Thursday

Thursday it was raining pretty hard, but I wanted to get out of the house since we had been in all week. So the kids and I met up at the mall with Amy and Crystin. We went into a few stores first.. and I was going to get a few things but I had left all my coupons in the car on accident (maybe that happened for a reason-- so I wouldnt buy the kids any more clothes ;) The kids did ok for awhile, but then I had to bribe them with lollipops. I have a stash in my cabinet at home that I use for occasions like that. Then we went to the foodcourt to get some lunch. Caleb wanted chick-fil-a so we stood in that line, then went over to Sabarros to get Rachel and I some pizza and salad. When Rachel was done she started throwing bits of pizza as hard as she could.. i even caught a woman at another table smirking at us.. Oh well, we are still working on that. Then I had to take Caleb to the bathroom.. so we just chose the big FAMILY bathrooms they have (love them b/c I can take my stroller in there too) And Rachel watched Caleb pee pee in the tiny toilet (so cute) and said "ewwwww". She is hilarious, everything is icky to her. She even said that when I was changing the other day-- tried not to take it personally. Anyway, we made one more stop before we left.. Amy wanted to go into a store and check out a skirt. By then Caleb was being AWFUL.. I gave him a pop on the butt.. and he started shrieking. Not that it hurt, he was just mad. Then i happened to look outside the store, to the sitting area, and there was a couple, and an old man watching us. And.. surprise! The couple was smirking at us, too. I dont know why people cant mind their own business sometimes! I was just trying to discipline my child, thank you very much! After that I decided it was definately time to head home, the kids had had enough. At least we were able to escape the house for awhile, though!

Here is Caleb in the gap. Surprisingly he is in a good mood.. he usually whines when we shop

She walked right up to me and said "CHEESE!!" Guess shes getting used to my constant picture-taking ;)

My friend Crystin, and her son Connor, who is almost 1!

Rachel watching Caleb ride the Bob the Builder ride

Thursday ended up being one of those looong days, so when Arnold got home we decided to go to eat at the Snack Bar.. great local place. It was very crowded though, so we ate at the table right next to the door.. so we always were right there when people came in and went out. The waitress didnt seem too thrilled to be waiting on us.. but she seemed thrilled with the table near us where an older gentleman was sitting. So.. it can either me she knew she was in for a hassle at a table with 3 young kids, or she didnt like the fact that I had brought in snacks and drinks for the kids.. when the sign on the door clearly said "NO OUTSIDE FOOD!!" But anyway.. she was right.. because our meal was a disaster! We had to wait forever since they were busy.. so we had to keep the kids occupied. Then during the meal Brooke spilled her milk and it fell all over her chair, the floor, and her. And while Arnold leaned over the table to get some napkins, he knocked the syrup over and it spread alll over the table. And in the process of clean up I got some milk AND ketchup on Rachels new owl bookbag/diaperbag. I cant seem to keep anything clean with them! We tried to clean the mess up ourselves, as best we could. On the plus side-- my daughter is a GREAT eater! She has never been picky! she actually chose HERSELF the salad and fruit bar as her dinner! she sat there and ate a big salad, and a bowl of fruit. Such a healthy dinner.. i was proud :) Oh.. so back to the waitress.. I went ahead and laid down her tip early.. and it was pretty generous (i felt bad about the mess) and wouldnt you know? She perked right up and was kind until we left (funny how money changes things ;)