What HAPPENED?!?!

For some reason, Blogger has gone screwy and I'm SO angry!  My profile (where I put the quote of the day that strikes my fancy) shows up on my Design page, but not on the actual Cohagen Chronicles....no matter what I do.  All the posts show 0 sticky notes on the fridge door on the main page, BUT if you go to the labels, the comments show up in each section.  Some of the labels, however, were messed up! My most recent post is second after yesterday's, and it's not showing a date at all. 

SO....please don't think it was me who flipped out and changed all these things.  I don't know what to do, for the moment, and I'll work on it later this week. 

Maybe with a hammer.

Big words, small people...

In Angus' all-time favorite movie, Private Eyes, Tim Conway asks Don Knotts, "Well, what do YOU think?"  and Don Knotts replies, "I think for a short person you have long sentences!"

Angus is my short person with long sentences AND words. 
Big words are delicious. 
Big words make one seem older. 
Big words impress the chicks.

But they're tricky....

Last night, after I got home from my VBS meeting in Jordan, I served up my specailty dish for such evenings: individual Tombstone pepperoni pizzas. (Requiring slightly more effort than Fruit Loops, in that I have to push numbers on the microwave...)  The kids saw a six pack of club soda bottles sitting on the table that I had yet to put away and were exclaiming over the cute little water bottles. 

I explained that it was fizzy water...club soda.  They don't like soda pop at ALL, so I thought that would kill the interest.  Well, Maggie was turned off right away and got herself a glass of water, but Angus was still enthusiastically ready for a go at one of those bottles.  I had half of one in the fridge, so I gave it to him. 

He took a swig, looked at the bottle and grinned at me.  Then he turned to his sister and said, "Maggie, YOU should have some Minnesota, too!  It's GOOD."

Shall we commence?

The kids and I went to the GCDHS 2011 graduation ceremonies today! It was the first time I'd been to a high school graduation in Jordan since my brother graduated in 1993....eighteen years ago.  Things have changed a lot and yet, not at all.  Isn't that what hometowns are all about? Well, small towns, anyway.

It was still held in the gymnasium, still lots of streamers and that horrible walkway made of paper or mylar that was made to trip the girl graduates in their heels, still balloons, folding chairs, graduates come from the same corner in the same sort of Josten's cap and gowns, same people in the bleachers.

Here's what was really funny to me.  First of all, the kids graduating were kids of the ones I went to high school with.  So...it was almost like watching a version of OUR high school graduation, because they look a lot like their parents did when I went to school with them.  Talk about a time warp!  Secondly, and this really made me smile, the music we had around the time I graduated?  Yeah.  It's cool again.  Get this...they played Bon Jovi AND Whitesnake.  During commencement!  Honestly, if I hadn't had my kids with me, I'd have felt like Back To The Future or something. 

What was different, though, was that the powers that be ALLOWED the class to have Bon Jovi and Whitesnake songs in the ceremony, while our songs had to be sanctioned and not wilder than, say Garth Brooks' The Dance.  I don't remember what songs we had...I'm sure I have it around here somewhere...but this graduation rocked.  Literally. 

Another difference is that these kids didn't waste money on a speaker.  They got one "in-house".  The principal gave the address and it was quite personal and light.  There was a Powerpoint slide show of the graduates, individually, from diapers to diplomas.  AND a separate Powerpoint of their high school years.  We should've had popcorn, really; there was that much cinema.  (A blessed relief, since everyone gets to graduation early to get a good seat and then sit there trying not to get dirty and making polite conversation about the weather, moisture, relatives and politics.  And it's fun to see everyone with their new haircuts...calving hair has been shorn and we all look much more civilized. But a twenty minute wait gets L-O-N-G...)

This year, there were 10 Seniors graduating from GCDHS; 20 8th graders graduating and entering the hallowed halls.  That's such a good thing for this little Class C school. My class had 19 and it was considered small at the time.  I'm happy to see the school gaining kids, happy to see that it's not dying.   

The other really great thing about hometown graduations is the food afterwards.  I'm not allowed to mention by name the party we went to, because the Bo-eez forbid it.  :)  But I can tell you that the (long, long) table of (totally homemade) food was sagging (like our bellies over our belts afterward), the company was jolly and the cake...a moment of silence, here....was strawberry shortcake.  They killed the fatted lamb, to celebrate the passing of the eldest son to college. Literally. And it was very good. 

