Catching up

I have every intention of getting up early every day and doing a quick blog post about the goings on of the Q-Fam, but then something shiny catches my attention, or dad-gum Facebook gets my attention and takes up my no-kids time, or I check my eyelids for cracks for an extra hour (sleep). Basically I have ADD of housework and computer time. Oh well. My kids are fed and loved and played with and my house only halfway looks like a landmine went off in it.

ANYWAY, like a week and a half ago, we joined our playgroup at the skating rink for some cute kid-time. Once a month they open the rink for little kids to bring any form of wheeled vehicle they can carry in and they get full rein of the place for a couple hours. The first time my playgroup went, I was a scaredy cat and didn't go. I was a little concerned about the whole two kids, one that doesn't walk situation. But, then I remembered my beloved ERGO kid carrier (more on that in another post). I strapped my snuggle-Max to my chest and was able to run after Rylan all I wanted.

Aunt Angie, Uncle Clay, check out how awesome Rylan was on his battery operated 4-wheeler. I saw at least 2 other kids coveting the awesomeness.

Snack time with Lily. She shared her m&m's.

Rylan was happy just to run around the floor under the disco ball and strobe lights. Then he found the Little Mermaid car, and became obsessed.

Ry's friend Drew, he scootered so much he got real tired.

The obsession continues, and he basically tried to steal it

Cutie Eli. His mama Cheryll is sooooo smart. Next Friday, when we do this again, Max is getting hooked up with a walker.

I turned around when we got home to see this. Cutie patootie.

Then last week, or so, we met our friends at Allsopp Park. I think this might be our spring/early summer Wednesday hangout. We've been two of three of the past Wednesdays. I was picked to host a House Party for Philadelphia Cooking Creme. If you haven't heard of www.houseparty.com, let me tell you about it. When a company has a new product line, they offer House Parties to get word of their product out. You apply to host a House Party, and, if chosen, you are sent a huge box of free stuff and coupons to pass out to your guests, products to demo at your party, and a hostess gift.

This was my first time being chosen. I decided that playdates at my house are uber stressful on me, and after the last one, we had a ripped up book and cookies all over the floor. This wasn't a problem when we had Curt, the wonder cleaner upper of all things meat and cookie. But, our other dog, Lola, isn't what you'd call "helpful." So, I hosted the party at Allsopp Park. I was given free Philadelphia Cooking Creme in every flavor. I used the Original to make spinach dip, the Savory Garlic to make calzones, and the Santa Fe to make chicken enchiladas. It was all delicious. My hostess gift was the world's most awesome skillet, and my guests got coupons and wooden cooking spoons and cookbooks with recipes using the cooking creme.

Oh yeah, the day of the house party, Rylan, randomly decided 3am was a good wake-up time. So, here he is at 8am, about to crash and burn. Usually he's my kitchen helper. Not so much this day.

The spread. I added some cut up veggies so that we didn't completely clog our arteries in one day, eating 3 kinds of cream cheese.

Rob successfully survived his 2nd playdate. The first one was a little overwhelming to him and he skirted out early, but this one was better. When the estrogen became too much, he took Rylan to the swings and had some dude time.

Our friends enjoying the party delights.

After filling our bellies with cheese, the kids decided to romp in the creek that I can only hope isn't full of waste water from the local restaurants. The other kiddos did this thing called "wading." Rylan fully submerged himself and eventually tried to drink the water.