Told you so

Ella had the girl across the road over for a play. She likes a bit of err... civil disobedience. So together they get up to a bit of mischief at times. Today while I was on the phone, they got undressed, sprayed the trampoline and their discarded clothes with the hose and then came to ask me if I could attach the sprinkler to the hose.

I grumbled about the wet clothes and told them that it wasn't warm enough yet to play under the sprinkler and they'd get cold. But they begged and because they were nude already and I couldn't be bothered arguing I told them I'd give them 5 minutes.

They managed to attach the sprinkler to the hose themselves and I could hear their squeals in the backyard while I was in the kitchen. Then I saw them running past the kitchen window and heard this:


Girl across the road -: I'm cold. We should've listened to your mum.
Ella - C'mon, we won't tell her that we got cold.

I think I managed to not look too smug when they came back in wrapped in towels.

Planning for the future

Ella's best friend wants to share a house with her when they are 18. Only, she doesn't want her family to live with her. Which was a bit of a shock to Ella who still wants to live with me forever. So she's been thinking out loud about this very seriously. Wondering if Katie would be ok with me living there, as I'm not part of her own family.

She showed me a drawing of their future house and garden. When I asked her if she thought she would still love slides as much as she does now when she's 18 she rolled her eyes at me and told me the play equipment was for the kids they were going to have. Which was news to me because up until now she insisted she never wanted to be a mother.

Turns out they plan on having 80 kids. Each. Which made me question if the somewhat smallish looking house would be able to accommodate 160 kids. That earned me another eye roll because naturally they had worked all that out already. They would build a brick shed in the backyard and put beds in it and that's where the kids would sleep. The older ones. The babies would sleep in the house with them. But the toddlers and the older ones would sleep in the shed.

 

Mummy resuscitation

We were watching a scene in Bondi Rescue in which the lifeguards were dealing with a suspected spinal injury.

Ella - Do you know that sometimes they have to break the rib cage so they can get the heart started again?
Me - Really?
Ella - Yes. (Teacher) Celeste has practiced it on a mummy.
Me - Dummy.
Ella - Mummy.
Me - It's dummy.
Ella - No, a mummy, you know, a person wrapped in...err.

I did manage to convince her that first aid skills are not commonly practiced on ancient Egyptian human remains. It does make me ponder on what goes through these kids' heads when they make up their own versions of what the teacher is trying to tell them.

   

The importance of using the right word

First day of school holidays and Ella spent the day at the gymnastics club's holiday program. This will be the first school holidays that I am not taking any leave and she'll be going to holiday care for most of it. And on top of that, I have to get my flex back into positive so they will be longer days than when she is at school.

So when Ella said in the car on the way home:

Ella - Today I had an awful day!

I immediately started throwing arguments at the guilt that threatened to flood my brain: "I have no choice but to send her to care. It'll be good for her in the long run to see that I have other responsibilities and to learn about work ethic and financial independence." And we should probably find an alternative for the gymnastics holiday program next holidays.

Me - Why was it awful?
Ella - No, I didn't mean awful. I meant aws..., awes...
Me - Did you mean 'awesome'?
Ella - Yes, awesome! I had an awesome day!

Huh?

Ella was watching ABC 4 Kids.

Ella - I'm not going to watch Playschool for 45 years.
Me - Huh? Why 45 years?
Ella - Because it's going to be on for 45 years.
Me - You mean it has been on for 45 years.
Ella - I haven't watched it for 45 years.
Me - Indeed not, because you're only 6.
Ella - I already knew that.
Me - This conversation is getting really weird.
Ella - Meh.

 

3D

Voice over on Bondi Vet trailer - "And will Lisa find what is causing this dog's bulging eyeballs?"
Ella - Maybe it's in 3D?
Me - What is?
Ella - Maybe his eyeballs are in 3D.

 

The glass and mum's will*

 * Title accredited to Ella

Yesterday I'd poured our lemonade and when I drank from my glass, Ella said she had wanted to drink of that glass. But I said it was mine because it was my favourite glass. The glass actually has a history. A friend found it under a bush near our campfire at the end of a camping trip in the Mimosa Rocks National Park a couple of years ago.

Today I poured lemonade in the same glasses. And this conversation followed:

Ella - One day, can I use that glass?
Me - Oh alright then.
Ella - One day I will have that glass all to myself.
Me - What do you mean?
Ella - When you die.
Me - Imagine if that would be the only thing I left you! And when they read the will they'd go "And to Ella, I leave... the glass" and all the other stuff - the house, the car, all my money - would go to other people. And you'd walk out with just that glass!
Ella - No, when you die I'll get your car, your house, your bed...
Me - But not the glass! Imagine that I'd leave everything to you but put in the will "everything except for the glas"?! That would make you laugh, wouldn't it? C'mon, that would be funny, hey?!
Ella - Or when you just give me the glass, I'd walk out without clothes. Coz you didn't give me any clothes, just the glass?
Me - Don't worry, by the time I die you'll have been buying your own clothes for a while already! I'm going to be really old when I die. You might have to wait a long time for that glass!

If I ever make a will, I will definitely mention that glass!

And today:
Ella - Can I have some kid champagne? [Mineral water + cordial]
Me - Sure.
Ella - Can I have that special glass?
Me - Only when I'm dead! [I didn't think of saying "Over my dead body!" which would've been  funnier still.]