What a day!  I'm so glad we were able to go, that we weren't branding or anything.  I'm not exactly nostalgic tonight, because high school wasn't my shining moment, but it was sort of comforting to know that even though there's terrorism, famine, war, drought, pestilance and horror in the world, some things remain certain and happy, with the whole county coming to applaud their own in a small town in Eastern Montana. 

Baby Steps

This morning I got to go for a run, finally.  It's been raining and blowing and wretched out, and I don't mind admitting that I'd rather have a cavity filled than run on the treadmill after the winter we had.  (For those of you who know my dentiphobia, this is a startling statement.)

Two miles in the mud feels like four miles of regular running.

But it was a beautiful, crisp morning, clean from the rains and all the birds singing their little avian hearts out for joy at the rising sun. Sort of like a Disney scene, from Bambi or Sleeping Beauty.  In fact, if a couple deer had sauntered out of the hills, followed by friendly faced bunnies, squirrels and chipmunks, I'd have believed it WAS, and looked down to see if my running rags had turned into an Athleta outfit, perfectly coordinated. 

No such luck.

But the highlight of my morning, the reason I'm writing this, was when I got back.  While I was prepping the coffee pot, I could hear funny thump-thump-thump-thump sounds coming from down the hall.  There was my girl, in her little sweatshirt and pants with her new running shoes on....running in place.  Shortly, she whipped over to the wall and did about 8 wall pushups, then dropped to the floor for some sit-ups.  There were more calisthenics, but they really don't have any way to be defined.  All were done with her little chin out, eyes shining and blonde hair bouncing around her face. 

Mags and I have had some visits when I get back from my runs about why I run....makes my body strong so I can do fun things, cleans out my head, everything works better, I feel better....but I don't ever bring up the topic of exercise.  I just do mine and they see it.  I know that they have just enough of me in them to shun it if I encourage it.  Sort of like mercury drops, you know?

Anyway, she came over after all her exertions and told me about her workout.  But it was very unsatisfying that she hadn't gone for a "real" run.  It was too muddy for her to take her new running shoes out, this morning, but we mapped out a plan for tomorrow and we're both very excited about it. 

Like all parents, I want my kids to be strong and healthy, make good choices and honor the bodies that God graced them with.  I want for Maggie, especially, to treat her body as a friend, an ally for life, instead of fighting with it like I did with mine for so long.  I hope it doesn't take her 37 years to get to that frame of mind. 

It made me happy this morning to see the first steps on the way.

It's the little things...

that'll bug me to no end, too.  So here, to balance that very cheery list that was posted before, is my list of little things that annoy me. 

• that watery stuff that comes out of the ketchup bottle if you forget to shake it and you're the first one to use it
• wet socks
• 10 hotdogs to a package, 8 buns...what gives? 
• sticky spots on the kitchen floor
• empty stapler
• egg on cooking utensils....you could stick an airplane together with that stuff!
• not being able to get packing tape to start evenly or to stay in one nice piece instead of little strips that fade to the edge
• a newspaper that has been read messily and just sort of shuffled into a big pile
• yellow lights at an intersection...no one really knows what to do.  Go faster? Slam on brakes? Honk?
• email forwards that have the entire history of who it was sent to, all the way back to Moses, for pete's sake!
• magazines that have gotten wet and stuck together...especially the one I've been saving to read later
• the static that makes my hair stand out like Einstein's
• pens that don't write, but don't get thrown away....it's not like we were close or anything.
• emails that bounce back IMMEDIATELY, proclaiming someone's absence in the office for the next ten assorted days and if I need immediate assistance to contact Sandy at ext. 117, I think it is

Little Women

That's right, folks...I'm on a roll.
You get not one, not two, but three posts today!
(Pretend to be excited, okay? Thanks.)

And this is a chick post.  (You could probably tell by the title, but I always feel obliged to warn the guys who read the Chronicles.  That way if they are scarred for life by some estrogen-loaded post, they can't say they didn't get the disclaimer up front.)

Maggie and I just finished watching the movie version of "Little Women"...the Wynnona Ryder/Susan Sarandon version.  It was a very honest attempt at capturing the flavor of the book and certainly got all the period setting and wardrobe right.  I think Meg and Beth were portrayed a little flatly; that they got John Brooke ALL wrong (he needs to be tall and dark and confident). 

