Jennah got to spend the night at her friend’s house last weekend. Which slightly devastated Zeenah but I am determined to teach the girls that there are times you get to do things together and others where each girl has “her thing”. It’s a hard lesson for them to learn and understand at this point but I think we’re heading towards acceptance.
Just so that I can involve Zeenah I told her she could take her tooth brush, pajama and blankie to the playdate and when it was time to go she can do the whole bedtime ritual and sleep in the car on the way home. She was so excited about it and it made things run smooth. 5:30 am I hear her stomping her way to my bedroom and before I can open my eyes I heard “Now we can go pick up Jennah?” I had to explain that it’s waaaaaay to early and I have something fun we were going to do… we were going out for breakfast just the two of us. Something I’ve never gotten the chance to do because the girls weren’t apart so early in the morning. No we didn’t go out that early, I weaseled a few e-mails here and there while she kept occupied in the playroom until it was a decent hour to go out.
Zeenah bolted into her room to get ready the moment I said “Yala” she was super excited and giddy. She actually wore her fancy party dress. Then packed her little books, crayons and chose her favorite coloring book to keep her occupied at the restaurant. I was just looking and observing how the second child really misses out on one-on-one time. Something I would really like to find the time to do in the future.
Her choice for breakfast was Le Pain Quotidien at the Marina crescent (a family favorite). So off we were buckled up in the car heading on our way. Zeenah was full of stories real and imaginary. I just listened and giggled and we danced in the car, another family favorite.
After being greeted and seated Zeenah didn’t waist any minute she started organizing her activities giving me a step by step run down of what she was doing. “I’m going to first take my colors out…. the green will go next to brown” It really felt like an instructional TV show. She was so precise in her every action.
The waitress came and as predicted Zeenah made her usual order of Egg white omelet with a side of blueberries. I was a little disappointed in the portion of her side but that wasn’t gonna stop our fun.
As we were waiting for our food to arrive Zeenah went through all her planned activities pretty fast…. coloring, reading, book puzzle and packing up right in time for her breakfast.
ZEENAH ENJOYING HER EGGS
My Book recommendation for children is to get the small libraries as the one Zeenah was reading. For the really young children the colors and pictures are very entertaining. They come in a very neat box making it easy to carry around and store. Most fun is on the reverse of each book is part of puzzle that they can arrange. For older kids that are of reading age the laungugae is very simple with extremely fun stories. Bring a new level for loving books.
Stay tuned for my post listing these mini libraries and suggestions of where you can purchase them.
Soon it was time for us to go pick up Jennah and Zeenah was jumping for joy to see her sister.
We as parents are sometimes so involved in our daily routine that the time we spend with our younger children suffers because of it. wheather you have 2, 3 or more children take the time to spend one-on-one quality time with each of them. It really goes a long way with them and you will learn so much of who they are as individuals. After all “Making life Memorable” for those you love is what it’s all about.