FUN SUMMER WEEKEND REPORT

So we headed into FUN SUMMER WEEKEND.

SB went to Nana & Papa’s several times…. Turns out they let him watch cartoons and eat chocolate chips & almonds. He also gets to play with guns and cheat at cards. If I find out he’s been smoking cigars I’m drawing a line.

The creek is getting lower and lower. There are now many more “Islands in the Stream” than before…… Go ahead, try to get the Dolly & Kenny song out of your head now….

SB tells his daddy, “Yeah, we were whapping grasshoppers with sticks and then picking them up.” Um, well, yes. He & Papa figured out they could get BIG FISH to strike if they tossed them in the creek. And he still hasn’t caught one with his metal mesh strainer.

We practiced with scissors on the picnic game from Wonderland’s website. I’d link it if I wasn’t so lazy.

We played play-doh. We have a giant 50th anniversary tin (from Costco) and we played for about an hour… just makin’ stuff. Sissy sat in her high chair and made dots on a piece of paper (and her face & the tray) with a crayon. Pointalism. She’s so advanced.

We played Rumikub. Well, our version of it. It is a little difficult for the time being but SB is getting better at number recognition so he’s figuring it out. (Oh, hear me sound like a mommy who actually knows what she is talking about…) I stacked tiles for Darling Girl and she practiced gravity on my stacks.

Our next big craft project is to make beads (out of that sculpty clay…. On sale for $1 each at Joann’s recently) and then string them into… something. I realized all the clay we got is various shades of green…. Because that is SB’s favorite…. And this makes me happy because my brother & SB’s father (two DIFFERENT people, I must point out… we’re Rednecks… we aren’t Arkansas Rednecks) are red-green color blind and, indeed, none of the “green” clays are actually red so, as far as I’m concerned, he will have no trouble with stop lights in his future.

I transplanted some plants to the flower bed I’ve been fixing. Yeah, August is a great time to transplant things…. But the deer were kicking the hell out of my strawberries and this new bed has a lovely cover of deer net. And my poor asters (transplanted into a shady spot when we moved here (3 YEARS ago) and told to, “Hang in there, guys”) finally have a sunny location with deer protection and my lovely pincushion flowers finally have a home. I might sow a late crop of spinach in the edges just to torture the deer… ‘cause I’m like that.

SB & I had remote control car races in the garage. The little sneak gave me the car with half-dead batteries. I retaliated by squirting him with the water squirter… no, not really… well, ok, yes.

I mowed the “back” yard while DG napped and SB watched Qubo Saturday morning…. The other 2 sections of yard look fine to me so I skipped them. I was trying to make the mowing a workout… because the smoke has been preventing much walking or exercise around here. Not sure on my logic on that one…. ‘cause mowing-exercise and walking-exercise are different to the smoke, right?

The Jehovah’s Witnesses didn’t show up this weekend. I was expecting them. They stop by about once a month and are actually quite lovely people…. I know the gal from some work stuff I do and I love calling my mother-in-law and whispering, “They’re Coming.” Just to freak her out.

We mostly just ate hot dogs and bagels all weekend… although I did do some burgers on The George Sunday night (what? I’m scared to use the bbq…. I don’t want to be The One who starts The Fire….). We NEED to get more ice cream…. That’s what SB says.

Evenings involve avoiding the TV (reruns of The Singing Bee?) and sitting on the deck now that the weather is cooler…. In August. Hot Stuff has taken to smoking the occasional cigar and SB is horrified that he is putting “Daddy Candles” in his mouth….

Photos coming some day of the kids playing in the big sandbox and SB singing on “stage rock” to his millions of adoring fans.

Last Week

In an attempt to keep the whole “swimming is fun” theme going now that swimming lessons are over we tricked Nana into hitting the pool with us on Thursday night. I wasn’t sure how it would go after my accidental dunking of SB & I on the waterslide on Monday. But we were testing a new device….. a barrel floatie suit. It came out of the hand-me-down box and was U-G-L-Y…. I’m not gonna lie. Faded, pilled and sportin’ some odd cartoon whale.. it was not cool… but it floated the kid and got him paddling around the pool…. ON HIS OWN. He even got brave enough to bail off the diving board twice… something that was no problem last summer but has been impossible this summer now that he knows he is mortal. I also improved my water skills by putting my face in the water numerous times… no small feat…. Yes, I lead by example… but don’t expect to see me up on that diving board any time soon.

