Pretend Play at the Piano

Madeleine is deeply involved in a pretend play game with a necklace and a headband.  And a few Shopkins thrown in for good measure.  She is even making her own soundtrack by whistling in between action events.




Now that the headband and necklace have delivered the Shopkins safely to their destination (the piano), the Shopkins are struggling to cross the troll bridge (also the piano.)


SHOPKIN 1: We can DO this.
SHOPKIN 2: Waaaaait!  Waaaaaait!  I'm coming!
SHOPKIN 1: I thought you didn't wanna come.  How come you're doing that?
SHOPKIN 2: Because I thought we could do it after.  I just need to get across!
SHOPKIN 1: We just have to get a rope.  So I can rescue you if you get CAPTURED BY THE TROOOOOLLLL!  He looks pretty weird.
SHOPKIN 2: Okay, I'll cross.  (hopping from piano key to piano key, making random cat-on-a-piano music as it goes)
SHOPKIN 1: How did you DO that??
SHOPKIN 2: Come on.  Lead the way.  Uh...are you SURE you can do this?
SHOPKIN 1: Positive.  Come on.

Whistling resumes as the Shopkins line up at one end of the piano.

SHOPKIN 1: This is how the board ends.  I thought I could never get over the troll bridge.  But - I can!
SHOPKIN 2: Uh oh!  He's coming!
TOILET SHOPKIN: Oh no!  Flush me!
SHOPKIN 1: I've got a straaange feeling.
SHOPKIN 2: No strange feelings.  We've gotta MOVE!  Don't make any noises, okay? You're not supposed to.
SHOPKIN 1: If you come out alive from the troll bridge, then you get a badge.  But...we probably will get captured.  Trolls HATE Shopkins.  My mother always said: "Trolls and Shopkins CAN'T be together."
SHOPKIN 2: Come on.  Let's go.

Uh-oh.  The Shopkins just got captured.  We have to leave for a swim meet momentarily.  Will this game resolve or will the Shopkins be troll meat??

The Shopkin is dangling from the piano, awaiting rescue.  And it's time to go.  This game is *literally* ending on a cliff-hanger!  Gasp!

Craft Fair Success

The elementary school craft fair took place this weekend, and Julia sold all four of the picture books she made!  Madeleine, who for some reason was desperate to own "The Unstopable Friendship," was Julia's first customer.  As we walked home from the craft fair, Madeleine exclaimed excitedly, "I can't WAIT to get home and read 'The Unstoppable Friendship!". Sure enough, upon our return, Madeleine curled up with her new book, announcing, "That book was really good, Julia!" when she had finished.

Madeleine was so inspired by Julia's book that she decided to write her own friendship book.  As you can see, she is not copying Julia AT ALL:

Julia's book, "The Unstopable Friendship." Two friends holding hands atop the Earth.

Madeleine's book: "Friends Forever." Two girls holding hands atop a heart.

Julia's book is about a friendship that is sustained despite one friend moving from the East Coast all the way to San Francisco.

Madeleine's book is not the same at all.

MADELEINE: So, Mommy?  Jane and Sunset live in Mexico, but Sunset is moving to the other side of the Earth.  But...what country is on the other side of the Earth from Mexico?
ME: Uh, how about Japan?
MADELEINE: Okay!  But...wait.  Do they speak with, like, an ACCENT or in a different language in Japan?
ME: They speak Japanese.
MADELEINE: Oh, shoot.  I don't know how to say words in Japanese.
ME: How about Australia instead?  They speak English there.
MADELEINE: Okay!  That's perfect!  Because Mommy?  I only know how to speak in English and a LITTLE bit of Spanish.

Glad she got that settled.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that Jane and Sunset manage to keep their friendship going despite being separated, but that's just a wild hunch.

Laser Tag Party

This evening, we went to our buddy Nate's birthday party at a laser tag joint.  Julia and I have played laser tag before, but it was a first for Ethan and Madeleine.  As we sat in the preparation room getting instructions for the game, Madeleine equated our two team game to our two-party political system.

LASER TAG ATTENDANT: So there will be two teams.  The red team and the blue team.
MADELEINE: Mommy!  Red and blue!  That's just like Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton!

Thanks to a snafu, Ethan, Julia and I all got put on the blue team, and Madeleine was stuck on red.  Of course, Madeleine cried about this, so I had to leave the preparation room and sweet-talk the front desk attendant into putting Madeleine on the blue team.  The Democrats were reunited once again.  Stronger together.  (Except the red team won.  Just like Trump.  They're going to make laser tag great again.)

