There is usually a blanket, “Don’t let Chloe play with my stuff” announcement every morning before Hanna and Ellie head off to school.
It’s often just a generic, “stuff” so as to include anything deemed the personal property of either the six or nine year olds.
Little do they know it’s all OURS!
Sometimes there is a specific, “Don’t let Chloe play with my mannequin” that when Chloe catches wind of the item can think of nothing other than how quickly she can get her hands on it and smear it with finger paints and Pinkalicious stickers.
“Bye Mommy, Love you” as the bus pulls away. Then mouthing the words, “I love you” from inside the frosted windows of the bus. Wait, that wasn’t ‘I love you’ it was “Don’t let Chloe touch my robe.” Noted.
So yesterday morning, Hanna left very concise instructions, “Don’t let Chloe play with Marvin the penguin’s new house.”
“Okay honey,” I replied having no idea what she was talking about.
The bus pulled away, the garage door closed and Chloe skipped down the hall toward the part of the house that in her sisters’ minds is totally off limits to her and that in actuality, is where she spends the majority of her day.
I would later learn it was also home to Marvin the penguin. Other than a slight dip in temperature at that end of the house, who could have known?
I wandered down the hall after doing the breakfast dishes and noticed Chloe had a small penguin in her hand and what must be a make-shift, penguin blanket. She had a tiny, plastic computer and some other stuff that clearly defined Marvin the penguin’s existence and how he planned to spend his morning.
Hanna’s floor had been mapped out in perfect penguin fashion. Marvin had what might have been his/her own computer station, a hairdressing salon (previous owner—Polly Pocket), a couple of club chairs formerly belonging to Barbie, some musical instruments and a couple of tissues that are almost always used as pillows for small dolls when nothing else from the old toy’s donation bin will do.
There were some belts and lanyard ribbons I’m assuming had previously staked out the perimeter of the complex but by the time I got to them, they had been tripped over and been used by Chloe as anklets.
It was one of those, ‘how do I fix this situation’ because I didn’t take an aerial shot of the before so re-creating the after will be next to impossible.
Of course Hanna will know something is out of place because clearly, everything is out of place.
I put on my penguin cap and did my best to rebuild Marvin’s habitat with Chloe’s help who was as predicted—no help.
Then for eight hours, I waited for Hanna to return home and hoped she wouldn’t notice the disturbance to Marvin-World.
Hanna ran down the hall as soon as she walked in the door. I couldn’t believe this meant so much to her and this was the first I had even heard about it.
“Mommy!”
Oh dear. Is this the right time for “Well children are starving in Africa?” I’m never entirely sure when to play that card.
“Chloe changed all my stuff around!”
Me: Are you sure honey?
Hanna: Her sippy cup with orange juice is sitting right in the middle of Marvin’s house!!!!
That is some damning evidence.
Remind me to never apply to clean up after a crime scene.