So I’ve been promising Sweet Boy a life jacket for over a month now and I finally bit the bullet and got him one at Target on Friday. No, they weren’t on clearance… what the hell? I am accustom to summer stuff going on sale July 1st… what’s up? But it was the last life jacket that was approved for boat safety (yeah, those cute little Speedo ones aren’t) so I dropped a whopping $25… all for love. And, yes, in spite of my hypocritical dislike of licensed characters…. He got the spiderman one. He’s going to be wearing it until he’s 5 so he better get one he likes….

So then, continuing the “let’s make summer fun” lesson… we went to ABC’s (that’s Applebee’s for those of you who don’t speak toddlerese) and got takeout and went to the park. We had plans to meet some friends doing the cancer walk and do a few laps and then head home… because, well, Hot Stuff is working every and all hours and I am determined to make fun summer memories… right?

So I call Hot Stuff to tell him where we are on the off chance he gets done with work by 18:00 and wants to meet us…. He asks if I can see smoke. WTF? There are wildfires everywhere… yeah I can see smoke. There has been a smoke report fairly near our house.

End of fun.

We head to the house to get the dog and see if we need to leave. I’m not gonna lie… there was a little adrenaline pumping.

Turns out it was a false alarm. There could be a fire 500 yards from my house and I bet I wouldn’t be able to tell… it’s that smoky everywhere.

And I just noticed I reported the time military-style…. That’s how consuming fire season is at our house.

Turf Tires

This is a tutorial in what happens when you try to "mow a path to the creek" with turf tires.... the bush whacker says "yes" but the tires say "no" and you just about drop your son-in-law's tractor off a ravine into the creek bed. The pictures don't really do justice to the drop off....

Uh-oh. Let me just put on my thinking cap for a second....

Go ahead, take a bow....

Yes, that's my brother UNDER the pickup..... Dad is supervising....

Ok, now drag it out....

Moo

I'm now pumping "for comfort" at work... and I can't wait to be done. Of all the parenthood things... pumping is my least favorite. Even a dirty diaper can be funny, but pumping? No redeeming qualities.

So why do I feel so guilty?

Let’s talk about character licensing for a moment.

Up front I will admit to being a hypocrite. I’m ok with super heroes… spidey and batman are on my son’s underpants. He has (granted, they are hand-me-down) spiderman shirts. I think he even has an Incredibles t-shirt. And we are fairly inundated with Winnie the Poo… although I try to cull most of it to the give-away box… but I’m still in love some of that classic poo baby stuff…. Sorry, but you can’t go dissin’ AA Milne just because some crook is pimping him.

So before I go further, in the interest of full disclosure, I will take an inventory…. We have a few hand-me-down Sesame Street toys and a Diego DVD and some Bob the Builder stuff. Several pieces of the “Cars” collection and some spiderman junk. We have a “my first book of princesses” Disney board book that I am forced to pull out and display prominently whenever the, ehem, gift giver is in town. We have a wooden Thomas set, DVD & Big Loader. And we have I-don’t-know-how-many McDonald’s toys that are licensed character themes…. “Engine” turtles, Flushed Away & something with penguins come to mind immediately.

Here’s a crazy thought… what if we got rid of all the plastic, battery-operated toys and only had classic, wooden toys? I’ve heard of people who do this. Oh wait, we tried that…. Remember the Thomas lead-paint recall? Yup, I had a “classics only” mommy moment and insisted if Nana was getting him Thomas for Christmas I wanted the wooden set….4 of the 6 pieces we have got mailed away… sigh.

So I was patting my self on the back… we have very little Sesame Street, no Sponge Bob, a Dora hand-me-down potty seat (yes, hand-me-down potty seat....), Diego on DVD only…. And then I see THIS….

Oh LORD, I forgot about the Elmo Guitar. Somebody hand-me-downed this to us…. Oh what a dreadful toy…. And now I have to feel guilty about whoever bought it from the thrift store. (Further reading leads me to believe it is ok because it was made before May 2007… whatever… I’m still responsible for destroying the sanity of some poor parent by exposing them to the horror that is Elmo-on-reverb guitar.)

Can you see the baby?

Look closely....There's a baby in this photo.... Yes, she's wearing camo.... with ruffles.... doing a commando crawl.... I think she's stalking an elk. I'm not sure how I got my brother's knee in the photo.... I know it's my brother because who else wears Wranglers in 103 degree heat?

