Mommy, will you play with me? Or, how to trick your kids into working

Last week the two older kids had a day off from school because it was parent/teacher conference days. Frugalgirl2 is used to being at home by herself (well, Frugalbaby is here too, but she's not the same caliber of playmate as the older kids). Frugalgirl wanted to play Barbies but her older sister was doing something else and wasn't interested. Since I had to go the school for a conference with a teacher, I was trying to get as much housework done as possible before I left. She came into the kitchen and said "Mommy, will you play with me?"

I said, "Sure, what are we playing?" The answer was Barbies. So I took the dolls little arms and pinched them together around a spoon from the drainer and said that she was helping me put away dishes. To my surprise, Frugalgirl2 thought this was pretty funny and started using her own doll's arms as tongs to put away utensils. After we emptied the dish drainer and moved on to the dishwasher, I said Barbie was tired from all the work and laid her down in the utensil rack.

Then I decided that there was no way I couldn't take a picture.