Household Newspaper

Newspapers may be dying, but yesterday one was alive and well in our household.  I hadn't been feeling well, and my selfish goal was to play with the girls in a manner that would demand very little movement.  Reese is too old to be tricked by the offer to play "Close Our Eyes and Pretend We're Sleeping," so I had to get creative.

My non-movement activity turned into a game of newspaper reporter.  There were many late-breaking headlines:

Mother Gets Nearly Eight Hours of Sleep, Still Wants Nap.

Family Room Floor Cleaned in Twelve Minutes, Made Messy in Thirteen Seconds.

Doctor Figurine Holds Plank Position for Impressive Six Hours without Breaking Sweat, World Record Cut Short due to Trampling by Unobservant Toddler.

But only one of these headlines developed into a full-fledged story:

Sisters Open Fairy Kitchen in Bedroom.

Reese lit up during the interview as I typed.  She filled me in on hours of operation:  "We have to close the restaurant when Brooke is napping."  She discussed the restaurant's health code:  "We make sure not to touch the food we serve too much so we don't give people germs."  She described the daily specials:  "Tea and special hot cocoa and cakes with whipped cream, chocolate, sprinkles, and a cherry."

Once I defined catering for her, she explained her eventual goals, "We'll serve anyone who comes, mostly you and Daddy, but we also can cater breakfasts where people want lots of cake."  She aired out her concerns about being a small-business owner with a two-year-old employee, "I get 800 calls a day.  It's really busy."

When we were finished, I added a picture and printed out the article.  Reese held it in her hands and looked at it carefully.  "This newspaper isn't real, right, Mom?  Is anyone really going to read about our kitchen?"

"Well, the newspaper isn't actually real, but I do have a way for some people to read about it."

Reese liked this response.  She then asked me to tell you that Reese and Brooke's Fairy Kitchen serves the best food -- fantastic food -- and that you should come for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Feel free to place orders for cakes, but she must warn you, their delivery drivers do not yet have their licenses.