Movie Review

I haven’t done a movie review in quite a while because, well, we haven’t watched many movies this summer. Duh. We did watch several episodes of Deadwood Season Three…. I love that show…. It definitely should win an award for most creative use of the word cunt.

Ghost Rider. Sam Elliott. Need I say more? Ok, how about Nicholas Cage with his head on fire? Silly, silly movie but for some reason I enjoyed it.

Premonition. I love Sandy. But this movie? Sucked. I didn’t like the ending… either one of them… and, well, the concept was weak. I won’t say more or I will spoil it.

300. LOVED IT. Yes, it’s gory…. And if you know anything about history you know how it is going to end. But I can’t get enough of this style of cinematography….. the computerized effects, the shading, the freaks and rhinos…. And there are boobies…. way more man boobies than woman boobies. And, once I got over being mad they used Hot Stuff’s body as a model AGAIN without royalties, well… I thoroughly enjoyed the man boobies. And abs. Did I mention the abs? And the king… he is rocking the best beard I’ve seen in a long time. So go rent it. Heck, consider BUYING it.

Why are you still here? GO.

Email

If you've sent me an email in the last, oh, two months or so.... my apologies.

We are waiting for a phone call.

Perpetually. In perpetuity. Continually. Continuously. Constantly. And always.

Hot Stuff is on call 24/7 and I can't tie up the phone line longer than about 10 minutes without making him twitch.... so I haven't checked my email (I'd rather throw up posts here... and, if you've read many of them... you know "throw up" is a good term.... ew.)

SO until I win the lottery and can get satellite internet service... this is all you get.

Fire Sex

Or, more appropriately titled… Married Fire Sex

I’m sure you are all thinking… well, now the baby is in her own room and I bet there is some trapeze-swinging wild sex going on at The Homestead. And I hate to burst your bubble but… not.

Firefighters are among the sexiest men (and women) in the world. There is nothing hotter than a smoky guy in fire pants. I’m so in love with the smoky-sweaty thing…. Mmmm…. Just like BBQ potato chips.

The problem? Along with the smokey-sexy comes the exhausted. Totally, bone-weary, hiked up a hill in 103 degree heat and battled a Really Hot Thing exhausted.

Usually Hot Stuff gets home around 10 and we watch the first part of the news together… then I go upstairs and read while he watches the weather. We do like most married couples… snuggle a few minutes, fight over the covers and fall asleep.

But last night I was reading Harry Potter and eating oreos in bed and planning to stay up to see if Harry can find the third Horacrux. Hot Stuff snuggled in beside me and then started giving me the, ehem, Extra Snuggles.

In my mind, like any reasonable married woman, I think, “Damn, I wish I hadn’t eaten oreos & milk after I brushed my teeth. Oreo breath… and what if the milk gives me gas? Are the kids asleep? Should I turn off the baby monitor? Oh, wait… she can’t hear us… we can hear her…. I should have shaved my legs… wait, we’ve been swimming a lot…. I DID shave my legs! Hurray! I wonder if he noticed. Shit, I think the sprinklers are still on…. Can I go outside naked after sex and turn the sprinklers off? I love my new haircut. I think I feel a little sexier since I’ve been walking…. Hey, wait a minute…. I feel A LOT SEXIER since I’ve been walking… or wait… maybe that’s because… I… uh…. There….. that…. Yes….”

Ok, I’ll stop now because I know my brother is reading… (Hi Bro!)

And then, of course, there is the married-haven’t-seen-each-other-much-lately-post-sex conversation….

Where are my pants? Did you shut the sprinklers off? Did I tell you I couldn’t figure out how the dog got out of the pen? What? I didn’t even tell you the dog got out of the pen? Yeah, that’s why he’s been in the house…. Well, that and the heat. I got you some nectarines for your lunch. Oh, by the way….

I love you and you are amazing.

(Honey…. I do love you and you are always worth the wait! Let’s Extra Snuggles again soon, ok?)

Don't eat until you're Full. Eat until you're Tired.

Fire.

I'm trying not to post about fire. Because, well, it's just such an obvious thing to be talking about, isn't it? It's fucking hot and smokey here which makes way more sense than saying fucking cold.... because since when is fucking cold?