Just as always, I found myself thinking about which of the women I most related to or resembled.  It's not always the same thing, you know.  I've done this as long as I've been reading the book. (And, yes, I've read the book a hundred times, conservatively.)

Was it Meg?  The oldest daughter, kind and maternal, with a quiet confidence and good intentions...
Jo?  The impulsive tomboy who loved words, her head full of impossible dreams and stories, impatient and loyal.
Perhaps it was Beth?  A content homebody, shy and musical, whom everyone loves because she always thinks of others before herself.
Or Amy?  The bright youngest who longs to be more of everything, artistic and funny by using big words that are almost, but not quite, right. 

Who do you most relate to?  Who are you most like?

(I find that when I was younger, I had a little of each of them; enough that I couldn't clearly choose one that I was most like.  With time, my personality has perhaps become more formed and set, and I can clearly see the one that I resemble and relate to the most.)

It's the little things...

Isn't it?  The little things in my day that make me happy...

(And this will not include such inspirational mush as rainbows, little children's smiles and other such things.  Those are big things and do not fall within the parameters of this post.)

• my toenails painted red
• the perfect first cup of coffee (not every first cup of coffee is perfect, but when you find it, you know it.)
• a new magazine in the mail, chuffed in between the bills and junk
• the scale reading one pound lighter than the last time
• a new toothbrush
• finding my hidden stash of dark chocolate, AGAIN
• a People of Walmart forward in my email  (It's a horrible, wonderful delight...)
• finding my favorite pen that I had given up for eternally lost AND finding that it still writes
• a picture I had totally forgotten about that pops up on my computer wallpaper
• opening a drawer full of clean socks and underwear....how rich!
• a good hair day on an otherwise bad day
• Calvin and Hobbes...always
• turning the calendar over to a new month (why that delights me so, I'll never know)
• hearing my kid try to say "hamburger"...it's "ham-buh-burger"or "ham-guh-burger"; that tickles me to no end
• bacon
• the same number of postage stamps as I have letters
• when the radio plays "Margharitaville" or "Sweet Home Alabama"
• jello that sets up in time for the actual meal I designated it for (I put on the tiara for that.)
• empty garbage cans
• a phone call from a friend, just because they wanted to hear my voice and hear my nonsense; for no other reason
• did I say bacon, already?
• clean sheets

Raindrops on roses...

and whiskers on kittens. 
(You'll be singing that song all day, now, won't you?  You're welcome!)

It's a little wet, here in Cohagen.
A lot wet, actually.
It rained all day yesterday, for the most part, and it's looking rather promising to do the same thing today.

True to odd form, I'm not a "cozy-in-and-bake-cookies-and-play-parcheesi" sort of person when it rains, especially in the spring.  Rainy days are my favorite time to be out in the garden, playing in the dirt.

For one thing, it's very solitary and peaceful....no dogs or cats or kids hanging all over me, jealously demanding attention.  It's just me and the earthworms and the crabby sparrows.  The occasional disgruntled spider scuttles under the plants when I disturb his nice, dry cubbyhole.  But other than that, it's just the sound of rain on my hood.

Plants look brighter and healthier in the rain.  And it changes depth and form for me.  For some reason, the rain water causes certain leaves to stand out that I miss on sunny days.  I find long forgotten perennials, fighting to make a come-back, just by glimpsing their distinctive foliage against the black dirt.  I spy stealthy weeds the same way. 

And the dirt smells sweet and good, on rainy days.  When a bed is in good shape, with the proper balance of soil, amendments of fertilizer and mulch, the dirt isn't sticky or clumpy on a rainy day.  It's more...soggy, but still friable, in a live way.  It DOES feel alive, if your hands are bare and handling it.

I garden with bare hands; dirty, rough, cold hands.  I can't do that for very long when I'm working out in the drizzly day...it necessitates frequent warming with a cup of tea or coffee, then back out for more.  I know I really should wear gloves.  I can hear my Aunt Bert telling me the importance of keeping my hands looking nice and neat, because they're the first thing people notice about you, but I can't feel the different textures of the plants, the health of the soil, the clean smoothness of the earthworms when I do. 

