'Atsa Nice Pizza Pie!

Recently we were invited by some friends to join them for a tour of the local Dominoes pizza parlor. The kids got to walk all over the store, investigating everything it took to produce one of the best pizzas in our area. They were particularly fond of playing in the cold cold refrigerator where they discovered TONS of shredded cheeses and got to poke at some rising pizza dough. From there they moved on to being mesmerized by the magnet that goes on top of the delivery cars. It was stuck to the side of a vending machine and the kids took turns trying to pry it loose from the magnets holding it on. The highlight of the day however, had to be when they all got to make their own pizzas. They stretched the dough, spread the sauce and sprinkled on the toppings. Then they got to place it on the conveyor belt that led it through the oven. When it popped out the other side of the oven it was transported to the cutting table where they got to participate in cutting and boxing their own pizza pies. We thanked the Dominoes employees profusely and headed to the local playground to enjoy our feast. What a great way to teach kids the appreciation of cooking food and how everything happens in a sequence and rewarding them for a little hard work. Great GREAT idea for a playdate. Thanks Lauren!

It's Good to be Mist

I spent the weekend with a few girlfriends doing some scrapbooking at one of their houses. When I got back, my little darling had prepared this note for me. She is SO STINKIN' SWEET.

Woops.

The kiddos got invited to a tea party for one of their little toddler friends a couple weeks back. It was a party open to both girls and boys so we loaded up the kiddos and headed on over. I had packed up some Triscuits and cut cheese slices into little leaves and acorns for a festive fall touch to the dish. Since we were pretty excited about going, we stopped by the local grocery store and picked up some petit fores from their cutesy bakery.

The tea was going smashingly, with the kids playing on the playground and then a few hide and seek games and it was time to eat. Everyone was having a great time, enjoying the treats when the host's daughter began crying and then vomiting. Everyone looked shocked and then panicked about what could possibly be wrong. As it turns out, the little girl has nut allergies...BAD nut allergies. Guess what is in petit fores? Almond paste.

Did I know that before I bought and brought them? No.
Would I go back and NOT bring them if I could? Absolutley.
Is there anything I could do at the time except apologize profusely and offer any help I could give (which was really none)? Nope.

I felt HORRIBLE. The poor thing threw up the whole rest of the party and didn't get to enjoy her pretty tea party that her mommy had thrown for all of us. Who gets mommy of the week award for that week? Not this girl. Woops.

Mental Snapshot

This is what exhausted looks like. Thanks Uncle Eddie and Erika for letting us visit, swim in your pool and giving us a place to crash in Phoenix.