Cheater

I'll admit it. I'm kindof a cheater with my kids. But I try and cheat in ways they don't realize. Ya know, the kind of cheater that adds extra veggies into the spaghetti sauce because they wouldn't eat them otherwise. Sometimes I tell my kids that carrots will help them see in the dark and that green beans will make them run fast. Perhaps I've misused the word "cheater" but to me, it means doing something sort-of "parallel" to the truth rather than telling the whole truth. Maybe I'm not a cheater. Maybe I'm just a "tricker." But, since my kids have sometimes adopted telling flat-out lies with the disclaimer "I was just tricking" I've had to be a little more blatant in telling them, "No, you're lying" or "that's cheating." So, maybe I am a cheater.
My latest cheat came on April 5. Matthew turned 4. But that was such a busy day! It was General Conference, with a priesthood session in the evening, and I didn't really feel like throwing a half-baked party together at 8:30 at night...so we just didn't tell him it was his birthday! Sunday was also conference, and a joint FHE with John's family, so we skipped it again. Monday...I have no excuses except that the kids needed a lesson on family teamwork, so we skipped the party again. Tuesday was Tiffany's birthday, so during the day we had a little lunch at my house, with delicious salads, Martinelli's, fruit, and fancy desserts.



But that night John had a commitment, and was gone until 9:00 p.m. No party.

Wednesday, John was out of town until late at night again, and so it was, almost a whole week late, we finally told Matthew that it was his Birthday on Thursday!!!
Of all the fun things there are to do in the world, McDonald's PlayPlace seemed to be the venue of choice...and we tried to convince him otherwise! I wanted to go bowling, but alas, we ended up with dollar-menu cheeseburgers and fries. I think I can count on one hand the times we've gone to the PlayPlace. It's somehow never on my list of places to take my kids. I never even think of it. Don't be fooled. We're regulars in the drive-thru, but for some reason we never end up inside.



After, we had "cake and presents" (minus the ice-cream you notice).




I let the kids pick a few gifts out for him (A "finding Nemo" shirt, some hot-wheels cars, and a toy gun) and John and I got him our first family wagon. He's been asking for one for a good year, now, but we didn't really have a space for it in our garage. (I got the water-proof plastic kind of wagon that has drainage holes in the bottom...so now it can sit out in the rain all it wants!)
Anyway, the bottom line is, Matthew is currently pulling his wagon around my house, in his new Nemo Shirt, toting his hot-wheels cars and "cowboy gun" inside...and he's none the wiser that he's really 4 +6 days old. I guess cheating is ok.