I love being able to easily dig out and move plants on rainy days.  They are much happier being shuffled from bed to bed on cool rainy days.  One day that little volunteer aquilegia is rubbing shoulders with the gruff old Russian sage and the next day, in the rain, being introduced to the rather humble patch of cranesbill.  It seems to be less traumatic for everyone.  By the time the rain has stopped, they've all settled their roots and commence to contentedly growing, more or less.

I usually don't attempt to plant seeds, because the envelope gets soggy and they refuse to come out, or the wind is blowing enough that they scatter a little too freely and instead of a neat row of lettuce ruffles in a couple weeks, I have a tossed salad.  The exception being fat seeds, like beans and peas.

When I'm all cold and wet to the bone, I give it up and reluctantly slog back inside.  But then, it's a treat to be in the warm house!  My nose and cheeks are bright pink and my hair is all frowzledy from the hood and wet, my hands dirt stained and stiff.  It's time for gingersnaps and tea, and to drag out my garden books to make big plans for the next bout out. I look out the window...the dirty, paw-and-nose print smeared window....and see potential puttering.

Then the phone rings and I'm summoned away to write on field maps for FSA crop certification.

You thought this was going to end all cozy and dear, didn't you?  :)   

Beignets

Have you all seen this movie?
The Princess and The Frog is set in New Orleans and we've watched it about 40 times, conservatively guessing. 
One of the things we like most about it is the beignets. (Pronounced "ben-YAYs")

Man-catchin' beignets!

I really adore beignets, but haven't had them for years.  My kids had no idea what they tasted like, but Maggie was positive that they would be the best things she'd ever consumed and would I please, please, PLEASE make some for them to try?

Oh, very well, then.  Twist my arm....

Here's the recipe I used, from Paula Deen's Food Network site.

French Quarter Beignets

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups bread flour
1/4 cup shortening
Nonstick spray
Oil, for deep-frying
3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.

Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares.

 Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color.

 After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.

Serve hot to anyone who might be hanging around or walking through your kitchen.  Hopefully 30-40 people will, because this recipe makes about 100-150 beignets.  I started cutting them big toward the end, just so I could get done.

I don't think they'll really work as man-catchin', but they snared a couple kids...

The babies are home!

My bums are finally home!  They start out over at the corrals at Vern's, just in case they can be grafted somehow.  That necessitates me driving over twice or three times a day to feed them; a practice that soon loses it's charm for both my in-laws and me. 

We put up a little fence, here at our house, move a shelter over and add a water trough and shazzam!, the bum pen is ready!  They're happy because they have lots of room, green grass and constant company.  I'm happy because I can stroll out and feed them whenever my heart desires.  The kids are happy because they have little chores and endless entertainment.  The in-laws are happy because we're out from underfoot and they don't have to look at the little beasts.  It's a good thing.

First day in the new digs.  Lily couldn't figure out what the heck I was doing, sitting in the grass with that thing pointed at her. She's so very bright and alert....nothing gets past her, especially if she thinks it might possibly be something with a milk bottle.

 I stood up and said, "Hi, Lily-anna!" 

That's Mom!  And she's the one with the grub!  Lily thinks she's going to get a little treat...

 Willie is slower. He wakes up slow, he comes to the bottle slow, he drinks it slow. He wants to make certain I even HAVE a bottle, here...which I don't, and he suspects it. 

 It's lunchtime...and they're happy.  You can't see it, here, but Lily's tail swings back and forth contentedly as she's eating. 

 This is one of the best times of my day....just me and the babies. They're always happy to see me, they don't complain about what I cook... 

A little worried about the camera man.  I love the foamy slobbers!  This is Lily and she finishes a bottle in record time.  She might be a bit competitive.

 More slobbers...from Willie, who also doesn't care for the camera man.

She wants MORE!  Lily will work me over while Willie finishes his bottle, bunting and sucking on my clothes and being a general nusiance.

 When everyone's done, we play a little game of chase.  See Lily's tail?  She loves this.

 More later, Miss Lily!

For you, Mom!

School-made Mother's Day gifts are the greatest, aren't they?

My kids can't wait until the actual day, so here's a picture of the hand tiled trivet Maggie brought home on Friday.  Isn't it pretty?  She almost had me pull over on the side of the road, on the way home from the bus, to open the package!

It was wrapped very carefully in this, a wrapping picture of her own design. I like the loopedy-loops.

