A Day in the Life

Today I will get up first and hurry into the shower before anyone realizes I'm awake. Maddie will come in with a pile of books, insisting that I read them to her, and Alli will get herself dressed and her bed made before the rest of us have time to rub the sleep out of our eyes. We'll eat breakfast. If Dad isn't in a hurry, he'll make pancakes while Alli and Maddie argue over who's turn it is to get the first plate.

If we remember, we'll let Alli read us a scripture and try to explain to her what it means. Maddie will do her best to distract us all. When it's clear nothing is getting through, I'll pass out the toothbrushes in a hurry, but the girls will run away screaming anyway. When I catch them, we'll sing "When you wake up in the morning" or pretend we're brushing dinosaur chompers and hopefully remove some plaque.

Maddie and Alli will play, probably "pee-tend." Maddie will pretend she's the Mom and Alli will pretend she's the baby. Maddie will say, "you be the glirl, otay?" and Alli will agree. Then the real Mom will get something done.

If peeking into the playroom didn't ruin the fine balance of good humor that only occurs right after breakfast, I might see Maddie putting all the dolls to sleep under her favorite "bloppie" (her blanket) and Alli "packing for the trip," gathering fake food and doll clothes and shoving them into bags for easier transport. After a while, Alli might read some books to Maddie or start pushing her around in the play stroller.
After lunch, we'll put on a TV show for Maddie while Alli practices the piano. Alli will play 'the Woodchuck" for me and then try to sneak a peek at the Care Bears. Alli will play all her songs like a pro and then the two of them will lay down on the floor to watch TV under Maddie's blanket.

A few minutes later, Alli will start crying because Maddie hit her on the head with the remote. I'll put Maddie in time-out and come back a couple of minutes later to talk to her.

"Do you know why you're in time-out?" I'll ask her.

"I hit Alli on the head!" Maddie will say, smiling.

"Do you think that made Alli sad?" I'll say.

Maddie will giggle. "Yeah."

I'll try not to laugh and send her to tell Alli sorry, which she will gladly do, adding a hug just for fun.

At dinner, Ty will ask the girls what cup they want today. Maddie will say, "the Ollie cup," or "I wanna Mimi tup," But hopefully she doesn't ask for the "smiley tup" because we haven't figured out which one that is. Alli will take her water with ice or ask for milk, but Maddie will always say, "Want water, no ice." Whatever we are having, Maddie will eat all of it and Alli none, or vice-versa. There doesn't seem to be a food combination that they both eat the same night. They do come together on one thing, however, and I have to agree: Broccoli is the best vegetable ever.

At bedtime, Maddie will climb into her new toddler bed and feel like a big "tid," while Mom and Dad collapse on the couch and hope she doesn't come downstairs more then once.