Negotiations

 So it's no secret that at our home we love to create. The girls love play dough, they love painting, stamping, stickers, coloring, beading bracelets, making potholders, cross stitch...

You do get the idea, don't you?

 So very often the girls are asking to do one of these items but it's not everyday that we can halt everything to do it. They take a long time to get everything out, then put it all away and clean up - so it's much easier to get out coloring books or something.

So the girls get REALLY excited for paint and glue and dough...

A. Because they are messy.

B. Because they are messy.

C. Because they are messy.

 So very often (almost daily) Claire will ask "Can we paint today?" Yes, sometimes it's "Sure!" but I often say to her daily requests, "not today", or "not this morning but later this afternoon when the girls are home", or something like that. 

To which Claire responds... "Okay Mom, what can we do?"

With her bright eyes she follows up with my options.

"Can we paint a picture or go outside and swim?"

(That was last Thursday. Do you know how cold it was last Thursday?) OR maybe "Can we play with play dough or go to Thanksgiving Point?" Claire then sincerely adds to the end of the question with palms raised questioningly,

"Which one Mom, which one?"

Sometimes it's a treat.

Claire: "Can we have a granola bar?"

Mom: "No Claire, it's almost lunch/dinner."

Claire: "Okay Mom, so which one, can we have a granola bar or a fruit snack? Which one, which one?"

OR

 Claire: "Can we have dessert tonight?"

Mom: "Is it Monday?"

Claire: "No"

Mom: "Is it Friday, Saturday or Sunday?"

Claire: "No"

Mom: "Then you don't get dessert"

Claire: "Okay Mom. So which can we have, can we have a cookie or go get ice cream? Which one Mom, which one?"