The meatball says no

This afternoon we had one of Jorja's friends from school over for a play date.  It's the first one we've ever had, and it went pretty good.  The excitement leading up to it was palpable.  It's been a long time since I've heard Jorja talk that fast for that long.  It's a good thing she didn't know first thing in the morning - she definitely would have peaked too soon.  Ginny had a lot of fun too, so that was good.  We discovered though that 2 hours should be the maximum time - 2.5 is just a bit too much for all parties involved.  They were playing with the toy food and kitchen at one point.  A long time ago, the girls had got 'talking meatballs' as the toys in their McDonald's happy meals.  I forget the movie it was for (maybe Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) but it is a variation of the magic eight ball.  It has three sayings:  'The answer is yes', 'Ask again later', and 'The meatball says no.'  As with most McDonald's toys, the novelty had long worn off, but with a fresh pair of eyes in the house, it came out.  Julie and I were upstairs when we heard Jorja's friend say, "Meatball, am I pretty?"  I guess when you don't have a magic mirror, you take what you can get.  She got lucky,  and the she got 'The answer is yes.'  When Jorja tried and got 'The meatball says no' she decided that she would keep pressing the button until it said yes.  I guess even the meatball will break down if you hound it long enough.  Later.