A trip downtown

Maddy has a list of things that she needs to do every morning before she goes out. There are the basics - have breakfast, brush hair, put on clothes. She also has to review her word flashcards and do a job. Now on Saturdays, that list changes a little bit. She doesn't have to review her flashcards, but she has to do two jobs. The jobs are basic chores, things like unload the dishwasher and fold laundry.

Well, today, Maddy found out that I was serious when I said she couldn't go out till her jobs were done. Today, Soren and Carl came by for the morning walk and Maddy wasn't even dressed, let alone having eaten breakfast or started her jobs. So, she didn't get to go out.

Words cannot begin to describe the sadness.

So I made a deal with her. If she finished her jobs, I told her we could take a walk downtown. Maddy loves to walk around downtown. She loves to look at the stores and occasionally buy something from a vending machine.

It still took an hour to get the jobs done (folding her clothes and putting them away and sorting her dirty clothes into piles) and there was a lot of tears, but she finally finished and was pretty happy with herself by the time she was done.

So she counted our her money, separated some into savings and away we went. She decided that it would be OK for Soren and Carl to come with us too. We made a merry party.

It actually was pretty fun. Maddy and Carl rode on ahead. Soren rode next to me and kept up a steady stream of conversation. We went to a consignment store downtown, because there is always stuff to look at there. Then, we went over to Sweets and Treats.

The Sweets and Treats cafe was a huge hit and Maddy and Carl both came home with two little bags of candy. Did you know they make candy legos? Well, apparently they do and you can actually build with them!

The ride home was a little less merry and a little more crabby, but all in all it was a fun day.

Maddy is already asking if we can do it again next Saturday.