First Day of School ~

Today was the first day of school for Riley and Cooper, 1st grade and Kindergarten, respectively. While taking pictures this morning, Camdyn went and packed a bag with some toys, poor little girl thought she was going too. We had a great start to the school year, the kids missed the bus, so we had to bring them to school (we were planning on surprising them and meeting them there anyway). Right away Camdyn spots the playground and starts screaming that she wants to go to the park, after calming her down, we dropped Cooper off at his class, snapped some shots and headed to Riley's. She was super excited when several of her friends from last year greeted her as she came up. Poor girl is the tallest once again, I remember how tough that could be in grade school...but come high school, she'll be glad she's not vertically challenged.

Anyway, posted some more first day pictures on their websites...Camdyn wanted to be included in one, so here it is...

LOLZ :P

Truck Testicles ~

Until today, I never knew such a thing existed...and honestly, whomever had the brainiac idea to put plastic testicles on trucks ought to be shot. I've yet to actually see them up close and personal, perhaps they're just a hit in the south, either way I can already picture what type of person would decorate his monster truck with such nastiness...he undoubtedly also sports mud flaps with a naked lady on them. I have no doubt he has to dangle giant metallic truck ballz, because he's got a bad case of teeny-weeny peeny syndrome...and this you know!

Chuck E. Cheese's ~

Quite possibly hell on earth for parents, but pure heavenly bliss for kids. We moved my youngest sister, Meghan, to Davenport yesterday and afterwards we stopped at Chuck E. Cheese's. When we pulled up in the parking lot, Cooper and Riley about had a coronary, they've never been to the Cheese's place, but have bugged us about it for years. I knew going in that it was going to be a rough one, as I had a headache before we even went through the doors. Camdyn rode with my parents, and as they passed Hyvee, my mom asked if they should eat dinner there. Camdyn's response, "Um, no, I don't think so."
When they pulled up at CEC, Camdyn thought it was a park and yelled, "I go there?" She was an absolute maniac in that place, slowing down only to guzzle some juice and slam down 3 pieces of pizza. The pizza, oh the pizza, most certainly not the reason families go there to eat...it was as my dad so eloquently put it, 'one step above frozen'. I'm not even sure the cheese pizza had sauce on it.
Anyway, the kids had a absolute blast, it was fun to see them having such a good time. I have to thank Megan for chasing Camdyn all over the place, I'm quite sure she slept well last night after what Lumpy put her through! ;) My mom took some pictures and for some reason her camera date was horribly off...anyway, thanks for bringing your camera, I obviously dropped the ball on that one!































That's Camdyn in the corner trying to get on stage with Chuck and his crew

Oh my cheeks and chins!

The Fantastic Four ~

I put together some baby pictures, they are all around the same age; top left is Cooper, top right Rowyn, bottom left Camdyn, and bottom right Riley. After seeing them all together, I'm surprised Clyde didn't ask for a paternity test on Riley! Haha!

If you could kill a cartoon, who would it be? ~

Camdyn loves Caillou, we have at least 20 episodes DVR'd for her, and it's the first thing she asks for in the morning. I, however, have gotten to the point where his voice is like nails on a chalkboard. There are a few episodes where he is complaining and whining and I literally want to drive a screwdriver into my eardrums. So, Caillou has officially made numero uno on my cartoon hit list, followed shortly thereafter by the giant purple dinosaur we all love to hate.

Rowyn Pudding ~

Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot 2 months old!

Day Care Dilemma ~



I have applied for a new position within my current company, it is a part-time day position...no more weekends, no more holidays, no more nights...I would LOVE it! So, in order for it to work, we need to find day care for Camdyn and Rowyn. I've called countless places in town and haven't had much luck, most have waiting lists well into next year.

I found an in-home day care that has openings, so I scheduled a tour for Friday. She has the day care in her basement and when we walked in the door, I about cried...for two reasons. First and foremost, because the thought of leaving my babies with a complete stranger is enough to rip my heart out and secondly, because my kids would be forced to look at her nasty mint green walls all day long. Her house is a brand new construction, she has the basement set up as one big room...kitchen area along one wall, futon and TV on another, bathroom, and a small toy area. There was a pack-n-play set up near her desk and computer and she pointed to it and said, 'That is where your baby will be during the day.' Once again, I about cried...I envisioned my little baby girl laying in that bed all day, no interaction, no stimulation, just mesh sides to look out of ALL DAY LONG. Nope, no way, no how, not happening...I could have walked right out at that point, but out of politeness, I stayed.

She talked about how she likes to take the kids outside in the afternoon, which would be perfect, but for the fact she has a 3-foot wrought iron fence surrounding her yard. Lumpy would be up and over that in 2 seconds flat...that coupled with the fact that old girl is short, fat, and pushing 70, there is NO way she'd ever catch Camdyn, she'd be off to the races.

The only positive point of the whole visit, was her price, $90 a week. Needless to say, I won't be calling her back.