Pink Bargaining Chip

We had dinner at the Kett's last night (yummy chicken enchiladas by Heidi, yummy mojitos by me . . .) with some neighbors. What Annie loved even more than the food was her discovery of a Pink Princess Cell Phone that Jonathan had apparently found and brought home from a park a few days ago. When I got there, mojitos in tow, she came running over:

"Mom!!!! Look what Miss Heidi has at her house! A Princess Phone!!!!!" Big eyes, very excited. You can imagine her glee when, at the end of the evening, Miss Heidi whispered to her that she could bring the princess phone home. We walked back to our house, Annie clutching the phone to her chest and muttering to herself about "crying in a happy way" . . . I am so sure. She had to show it to Jason immediately when he got home last night, then spend most of this morning talking on it, mostly to Miss Kelly, who she told about her day. Towards the end of the morning, she got it taken away because she wouldn't come wash her hands before lunch, and we talked about how she would lose favorite things if she couldn't listen to directions on the first try.

So when we headed to playgroup at Connie's this afternoon, of course her cell phone had to come along. She talked on it the whole way there while Jemma crammed goldfish in her mouth. When we arrived, I made Annie leave it in the car, imagining the drama that would ensue if she were forced to share her phone with others. It was hot and sunny, and the kids had a great time playing in the water park extravaganza Connie had set up in her backyard: sprinkler pool, water table, slide, swings, juice boxes, fruity snacks (the real reason Annie likes to go there). Jemma entertained herself for about 20 minutes, just climbing up and going down the little slide by herself. Annie let Ben give her a hug (even though she is SO not a cuddler), so everyone was happy. Until it was time to go. After I stripped Annie down and changed her back into dry clothes, got Jemma's shoes on, and gathered all my gear, I looked at the lawn to see Annie making a last-minute break for the swingset again.

"Annie!" I yelled, "It is time to go. Right now!" She turned around, looked at me, and started climbing the swingset steps anyway. On step number two, I yelled, "Annie! Princess phone!"

She froze, turned around, ran straight back up the yard and walked to the car. Princess phone, you will get me through this weekend.