Kudos to Single Parents

Once upon a time, a dad went to enjoy a baseball game on a lovely evening in August. That left the mom and her two energetic children at home alone for dinner and bedtime, which isn't actually a big deal, but it is unusual.

The three of them sat down to a dinner of salmon, tomatoes, cucumbers, and mashed potatoes.

Dinner ended for the albino mommy (she got that way from being under flourescent lights regularly at the office) and the spotted son. But, per usual, the pink daughter had spent so much time talking during dinner, she wasn't quite done. Even though the mommy knew the children needed to be outside playing after dinner, she decided to indulge the son in a game of Mousetrap while the daughter finished up. Loudly.

The daughter joined them shortly, and then they all went to the "dinosaur park". The children ran, and ran, and ran. The mommy did too. Everyone was tired. It was time for bed.

The mommy brought the children home, gave them a bedtime snack, and then tried to brush their teeth. The pink dinosaur was still a little punchy, and decided rather than brushing her teeth, she would attempt to bite her mother. In all fairness, she went for the mommy's shirt, and it was definitely part game - but she had the same look in her eye she did right before she used to bite people when she was little. Her mother was not impressed.

They all went upstairs, and the spotted son went right to bed after a book and a story. The pink daughter decided to roar a little bit more, and plotted her strategy of extending bedtime. The mommy took a deep breath, and discussed the pink dinosaur's options with her, which were few.

Finally, the pink dinosaur dropped off to sleep.

The mommy went downstairs, advanced the laundry, and reminded herself how grateful she was that typically, she didn't do this job alone.

Elaine

The dinosaur figures are from the book "Dinosaurs on the Move: Movable Paper Figures to Cut, Color, and Assemble" by Cathy Diez-Luckie. Connor has been working on putting these together with both Tiny and Ed. I'm personally thankful that Helen does not have teeth like this Baryonyx, which had 96 serrated teeth. The instuctions in the book are easy to follow, but the cutting is pretty advanced and definitely designed for an older child. Unfortunately, they don't stand up on their own. I think I'll add paint sticks to their backs to turn them into puppets. Connor is definitely fascinated with them. I received the book free as a member of the From Left to Write book club.