Jammies

First of all, DIG the shoes, the leggings pulled up, the sunglasses acting as a headband - LOVE it all!

But that's not the point of THIS post! This post is about the hour and a half BEFORE the (new favorite) jammies were on ...

I threw Kate's favorite PJs in the washer just before 7 pm. She'd worn them 4 nights in a row, and they were due a wash. I knew she wouldn't let me put them in if she saw me, so I was quick about it! But I should TOTALLY have run the load earlier. She went up, undressed, and went looking for her jammies within minutes of my covert action. And the second she realized what I'd done (the door was closed, the washer filled with water, the pjs soaked), she fell to the floor and cried and pleaded "take them out right now!" for the entire wash cycle. It was miserable. A full half hour of flailing, crying, tears, panic. I knew she'd be sad, but I never imagined how sad. I still standby my deed though; the jammies needed a cleaning.

I've never seen a little girl perk up so much and so quickly as Kate did when that buzzer sounded! Suddenly, she was happy and sweet and even - grateful?! "Mommy, they're CLEAN!!" She put them in the dryer herself and patiently waited, naked still, for the dry cycle.

Almost an hour and a half later, she was ready to play again:

*You may remember that another of our children had a "thing" for special jammies. Collin used to love his feetie jammies so much (especially a navy and green striped pair) that we'd have to literally pin him down while he screamed and wrestle him out of them and into clothes so we could leave the house. Admittedly, there were a few "jammies days" at school because it wasn't always worth the fight. He was 18 months - 2 years then and especially headstrong! (He's still headstrong. It's one of his more fantastic attributes, actually, because he's also steadfast and - now at 6 - mostly rational so his arguments and agenda are hard to combat, and his demeanor often ends up coming across as admirable ultimately.) Anyway, the jammies were a 2T. He wore them until he was 4 years old. They were SO stretched out and even had a hole or two. But I couldn't toss them; he loved them so much.