Too Many Cooks, or the Girls Plan a Surprise for their Mother

Several evenings over the course of the last couple weeks, after Katie and I had tucked the girls in bed, they stayed awake chatting for quite some time. When we asked them what they were doing, they said they were working on a surprise for their mother.

A few days ago, Savannah told Katie that she and her sisters were trying to stay up until after the parents went to sleep so they could carry out their plans in secret. Katie told her they couldn't do that. So Savannah came to me with a dilemma. She whispered in my ear that they wanted to surprise Katie with breakfast in bed, but couldn't figure out when to do it. Katie, she said, always went to bed too early, but still got up in the morning before they did. I suggested that they do it on a Saturday or Sunday morning, when Katie could sleep in. And Savannah said that her mom would still get up before them. I told her the way around that was to ask Katie to stay in bed while they put together their surprise.

I soon found myself recruited to help them carry out their plans. We selected Saturday April 12th to "surprise" Katie. Upon awakening in the morning, the girls were supposed to come get me. At 3:50 a.m., a very anxious and excited Colette (age 4) woke me up and asked me if it was time to make mommy breakfast. I told her no and shepherded her back to bed, much to her dismay. I told her she would know it was time when she woke up and saw sunlight. Colette returned at 7:48 to inform me that the sun was up. I talked her into waiting until her sisters joined us, which they did twelve minutes later.

And then, off to the kitchen we went to make cinnamon toast. Savannah and Leila argued over who would carry out which part of the procedure. In the end, they decided that each of them would custom-make their own cinnamon toast for Katie, rather than create it in an assembly line-style format. When the toast was ready, Savannah asked to make scrambled eggs as a "side dish." I denied her request and she fled the room in tears. Colette, meanwhile, picked out two yogurts and a bottle of water for Katie. Then we marched into the bedroom, with Savannah carrying the plate of toast and yogurt, Leila carrying the water, and Colette carrying the spoon.

chefs at work. 

Ready to march. 

Marching. 

After Katie was served, the breakfast-in-bed program snowballed. The girls announced that they were now going to give *me* breakfast in bed! They ordered me to stay in the bedroom, then went off and made cinnamon toast, this time without adult supervision. After delivering my food, they got the crazy idea to make each other breakfast in bed. I heard Colette call out, "I'll be waiting in my bed!" as she raced down the hall and leaped onto her bed. Savannah and Leila dutifully served Colette breakfast, then Katie got up and served breakfast in bed to her oldest two daughters.

Above: Savannah holding the plate of food the girls brought to me. Photography by Leila.

Right: Savannah and Leila holding the food they made for Colette.

Left: Colette having breakfast in bed.

 Below:  The food Katie made for Savannah and Leila.

Below: Leila eating breakfast in bed. 

Above: Savannah eating breakfast in bed.

Above: All three girls eating breakfast in bed.

A surprise for the whole family!

Day 7: Mostly ups

Today we all had a bit of the slows. Last night I was up just about every hour with a different girl helping them with one thing or another. So no one really slept well. The girls helped me make eggs puffs, a new recipe I've wanted to try. Its basically pureed squash, eggs, egg whites, and flour, with a few other ingredients. You divide it into 4 mugs and bake. They were pretty good. When we were doing the squash, the girls asked me what it was. I said squash. Savannah asked me if it was the kind she liked, meaning zucchini. I said no, but its a kind she has had before. I was nervous that they wouldn't even try it since they knew it had squash in it, but Savannah declared afterwards that it had everything she liked in it and she wanted more.

While the girls were finishing up the last of their breakfast, I was in their room getting the booster seat down when I heard this huge crash. Savannah rushed into the room to tell me there was glass everywhere. Upon investigation I learned that Leila tried to give Savannah a spoon, but Savannah didn't want it so she "tossed" it back to her. I guess Leila decided she didn't want it either because she "tossed" it in another direction and shattered some dishes. Nice. The glass was all over the table and floor (another reason to strongly dislike carpet in the dining room), glass in the butter, glass just everywhere. I had to keep all the girls in their room so I could get it all cleaned up before anyone got hurt.

The big news from today is that Colette is no longer using a high chair but now uses a booster seat. The last couple of days it seems like she hasn't been eating very well, especially in her high chair. This morning after breakfast, she climbed up into Dale's chair and started eating food she could reach off of her tray. She did great and ate well to boot. So we broke out the booster seat and got everything set up so that at lunch time she could join the family at the table. And again she was much happier and ate well. I guess she just wanted to be with all of us girls.

I asked the girls what they wanted to be when they grow up. Savannah announced that she wanted to be a mommy. I asked why and she said because she has lots of babies. So I mentioned that it sounded like she was already a Mom, and she said "Mom, I am not an Adult Mommy." Oh, now I understand, I think. So I asked her if she wanted to do anything else in addition to being a Mommy and she said yes, she was going to feed her babies chunks of food. What kind you might ask? Pizza, was the big answer from both girls, as by now Leila had joined in the conversation. They also agreed that they were going to sing to their babies "I am a Child of God" and "dashing through the snow" ("Jingle Bells"). Savannah also mentioned that she was going to give her babies naps. So I asked if she thought that some day they wouldn't take naps. She said probably not until they are 900 because they are pretty grumpy now.

Well we just have to survive one more night and one day until Dale arrives. I can't wait. I hope he got lots of sleep when he was in Utah, because I would love a nap!