And my lad, Angus, made a bejeweled flower pot at preschool, filled with beans and a flower pen stuck down in it.  He gave it to me on the last day of preschool....let me play with it awhile....then took it back.  And started moving it all over the house, to find the perfect spot, as jewels dropped off with each handling.
I finally re-claimed it and put it in my kitchen window where he can't reach it.

Chapeaux

I love hats.
And I know I did a post on hats quite awhile ago, but I decided that since I do numerous posts on cows with no apologies whatsoever, I could toss out as many hat posts as I wish.  After all....it IS MY blog and this is what has captured my fancy this week.

The royal wedding, of Prince William and Kate Middleton, really resurrected the thrill for me.  I don't know if you happened to catch any of the wedding guest pictures, but let me tell you....the hats ranged from breathtaking to gasps of horror. 

Some examples:

At first, I thought the blue rowboat was the worst, but at least you can see around it.  Can you imagine sitting behind the exploded duck? 

I can't decide....do I admire her for wearing such a bold hat with apparent confidence or pity her for having to attempt to match the lipstick with it?

There are some guys who read this blog.  We're looking at HATS, fellas.  That's right....focus a little higher.
(This hat I really liked! The color, the style, the funny little feather....all of it.)

 Camilla's hat is wearing HER.  And not well.  But dig the Queen!  That woman can wear a hat, now. Kate's mother, in the blue, has a lovely hat as well. 

I saved the worst for last. 
You need to know that these two are Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Sara Ferguson's daughters. They don't get out much.
The four point rack...I don't know if Boone and Crockett got a chance to score that one.  And it's being held on to her head by....?  Maybe bolts.  I've looked at it in several photos from several angles and just can't figure out what's keeping it on her forehead.
The blue hat next to it looks positively conservative, but I believe if it was standing alone....which I think it might be able to do....it would be more attrocious. 

As if that wasn't enough fun for one week, we had the Kentucky Derby! Yes!

The whole Kentucky Derby scene is just glorious....fashion, mint juleps, horses and frou-frou hats.

Hats that could have their own zip code.

Hats that took three full grown peacocks molting feathers for two months to embellish.

Hats that make you laugh out loud for their audaciousness and yet still make you wish you could wear one.

My sister-in-law got to go to the Kentucky Derby this year and I don't mind telling you that I was absolutely a deep shade of emerald with envy.

It's not easy being green.

And she took some great pictures that I won't post here, but they just completely reaffirmed that I MUST go to the Derby, simply to ogle (and wear) hats.

Here are some pics from Derbys past:

This is my favorite.

I think my sister-in-law should've gone with something more like this....
(Honestly, I think this hat probably weighs as much as she does.)

This is the hat you'd want to sit behind....you'd actually see the race!

This photo shows all sorts of hats!

(I dearly love the dame in the center of the photo....she has had perhaps one too many celebratory juleps.)

So this was sort of an "Outrageous Hats" post, but aren't they fun?

Later this week, I'll show you what I'd really and truly wear, and what I really wish I had as part of my wardrobe!

Really.

Prepare to be stunned.

:)

Gardening Amnesia

I think I have a rather advanced case of it.

It's finally warm enough and calm enough and dry enough and I'm home enough to take a look at the state of the flower beds. 

Dismal, folks....exceedingly dismal.  I left last year's old annuals in the beds..."to feed the birds" (rolling of eyes by very neat and efficient gardeners, here) so I'm cleaning that out and realize that I really do need to invest in some plants and seeds this year.  Going with the self-reseeded sunflowers works for awhile, but it's starting to appear lazy and cheap, instead of charming and frugal.  Darn!

So I decided to make a list of what I needed and realized that I have Gardening Amnesia. 

I couldn't think of cool weather annuals to seed.  I couldn't remember the Latin name of columbine(aquilegia...came to me later).  I was frantic for perennial ideas and ended up having to go look in Lauren Springer and Rob Proctor's book "Passionate Gardening". 

This is serious, folks!

And it's going to take some intense horti-therapy to reverse the signs and progress.

Out come the gardening bibles I thought I'd memorized for life.

Three trips to EACH local greenhouse must be scheduled.