We got to play four rounds of laser tag.  I ditched Madeleine after the first round because she cried the whole time and was therefore seriously hampering my attempts to be a high-scoring winner.  Apparently Ethan was better company, because when I ran into her during a later round, she exclaimed happily, "Mommy!  This is actually getting FUN!"

After the fourth round, the kids got pizza and cake, and then had time to play in the arcade.  Madeleine traded in all her hard earned tickets to get this premium prize:

She named it Melon.  It was totally worth 30 tickets.

Discussing Presidential Duty

The kids and I discuss the election:

JULIA: Ugh, why oh why you did Donald Trump get elected?
ME: Well, hopefully if he does a really bad job, he won't be re-elected in four years.
MADELEINE: (with mild alarm) Wait.  Did he already sign up to try out for President again next time??
ME: Oh, well, no, not yet.  Who knows what will happen in four years.
MADELEINE: Mommy?  If you're the President, are you ALLOWED to decide, like, you don't LIKE it and you don't wanna do it anymore?
JULIA: Yeah, can the President quit?  Or can he only be impeached?
ME: Well, a president can resign, which means deciding to leave office.
MADELEINE: Oh, good.  Then I hope that's what Donald Trump decided to do.

Me too, kids.  Me too.

School Craft Fair

The girls' elementary school has an upcoming Craft Fair, and while professional artists and craftsmen will be the main vendors, child artists are allowed to contribute.  Julia has jumped gung-ho into creating picture books to sell at the fair, and she has already completed a pile of books:

These books cover a range of topics; there's "Cathryn's Story: A Story about Dyslexia," there is an unusual friendship between "Owla and Penguina," there's the anguish of best friends being pulled apart into a long distance relationship in "The Unstoppable Friendship," and a seasonal heart-warmer, "The Thanksgiving Wish."  Julia has lovingly illustrated each page of these books as well as written each story, and even bought plastic slip covers from CVS to protect her hard work.  She even made a price tag, although she accidentally added one too many zeroes, announcing "$3000 for each book."  I talked her down to $1.00 per book, figuring most of the kids buying crafts from other kids would be on a pretty tight budget.


Madeleine has decided to add her own picture books to the fair.  As you can see, her standards are a bit different from Julia's:

Five pink dots's on a puppy!


This. looks. AWESOME.

Keep up the great work, girls!

Witches and Wizards

Madeleine has been reading "The Worst Witch" with me and "Harry Potter" with Ethan, and her imagination has gone into overdrive.  Behold the melded world she has created:

"Wiche's Shool Wizerd's Shool throo all the year's then Hogwart's!"


This title apparently does not have an acceptable short form, as Madeleine insists on referring to the title in full.

MADELEINE: Julia, when you're done with your homework, do you wanna play Witch's School Wizard's School Through All the Years Than Hogwarts??
JULIA: Uh, I don't really want to, Madeleine.

Thankfully, Madeleine found a more willing playmate when Ethan got home from work.

MADELEINE: Daddy!  Do you wanna play a game of a book I made up??  It's called Witch's School Wizard's School Through All the Years Than Hogwarts??  Julia didn't want to.
ETHAN: Uh...sure.

It was a wild romp through Hogwarts with some of Harry's friends and some characters from The Worst Witch.  I think all the wild action and adventure got Ethan nice and ready to start the bedtime routine without delay.  Luckily, we still have brooms lying in random places all around the house from Madeleine playing Witch's School Wizard's School Through All the Years Than Hogwarts all by herself in any spare moment she gets.

Madeleine's Puppet Show

Madeleine's spontaneous finger puppet show.


MADELEINE: I'm gonna put on a puppet show! 
(holding up her pinky finger) One finger went like this. 
(holding up her ring finger) This finger was his fliss - uh - This finger was his friend! 
(holding up her middle finger) This finger hated them. 
(holding up her pointer finger) This finger luh-huh-huvved them! 
(holding up her thumb) This finger made them all love each other!  Even though THIS finger (indicating her middle finger) hated them! 
(Putting her palms together) This finger made it TEN!  Neeeew friends!

Silence.

MADELEINE: Mommy, did you like my dopey puppet show?
ME: It wasn't dopey, honey.  I liked how they all became friends.
MADELEINE: I *wanted* to do a dopey puppet show.  I wanted to do a dopey preschool puppet show!


Okay, well she kind of has a point there.  Speaking as a preschool teacher.  I could totally see that as preschool finger play.  I will refrain from commenting on whether or not preschool finger plays tend to be dopey.