Stealing Moments With Elly

Elly helping to grate cheese.

    This year our school started all day everyday kindergarten.  This meant that my then three year old would go to school every single day.  She was excited, it was killing me.  When the other kids went to junior kindergarten they went every other day.  It was enough for them to go and explore the world and gain some independence from me, but it also gave me special time with them every other day.  Those days were the most special because I knew that my days were numbered, I had to make the most of the little bit of time I had left with them.  I would not get that special time with Elly... unless I took it!

Elly tasting her hard work.

    I decided that any day that Elly did not want to go to school she would stay home.  We would take one special day a week, and that would be her day.  It gave her independence, but it gave me that last little ribbon of time with my last baby.  I know that this time is so short, and can easily slip through your fingers if you don't keep your eyes wide open.

The stove after having help.

    Today Elly just did not want to get out of bed and go to school.  It was not her "Friday off".  To heck with that, she stayed home.  This was my day to steal that time with my last baby before it was too late.  We had a busy day, and it was beautiful.  We began our day nice and slowly.  We then made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.  She had to wear her apron.  She had to stand on a chair and use the mix master.  She had to taste the cookie batter "to make sure it wasn't poison".  She had to do several samples, just for the safety sake of her family.  She is just so thoughtful to put herself in harms way like that to make sure that no one in her family would be poisoned by cookies, that's just the type of kid she is!

    After our lunch Elly helped me make tonight's dinner (I had a two meetings in a row, so making dinner ahead of time was the smart thing to do).  We made Mac and Cheese.  Elly proudly stood on a chair and shredded cheese.  She had that self important look on her face.  "We're making dinner!" she repeated several times.  She ate more cheese than she grated, but she was very proud of her self.  When I'd made my white sauce I let her stand on a chair and from a distance I let her put the cheese into the sauce.  Again she felt very important.  My stove top is covered in melted cheese that was thrown.  Melted cheese that is baked in is tough to clean.  I would however clean up a hundred pounds of baked on cheese just to see that look of pride on her little face.  She was important... worth the clean up.  At dinner everyone complimented her on the delicious meal that she had made.  That little half smile on her face as she ate was priceless.  The other plus was that because she had "made" it, she thought it was really good, and actually ate!

    After our Mac and Cheese was done, it was time for a craft.  We made daffodils.  She cut hers out herself (I also cut one out for her).  She took her time as she carefully cut.  She really took her time with all of it.  Adding glitter to the daffodil that I had cut out was one of her highlights ( my girls sure love their glitter).

    At the end of the day, the laundry I had planned to catch up on sat dirty in the hamper.  The house was still messy (who am I trying to fool, the house was dirty).  The little jobs that I had planned to do all went undone.  Those jobs will wait.  What will not wait is Elly.  She will not be four forever.  There will come a day that will come more quickly than I will like, when she does not want to spend time with me.  This is borrowed time.  This is the day that I will look back on and cry because it seems like just yesterday that she was so little.  This is the day that I took pleasure in my last baby, and she took pleasure in just being with her Mommy.  Today was a beautiful day.