Words

After all those videos, the kids are tired of posing (Ian just runs away; he likes camera shots better than the tedium of video posing. He doesn't quite get that he's supposed to move or pretend that he doesn't see the camera, etc.). Erin just rolls her eyes as best she can and sighs until the minute is up and Mommy puts the camera away. She really doesn't like the flash of the camera shots (which is why her eyes are closed or almost closed for all her pictures), since there are three blasts of flash for every picture unless we're outside.

It is still hot here in our nook of Oklahoma, but not as hot as it was. That's great, but it still gets hot in the house, so I am still refraining from using the oven as much as possible. :( My menfolk are having a hard time with this. Cookie, cake and pie withdrawals and all that. Relief is on the way though, boys! When we were walking to school this morning (my HC was sleepwalking, I think). I noticed something all over the road and in the yards. I also noticed it when I was mowing the grass....LEAVES! Leaves on the ground in AUGUST! Am I the only one who is shocked by this? It seems like last year it was still upper 90s at this time. It was hot way into September and even October last year. This year, we may just have another 40 degree Halloween, something I wish could be forecasted well in advance for intelligent costume decisions. The whole costume thing is a little deflated when you have to unzip your parka to show it off.

Tonight is going to be fun because we are going to Fayetteville with a group of friends (and their kids) to have a 'Date' night. Golden Corral, here we come! This is a special treat for us, since going out to eat is a big deal. I told Ian this morning when we were getting ready for school that after school we were going to get ready to see Tra (pronounced 'Tray') and Morgan and go to the Big Town to eat supper. "We going to a west-uh-want?" Ian asked. "Yup," I told him. "Wow! A Weeeal West-Uh-Want?" he asked again, with dazzled eyes and a hopeful expression. "Yes," I told him, feeling incredibly guilty for a trip to a restaurant to be on the same level as any other kid's trip to Disney World. It's still not quite as bad as the first time we visited my mom's house in Florida and Ian couldn't tear himself away from the window because he could see cars driving by. It was a highway, so there were lots of cars and I was informed about every single one of them. can someone just tattoo "Rube" on my forehead? No, they won't have to, they can just say "Restaurant" in front of Ian. 0000000000000000000000 Erin felt like typing.
The great thing about going to Fayetteville is visiting Target! Woo hoo! Target has things you can't get around here. The big thing is the toy department, at least to my restaurant deprived son. The shoe department for us girls, and the kids' clothes. Love it! But the main reason we are going tonight (I had to present a case to my HC because he knows how depleting it is to our bank account to visit Target (but I am not responsible for the movies and houseplants that he can't do without!)): we need: 1) lava lamp bulbs. Both of the kids have a lava lamp as their nightlight and only Target has these special lightbulbs. It is a travesty for night lights to go out in our house. 2) Gazillion bubbles to go in our Elmo bubble maker. I have recently discovered that bubbles are a seasonal item that is no longer in season at Walmart. Save me Target! We neeeeeed the distraction of Elmo bubbles and only the Gazillion bubbles will do! The other brand of bubbles just make it foam up and Elmo has rabies. And I'm sure I'll think of another thing or two or 4 to get while we are there...like a beanbag? Walmart is out of those too and my baby girl needs a chair to sit in in the living room. Ian's was indispensible when he was her age and we are having a hard time finding one for her. We also need to go the Pet store to get a rat or 2 for our snake. That is something else we can only find in Fayetteville. And our poor Hiss is hungry!

So we are going to go put away some rolls and steak at Golden Corral. Oooooh yeah!

Ian is doing better in school this week, which is probably a result of his cold/croup, but we will take our blessings where we can get them. The good part of this for him is that he gets rewarded for his good behavior by 30 minute of video games when he gets home. So he gets his choice of Cars, Nemo, Ratatouille or Burnout. Cars and Burnout usually win. We get to pick him up in an hour. I wonder if my HC will be awake by then...