So ... I'm in the kitchen standing at the counter making a casserole.
Across the room, sitting around the island, atop two stools, are Alexis and my niece.
They begin to spell ... every single word in their sentences ... they spell them all out.
"I ... L - I - K - E ... P - E - A -S," Alexis spells.
"I ... L - O - V - E ... G - R -E - E - N - B - E - A - N - S," it's my niece's turn.
"I ... R - E - A - L - L - Y ... L - O - V - E ... L - O - V - E ... L - O - V - E .... P - E - A - S," Alexis has to one-up her cousin (and by the way, she does not love peas).
"I ... L - O - V - E ... C - O - R - N ... S - O ... S - O ... S - O ... S - O ... S - O ... S - O ... S - O ... S - O ... S - O ... S - O ... S - O ... (she must have spelled SO fifty times) ... M - U - C - H!" my niece wins!
I am standing there, making my casserole and ... listening to this Spelling Bee ... that went on faaaaarrr too long ... trying to decide if I should interrupt and say the words I am spelling in my head, "T - H - A - T ... I - S ... E - N - O - U - G - H ... O - F ... T - H - A - T!" or should I just let them keep on playing this very creative and yet increasingly annoying game, as it beats ...... the bickering they could be doing, it beats the whining that they are always trying to perfect, it beats the asking me to do something for them or with them, it beats the making-a-BIG-OL'-MESS that almost always comes out of their play, it beats the running through the house, throwing objects, jumping on or off furniture, capturing the cats and imprisoning them in the dollhouse, rummaging through the pantry or refrigerator for food, tracking dirt and leaves in and out the front door, loud obnoxious cartoons on the TV .......
I listened.
I continued to make my casserole.
They spelled A LOT of words!
On The Upside ... They didn't spell everything quite right- that made me laugh. They were completely happy. I bit my tongue. I am now ... S - P - E - L - L - I - N - G complete sentences in my head and have been for several days ... that's okay ... I can use the practice.