Tea Party Time

When Ethel turned four, I told her that she would no longer be required to spend two hours of the day being reminded by Mommy to stay on her bed, lay down, be quieter, or otherwise restricted in such a way.  One of my gifts to her on her fourth birthday was to make what used to be rest time {a.k.a. nap time} into quiet time.

See, Mommy needs a break, too.  I figured as long as she stayed in her room for at least as long as Fred was asleep, it would suit us both just fine, and I was right.  I can even say that every couple of months, I enter her room to find her curled up somewhere in her room sound asleep.  We both love quiet time.

During her quiet time, Ethel plays with just about everything in her room.  I.mean.everything.  This has proven for some challenging clean up times, but oh the party she has during that beloved quiet time. Today it was a tea party.

Some party guests

As any good hostess would, she provided her guests with a beautifully draped tablescape, complete with Princess, pink table cloth (ie: blankie), and amphibious corner decorations (note the frogs, turtle, and lizard at the corners). 

Would you like some tea?

She was so proud of this tea party.  She came tearing out of her room and sweetly asked me if I'd come and see what she'd made.  Quickly, she showed me "this is where I sit", and looked to me as little girls do to their moms, hoping I wouldn't be upset with her for making a mess, using a blanket over a box, or something silly like that.  I couldn't help but smile and beam at how wonderful this tea party looked.  She gave me permission to photograph the event, and posed for a picture.

She poured her guests each some tea, explaining to me who each of them was, making note that she had misplaced the large blue plate, "...but that's OK, I'll find it later", again looking to me for approval.  We smiled at each other and I took in those beautiful blue eyes, filled with innocence and imagination and pride.  I remember having tea parties with my animals and dolls.

I left her to her party, and she talked and played and enjoyed her tea with her guests.  Not long later, I could tell the party was over, and she'd gone into the bathroom to get a drink of water for herself.  The animals had all been excused from the table.  I went in her room to make sure everything was OK.

I am rather glad I didn't stay for the party, in case this would be my fate, too...

"This is where the animals live"

I have to add...today is one of those days I mentioned..

Splatster!

Ethel got this interactive game for Christmas from her Nani, my mom.  She adores it, and while I was skeptical at first, I am no longer.

You know the old duck hunt games from the arcades and traveling fairs?  The kind where they give each kid a fake rifle, and they each take aim at the ducks as they roll by?  That game has been "updated" to a more PC version in Splatster!.  No longer are you trying to nail the ducks and 'go for the kill', now you're washing the ducks after they got into some paint!  And, there are monkeys swinging from vines who need to be fed, so you'd better toss them some bananas!

The spin art has you add circles of colour to a spinning piece of 'paper', and when you stop it, the paint splatters leaving a very cool display.  You can paint several pictures by "catching" drops of color, while avoiding blue triangles which threatedn to pop the drops.  You can even create your own sundae and save it!



The game operates wirelesly, much like a Wii.  The controller is a paintbrush, and when you keep your aim on the console, a 'camera', the control is rather easy.  I keep a dish towel on the floor for Ethel and Fred to stand on so they don't easily leave the range of the camera.  Every so often it doesn't read correctly and I have to mess with it, but overall the game is really easy for the kids to use and understand.  It's a little over Fred's head still, but he does enjoy watching the different games and activities while his big sister plays.  I will say, he's really good at the spin art!

The best part of Splatster! is that there is a USB port on the back of it where you can insert a flash drive, allowing you to save your images.  Ethel and Fred have been able to share their creations with their Nani in Florida and show her how much they've been enjoying the game she got Ethel.  It's so sweet, and Ethel gets so excited when we go to pick pictures to send Nani.

The kids enjoy being creative, and they really like playing the games.  On top of it all, they can share their creations.  On top of that, Mommy can get a little break for a few minutes, and I don't have the guilty feelings that I usually get when I turn on the TV.  Love it!