I am playing hooky took a personal day today. This made me the morning school bus driver, giving Pre-teen and Littlest a chance to eat at home instead of heading off to before care at 6:30am. (Don't anticipate a perfect-parent-school day-breakfast-post.) They had cereal - personal day, remember?
So we found ourselves sitting at the kitchen table with Littlest wondering what to do with the cereal in the bowl when she was full. Glancing at the multi-grain Cheerio's floating in her bowl I said, "Just put it on the floor for the dogs."
She gave me the the look. Parents, you know that look. The one where your children wonder if you are kidding or if you are just plain stupid. Her eyebrows began to knit together and raise at the same instant while her lips pursed just the slightest bit. Interpreting this look, I assured her it would be fine - the dogs could eat cereal.
Her look intensified; then she looked sideways at Pre-teen silently asking if I had lost it today. Operating on auto-pilot I reassured her it was fine and she responded incredulously. "But Mom, there's milk in the bowl?"
"It's okay - they can have some milk," was my reply.
"Ohhhh kay?" She wasn't all that reassured and still seemed to think aliens had taken over her mother.
"Just put it on the dogs' rug," Pre-teen directed.
Dutifully, but with decided reservation, Littlest trudged toward the rug, so I turned back to the newspaper...
Well, what can you do at that point? Pre-teen & I both instructed her to stop! Then I laughed. And laughed. And cleaned up the spilt milk as I explained that I meant to put the bowl on the ground.
Ahh, six, so literal. (No wonder she was looking at me as though I had lost my marbles!) Guess it's time to start reading Amelia Bedilia books at bedtime. :)
