This morning, like most mornings lately, my daughters went straight from breakfast into zealous creative endeavors. I was trying to cope with the first half of my coffee when they started rifling through the craft bins and ripping out supplies. The next thing I knew, we were making cardboard cars.
The top of the cars were to be made from garbage bag boxes. Not empty garbage bag boxes, mind you. The half-unrolled rolls of garbage bags are now sloppily shoved into a drawer.
The wheels were to be made from toilet paper rolls, which all had to be cut into equal portions, which meant very sharp grownup shears wielded by stubborn five-year-olds who did not want help. At first, the idea was to glue the wheels to the car, until they realized that the wheels would not turn that way. So my suddenly precocious daughters figured out that what they actually needed was axles.
That’s when the super-pointy shish kabob skewers came out. I watched as Eliza attempted to poke a hole in the “car” to insert the skewer, angling the pointy part so it was sure to go straight into her eye with the force of her push.
If you’re wondering why I am talking in the conditional pluperfect, it’s because that’s when I put the kibosh on the whole project — and all their creative dreams for life, most likely. That’s also why I don’t have a photo of what may have been the coolest craft cars ever. I don’t do engineering projects before noon.
Here in Week 4, we are still futzing with the daily routine. The chalkboard schedule dreams persist (it’s a coping mechanism), but I can’t sweat it when we don’t follow the daily agenda too closely — or at all.
Quiet time is a lark.
As I write this, I am sitting in the big green chair in the Quiet Room while the girls allegedly rest. They dragged every pillow, cushion, and blanket in our house in here and piled them all up, then started jumping on them and practicing shoulder stand. “You guys need to be doing quiet time,” I warned.
Phoebe’s comeback was priceless: “We are doing quiet time. This is how we do things. We bounce. We’re fun.”
I set the timer for 60 minutes, opened my computer, and tuned them out. Someone is getting quiet time today.
What I’m reading:
The Parents Are Not All Right — Even in the most privileged households, the pandemic is exposing the farce of how society treats families.
Think wearing a mask is hard for you? Try being black.
What I’m listening to:
John Prine, always a favorite in my playlists, and feeling devastated at his loss. Here’s a video of him singing “In Spite of Ourselves” with Iris Dement just a year or so ago.
What I’m watching:
Friday has finally been solidified as Pizza + Movie Night at my house! (A lifelong dream.) The girls pick the movies; we watch in bed. Last week we watched The Little Mermaid. I was not impressed. Queued for tonight: The Fantastic Mr. Fox!
What I’m eating:
One of my favorite newsletters is the one from Mountain Rose Herbs. I’ve been experimenting with the “Magic Moon Milk” recipes from this recent newsletter. Of course, I don’t have half the ingredients handy, so it’s a lot of experimenting.
If you can make time for an adult show, check out Unorthdox.