If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

For those of you familiar with the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, it’s a “one thing leads to the other” sort of plot. Well, as I launched into our second year project of making a stepping stone with Kayli’s footprints, for the backyard, it became a series of “one thing leads to the other” until I thought we’d never get done! We had all the materials, they were all laid out, I began to read the directions out loud “Stir cement to pudding consistency” Kayli: “What, mom?” “Pudding?” “I want pudding, pleeease, mom?” I think, “Why not, this is supposed to be a fun, go-with-the flow, kind of morning” and maybe if she’s eating pudding, she’ll have her hands out of the cement preparation. So, we stop to make a quick batch of pudding. She’s thrilled. Now, Kayli needs just the right apron, as she selectively chooses, then it’s on to the stepping stone. I had to put a ceramic plate in a heavy baggie to gently break the pieces with a hammer to use in the stone. Kayli sat back and ate her pudding, watching, telling me “Be careful, mama.” We poured the cement into the mold and I began placing the ceramic pieces. Oh-oh, now I notice that the ceramic pieces have some red spots on them, I look at my finger, yes, blood. Where did that slice on my finger come from? Ok, time to take a first aid break. We head for the closet with the Barbie bandaids, and Kayli telling me she will do it, helps me put the bandaid on, and gives it a kiss. Well, as long as the bandaids are out, Kayli notices that she has a few “boo boos” that could use bandaids too. Finished with that, I tell Kayli we better get our gloves on, nice afterthought. It was time to make the footprints, and we had to try this 3 times before the cement was the right consistency, and in between waiting, Kayli found things in the garage to entertain/drag out. Finally, a masterpiece, but next year I’m going back to the jewel stones instead of ceramic pieces.