celebration day!!

Okay, pile the balls on the top.... Yay!

Jonathan lost a bottom tooth....

Mali Rose....

Rosie likes to play with the girls...

This morning I had to take Margaret to get her eye exam, so we made a day of it and took her friends Phoebe, Melanie, and Nellie, along with Abigail and Kathryn. The eye dr. works in the Sears Optical dept., which is in Sears, and the Sears is in a mall. So......we went to Old Navy, which was having 50% off their clearance....I got some nice sweaters for 4 of the younger girls. I try to get them new sweaters every year, after Christmas time when things are cheap. I got Joseph a sweatshirt for five bucks.....then, since I had spent enough money and didn't want to go in any more stores, I asked the girls what they wanted to do for lunch....

They decided Chinese buffet, which I had a 20% off coupon for. Chicken and tea and and those fried donuts...my mind would not let me eat one of those. I did not put one on my plate. But Abigail had one she didn't want, so I took a bite. Then another...then I put it down...rrr. Good, but just too greasy.

Then I just wanted to go to the grocery store, but the girls wanted to go to the dreaded Target, the store I should not be allowed to go to...there are just always good things there. Today was no exception. I bought myself some nice lined leather driving gloves for $5, but I put back the nice leather purse that was marked down to $6.24.....I bought some sneakers for Jon in the next size up, and a few other things. I didn't do too badly. (Charlotte Claire and Camille didn't really NEED the striped sweaters or sweet little floral tights I bought them, but.....)

Then to the grocery store. I let the girls go in the pet store next door before they joined me. I got some good stuff for salad, and lime tortilla chips (they are so good!) because Mirielle and Emily were making some marinated roasted chicken.....and some rice....and when we got home, they had the table all set and birthday signs up and they all said, "Happy Birthday, Margaret!!!" She was so surprised! Her cousin Audrey is here, too. After we had dinner, the little girls put on a play, and the girls played a few games....and then onto Emily and Mirielle's cakes. Em's was a white chocolate cappuchino, and Mirielle's was "death by chocolate".....the girls are all still sitting at the tables, having tea and talking.

Having cell phones is so much fun, how did we ever live without them? Emily called me and asked me if they could open the package of 100 ballpit balls that Ben had in his closet. They also found the inflatable fire truck ball pit that was down there, they had it out a year ago or so, then we packed it away and forgot about it. Mirielle sent me a picture of them playing in it. (Right in line with my Mom-guilt, I felt so bad for Paul being home with all the younger kids with the ball pit in the living room, while I went out to lunch and spent money and had fun...)

I am a bit tired, even though I didn't do much of the dinner prep, I helped serve and clean up, and 22 people for dinner using Real plates, as opposed to Fake plates, is a big clean-up. It has been a fun day, I mean, how could it not be? I cannot help it, when I am with the younger girls, I feel younger. I even had a snowball fight with them in the grocery store parking lot. And we flipped through the radio stations, singing along, swerving the van to the tunes....I still know all the words to "I Will Survive..."

Now I am back home, and no longer one of the girls, but the MOM again. Which is nice, too. Jonathan in his polar bear pajamas, and Camille with her little hugs and telling me, "I want you, Momm-eye, I want you!" I do not know how I became, "Momm-eye", but that is what she calls me. They are putting all the balls on top of the inflatable firetruck, and then abruptly smacking the roof, sending all the balls, "hip, hip, hoorah!".....all over the room.

And my break is over...the girls need to go home....one lives 9 miles to the east, one nine miles to the north....I think a few of us are going to go separately. And the little kids got to stay up late tonight, they are kind of excited and wound up, except for Jon, who is watching You-tube videos of cars and motorcycles with Paul, all cuddled up on the couch. So.....enough for tonight.