a glimpse of the future

caroline is running around the house, clutching a credit card she stole from daddy's wallet, screeching, "i need it! i need it!"

gravedigger party

last year's halloween clearance rack provided the decor for this year's grave digger birthday party. truly amazing that i knew he would want a grave digger party almost a year in advance (eye roll.)

blogging is hard without a computer

i apologize for the drop-off in blogging (again.) jeremy takes our laptop to work everyday now so i don't ever get a turn. another laptop will soon be procured (hopefully on the hospital's dime) so i can have mine back!

show and smell

at Q's gym class each week the teacher asks the kids their names and then a random question. yesterday miss mary asked them which pair of shoes was their favorite. i cringed, having no idea how he would answer. when it got to be his turn, he started babbling about shoes, saying something like, "they have lines, and two holes, and you put them on the right feet." sadly, i knew exactly which pair of shoes he was talking about. they are the sandals he has lived in all summer long. the teacher was trying really hard to contain her giggles, as was i. but then Q got up from his spot around the circle, ran to the lobby, and grabbed said shoes. he ran back into class with the shoes and brought them around the circle to show each gym class friend. i believe he also made them smell them. sigh.

pickle speak

pickle is so chatty. we often say to her, "are you ever quiet?"

today was splash day at school so she had to wear her "babysuit" because she would get wet.

she also likes to pretend to take your picture... she tells you to "smowl."

the dreaded letter

it was waiting for me in Q's cubby at school yesterday. he will be graduating from the frog room. he is "leap-frogging" over the eager beaver room and going in to the eagle room after labor day. the pre-k class. the last class at daycare before actual kindergarten.

how is it possible that he will be old enough (notice i didn't say ready?) for kindergarten next year??

bad to the bone

Q's cake for this year was my most ambitious yet. with many things, i have lofty visions that i can just not execute on. i was worried that this would be one of them, based on the complexity. it involved a car-shaped cake, stacked on a small sheet cake to make it taller like a truck, plus four mini bundt tires and crumbled brownies for dirt. it started off bad. the first attempt at the car shape didn't even make it out of the pan (apparently pam is not sufficient for greasing up such an intricate pan) and necessitated a 2:30 a.m. run to the store for more cake mix and crisco. but once the pan was properly greased and floured we were good to go (and quite sleepy.) - but considering the late night, the early struggles, and my lack of any actual cake decorating tools/skills, i think it turned out ok! Q knew right what it was. he told me it was "awesome" and that's all that matters!

say (chuck e.) cheese

while i was setting the tivo to record sprout on his birthday (in case he made it on), Q saw a commercial for chuck e. cheese. despite never having been to one, or even really knowing what they are, he was sold and decided that was where he wanted to go for his birthday dinner. but that night when asked what he wanted for dinner he asked for the "pancake store" (ihop) and we thought we were off the hook. as soon as we placed our order to declared he would rather go to the cheese. too late, we told him we'd go some other time. he hadn't mentioned it again so we thought we were off the hook. - fast forward to friday... caroline was home sick (with mimi who was up for the party) so it was just me and Q on our way home. i decided i wanted to go to the dollar store to get some supplies for the party and went to the closest one on the way home. of course, right next door... the rat. he was so excited because he thought that was where we were going. i again dodged it by saying we couldn't go without pickle. - then on saturday he was pestering me about it. i told him we'd go if he took a nap because i *knew* he wouldn't nap. but bet your butt he napped so we went saturday night for "dinner" (quotations used because i hesitate to call that food.) - wow. just wow. what an awful place.

these pics are memorable only because 5 minutes prior i had noticed that their cartons of apple juice had expired on july 13th. mimi went up to the counter to exchange them and was ignored for five minutes. so she stalked the manager and went right up to him. they were across the restaurant and with all the noise we couldn't hear the conversation, but we witnessed what was obviously mimi telling him the juice was expired. then the dude looks at his watch, like he needed to verify that it was actually beyond july 13th. it's august dummy. and that is clearly after july. but despite awful food, awful service, and awful, unattended hellions, our munchkins had a grand time.

here quentin discovered that he got tickets. don't tell him that the tickets can be exchanged for junk. he thinks they are just for counting.

suffice it to say we brought the kids home and immediately decontaminated them. and as far as Q is concerned, the rat is closed everyday except the 32nd of each month.

school party

on tuesday, jeremy and i went to school for Q's birthday lunch. the kids devoured two party-sized pizzas, a huge tray of fruit, and copious juicy juices. Q was very proud that we had monster jam plates and napkins. he also selected key-lime frosted cupcakes. and from what i've heard, his monster jam treat boxes were the talk of the town. ahh, kids and their plastic junk!