So, yeah, shit is burning up. People are being evacuated. Nobody can breathe and my eyes feel like I've been sleeping in mascara, underwater, in an over-clorinated pool. Hell, our first day of swim lessons was canceled due to a fire evacuation. It sucks and we are living it.... but please, tourists, visit our lovely state and leave us your hard-earned dollars....

So, today, I will provide for your viewing enjoyment.... my evacuation plans.

planS... you have more than one?

Why yes.

The 5-minute plan: Grab the kids, the dog, the cell phone and the credit card and get the fuck out. The GOOD thing about this kind of natural disaster.... it is site specific. It isn't like a tornado or a hurricane where a whole town is wiped out. As long as I have the credit card I can always buy food and diapers.

The 25-minute plan: Same as above but add turning on the sprinklers, grabbing the two crates of photo albums & momentos, the jewelry box, the safe deposit box keys, guns and as many of Hot Stuff's largest elk horns as possible. I've already backed up all my photos & computer to idiot sticks and I have them stashed at work. The important paperwork (birth certificates etc) are in a safety deposit box (ok, once and for all... is it safe deposit or safety deposit??)... but, of course, both sets of keys are in my house. Must make note to take one set to work.

The 2-day plan: Rent a storage unit in town and grab the above as well as a few select antiques and other valuables. Cut down the oily evergreen tree and drag it away from the house. Move the tractor and pickup to town.

The what-I'd-really-like plan: Do you think it would be possible to send a few items TO the fires? Like, can I selectively burn up a few things? The pink recliners, for example?

Our house is extemely defensible so I'm not too worried. But there is only one way in and one way out of our neighborhood and the idea of riding out a wild fire isn't super appealing to me... call me crazy.... so we take the "be prepared" route and hope for no smoldering lightning strikes.

It's interesting. We walked through the house and in each room asked, "What's important here?" There are some things... like the arrowhead collection Hot Stuff's grandpa gave him... that are easy... but you have to decide where to draw the line. The old photo albums... but all the new ones can easily be replaced with a quick trip to snapfish so they aren't as important. I'm discovering there aren't a WHOLE lot of things that couldn't be pretty easily replaced. And there are some things (did I mention the pink recliners??) that I'd LOVE to see go.... so what does that say about me??

Who Needs Fancy Toys??

This is a shark. What? You don't see it? It's a shark I tell you. And this? This is a shark attack.

Sometimes you are a good parent in spite of yourself

This summer I’ve done more readin’ than writin’ in blog world. And I’ve learned I might be a better parent than I thought….. (assuming you can get past the chocolatey-goodness pictures below.)

A blog I love (but shall remain nameless for now because I’m about to poke fun at their parental seriousness and I don’t know them well enough to really DO that) had a recent post about moving the kiddie dishes to a lower spot so the kidlet could help herself. Thus helping the kidlet learn all sorts of Important Things. Things like Sharing and Helping and Responsibility.

And I thought: Good Idea.

And then I realized…. We already do this.

But we call it: Parenting by the Path of Least Resistance.

Sippy cups, plastic bowls & plasticware are all located in lower drawers (the drawer just above the cookie cutters & rolling pin formerly for cookies but currently for play dough). I didn’t realize I was teaching my children an important life lesson by putting these items down low. I thought I was making my life easier by letting them get their own sippy and snack bowl….. no more “But I wanted the YELLOW cup” and it’s a heck of a lot easier to dole out the m&m’s when the bowl is already lined up on the counter.

This week SB even learned to get the milk out by himself. We haven’t graduated to apple juice since we mix our own from frozen concentrate (both thrifty and easy to water down) and the apple juice container doesn’t seal up…. Yes, my gallon milk jug has an oddly-shaped bottom from being dropped repeatedly during the learning process. And, yes, I have to keep a tea towel around the door handle to give him the proper leverage to get the door open. And, no, he isn’t pouring for himself…. Yet.

Does anyone else do things ‘cause their lazy and later learn there is a bit of genius in their madness?

O-O-O Ice Cold Milk And.....

Identify that food product.

She Loves Hats.

And then, my head exploded..... igniting a new fire....

My first effort to include my offspring in an organized activity was a complete failure. I knew it would be..... that's why I put it off so long. While others were attending music classes and play groups my poor progeny was only allowed storytime at the library and a few trips for pizza at Costco as group play.

No gymnastics.

No dance lessons.

No soccer.

No t-ball.

Nothing.

Until this week. Swimming Lessons.

I was prepared.

