We just patched for an hour!

We (Reese and I) just did what I thought was impossible- we patched for an hour. It's not 2 hours, but it's a lot better than 10 minutes. She was reluctant at first, even though I told her she could help me make bread. She just wanted to watch cartoons. 30 seconds into patching, "I want to help cook." So I gathered up all the supplies and drug her into a bar chair and let her help. I got "can we take it off now?" quite a bit, but it wasn't whiny, more curious. I told her that after we were through mixing and cleaning up, we'd take it off. She ended up helping me dish the dough of the pumpkin bread into the pans too. I let her help crack the eggs and dig out the sugar. From there, since the packages for seasoning, etc., is small, I measured it out and let her dump it in, and she stirred. Then we dug in. She was nearly coated in pumpkin bread dough up to her elbows. I wasn't quite as bad, but she kept bumping me, so it got on my arms too. I went to clean up myself before I cleaned her up. I managed to get her arms clean without giving her a bath. Now, the bread is in the oven, and she's watching cartoons (with both eyes).

And, as is often the case when cooking with 3 year olds, particularly one eyed ones, we made a huge mess. Sugar didn't quite make it to the bowl, an egg didn't make it in the bowl and ran down the oven into the floor (egg is not easy to get up, but I never let her know it missed, so if she didn't notice- she doesn't know), seasonings left little trails, and pumpkin bread dough got slung. And then I managed to somehow to flood the floor. I was filling up the bowl with water so it could soak and it fell over- and water went every where. But I cleaned everything up. Reese, the floor, the stove. Thank God for Lysol Disinfectant Wipes. Anyway, we had a good patch time with little trauma. She knew what color the sugar and egg combo was and she said she could see the microwave and the cookies.

And after an hour or so, we'll have nummy pumpkin bread! Yum!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention earlier, I think one of her big problems with patching is just a lack of confidence. I have no doubt she can't see well with just that eye, the question that is still hanging is how well she can see. However, I think a lot of it is just a lack of confidence. She can't see as well with her right eye as with her left, and, like with anyone, it's scary to do things when you can't see well, and you're not used to it. So, I think we have to do a lot of confidence and self-esteem boosting while she's patching, letting her do things she might not do well. I think you have to be prepared for a mess or whatnot, but not be upset about it, because when you do, you knock down whatever self-esteem and confidence has been built up. So, I let Reese do just about anything I did while making the bread, even if there was a strong chance of a mess, such as with the eggs.

Comment update: I apologize to my mom and Charity, whose comments I accidentally rejected instead of publishing. Sorry.