Daffodilias

Yesterday, at precisely 1:32 pm, spring arrived. Why 1:32 pm EDT, you might ask? Well, I'm not really sure, except Caroline, Weather Channel enthusiast extraordinaire, told me. And believe me, if a tidbit of information has anything to do with weather and/or numbers, you better believe her.

And so I did.

I don't need Weather Nerd Girl to tell me that spring has arrived; I just need to look out my window.

There's green stuff growing!


And daffodils blooming. Or, as Caroline has been calling them, daffodilias. Because, really? Made up names are much more fun than their boring official counterparts.


We had a busy Saturday. Or, as I like to refer to it as, the day that went on and on and on.
We woke up early and nearly bright eyed and bushy tailed for our weekly jaunt around the neighborhood with our fellow Croc Trotters. The weather was cool, but much more enjoyable than last week's cold, wet, rain.

After we cooled down with the group and brought home our post-run snack of itty bitty clementines, we came home. Breakfast was had, showers were taken, coupons were clipped. You know, standard Saturday morning stuff.

After lunch we set out to wash my car.

Car washing doesn't seem like work to a kid when a hose is involved.

She's finally earning her keep!

After we washed the car, Caroline played outside for a bit. Her best bud is away this weekend and another is grounded. The third was able to play for a bit before she had to go to gymnastics. I seem to suffer the most when Caroline's playmate choices are so limited. It seems that when she doesn't have anyone to play with, she wants ME to entertain her. The problem is, I'm not very entertaining.

So, we took a walk.

More daffodilias!

In Caroline's eyes, a walk isn't worth taking unless there is some sort of refreshment involved. And I'm NOT talking about a bottle of water brought from home. Suggestions like those are met with an eye roll and a loud sigh, as if you've sufficiently ruined their whole existence by suggesting that water from home is an acceptable substitute for a drink from the store. In Caroline's defense, I remember not appreciating my own mom's suggestion of getting a drink from a water fountain when I was DYING OF THIRST and in DESPERATE need of a drink, that wasn't from a free, communal, germ infested water fountain.

Behold, our walking destination.

And look! Chicken burrito rollers 2/$2! SCORE.

Actually, um, no. As happy as I am that 7-11 is taking great strides to provide the public with a variety of good eats, there is no way I'd eat a chicken burrito roller from 7-11.

Slurpees, however, are an entirely different story.

On the walk Caroline informed me that because she is 8, she is therefore qualified to have a medium Slurpee, as opposed to the small, she usually gets. I shouldn't say "usually" because I think she's only had maybe three Slurpees in her entire life. Knowing full well that she cannot even finish a small, I obliged her request, in the spirit of good will and springtime frivolity.

I like a Slurpee as much as the next mom, and they did have an intriguing blackberry lime flavor, but instead, I opted for my classic standby. The Super Gulp. If I had been feeling especially frisky, I may have opted for the granddaddy of them all...the Double Gulp, but I decided to take it easy this afternoon. I'd say that 32 ounces of caramel colored, carbonated, cancer causing chemicals is sufficient. Wouldn't you? If only I could think of a synonym for sufficient that starts with a "c"....then I'd have one awesome sentence of alliterative genius

Pardon the gnarly bandaged finger. I had a problem getting the hose off the spout after we finished washing the car. Righty tighty, lefty loosey can get kind of confusing sometimes.


As it turns out, I should have gone for the Slurpee because my soda was undesirably flat. The ice melted too quickly on our walk home and it was an all around unappealing and downright disappointing beverage experience. It's a shame to waste good chemicals, but I wasn't enjoying my flat soda; down the drain it went.

Caroline enjoyed her Slurpee. The 1/3 of it she drank. I knew finishing a medium Slurpee would be too much of a feat for her, but that's okay. Some things aren't worth fighting over.

It was only 3pm when we came home from our walk. Still playmate-less, Caroline found something to occupy her time, but she did get me to take her to the school playground after dinner.

All in all, it was a good day.

Good, but LONG.