“Mommy, would you like to play restaurant with me?”
“I would love to,” I replied.
“O.K., I’ll go get it ready!” Emmalynn excitedly exclaimed as she ran off to prepare for my arrival. Clanging metal pans and dishes crashed to the playroom floor which was accompanied by the banging of hollow plastic play food as Emmalynn served a symphony of sweets for her patron.
While she prepared her restaurant, I quickly checked my e-mail, which in hindsight may not have been my brightest parenting moment.
As I read through my e-mails, I heard Emmalynn scamper down the hallway into the bathroom which was followed by a faucet at full blast. Then, she ran back down the hall.
Secretly, I had hoped she didn’t fill her teapot with water. I dreaded drinking water from a dirty, grubby tea set. As I curiously peeked around the corner, I discovered Emmalynn washing the wall with a soaked washcloth.
“Emmalynn, what are you doing?”
“I wanted to make a sign for my restaurant, but I made a mistake. I ran out of room for the letters in my name and I wanted to erase it and start over.”
Then, I noticed very large purple (her favorite color) letters written on the wall and wondered what the appropriate response to this creative situation would be.
“Yes, I see that you ran out of room, because you made your letters too big, but a wet washcloth will not wash crayon off the wall. But more importantly, when you want to make a sign, you use paper. You know that. We write on paper, not walls. And the good thing about using paper for a sign is you can tape it anywhere you want, like above the table or by the door so everyone can see it when they enter your restaurant.”
“Oh yeah”, she replied as a light bulb went off in her head and then it quickly shined on a subject that mattered more to her. “My restaurant is ready, Mommy.”
With her direction, I sat down and enjoyed a delicious plateful of plastic cookies, strawberries and a cupcake.
Although Emmalynn has a reputation for doodling on walls and leaving a path of destruction everywhere she goes, it was really difficult for me to get angry with her this time. Writing on walls is a rite of passage and a phase many children go through. Unfortunately, Emmalynn has not left this stage yet, but it’s all right. We’ll simply store stockpiles of Magic Erasers in every room of the house until she’s finished with this phase.
Hopefully, some time before she starts kindergarten.
Oh my goodness, you have no idea how familiar this little story is for me…is it bad that I think she is kind of a marketing genius for wanting to make her sign big enough for everyone to see??
I think you did the perfect thing. I mean, in the scope of all important things, what does a little crayon drawing hurt? It will be a reminder someday of her magical childhood.
I love your restaurant!
Oh you handled that waaaaay better than me! Brady did a number on my walls and he had like a 45 minute time out, or Mommy had a 45 minutes time out!!! You are mother of the year.
But I did the same thing and grabbed my camera too. Not as many smiles involved though.
Alex aka Ma What’s For Dinner
http://www.mawhats4dinner.com
You did a way better job than I would have done. She was so proud of herself, though, so I imagine it was easy to forgive. That, and having a magic eraser in your hand.
What a good mom you are. She is just a cutie and I bet all she has to do many times is bat those gorgeous eyes of her’s and you just melt 🙂
How sweet! You’re probably freaking out thinking “that’s not sweet”, but when someone else’s kid does it it’s sweet. lol She’s a doll. 🙂
By the way, thanks for the invite to Photo Story Friday. I’m going to try and play along next week. Wish me luck!
Kristi, Live and Love…Out Loud
@TweetingMama
Funny story! I was going to mention magic erasers, but you’ve obviously had plenty of experience with this, because you mentioned them first! I was laughing about hearing the water running in the bathroom, etc…how often have I been checking my email or reading a blog, and low and behold, water starts running and you’re hoping its not the mess you think it is!
Your daughter and my daughter could be best buds. 🙂 Restaurant, water full blast, exploring art on the walls. That’s my girl through and through. Not sure what “draws” them to draw on walls, as my son never did that. But you gotta love ’em anyway! And it is a great test of a mother’s patience. 🙂
That is so funny! My daughter decorated all of our bed linens (spread and pillow cases) with a sharpie. She drew a picture of my face on my pillow, and my husband’s face on the other. So clever!
We’ve been there, too. She looks so incredibly proud. I bet it was hard to be mad. 🙂
She’s forgiven because she’s so dang cute! I’m sure you had a great time at the restaurant. 😉
You handled that so well, I can only hope I can respond as calmly the first time my son decides one of our apartment walls “needs” a mural. Thank goodness for Magic Erasers, that’s all I can say!
I’ve made the mistake of popping online for a brief moment when my son seemed involved in an activity…then heard splashing in the bathroom. When I ran in there, he was stirring the toilet water with my hairbrush. ::shudder:: It’s amazing the mischief they can manage in just a brief blink of time!
You handled that very well. And your little darling is too adorable for words!
Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest!
my girls just like to color on their table. they haven’t realized we have walls. so. yay me… ?
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