Tea Party for Two

Squish was out to the shops with A, which meant it was time for some quality mommy and daughter bonding time. Even though dear little Squish has been with us for over a year now, I get the feeling that Noodle sometimes misses being an only child. While we spend lots of quality time together, it is unfortunately not often that I can give her my undivided and unshared attention.

I let Noodle pick the activity for the morning and she decided that we would have a princess tea party in her bedroom. Our reigning princess got dressed into her pretty party dress (complete with lip gloss, tiara and jewellery) and went about handing out invitations to all her dolls and teddy bears while I set the diminutive plastic table in her bedroom (this involved a total preparation time of five minutes and lots of improvisation, like the receiver blanket tablecloth).

Juices were poured into my tiniest espresso cups and a few sweets and snacks placed on the table.  Mismatched leftover serviettes, masks and party hats from a previous birthday party were added and Noodle insisted that we needed party packs, so I packed some of her old toys into bags for her and her favourite doll (she acted so surprised when she took each of them out that you would swear she had never seen them before). 

Then it was party time and we both sat down to enjoy the party. Luckily I am relatively small in stature and just managed to sit on the tiny plastic chairs without breaking them. We had an opportunity to discuss some of the pressing issues that perturb the four-year-old mind and the many oooohhhhs and giggles were evidence that Noodle enjoyed the affair.

 It struck me that Noodle enjoyed this impromptu little party far more than some of the elaborate birthday parties that we had previously thrown. All she wanted was a little bit of time with mommy, no laptops, no cellphones and no siblings. I thought back to my years as a corporate slave, spending very little time with Noodle and in this moment, my decision to become a work at home mother, spending more time with my children was re-affirmed.

The glorious tea table