aborted missions, smailand and reject toys

the bad news :
alas it was not to be - our final stab in the dark at finding a non-wood-paneled, uncreepy-with-eyes-in-the-ceiling-that-follow-you vacation rental home has failed and we are forced to spend our entire miserable long hot summer break stuck in the hell that is sunny Southern California... oh woe is me :(

the good news:
yesterday i made huuuge chocolate and m&m covered pretzel sticks and they are sooo delicious!!! i stole the idea from Marceline, the fictitious lady at Disneyland who makes lovely, but ridiculously overpriced, chocolate wares that everytime i buy i swear i could make myself. anyway yesterday i did and they are SO GOOD (they are all gone already they are soooo good!)

today something absolutely amazing happened - i was able to leave a small child (actually several small children!) at the smailand play place in IKEA - and walk away - not just walk away but get to the top of the escalator and still not have my pager go off... and actually walk around the entire store without it going off so much as once - at which point i had to check it was still working... and peek inside smailand to make sure the children had not hatched a plan and escaped together :) it was completely awesome!!!!!!! we even all had FREE lunch courtesy of those boneheads at IKEA that i have been getting even with, ever since they once tried to rip me off by not letting me return a side table that clearly didn't match the rest of the room. (oh they took it back - you'd better believe it) ha!! take that you swindling swedes!!! and i'll be back tomorrow for MORE free babysitting and MORE free lunches!!!

ps free kid meals everyday till 5 july, no purchase necessary! i intend to force them into bankruptcy by going for lunch every single day with every child i can find along the way :|

i feel SO SOOOOO SAD for all these poor sad reject toys at Oriental Trading Co :( so sad i might even consider buying all the unusually small leprechaun hats that are not actually big enough to wear and the halloween masks that leave ink all over your face :)

maybe. off to bed via the kitchen for a scoop of icecream (shh don't tell the kids there is icecream!!)