This morning has been interesting to say the least. I think I clocked in about three hours of Facebook time, and it's not even noon yet, which seems like a lot for an AM check-in, but I'm a night owl. Most of my Facebook hours are logged in between the hours of 7:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. when I'm plugging away at my side scroll app.
My pixie daughter decided to flutter around the house, as she always does, looking for activities because as every parent knows, toddlers are the most adventurous. Everything is new. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, temperatures, surfaces, textures, everything. Meanwhile they're learning words, pronouncing everything, repeating all. No word is left unattempted. Every experience soaked up.
Sometime in the late morning my mom had called as well. She was rescheduling her visit from the previous night to stop by for a slice of freshly baked banana bread, and fresh coffee. So, I figured, what the heck. The tiny tot needed an activity. Why not give her crayons and paper to draw something for Ya-ya? Might as well have given my daughter fireworks to launch at a Hobbit Birthday Party celebrating someone's Elevendy-One years of age.
She plunged into the drawing and within a very short amount of time had scrolled the most beautiful twist of lines yet. I saw the magic flow through her hands, the intensely furrowed looks, tongue outstretched as she traced the crayon into swirls and curly-cues. A moment later, she handed me the drawing and said with great elation, "Ya-ya!"
Drawing completed, she immediately rode out on her next great big adventure, this time into the Land of Cheese and Spices.
Gathering the Pizza Hut packets of cheese and spices from last night's meal she set sail for uncharted land, tearing through the paper containers with the zeal of a treasure hunter searching for the Lost Treasure of Yore.
After mixing what seemed like four table spoons of crumbled cheese and cracked pepper into a bowl, she proceeded to add water. Naturally, every concoction needs some form of liquid, right? She dragged a chair over to the sink, turned on the tap, filled the bowl, climbed back down, carried the sloshing bowl to the table, returned for the chair and dragged it back to its point of origin. What else could I do but watch the calculated event with stunned eyes?
But one splash of water wasn't enough...
So, she poured some more water, and again, more water which she transported inside a second bowl, pouring its contents into the first until sea level was just right.
Then she grabbed a few spoons from the kiddie drawer. One for mixing, a second for stirring, and a third with which she used to offer taste tests to her little brother, himself entering toddlerhood. He was glad to offer his taste buds. He usually was oh so willing.
Suffice it to say, my love of fantasy genre came through, and all I could think about while watching the epic event unfold between these two wonderful little beings was Tasslehoff Burrfoot, the mischievous adorable Kender from the Dragonlance saga. Kender are no taller than a toddler, actually. Bright, cheerful, childlike beings with a love for all things adventure. They're always in a creative mood and have an uncanny ability to problem solve even though their journey through it seems illogical and ill-suited for earth-shattering adventurers; and they never miss an opportunity to open purses, backpacks, treasure chests, closets, pockets, cloaks, drawers... Their unchallenged curiosity is a wondrous exploration of everything within reach.
My kitchen was a Kender-home today.
And I loved every minute of it.
Sure, I could see the messes multiply, and at any moment I could have been transformed into a muggle. But I resisted that terrible urge. I was fascinated by my two kiddo-Kenders turn the kitchen on its head. Just as Tasslehoff made me laugh, my kids brought out the best smiles and belly rolling laughs I have had in quite a long time.
I love my kids. Today, I loved them even more.
Of course, with the Cheese and Pepper stew brewing nicely on the kitchen table, what else could I do but lean over the chemist and ask the most basic question? It seemed the polite thing to do.
And with that an explanation burst from my daughter's mouth as she sang along with Beauty and Beast on the television in the background.
Four plates, three bowls, three spoons, ten packets, and one grand adventure to recall, the morning came to a gentle close.
My little boy went down for his morning nap. My daughter set up her spot on the living room floor and settled in for what seemed a long and glorious lounge to finish the tale of a spoiled young prince and his newfound love, Belle.
A few minutes later my daughter leaped off her Tinkerbell blanket and set her sights on yet another incredible adventure of mischief and curiosity, kender-style.
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