Cars, Crafts, and Kids

Thursday is turning into my "Errand Day." I've been lucky enough to have a (more or less) set schedule at work for almost a month now and I've been given Thursdays off. This makes me happy for two reasons: 1) I get a weekday to plan appointments and other regular "business hour" type visits--something that's been a bit of a conundrum in the past because of our long hours and odd days--and 2) because this means I'm free for Thursday Night Knitting again! YAY!

So today was good, because we got the Subaru registered during the morning and then I got to hang out at Chrissy's for the afternoon while Patrick was at work. And while I was there, I discovered a truly awesome version of hide-and-seek.

Chrissy and I were trying to have a conversation, but kept getting perpetually interrupted by the kids. It didn't really work when they were asked or told to go downstairs and play for a while--they'd come back up thirty seconds later with some additional concern that must be addressed right now. My favorite one was this:

Lila: Um, Caite, we just really want to play hide-and-seek with you.
Me: Well, honey my belly is getting too big...it's hard for me to hide if my belly is always sticking out where you can see.
Evie: You could count!
Lila: Yeah, you could count and we could hide!
Me: (slight pause) Okay. Go hide... One. Two. Three. Four. Five...

(Foot steps tromping downstairs as all three go to hide. Slight pause as Chrissy and I listen to them scramble to find hiding places. Then a smile as we continue our conversation. About two minutes pass and we hear foot steps heading upstairs again.)

Me: (Loudly) Thirty-three. Thirty-four. Thirty-five. Thirty-six...
Evie: Eeek! She's still counting! Quick, Lila hide!

(Foot step run back down stairs. Chrissy and I snicker a little, and another two minutes pass while we talk. Footsteps head back upstairs.)

Me: Seventy-two, seventy-three, seventy-four...
Jake: (calling out from the stairwell) Just so you know, the bathroom and laundry room are off-limits! So don't look for us there!
Me: Okay. I won't look for you there....seventy-five, seventy-six...

(Foot steps going back down. Another bout of hushed laughter from us, and three more minutes of uninterrupted talk before we heard the clomping on the steps again.)

Me: One hundred and ten, a hundred and eleven, a hundred and twelve...
Lila: She's still counting, Evie!
Evie: Quick, run!

(Not-so-hushed laughter as the girls run back downstairs. I hide behind the bed as we hear them head upstairs a few minutes later.)

Evie: Caite? Um, mom, have you seen Aunt Caite?
Chrissy: She went downstairs a little while ago. She's looking for you guys.
Evie: (confused beat) Well, shoot!

(She and Lila then run back to their hiding spots as I giggle behind the bed. About a minute goes by until we hear slightly more sedate steps heralding Jake's approach.)

Jake: You set us up!
Chrissy: What are you talking about?
Evie: (yelling from downstairs) Jake, I think I hear her coming! You have to hide!

(Jake leaves to go back downstairs. I don't know if he hid again or not...Evie comes back upstairs--crying this time.)

Chrissy: What's the matter? Why are you crying?
Evie: Well, I was running and...
Chrissy: Do you see what's wrong with that sentence already? You were running. What did you run into?
Evie: (whimpering) The corner of your sewing table.

(I give a sudden cough, as I can't hold it anymore. Stunned silence falls in the room as Evie abruptly stops crying. I see her feet trying to tip-toe around the bed so I jump out and scare her.)

Evie: Caite! You were supposed to come find us!
Me: You didn't say that. You just said I had to count. So I did. And since you were all hiding...I thought I would too!
Evie: Caaaite!

(She rolls her eyes and heads down stairs. Jake and Lila quickly come up to take her place.)

Jake: (hands on hips) I knew you set us up!
Me: Well, you weren't very specific when you guys gave me instructions. You just said "count," nobody said anything about coming to find you when I was done.
Jake: (Exasperated sigh.)
Me: I assumed you guys would come find me when you were done hiding.
Lila: (Who has been quietly watching our discussion.) Well, I just found you, Caite. So I win!

Well...you can't argue with logic like that! I love those kids!