The long, boring days of late summer

My three-year-old and the kids next door have spent all summer going back and forth between our two houses. They have done everything from making "salads" out of grass and sticks to playing sea monsters in the pool. She thinks she is really something being "best friends" with five-year-olds.

But - it was bound to happen. They started kindergarten and her world has turned into nothing but boring and dull. She doesn't go back to preschool until the end of August, so in the meantime, I'm trying to fill some very hard to fill five-year-old shoes. We have played babies, waitress, and dogkeeper. We have baked brownies and made "aquarium" jello. This morning, we painted... a lot. But, alas, she's still bored stiff. Mommy's just not the same as her fun, "cool," big kid friends. Mommy's just Mommy.

So, unless any of you have any great ideas to keep her occupied, I'm in for a few more weeks of very unsatisfactory baking and painting... Post some ideas here!