I had sunscreen, trunks & a towel for him. And goggles in the car in case they wanted him to have those too. I had swim gear for myself & the baby. I had my mother-in-law coming to meet us after lessons. I had a picnic packed.... the plan being to do lessons, eat our picnic, then swim for fun, shower, put on jammies and then head home.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Competi-mommy. And you are wrong. I'm intensely and freakishly nervous and shy about these kinds of things. I can't explain it. I blame my parents. It was the way I was raised.... something like that. Anyway. I need to carefully think out these kinds of events or I find myself hyperventilating and hiding behind potted plants.

So I left work early to gather my children. And on the radio I hear, "We are evacuating the swimming pool.... all unattended children will be taken to the fair grounds until they can be picked up." And I think, "Huh, I wonder if lessons are cancelled??"

This, people, is my life.

*** I have "Awwww...... RESCUE PACK... Coming to the rescue...." STUCK in my head... please, amputate my brain NOW. And someone please remind me not to use DIEGO as a babysitter ever again.


*** Sweet Boy looked at me yesterday and, out of no-where, says,"Mama, boys don't have boobies." I pause. I look at him. Really. "Boys have pecto-roar-al muscles, mom. Boys have muscles." "Well, then, son, what are those little 'squito bites on your chest there??" "I don't know. But they don't have holes in them so I can't feed my baby with them.... only girls can do that."


*** Hot Stuff came home, tired, and almost tripped over the little grey stool sitting in the middle of the living room (and not in the usual spot by the doorway) and gave me "the look" about it. I said nothing and pointed. Yes, Darling Girl has a New Trick. I'm not going to be the one to stifle her creativity or her chances of becoming a performance artist so I am left with two options.... put the stool in the middle of the room or make the kid wear a helmet. On second thought... that helmet isn't such a bad idea....

*** In the name of trying to be a woman and a mommy I thought possible bringing out the bronze goddess would give me a little confidence boost so I bought some Aveeno lotion with a hint of tanner. Sweet Boy walked in the bathroom this morning and said, "Mom. It smells a little funny in here." I think I'll stick to shoe shopping or something.


*** I blasted a bit of the house with goo-gone's house wash. I'm sure that shit is toxic but, wow, did it every take the pellet stove soot stains off the porch ceiling.

*** SB, DG & I went to a little girl's birthday party on Saturday. It's a daycare friend so I didn't know anyone there beyond nodding aquaintance as we are gathing our children. Hot Stuff says, in all sincerity, "Have FUN at the party!!" I had to give him the look. There was no alcohol at this party. I spent the whole time worrying about how to put sunscreen on my little ghost-babies without looking like competi-mommy (Why aren't YOU slathering your children with at least a shot glass of sunscreen every 2 hours??? No, seriously, you don't need to do it.... it's just, well, LOOK at how pale my kids are.... I know.... I'm not sure they are mine either....) and laughing at my daughter walking like a hunch back and always heading for the water features in the yard.... but trying not to let her walk because the son in this family is several months older than DG and isn't walking and I heard the grandfather make some comment about it and LORD KNOWS that mom doesn't need my kid adding to her stress.... right? That makes sense sort-of, doesn't it??

*** Sweet Boy has a new "look" wearing his baseball cap backwards. If you ask him why he will carefully explain it is to keep the ice cream off the bill of his cap when we go to Dairy Queen. Yes, we've been to Dairy Queen twice this week. Yes, it is 95 degrees here. No, that's not so very hot to people from the South but WE AREN'T FROM THE SOUTH, are we??

*** Hot Stuff mentioned last night -as casually as possible- that he might be ready to get a pair of kittens. Good thing I've been working on my poker face.

*** Monday night is the first night of swimming lessons. I'm planning to pack a little picnic since lessons are 5:00-5:30 and we will probably want to swim more after. I hope all goes well. SB was very brave and a great swimmer last summer... jumping off the diving board and all. Now I can't get him to put his face in the water or jump off the side into my arms. He must have realized his mortality or something. I just try to act like I love the water (you know I don't) and be an encouraging but not demanding mom. I don't plan to flip out and enroll him in expensive private once-a-week lessons for several months until he can out-swim everyone in the pool like a certain other mom I know did..... oh, have I mentioned how well my little niece is swimming these days? I can't compete but it is very hard not to try. I like to think I pick up the slack by packing a fun picnic and being a fun mom. Right? Ok, well, failing that.... I look better in my Land's End mom-suit than you do....

