Thing One:
Fun with hair:

It's Cindy Lou Who!

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Thing Two:
Today we went to Sam's Club.  And when we got home, it was time for another veggie chopping fest!

Look!  A 1-Carrot Ring!

Ninja Carrots?

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Thing Three:
Here is The Boy, having a time out.
I love that he chose that book to occupy himself while simmering down...

Well, we're heading into a day of fun, starting with an early morning orthodontic appointment.  Fortunately they never take too long.  I might surprise the crew by stopping by the Library on the way home afterward... although managing the books they bring home is always a challenge of mythic proportion!

Been working with The Boy on math lately.  Just math.  Nothin' but math.  Oh, yeah, we're havin' a ball!  

We're also attempting, deliberately and with a surprising degree of forethought, to begin preparations for the arrival of my parents at the end of the month.  Tightening up the chore schedule, tackling some bigger jobs, one at a time... planning ahead is something to which I am unaccustomed, frankly.  I am Miss Procrastinator to the nth degree I'm afraid, and have grown quite expert at the last-minute wing-it job.  You might say a prayer for me that I keep to this straight and narrow path... I have a feeling it will improve our lives considerably!

And to that end, I should get up and off this computer, drink my coffee, and find shoes for some children before we are ready to walk out the door, instead of five minutes after we should have done so!

The good news is, we got the report on Megan's thumb x-rays and there is no fracture.  Thanks be to God.  It is still sore to move and touch, and the brace helps protect that, but she may take it off whenever she feels like doing so.

And I'm up at 2:27a.m. because I just got back from seeing "The Dark Knight" with my brother.  The 11:15 show was quite full... there were scattered empty seats, but not many.  I think that unlike the earlier Batman movies, my children are going to have to wait to see this one... no kidding, it is dark.  And disturbing.  I wouldn't recommend it for the under 14 crowd.  It's going to make a huge amount of money this weekend, and rightly so... in terms of the performances, the special effects, the directing - in every way this film is a tour de force.  I will be surprised if it doesn't receive a lot of awards.

I have been dreading this day ever since May 13 when I so horribly destroyed Geneva's birthday cake.
However, it seems I may have gotten bettah when it comes to making birthday cakes.
I managed a French Vanilla cake with double-fudge and pink frosting.
****AND IT DIDN'T FALL APART!!!****

QOD:
"That looks like a real birthday cake!"
--Jacob--

Here is Megan before her date with Dad.

The two of them had a great time.  I thought they were going to go to the Olive Garden... and that was the plan until Paul mentioned the Texas Roadhouse!  Well, once the words "steak house" were out of his mouth there was no turning back.  Megan is all about MEAT!!

Here they are upon their return.  I wanted a nice picture of father and daughter on this auspicious occasion.  This is what I got.

And this.

And here is my lovely young lady.

And this is what we gave her for her birthday present.

Singing the birthday song.

The Birthday Tree!

Who knew she could fit all 12 candles in her mouth at once...

The Four Musketeers!

Well, I spent the whole morning running between the family practice clinic and Good Samaritan hospital and several buildings on the Phoenix Children's hospital campus trying to get a diagnosis on Megan's thumb.  The doctor suspects a break and sent us on the hunt to get an X-ray, which was a far trickier endeavor than one would suspect, due to the number of medical facilities in this metropolis, and rules like "I'm sorry, we don't x-ray anyone under the age of 14" -- which, you'd THINK, the clinic would have known before they sent me on that wild goose chase...  Also, the kids have decided they really like parking on the top level of parking garages and riding the elevator all the way down.  We did that in two different parking garages.   At least one time we got to see a helicopter landing on the roof right next to us as we were arriving... that was cool!  The girls were impressed with the lady pilot.

The upshot was, when we finally got out of the PCH after getting the x-rays done, that a) the doctor will get the films in "1-3 days", b) we still don't know anything more than we did this morning, c) Meg has to keep the Wal-greens velcro brace on until we learn more, and d) I had four very hungry children by the time we reached Del Taco around 1:30 p.m.  (I enjoyed my diet coke and my Mex Ceasar salad very much indeed!)

And in MORE runnin' around news, I have to leave in a little while to take Jacob to Karate, because Paul is runnin' around trying to find a head for CEL.  I have tasked Laurent with making a nice big tuna noodle salad for supper... I can pick up some fresh veggies from Wal-mart while I'm out to throw in when we get home.