For a while now, I've been pushing back the idea that I'm getting sick. It's been SO long since any of us have had the slightest cold, and it's been wonderful. I noticed myself loading up on the OJ lately, but I refused to feel sick.
Then Jack started his cough, and he woke up croupy one morning. Thankfully, he didn't miss any school yet. Last night, Chloë came downstairs at 0300, croupy and crying. Great, I thought. It begins. And then today, it hit me. Finally, there was no denying it any longer. I am sick. I feel like poo. My body hurts.
Too bad, so sad, though. Rob had to stand watch all day today {damn Navy}, and these kids just don't quit!
Thank God everyone slept in late this morning, because I was up 'til nearly 0500 on my charity thing. When we were all up, it was nearly time to go to my appointment, so we dressed quickly and left. I was gross and didn't get a shower, which I hate. But no turning back, or we'd be late.
Our first stop was at the "cupboard" for Fall Product stuff. I had to pick up the remainder of our order - the stuff people had ordered from me after the deadline. That took only a few minutes, as the cupboard keeper lady is really well organized and prepared.
Then we drove all the way to downtown Norfolk to deliver 8 tutus to the dancewear shop! That was really exciting for me. Too bad I felt and looked gross and delivered my goods in a big, black garbage bag! The owner said, "That's okay, we don't stand on ceremony here!" She was super nice, and I really liked her. She was excited about the tutus and thought they were really cute. She loved how I decorated and embellished them, and I was proud, because I really like them, too. I know from crappy, and if something I make turns out crappy, I don't pursue it. So that was a nice little payment to get, and I've decided just to include that money as part of my table fee for the big craft show next weekend, which means it's almost covered! Yippee.
We came all the way back to town to deposit that, and more tutu money from a few other sales I've had lately, at the credit union. The kids are so silly: whenever we go to the bank, even though they know I go through the drive-thru, they start bugging, "Can we come in? Can we come in?" Just because that one time, we went in and they got lollipops... they never forget!
[Side note: I just washed my face in vinegar. Don't ask. Rob's dying of laughter.]
Everyone was starving by then, so I called out to ask what people wanted for lunch. The girls wanted Wendy's, but the boy wanted to go home and have yogurt. All right, good enough. We swung by Wendy's and got a hunk of chicken on a bun for me, and some nuggets for the girlies, and home again, jiggity jog.
Fast forward through lunch and naps and Rob calling to say he was on his way home, at last, and then it was time to go to the school for the annual Fall Carnival. Joy. I still didn't shower. Big mistake. I was - am - really gross, now. Remind me not to do this non-showering-and-going-out-in-public thing again. It exacerbated my not feeling good, of that I am sure.
I had already bought the tickets on Monday (AND Tuesday, did I tell you about that fiasco? Whenever I send money with my children to school, they always come home shortchanged. Pisses me right the ^(*& off), so we marched past the ticket booth and headed for the food.
Jack had a bag of popcorn, Rob and I had nachos, and the girls split a hot dog. Three sodas. Twenty tickets. That was a big wipe-out of our 50 total (but someone was nice enough to hand us some more later on)!
After the food, we headed into the cafeteria to play games. All games but the cakewalk were 1 ticket, so we had plenty for each of them. Here, they chose a lollipop, and the color of the stick determined their prize (hey, not a lot of skill goes into these kiddie games). They were happy just for the candy, but they got little toy pieces of crap, too.
The next line was super-duper long, so I suggested Rob and Chloë go do the cakewalk while I waited with the Nons. Sophia, who dressed herself in last year's Christmas dress for this occasion, spent the waiting time spinning and watching her dress twirl.
They didn't win the cakewalk, but after the littles played, Chloë came back and knocked over all the little bottles at miniature golf. Of course, all the games had cute little Halloween-themed names, but I can't remember them. More little crappy prizes!
The third game was tic-tac-toe. Of course, Sophia and Jack have no clue how to play it, so we had to coach them. More loot for their treat bags, win or lose. Everyone's a winner!
At the next table, there was coloring. No contest, they got to keep their pictures, and they also got a sticker and a piece of candy. They liked that!
Sophie loved being able to hold her own ticket for the games. "Mom, see me! Take this picture!"
At the next game, they had to throw a ball through these hoops, five times. The girls actually made a few, especially because the carnie kept moving them forward of the line!
Chloë just looks cute throwing. I had a picture of Jack, too, but it was really blurry.
The girls each won a necklace at that game (Chloë chose purple, of course), and Jack got a skateboard keychain.
