I've recently started a new "calling" at church (which is like a "job" with "no pay", for all you folks lucky enough to attend a church that does not have a lay ministry). I now do the music for the children's classes. It's been interesting, if only to be proved wrong about my former assertion that all the annoying little behaviors The Dormouse has picked up and thrown in my face lately she picked up from preschool. Then I spent my first Sunday in church with the kids. Let's just say I owe preschool a big apology.

I bought these flowers in the $1 bin at Target the other day to use for a singing game. There's one for each child and when the flower with their name on it gets picked, they get to do something special... or something... I haven't quite worked out all the details yet. The Dormouse is fascinated with them, particularly because I won't let her play with them and keep saying "no, they're for church" when she asks to have "onejustoneIpromiseI'llputitbackpleeeeeeze?" It's like dangling a piece of cheese in front of a mouse and then slamming a glass cup down over it when he actually tries to reach for it. I'd like to say I think it's building character and teaching her to delay gratification, but really I've just been too lazy to put them away somewhere.
I brought them to church for the first time yesterday and used the flowers. Then on the way home, The Dormouse detailed in depth a game that she would have played with the kids if they had been her flowers to use. I don't think we got the specifics of the game itself because so often in the car, The Dormouse's voice is like engine noise - it's constant and no one pays any attention to it unless there's really something out of the ordinary and even then not unless it starts to sound like you might not make it to your destination.

This is the part I did hear:

Dormouse: "And I'm gonna play my game with the flowers and when someone gets all the same flowers they win. And the prize for winning will be a mermaid dress."

KingofHearts suddenly tunes in: "What about the boys?"

DM: "Huh?"

KoH: "The boys probably don't want a mermaid dress as a prize, don't you think?"

DM: "But the girls would really, really want a mermaid dress."

KoH: "Well maybe there should be a different prize for the boys. What will be the prize you'll give the boys if they win? What would they really, really want?"

DM: "Money."