Because I can, I'm bringing you an old Xanga post from July 29, 2009. The Princess is currently five, but when this was written she was only three and still an only child. Enjoy!We had a wonderful time Sunday at my mom's house. We get together (all 22 of us, my brother, my sisters, and all our spouses, kids, and grandkid) once a month for "Birthday Sunday" to celebrate whatever birthdays happen to have been that month. The only month we didn't have a birthday was July, so we sent my nephew Aaron out to find himself a woman with a July birthday, and he found one as sweet as anyone could have wished for. (Okay, it didn't happen exactly like that, but we've got Rachel, and that's all that matters.)
So The Princess has never known anything except being part of this huge family, and she loves all the attention she gets. She's the baby and the next youngest is 10 years old. I think Sunday she would have liked a little less of that attention. We set the table buffet style and spread out all over the house to eat. The Princess was sitting at the kitchen table with 5 or 6 of her cousins (first cousins once removed for anyone who's keeping score). Several of us, including Alyssa, were sitting in the living room which is open to the kitchen. The Princess was anxious to get at that birthday cake and kept asking for a piece only to be repeatedly shot down by her mommy who insisted she eat actual food before she could have cake. Now Alyssa couldn't see The Princess's plate from where she was sitting, but she knows her daughter pretty well. When The Princess announced that she was finished eating lunch, Alyssa asked if she had eaten her carrots. The Princess said yes, and there was uproarious laughter from the cousins at the table. I looked over my shoulder at her plate, and it was still full of carrots. I wish you could have seen The Princess's face. She shot her cousins the dirtiest look that a 3-year-old can muster, and said, "I ate one of them." After lunch The Princess was busting at the seams to get the birthdays started. We were all sitting and relaxing having just eaten a delicious meal, but The Princess was impatient. Somehow we've managed to train our teens / young adults to clean the kitchen after lunch. Since we moms put the food on the table, it seemed fair, and with only a moderate amount of nagging, they get it done. So when The Princess started asking Alyssa about the birthdays, Alyssa told her the kids needed to clean up first. A few minutes later The Princess returned from the family room and announced that she had picked up all the toys. Alyssa hugged her and told her what a good girl she was, but that what she had meant was that the kids needed to clean the kitchen. The Princess walked into the kitchen, looked around, and said, "There are no toys in the kitchen!" When we finally explained that the kids needed to wash the dishes and clean the table, The Princess marched into the family room and informed her cousins that, "You kids need to wash the dishes!" Ah, these are memories worth keeping. Thanks for stopping by. Leave a comment to let me know you were here. (Lately I've had to refresh the page a couple times to get the comments box to show up. Please don't give up. I really love to hear from you.) |
