Oh My Goodness!

(This is Joy tonight, with a present from some good friends - a kid's laptop! She is mesmerized and loved it the minute she saw it. I tried to get a video of her dancing around the room singing "Joy's computer!" but I couldn't get it. Maybe I will get C's project finished afterall!)

The phrase of the day - Oh My Goodness! complete with sigh at the end! Amazingly cute, and don't think she doesn't know it either! What a flirt!

Today was a day of contrasts. First we had to sit in the vet's office while we found out what was making Scarpia sick (he has a bladder infection and will be fine). I think I heard, "Mama, I'm hungry" about 200 times in 10 minutes. I was about to scream "Oh My Goodness!"

How do you explain to a child who is completely in the moment that mama will take care of it when she can, but at that exact moment, she can't fulfill that request! My repeated, "I know, we'll eat when we get home" was like speaking Swahili to her. I had a breakfast bar in my purse, which was in the car and if I'd thought about getting it, I might have tried that, but I didn't think about it. I was just trying to deal with a whining child who insisted on laying down on the floor. When she started screaming though, she crossed the line and she did at least know it! Up on the bench she sat with me, continuing to complain, but more softly.

I really felt badly! I tried playing. I had brought the magna doodle just in case. I got a depression stick out of the canister on the table. I tried singing, playing pattycake, using the wooden stick as a percussion instrument - but we had passed the point of being entertained....

So, after lunch at home, the second part of the day began.

Happy Joy appeared! She played in the backyard with the sand, the dogs, the stones left over from our paving project and a stick. For an hour. Happy as could be! I finally got some housework done.

For naptime, I told her that if she was good about taking a nap, we'd meet Daddy at the store. She laid her pillows out on the couch, covered Katrina with the blanket and to sleep she went. An hour and a half later, she was up, smiling, singing and ready to get in "Mama's car".

I think I've figured out the desire to get in a car - she wants to go to McDonald's....

The post I wrote in my head today was titled -
McDonald's: The Evil Empire
It was about how we succumb to the evils of the Happy Meal because it's easy, convenient and entertaining. However, the hell that one goes through with those stupid toys that talk at the push of a button. A button that is just the perfect size for a child's finger....a button that is irresistible to a child! I've heard the two Chipmunk figures say whatever they're saying more times than I can count. I have only asked that the she doesn't play them in the dogs' ears. So I'm rebelling!

This afternoon, after our trip to Costco, she said I'm hungry and I answered her with okay, let's get something. No more complaints. No whining. Just a smile.

I went to Wendy's instead and ordered off the dollar menu. And you know what? She didn't even know that she could have gotten a toy if we'd gone somewhere else. She was just happy to have her beloved french fries with a chicken nugget thrown in for good luck!

So there, McD's!
:P