Isn't that exciting?  I love making danger in games.

Yes, I've noticed.  Her artwork alone speaks volumes about her love of making danger in her imaginary world.


Now she is sitting, mostly in silence, holding her bottle of blue dye, only to periodically exclaim things likes: "Symmetrica Ementia!" and then make action noises like this: "Chooo!  Shooo!  Chooo!" and wave the bottle around at an imaginary foe. 

You know what?  Instead of trying to explain this action-packed extravaganza, I'mma just video record it:




Meanwhile, Julia has moved on from Christmas carols and is now singing patriotic tunes like "America the Beautiful" in her bedroom. 

MADELEINE: (striking out at her foe) All the times of darkness way, make them all go away, and make them all friendship and friends.  ALL THE TIMES OF DARKNESS, GO AWAAAAAY!
JULIA: (from her room) Hoooot crooooss buuuuuns, hooooot crooooos buuuuns...

My kids aren't weird.