Highlights of the Weekend

It was my birthday on Sunday, and in typical style our family celebrated most of the weekend.

On Saturday morning, Spilly presented me with some beautiful yellow flowers she had picked out (yellow is my favourite colour). She says that they are sunflowers, although I believe they are a bit too small and delicate for that. They are living in the dining room in a vase.

She and her Daddy took me out to a lovely restaurant on Saturday night. There Spilly tasted her first mussels, which caused her to retch repeatedly and nearly throw up, just at the moment when the waiter came to ask, "How is everything?"

We all went skating on Sunday morning at an indoor arena. Spills began skating two weeks ago (something my back still remembers not-so-fondly), and has made quite a bit of progress in fourteen days. The backyard rink has given her a place to practise. Yesterday she and her Daddy (who also basically started skating a couple of weeks ago) made it all around the arena together, hand in hand. Spills says she is going to be a hockey player.

We had lunch with our friends at Swiss Chalet, where Spilly announced that she planned to marry Robbie but have Simon as her boyfriend too. A very liberated perspective, I think. Not sure where Sanjaya fits into that scenario.

We had tomato soup and cake for supper, in the most remarkably decorated dining room imaginable. Spills even insisted upon a Dora tablecloth to celebrate my step closer to death. On the wall was a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game, and there were streamers and balloons.

And to cap it all off, the Oscars were on that evening, so Spills and I watched the fancy dresses, etc., until it was time for her to go to bed.

A good time, all around!

Silence

Well, Spilly has gone to visit her grandparents for a couple of days. It's very quiet around here--no belting out rocker tunes, no "you be me and I'll be you" games, no Constant Communicating.

It wasn't so quiet before she left. She wanted to pack her own suitcase, so I let her (I added a few little things later). Lots of clinking sounds and lugging of items. I ignored them.

Then she came to me, quite worried. "Mommy, I found something that isn't fair."

"What is it?"

"Well, I have antlers for me and Grandma, but I can't find the antlers for Grandpa."

"Oh," I said. "Let's take a look."

We searched high and low, and finally found Grandpa's antlers (the ones with the jingly bells) at the bottom of the tickle trunk. They went into the suitcase immediately, and I had my first glimpse of what else was in there.

1. Most of the bookcase, including picture frames and ceramics

2. A wiggles DVD

3. Monty

4. Ribbon

5. Purple socks with hearts on them

6. A princess outfit

7. Antlers

I made a point of telling Grandma about the search for the antlers, wanting to make sure that she and Grandpa would recognize that it was important to Spills that they be actually put on the head.

Grandma said, "I think we'll wear them for dinner tonight."

So, while my Hubby and I went to see Oscar-nominated movies, I took pleasure in imagining Grandma, Grandpa and Spills sitting down to their salmon dinner in their special headgear.

Spills will be back on Monday night.