oh, the intrigue

After dinner tonight, the children decided they wanted to draw while I frosted a certain seven year old's birthday cake. Since the table was full of dinner crumbs, mixers, and bowls of powdered sugar, they spread out in front of the oven on the kitchen floor (incidentally, between me and the footstool which enables me to reach the measuring cups in the cabinet above the stove). Michael started an illustrated book about men fishing for dinner, a whale, and a shark. Not sure where it's going yet; we'll see. Caroline spent her time very carefully drawing a secret birthday card for her brother. I patiently spelled out all of the words except for the names involved.

She was doing all this right next to Michael. The funny part came when she showed it to Elanor and vehemently shushed her, telling her, "Quiet! This is a surprise for Michael's birthday at breakfast tomorrow!"