Awwwww. SPLAT!

We were exiting the car in the school parking lot, me, StinkyMan, Peanut and BabyGirl. StinkyMan and Peanut dutifully waited on the sidewalk while I unloaded their little sister.

"OK, let's go!" I said, ready to head towards the school.

"WAIT!" urges StinkyMan, pointing towards the ground next to my tire. "A Roley! He looks scared." He leans down. "Hi little Roley Poly. The parking lot is not a good place for little bugs."

"He's going to get squished by a car" says Peanut somberly.

"Mommy, can I put him in the grass where he will be safe?" StinkyMan is such a kind boy.

"Of course. I think that would be very nice." I say, my heart happy that my bub is so compassionate.

With great care he picks up the Roley Poly on his finger...and chucks him overhand straight down towards the ground.

"There. He's safe now."

"And he won't get dead" says Peanut.

"Because he already is, you Bug Bullies!" I think to myself.

Instead I say "Very nice. Time for school."

We might have to work on our compassion follow through a bit.

Currently:

StinkyMan is "ignoyed" by his sister. That means, I am told, that he is ignoring her because she is annoying him.

Peanut is standing in my kitchen with her arms crossed, huffing and puffing and sighing with anger because she wants to be a princess for Halloween and I won't buy her a castle. Not a toy castle (which I also wouldn't run out and buy) but a real castle for us all to live in. "But I want to be a princess and so I need a castle!" she has wailed. Explanations of property value, mortgage qualifications and castle upkeep don't seem to be swaying her steadfast belief that a castle is her birthright.

And BabyGirl is working on a black eye. I was just going to call and book a portrait appointment this morning when somehow she tipped a rocking horse sideways and fell with her face onto a toy.

Thank goodness Curly is in school or who knows what drama she would add to my morning.

What's your shape?

Yesterday I took the two little girls to do some grocery shopping. They look so cute sitting side by side in one of those double seat carts. However, when the cart isn't made for that store (it was a Sam's cart in Walmart) the aisles can get a little narrow to share with other customers. I needed to make a right down an aisle and was looking for a row with no one in it so I could avoid the squeeze.

"Let me just find an empty aisle and we'll be in good shape." I told the girls.

A minute or two pass and Peanut says "But not a circle. We are not a circle shape. We are more like a triangle."

"The good shape we are in is a triangle?"

She nods. "Because people are not circles! That would be so crazy!"

I love how little minds work.

Surprise!

I was gone for 3 days, visiting a friend, having a blast learning new cake techniques and hanging out. We shopped, worked on cakes, went to the movies (I recommend Easy A. Fun stuff) and just chilled.

But as every mommy knows, you don't come home without something for the kids. So I got them each 2 little gifts. Curly is all into peace signs, so she got a rhinestone peace sign and a pack of gum. StinkyMan got a $5 movie and a pack of gum. Peanut got a new dress and a pack of gum. BabyGirl really has no idea what's going on, so I just stashed her a bag of pretzels off the plane.

And what do they like the most?

You guessed it: the pretzels. Thankfully I had enough to go around. I was keeping them for school snacks, but I guess not anymore.

I agonized over those gifts too. Next time, I'll just save myself the trouble and bring home the airline snack and forget the rest!

What would you say?

I watched this today and I wondered what my card would say. In the end, what I think I would say is "Everything is about to change in the best way possible...better than you can even imagine."

I want to know what yours would say. Leave me a comment and tell me what you would write on your card.

Fun

"Mommy, we're fun, right?"

"Yes, Peanut, I think we are fun. Do you?"

"Yes. We are a fun family. We play games and we tickle, tickle, tickle and we laugh and Daddy wrestles and you dance and we are silly, so we are fun. And StinkyMan plays Puffles with me and Curly plays on the structure with me and we eat popsicles and BabyGirl is so cute and we have fun all the day. So we are a fun family, right?"

"Right!"

I hope she always thinks so.

Cake Weekend

Let me just begin my telling you that I used no less than 10 pounds of powdered sugar this weekend. TEN POUNDS, People. Do your teeth hurt yet? Mine do, just thinking about it.

First up was my BabyGirl's birthday party. It was a small party. Well, small in the sense that it was just family, really, but our family isn't small. So it was a medium sized party, I guess. The cake, however, was more large party sized. It took me the better part of 2 days and about a bazillion steps.

A little extra something on the 5th cake ball:
And it all comes out to be this:

It was a success. Looked good, tasted good. No time to rest. On to the next project: Another Mario Cake.

I'm getting pretty good at these Mario cakes, if I do say so myself. This was my third one. Curly's friend "C" was having a Mario party and his mom is an AMAZING artist, so we worked out a trade. She's going to paint a growth chart for me and I would make the birthday boy a Mario cake.

About halfway through I got nervous that I wouldn't have enough cake for all the guests, so I made up some cupcakes too.

And the final product:

Please notice the caterpillar body part remains in the background. Hee-hee.

We are all caked out around here. Many thanks to my wonderful Husband for not only doing EVERYTHING else while I make these elaborate cakes, but for supporting and encouraging my craziness while I'm making them.

Next weekend I am going to visit a friend who makes the most astounding cakes and she is going to teach me some of her tricks of the trade. I hope some of her creativity and skill rub off on me. But until then, I don't even want to think about cake.

The Generosity of Friends

It came in pieces.

Lots and lots of pieces.

Sometimes it was too hard to wait for the end result.


It took a handy Husband, some friends and a beloved uncle to get it all together in the hot, hot sun.

A modification was made to prevent any nasty falls.

And VOILA!

My family could not be more thankful to the "G' family for thinking of us when they were ready to get rid of this fabulous play structure. It was free to us, People. FREE! Can you believe it? Neither can I! This is really BEYOND generous and I'm currently trying to think of something I can do to repay them in some small way. I doubt I will be able to think of anything as cool as our fancy new playground!

Mommy Moment

You know you are a mom when you are out in the backyard at 10pm, with a flashlight, hunting for a sippy cup.

Public Service Announcement

Do not, I repeat DO NOT buy "Rainbow Popsicles" for your children. They stain skin something fierce. BabyGirl went to bed looking like a rabid Smurf.