For One Time Use Only

Shortly before Tyler was born, our neighbors gave us a kids' ice cream maker. They had it for their kids but didn't use it. Well let me tell you, there's a reason for that. We decided to bust it out yesterday to entertain the kids for a while. Jeff was a good sport and was the 'adult supervision.' It involved mixing packets of high fructose corn syrup solids with half and half, pouring it into a poorly designed contraption and churning for 3-5 minutes. By the end, the kids were covered in some type of ice cream-like substance, and so was the table, the floor, and a cookbook that had been sitting on the table. Katie had a chocolate beard, and Jeff had run out of good will toward the ice cream maker. We called it quits and attempted to clean up the mess. This process was quite involved and I have no doubt there are still traces of said ice cream-like substance smeared throughout my kitchen. Lets just say that this device is for one time use only. The kids would have a heart attack if they knew that their ice cream maker is currently waiting to meet its maker, sitting in the bottom of my trash can. That bad boy is going to the landfill, stat!

And in other news, since my children turn 4 and 2 this week (seriously...how did this happen?), they moved up in their classes at church. Katie moved from the nursery to the 2-3's class, and James moved from there to the preschool class. Katie cried for about 12 seconds, then went in to play. James walked right in and didn't look back. (This was a big change from his long adjustment period in the nursery.) He loved his class and hasn't stopped talking about it since. He wants to go to church every day. Katie seemed to have fun, and even got to make a craft. Gotta love an imaginative Sunday school teacher...dolls out of panty hose and toilet paper. Now that's using what you have! I think once Katie realizes that 2-3's is not just one big giant Cheerio-stealing fest she'll have a lot of fun! And I am sure her little palate will soon grow to appreciate the subtleties of a good animal cracker too.