Kateri Doesn't Take No...

YOu can pretty much insert any word or phrase you want there...for an answer, prisoners, Period, etc. They would all be true.

This morning, as I was cleaning up the kitchen, Kateri asked if she could do the dishes. I had to remind her she is not tall enough- and maybe never will be at the rate she "grows". She asked if she could load them so I rinsed and she loaded. When I started stacking up plates for her on the cupboard she got excited and giggle "thanks". When we were done she wanted to make sure she was not missing anything and insisted I show her the empty sink. I told her there would be more after lunch and she was satisfied.

Then she found the vacuum cleaner at the top of the stairs and declared,

"There are still some dirties on the stairs. Can I vacuum, mom?"

I told her in a minute as I was on the phone and it might be loud so she decided to run a test and turned it on. It wasn't too loud if I went in the other room so she happily vacuumed for 20 min then asked if I could help her carry it down stairs so she could get the rest of the carpets.

I brought it down and she finished the rugs and then asked for the hose so she could get the hardwood floors. It was pretty cute watching her assembling the different hoses and attachments and if she got too far from the outlet she'd stop, un-plug it, and use a closer outlet. she did this several times before she decided she was tired and had had enough for now. I honestly thought she'd never quit. She definitely has sticktoitiveness. Which can be really frustrating if its about which seat she gets to sit in but when it comes to cleaning it can be quite helpful. Luckily she is old enough that it's not just playing with the sink or vacuum cleaner. She actually gets things cleaner.

I took a few deep breaths and decided not to go to the mall today. I did have a valid reason to go back as I need to exchange something but thought it might be better to have a day at home. The weather in nice- meaning its not currently raining- so I told the kids we'd ride bikes out front for awhile. And I think the errand trips are catching up and I feel tired and homey today so here we are. Besides we have dental appts tomorrow morning and next week Kateri is getting fitted for a hearing aid so I thought we should save our resources. We didn't get kicked out of anywhere this week so it seemed a good time to take a break and end on a good note,

Kateri Stories

Every day I marvel at Kateri. Today she decided to empty the dishwasher. She grabbed a towel, flung it over her shoulder, and stared pulling dishes out. All the while attending to the other duties of running a household. Pippin came up and asked for milk in his bottle.

"You want milk Pippin? I"ll get you milk." She opened the fridge and saw the big gallon jug of milk on the top shelf out of reach. Not to be thwarted she turned to Pips and said,

"Actwully, do you want ice water Pippin?" She can reach the dispenser on the fridge. I don't know if she changed his mind or not and it didn't really matter. I saw the bottle of water waiting on the counter for him.

For her next trick, she beat me to the phone when it rang. Usually, it friends and family who would know it was Kateri and if it Tirzah or Grandma I have to wait my turn. I couldn't tell who it was from her conversation which went like this,

"Huddo, huddo" maybe a few more times.

"Whizdis?"

"NO, who is dis?"

She laughed, said something unintelligible and repeated her interrogation.

At that point I was able to get to her. I intervened and found the pharmacist on the other end of the line laughing hysterically. She had to ask some questions about a refill but had to keep pausing to laugh and finished the call with,

"That was great. That just made my evening." I told her to call anytime.