*** I pink-puffy-heart-with-sprinkles-on-top LOVE our portable air conditioner.

*** My amazing watering system is almost complete. Pictures soon. Now I want to rip out another section of grass and put in another flower bed because when you water them?!?! The flower beds look great.

*** Next weekend my daughter turns one. ONE. What the hell?!?!

*** Yes, thank you for asking for the birthday party we WILL be having chocolate cake. And, yes, there WILL be alcohol....

The farm got hailed out this weekend.

What does that mean?

All of the cautiously-optimistic bushels per acre predictions we've been kicking around..... gone. All the plans to take a bit of vacation time in late July and go help with harvest.... not needed.
All that beautiful wheat... beat into the ground, bent, broken and not fun to see.

But my mother, ever the optimist, reasons.... well, we aren't trying to buy land now so at least we don't have a big debt. And we don't have kids in college or big costs to cover so we will be fine for another year.

And she's right.

But it is so much fun to have a Big Harvest year. I was looking forward to hauling the kids up there for a week or so. Trying out a few new fabulous recipes on the harvest crew and leaving the kids with Grandma for a while so I could re-new my truck-driving skills out in the field. Sweet Boy is big enough to go a few rounds in the combine this year. Darling Girl is big enough to.... eat dirt while we do dinner in the field.

Instead the combine drivers will pack bigger lunches in their coolers and it will take all morning to fill a truck. I still might go up but it will be to move a truck to the corner of a new field and then go dump it a few hours later.... not the wild, unloading on the go, dunk your head in the water tank, testing how fast you can unload without overflowing the hopper, grab a gatoraide out of the freezer, beat the dust out of your grill, sunglasses-hat-jeans-boots, wearing a big black dust mask, so tired you can't move at the end of the day kind of harvest.

And for the cooking.... I know my dad will miss my signature dish... 5 Can Surprise. And the dessert-a-day club. And homemade pretzels with canned cheese. And little kids in dirty jeans and sunglasses sitting on the tailgate of a pickup eating watermelon.

There were no jugglers, ponies or magicians...

We survived the 7-year-old cousin's birthday party.

It wasn't as competi-mommy as I thought it would be.... a pleasant surprise. I was totally ready to discuss Montessori daycare, organic snacks and why my daughter doesn't know sign language.... yet. There was one passing comment about the kind of juice available (the pc kind, apparently.... some new capri suns lower in sugar than regular capri suns) but no one said a word when my 11-month-old went AFTER a piece of ice cream cake in the grass under the picnic table. She got it too... that's my girl. She was just excited she didn't have to wrestle the dog for it.

And none of the earnest mommies present speed-dialed Human Services on me! Not even once. I was careful to make sure they saw me apply sunscreen liberally and regularly. And I didn't swear.... out loud.... not even once.

Actually, mostly I made some comparisons and secretly felt superior.... my box-cake (tastes just like from scratch! with hershey's syrup right in the mix!) with homemade frosting (I could marry that frosting) might not be fashionable but... have I mentioned the frosting? So good. These parties the competi-mommies throw aren't that much different.... they just have less alcohol (the dads... doing the traditional dads-sit-around-the-cooler dance.... didn't even have beer) and more neon blue frosting.

I was appropriately and tastefully dressed in a brown t-shirt & print skirt (thanks Elle... good shopping) flashing a little "bohemian-I-may-be-a-mom-but-I-have-style" in the jewelry and sporting the dark lenses in my sunglasses so I could check out the competition.

My kids were well-behaved and used their best manners.... I figured the least I could do would be the same. Talk of dinner started around 5:15 but when nothing had happened by 7:00 and SB was asking if he could rummage in the diaper bag for "an old granola bar or some gold fishies or something...." we said our good-byes and headed for home.

Sweet Boy was over-the-moon ecstatic when we, unsolicited, pulled into McDonald's. And, yes, for those of you counting.... it was the SECOND time this week.... I like to think his Happy Meal collection will be worth a lot more if it is complete. (For those who know: We got Chicken Joe. Very exciting.) After a few nuggets & fries both backseaters were out cold for the drive home so I turned up the ipod, enjoyed the scenery and thought about Darling Girl's FIRST birthday in two weeks.... you guessed it..... Chocolate cake, spaghetti, the family & a couple of party hats.... oh, and a little alcohol too.