A Useful Tool

It’s Christmas Eve here.   Dinner of some odds and ends we had around the house with my in-laws and parents joining us.   My daughter is currently on my husband’s shoulders “driving” him around the house, yelling ‘STOP’ to keep him from running into things.   This is a useful vision test for us and a game of continual laughing for her.  

My son has retired to the iPad while we wait for the icing to warm up a bit from the freezer.  My husband made it earlier to add to the tops of the gingerbread houses for decoration.   My son and daughter are in high spirits, possibly too high as they’re keyed up for tomorrow’s Christmas morning.   The tumbling that’s happening on my bed is making me nervous for both of their bodies,  but especially my daughter’s eyes.   But I can’t keep her from being a child and having fun so I try to intervene only when I have to.

The tree has too many presents under it.   Note to self: put bags to collect all the wrapping paper for tomorrow morning on standby.  My son on his own found a cookie, poured a glass of milk and brought it all down on a plate to put beside the tree.   My daughter made some food for Rudolph that’s in a bag that she put beside the cookie and milk.

I’ve got stockings ready to go as soon as my son and daughter are asleep.   My husband is charging our traditional one gift from Santa for each child.   My daughter is getting a car that she’s been asking about incessantly.   She wants a blue car but the only option was red as we got the child-sized car free from Tesla via the referral program when friends of ours bought their own Teslas.  My son is getting a hoverboard.

Today my father came over with some things he’d found at yard sales for the children.   My son’s has been the most fun though.  It’s a claw hand with three pulls that close the various fingers.   My son was thrilled about this hand and has been going around the house, seeing what things he can pick up with it.   He came into the bedroom to find me and said, “I have a useful tool” and then walked out.   He came to find me later to hand me a wooden spoon.

For the adults it’s been more funny than useful as we all discovered you could make a certain gesture if you pulled only the first and third handles.

The Big Boy Update:   My husband came downstairs this afternoon to find his computer locked with the message, “Recover Password” up instead of the standard password prompt.    Apparently my son had been trying to get in and didn’t know the password.   He left a sticky note on the desk with the one word “PASSWORD” as a silent message.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  In the car yesterday my daughter said she wanted us to listen as she sang a tune to see if any of us knew it.   We listened to a tune that was familiar to me but I couldn’t place it.   My husband said, “it’s the song that plays when the washer or dryer finishes.”  If it’s sound, my daughter hears it.