This game was hilarious. They had to throw some huge coins into the bucket head for their prize. There was a tape line to stand on, but the kids kept inching forward until, finally, they were pretty much right in front of the table and dropping it in. Sophie would skip, hop and jump forward and then slam-dunk them in. Rob and I just stood there and laughed along with the carnie. He was a really nice guy, really sweet to them. I just love nice people!
(I don't know why all the pictures are of Sophia, I thought I had more of all of them, sorry!) The next game was a beanbag toss. Again, they all made one or two, even Sophia standing back at the line. That was exciting; she was so thrilled.
After all the games, we had enough tickets left for Rob and Chloë to go through the Haunted House in the gymnasium. When we got up to the entrance, the Littles decided they wanted to go through, too. Ugh. So I had to go buy three more dollars worth of tickets, since it was a four-ticket event, each. No sooner did I pay the 20 tickets than Jack and Sophie got a good gander at the spookiness and high-tailed it out of there.
"Um, we changed our mind," I told to an annoyed Kris B. "I'm so sorry," I said about 30 times while she handed me back our tickets. Oh, well. We went to the Boy Scouts booth while Rob and Chloë entered the Haunted House. There, I asked questions about signing up Jack, and we filled out a card for them to call us when it was time for him to join, or whatever. They gave us some papers and things, and Jack eyed the give-away truck on their table. He asked for it, of course, and I laughingly explained that it was a prize for a raffle or something, and he couldn't just have it.
Just then, Rob and Chloë reappeared, with him loudly telling anyone who'd listen that they got a quarter of the way through before she chickened out. Judging from the look on her face, it was scarier than she expected. Oh well, maybe next year!
So then we went to the Face Painting area, but the line was really long. My back just couldn't hack it, so I said we'd have to skip it. Oh, Chloë was so upset, but I just couldn't stand there for half an hour. (I'm actually feeling incredibly blessed with the way I was able to get around, doing so much walking in Europe this past summer, considering how bad it was before and since then. Thank God for such favors.) She teared up, but we were moving on to the next thing.
The next thing: more cakewalk. We had enough tickets left for us all to do it twice. Since we were all in it at once, the Vice Principal running it (same one we ran into at the store the other day) announced on her microphone that she would run it five times in one round, for the five Odettes. That was embarrassing; the whole gym was staring at us and I hadn't showered! Nasty. But none of us won it!
The first time, I had held Sophie's sticky lollipop hand, and Rob had held Jack's. Chloë walked alone. The second time, Jack wanted to switch to me, and Sophia, well, she didn't. So in the picture above, she's calling out for Mommy and trying to break away from Daddy! Jack ended up winning a brownie, and Sophie won three cookies. Chloë lost again, and I could see the lip quivering.
We were out of tickets by then, but walking back toward the exit, I noticed the face painting line was empty. So I handed Rob a buck and told him to buy me more tickets. When he returned, I sent him and the Littles to the van, and told Chloë she could have her face painted. Oh, she lit up. She was overjoyed. The art teacher was doing the painting, and she made my little girl this butterfly:
She was thrilled with it, especially all the glitter. I had one last dollar in my pocket after that, so I let her go over to the PTA table and buy one thing, anything she wanted for a dollar or less. She chose a really cool pen with a jumping, moveable skeleton on the end.
So we went home after that, and Rob noticed he only had two bags with all the kids' loot and prizes and good stuff. Chloë immediately remembered that she left her bag behind at the face painting, but it was too late by then - the school was closed. "I'm sorry," I told her. "You have to learn to hold onto your things and bring them home!" She is really bad about that. Lunchboxes, coats... things don't come home. She had a meltdown. A real screaming, stomping fit. I'm kind of worried about her lately; she's not really in good control of her emotions. I've been talking to her about it, but I'm still concerned.
I'm hoping that, because her coloring picture with her name on it was in the bag, someone looked through it and will find that and return it to her on Monday morning. I know that would make her week.
Anyway, that was our day. Two more things:
These were the lemon cupcakes. I have about five super-huge cake tips that I wanted to try, so I just used them on these. Again, not for pretty, but for practice. Maybe the next time I'll actually make a cake that looks nice? Either way, the kids don't care and they taste the same!
Finally, don't be concerned about my "list" (did you go check it out?) - Rob has his own. It includes Tina Fey, Jessica Alba, Lauren Holly, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and, of all people, Annie Potts!!! Apparently she gave him major bonage during her Designing Women days.
That is all, folks.
Fin.