Seed packets must be replaced. I got all efficient and planted or threw out all of them last year. (Which is how this curse fell upon me; it's like giving away baby clothes.  You JUST don't EVER go into a year with no leftover seed packets. It's wrong. I don't know what I was thinking.)

I may have to have a *gasp* garden party, just to get some ideas from other people who are horticulturally healthy and unaffected by G.A.

The first step to recovery is acknowledgement of the problem. 
Now you know that I know and I'm on the path to recovery. 

Is anyone else experiencing this malady right now?  I need a support group.  And some perennials.

The Top 15 Things We Can Learn From the Movies...

I didn't come up with these....they're from my Farmer's Almanac....but they're too good not to share!

• Beds have special, L-shape top sheets that reach up to the woman's armpit but only to the waist of the man lying beside her.
• The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. No one will ever think of looking for you in there, and you can travel to any other part of the building without difficulty.
• Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language.  A German accent will do. 
• A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
• A cough is usually the sign of a terminal illness.
• When confronted by an evil international terrorist, sarcasm and wisecracks are your best weapons.
• One man shooting 20 men has a better chance of killing them than 20 men firing at one man.
• Taxi drivers don't require exact or even approximate payment; the first bill you pull from your pocket is always correct.
• A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.
• Most people keep a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, especially if any of their family or friends have died in a strange boating accident.
• All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread.
• If a large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown through it before long.
• The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.
• You're likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
• If you find yourself caught up in a misunderstanding that could be cleared up quickly with a simple explanation, for goodness' sake, keep your mouth shut.

Tea with the Princesses

Yesterday, the kids and I went to Miles City to have tea with the Princesses at the Ursuline Convent!

It's supposed to be for little girls, but Angus just HAD to go....because, you know, he has "handsome clothes" and any excuse to wear them is alright.  Even if he has to hang out with a bunch of chicks.

Here's a picture for Shelly, with the homecoming tiara on HRH.

We ALL dressed up.  Do you see the very fancy necklaces that Maggie and Angus made me? 

They go with everything.  :)

(You may wonder why the little faces are less than happy.  It's because we were taking up valuable time with silly pictures, when we could be headed to the tea!  So they grudgingly stood there, but they weren't happy about it.)

First princess we met?  Snow White!  AND had the bonus delight of finding cousins!  Miss Jentry found us immediately and we got to spend time with her and baby Javon.

They had all seven little dwarf beds!  There was no room to get all of them in a picture. 

Fancy cookies!  And pink lemonade...

Aren't they cute? There wasn't much left of the plate of cookies when we were done...

And Ariel, the Little Mermaid...

Okay, this is what it looked like on three floors, only even more packed in most places. Everywhere we tried to go, it was a swirling mass of little girls in princess dresses and parents.  We were completely overwhelmed!  I had no idea it would be that wild.

Angus found a sandbox by the Little Mermaid corner and he was completely happy to stay there and play in the dirt.  Next year, I think he can find something manly to do for the day, because he didn't really enjoy the whole princess experience.

Maggie came running to me, all agasp, "MOM! I found BELLE!"  and then she went back to dance and twirl.

 I took pictures of little girls that made me smile...I have no idea who they are, but isn't this the most adorable thing you've ever seen in sparkly blue harem pants?!

 And this princess cracked me up.  She was about 2 feet tall...just teensy...and VERY serious about the whole deal. 

Curtsy and then let's be moving on, Mom...no wasting time on this photo nonsense!

Tinkerbell...who isn't actually a princess, but no one cared.  She sprayed the little girls with pixie dust!

Getting fingernails painted, with sparkly polish.  They had to wait in line for this...a long line.

Princess Jasmine, who seemed to be Maggie's favorite because she had a magic carpet. (It was only magic to little girls with big imaginations.  For some, it was just a tired old rug! Maggie took it to China for noodles.)

She had purple eyeshadow and lip gloss done....

Oooooo! Pretty!

Pocahontas...

 Okay, this is for all you People of Walmart fans!  I couldn't get a great picture without being really obvious, so this was the best I could do.  In case you can't read the shirt, it says "Silence! I KEEL you!"  She looked as though she really might, too, which is ANOTHER reason I didn't want her to know I was taking her picture....

 Tired and sparkled, and ready to go to the Airport Inn for some protein and yet another party that we didn't know was going on....Martha's 60th birthday!  (Someday, a post about this waitress....she's my favorite.)