Caizey started off the week with the best of intentions. She could totally do this - be a wholesome, happy, and supportive stay-at-home parent.
Little Kailyn seemed to be pretty well-behaved for a toddler, too, so that should help the situation. She quickly learned to climb stairs, and was more than happy to get her own breakfast off the counter.
Perhaps pancakes with sticky syrup was a mistake, however... one Caizey soon regretted when she had to give Kailyn a bath right after breakfast. At least none had gotten on the fancy couch..!
Kailyn loved her new kitty-cat toy, and spent quite a bit of time playing with it - anytime Caizey needed a break and went back downstairs to paint or harvest the garden, Kailyn would end up playing with it.
Winterfest dawned early, and Caizey baked a cake for her own birthday just to get it over with as quickly as possible. No need to dwell on the fact she was getting older.
The maid, however, thought that any birthday was cause for celebration, and ended up waking Kailyn up with her raucous version of Happy Birthday.
Caizey quickly hid the cake and called her baby girl down to open her presents. There was no need to fill the kid up with sugar. Kailyn adored her laser light show gift, and wanted Mommy to take it upstairs and plug it in right away.
Caizey, however, was less than impressed by the Jazz cats painting that was in her present, but she pretended she liked it so as not to ruin the day.
The rest of the day was spent teaching toddler skills. Kailyn was really working hard, stretching her thinking skills and expanding her vocabulary. Caizey wanted her to have the best start on life possible, and she knew all these skills would pay off later.
The stress of being a full-time parent was definitely getting to her, though. Not having the freedom to leave her home anytime she wanted was very tough when she'd gotten so used to it. She missed the magic realm, and the exciting duels.. and she was really considering getting a nanny for Kailyn and taking some time "off" for herself.
It only took one look outside .. and picking up the phone.. for Caizey to immediately feel selfish for wanting to leave her baby so soon. Spring - and Kailyn's birthday - were coming up soon, and surely things would be easier then.
Impulsively, Caizey spent the rest of the afternoon painting, and let Kailyn play (seemingly happily) by herself upstairs with her blocks.
The days drug by, with each day mind-numbingly the same. Cook, teaching Kailyn, harvest the garden, paint, and send the paintings off to the gallery. Money was certainly not an issue, because the Money Trees were netting her a fortune. She had become a sim-millionaire, and was only painting because she was bored - not because she needed to.
Finally, Kailyn's birthday arrived, and the precocious youngster was eager to move on to bigger and better things. Caizey looked forward to being able to travel again while Kailyn would be at school. Surely Kailyn would be old enough to look after herself if she hadn't come home before school ended??
They took a trip to the store, and Caizey let Kailyn pick out all the clothes she wanted for her first day of school on Monday. Well, and clothes for at home.. and well, for whenever, really. Caizey approved of the fun, artsy, colorful outfits her daughter put together, and getting out of the house was a balm for Caizey's wanderlust. Once again, she felt like she could do this parenting thing.. and was feeling magnanimous enough to agree when Kailyn asked to join the Scouts after school and weekend activity. Maybe that would even mean Kailyn would want to do some traveling with her while hunting for her badges? .. Caizey sure hoped so!
