Girly Time

So. My toes are now painted a nice red. I can't remember the last time my toes had polish on them. I know I don't need to say this, but I'm so not a girly girl.

But earlier this week, one of the bloggers I read regularly commented that she felt like a drill sargeant most of the time. "Do your homework, eat dinner, go to bed, don't splash water, get your shower, don't throw balls in the house, etc., etc., etc." And I feel like that more often than I like.

After thinking about it, I decided that the girl and I would have a "girly night," so I could get out of drill sargeant mode. And for Alyssa, there is honestly not too much that is better than that. She's the complete opposite of me in that regard - loves nail polish (once a year for me at best), makeup (unless I'm working, it's about a once a week thing), and matching outfits (huh? outfits are supposed to match? that makes me uncomfortable).

I told her at dinner the other night that if she got her reading and homework done, we'd do something girly. The boy promptly broke down because he wanted in on the party, but he was eventually dissuaded with promises of watching the Cardinals whup up on the Brewers. This was going to be a no-boy party.

We locked ourselves in the bathroom, ran a bubble bath with awesome smelling soap, and broke out all things girly that I own. This didn't take very long, but it was enough for her. Putting aside my thoughts on girly stuff (seriously, I'm a complete fail in that category), she and I spent some quality time together that night. She talked about school, her friends, and totally revelled in one-on-one time. Benjamin, bless his heart, talks all. the time. ALL THE TIME. I think she gets lost sometimes in the noise he generates.

But for about an hour, she had my full attention and she loved it. We both ended the night with bright red toenails and she got to brag about having had a "girly night" with mom. It was awesome. Right up until bedtime when she got sent to time out for misbehaving.  She then decided she was mad at me for the rest of the night. Good times.

But she came downstairs the next morning, snuggled up in bed with me, and I got a ton of "I love yous."

So if you see me any any time in the next several weeks, you'll see red toenails, or the remnants thereof. 'Cause one of the reasons I never put nail polish on? Is because I also never take it off. I'm lazy like that. But these red toenails were worth it.