Hack hack hack

This morning I woke up early to the sound of G's coughing. I thought she was coughing in her sleep, but when I went to her room to check, she was sitting on her bed, reading The Big Book of Questions and Answers. I asked her whether she wanted to come to my room or have me stay in hers, and she said "Stay here," so I gave her a Triaminic cough strip, crawled into bed next to her, and went back to sleep. I assume she either continued to read or got up and played, because I didn't hear from her again for another hour and a half, when she poked me and said "Hey, I'm getting hungry."

After her waffles, she watched some National Geographic videos and then decided to help me by dusting the bookshelves. When a feather fell out of the duster, she picked it up and tried it in her hair, then changed her mind and wanted to see if she could write with it like a quill pen. We didn't have any liquid ink, so she used purple poster paint instead. Then she said wistfully that she wished she could paint with a paintbrush, and nearly did backflips with excitement when I said she could. (Getting to paint is a "Hallelujah Chorus" moment around here, since P has a low tolerance for messes and usually discourages any activity that's likely to cause one.) She painted happily for half an hour or so while I continued my cleaning odyssey, then decided to watch the creepiest show EVER "Oobi" and color instead.

The rest of the day was quiet. P, who was recovering from an early-morning migraine, spent most of it sleeping. G and I read all of Jigsaw Jones: The Case of the Mummy Mystery, and then she played computer games while I read a book of my own. Once I'd packed her off to bed, I went to Target and looked fruitlessly for birthday gifts to give her. She already has enough toys, books and DVDs to open her own store, and whatever she didn't have already she got for Christmas, so I'm at a bit of a loss. I don't want to buy her stuff just to buy it -- it's a waste, and she doesn't really appreciate it. She wanted one of those electronic talking globes a while ago, so maybe I'll get her a globe and a couple of new outfits for spring. That should be plenty.

On that note, I think it's time to weed out her closet and shelves again. I just missed an opportunity to send clothes to the Philippines -- most of her outgrown stuff goes there to be donated -- but at least I can pack them up for next time.