Monday, Funday!

Mondays.  Aren't we all glad they happen but once a week?  I mean, Saturdays, I'll take two, thanks!

It hasn't happened as often lately, probably because there hasn't been any rain or dew in sight often, but how do my kids get messy in between the house and the car?  This time Charlotte climbed a tree and dirtied up her nice white school knee high socks.  I was able to grab a clean pair from the house while Fred buckled her into the car.  Things began well, no?

And then, a new milestone for Frederick!  He figured out how to twist top cap off his milk container.  

While I was driving the car.

On 610. 

In rush hour traffic.

It spilled all over.

Not that our backseat could have claimed to be clean before the spill.  Do you know what a little spilled milk does in your car if not handled swiftly?  It turns into a "what died in the car" smell.

Trust me, no one wants to be your friend if your car smells as though something died in it.

So at Bottie's house, I pulled the seat out of the car and found an assortment of soggy smashed goldfish and cereal, next to several Hot Wheels that had been MIA.  I quickly began unhooking the straps to remove the seat cover while Bottie helped Charlotte into clean socks.  Ever notice how nothing comes apart easily when you need to be somewhere in 5 minutes?  

Charlotte arrived late to school for the first time since school began in August.  Great way to start the new quarter, yes?

I took a trip to Target to buy more upholstery cleaner for the car.  And yet bought two bags full of things and no upholstery cleaner.  And THAT is why I made two trips to Target in one day.  

The afternoon was spent scrubbing out the backseat of the car and reassembling Frederick's car seat.  Final success on the third try.  At least I've become a pro at installing car seats.

Now that the kids are finally in bed (they seem to know when I need them to go right to sleep and promptly don't) I need to clean the kitchen but am searching for the energy to do so.  Probably because to clean the kitchen I must first empty the dishwasher.  I'm not sure if there is anything worse than a kitchen with dirty dishes and a dishwasher filled with clean ones.   

So this is why I am sitting here sharing my day.  Because  I know you, for whatever reason, whoever you may be, have been just dying to know about my Monday Funday.

And now to take control of my kitchen before some little critters beat me to it.

My House Overfloweth

My cup and my house overfloweth.

The house with toys, that is.  And they migrate from one room to another.  Thank you, Bottie for the 300 piece tea set.  I find little spoons and tea cups under the bathroom sink, in the sock drawer, under the bed, you name it.  

Eventually, I spend a whole afternoon reorganizing toys and coming up with some that we can donate or give away.  Today was one of those days.  

I tried to get Charlotte involved.  She helped when I asked her to put things in certain bins or carry something to her room.  I greatly appreciated that!  I also asked her to pick out some things that we could give away.

She came up with three things.  All three were toys that may have come out of a Wendy's kid's meal bag.  And then she decided that she wouldn't be able to part with them after all.

So then I gave a goal.  Charlotte, let's come up with five bigger toys to give away.  Not just little ones.

She picked five stuffed animals.  One is an old one of mine, the other an old one of Fred's and another belongs to Frederick. 

How do you get your kids to part with their things?  Is it possible?

There are some toys that she'll part with, but they are now more age appropriate for Frederick and I don't really find that fair, either.

Seriously, with Christmas around the corner, some of this stuff has got to go.

Old Pecan Street Festival

During our fun-packed weekend in Austin, we slipped over to the Pecan Street Festival.  Pecan Street = Sixth Street, but I'm sure you know that already.

We watched a magician (who called on me to act as his amazing assistant), before Charlotte climbed onto Fred's shoulders to catch a juggling act.  The juggler was pretty awful, but that didn't stop Charlotte from making this face when I asked her to look at the camera instead of his act.

What good is a festival without the $2 carnival rides?

Frederick insisted on riding in the caged kiddie ferris wheel with Charlotte.  He climbed up and into the ride all by himself.  Once the ride was over, he climbed out onto the platform until he saw me reaching for him.  At that point he just shook his head, turned around, and tried to climb back onto the ride.  As a mother, am I supposed to be happy with his independence, or concerned that he really loves rickety carnival rides?

She's already talking about doing this again the next time we go to Austin.  Whenever that may be.

A crazy clown dressed from head to toe in rainbow made this unicorn for Charlotte.  I wish I had a better photo of the balloon lady in action, but I was off keeping Frederick entertained.

Below: Balloon Clown in action.

And this concludes the photos from our Austin trip.

Not pictured:
Dinner and Mexican Martinis with Helen at Trudy's
Visiting the Santos family at the children's hospital
Lunch and playground time with the Joplins at Central Market
Fancy Whataburger dinner at Helen's apartment
Drinks with Fred at Spider House
Walking tour of UT Campus

We sure can cram a lot into less than 48 hours!