Namine woke me up this morning. “Dad! Daaad! Daaaaa-aaaaaad!” I stumbled into her room only half awake and asked her what was wrong. “Nothing’s wrong, Dad. Could I please get some breakfast?”
So Namine and I had some cereal and watched some TV. Jessica slept in, since she was still feeling somewhat under the weather. Namine picked Frosted Mini-Wheats — her first pick would be Lucky Charms, but she’s not allowed to eat those anymore, on account of her picking all the marshmallows out and leaving the actual cereal behind — and I had Captain Crunch.
Namine had recently discovered the Super Mario Super Show on Netflix, so we watched that. I can’t explain my emotions as we sat on the floor next to each other, watching a show I used to watch when I was a boy. Nostalgia is kinder to that show than it deserves, that’s for sure. But as cringeworthy as it is, it made me happy to be able to share something that I loved, I guess, knowing that my daughter loves it too.

When Jessica woke up a few episodes later, we talked about what we wanted to do. We thought the zoo sounded like a fine plan, but then we heard an unwelcome noise: thunder. Yep, it started raining about just as soon as we had made the decision. So much for that.
The bulletin board hanging by Namine’s school area has been stuck on Valentine’s Day, so we decided to update it for the upcoming Fourth of July. Jessica and I had some ideas, so we brainstormed. We settled on the idea of painting our hands in a semblance of the flag and pressing them to the board. We would then put stars, sparkles, and fireworks around them.

Jessica and I painted our hands first. While we did that, Namine decided to paint a picture on her own. She said it was going to be the flag, but she ended up painting a smiley face.
When it was Namine’s turn to have her hand painted, she at first refused. Though she can sometimes make a mess during meals (soup and ice cream are the most frequent offenders), she still does not like deliberately getting her hands messy (playing in the sand does not count, most of the time). But Jessica and I were able to persuade her, and she was quite happy once it was done.

With the painted hands drying on the board, we switched gears. Jessica and I made some food while Namine pounded out some energy on the drums.

It really bothered Namine that she didn’t have her own character in Rock Band, so I helped her create one. Then I turned on No Fail Mode and let her choose her own songs. She just selected “random song” for a while, then moved to more familiar territory: the Spongebob song pack, mostly, with some Move Along and Eye of the Tiger thrown in for good measure. She sung along with everything.
After we ate dinner, we finished decorating the board.

We’re quite happy with the result.

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