Dreamhouse

It was a very Barbie ninth birthday for my daughter today.   This morning my husband was in a golf tournament with Nana, Papa, and a good friend of his so he had to leave at eight-thirty.  My daughter was up already and I told her I would bring her birthday present down so she could open it before her father left.   

I called my son up from the basement (he had gotten up and was on the computer after finding out school had been canceled for the day) and after taking one look at the huge Dream House box, nodded and went back downstairs. 

Thus started the back-breaking process of opening up and putting together this very exciting present for my daughter.   She was helpful and excited and it was quite easy to put together, it's just one of those things that's hard for me to do with the damage to my spine.  I can do so many things, but sitting on the floor, moving around without back support for over an hour and I was about ready to keel over from pain and discomfort.   

Things got better once it was all together and I was in a vertical position again.   By this time, Blake had arrived and my daughter ran to get Nora from next door.   Nora and she can only play together outside and it was raining.   We made a compromise and put the dream house in the garage with the garage doors open. 

My daughter got a convertible car and a travel Barbie from her aunt, uncle, and cousin, completing the Barbie Dream House as there was no car in the garage otherwise.   Nora ran over and we put outside all the Barbie and American Girl things she now has and we didn't hear from them for hours.    

At one point it started raining heavily and I heard screaming, but it was just the two of them running in and out of the rain in the warm weather. 

For dinner, we had her choice of sides dinner of all items she picked including corn niblets, roasted cherry tomatoes, green beans, my husband's homemade french fries, and mashed potatoes from Bojangles.   Nana and Papa came to join us for dinner and then for dessert we had cupcakes she also designed with strawberry icing, three marshmallows on top, and edible eyes with a dash of sprinkles. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son would have complained about getting up today until he heard school was canceled.   A family with two children in classes my son isn't in was exposed to someone with COVID-19.  The school was doing a deep cleaning of everything for the day and consulting with the department of health.  Upon hearing from my daughter that school was canceled, he vaulted out of his bed and went to play video games in the basement.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Blake bought my daughter a Barbie in a glamourous dress and an Ariel puzzle. She was so sweet to him, telling him thank you several times throughout the day, and deciding his new name was, "Bestie Blake."