Playing with Children: It's not as fun as it looks on Facebook

I was sitting on the floor of the living room, playing around with Lilly.

She put a Hello Kitty stamp under her foot.

"Mom?  Guess what I have under my foot."

"Lilly, I was right here.  I saw what you put under your foot.  You put a Hello Kitty stamp under your foot."

"But GUESS!"

"Um . . . I'm guessing it's a Hello Kitty stamp."

She lifts her foot, and there is, indeed, the Hello Kitty stamp.

"Mom, don't look this time."

"Okay."

She doesn't move.  I know, because I'm right there, and I would have been able to hear it.  Even with my eyes closed.

"Mom!  Guess what it under my foot now!"

"Lilly, you didn't move.  There is nothing else around here.  It's still the Hello Kitty stamp."

"Mom, GUESS."

"I'm guessing it's the Hello Kitty stamp."

I was right again.

"Okay, mom.  Don't look.  Close your eyes."

Got it.

"Guess now, mom.  But don't guess it's the stamp."

"Is it a sticker?"

"No!"

"Is it money?"

"No!"

"I give up.  What is it?"

"It's a Hello Kitty stamp!"

Came out of NOWHERE with that one.

Speaking of the Hello Kitty stamp, it came in a super clearanced Hello Kitty scrap-booking kit.

Lilly asked me if I would play with her, and I'm trying to say yes more often, so I got on the floor and we started playing with this kit.

I'm not sure if you are aware, but scrap-booking is where you put pictures in an album and put, like, borders and stickers and shit around them.

But Lilly was not playing with it RIGHT.

"Okay, Lilly, first we need to print out some pictures to put in the book."

"Uh.  How about we just play with this?"

"Fine.  We'll just make designs on the pages.  We will make it like a little art book."

"Uh, I'm just gonna rip these pages out and start cutting."

"But . . . that's not . . ."

I didn't fight much more about it.  I just let her rip the album apart and cut it up.  And the tube of glitter glue?  She used it all on one page.  I was AGHAST.  I kept thinking, "she's WASTING the glitter."

The thing is, if you think about it, glitter is never wasted.

But also, this is why it is hard to play with kids.