Space Day Birthday Boy

We have always had the kids birthday parties at home but this year, for the first time, we had it someplace else...

We reserved the Southworth Planetarium at USM for Declan's 8th birthday party. They provide the tables and you just have to bring the cake and plates. The walls are already decorated too. The 2 hour party included a 1 hour show inside the planetarium. I will confess to falling asleep during it.
This weight machine told you your weight on different planets. The kids couldn't get enough of it but I stayed far away from it.
I figured if we weren't having the party at home then I shouldn't make the cake either. The store bought cake turned out to be pretty good and one less thing I had to worry about. His actual birthday is this Tuesday so I'll make him a cake for that.
We opened presents after cake and almost everything was Lego. It makes him happy. Soon, he will have enough of them to build us a bigger house.
In the end, they all had a good time and Declan was very happy which is all that matters. I was very happy because I got to leave the mess behind and come home to a clean house. He wants to have his party there again next year but I told him I forbid him to get any older.

The Addiction Rages On

The wedding magazines have hit the stands and I have found myself buying them. I've managed to hold off on the cheesiest of them. Of course, that is all relative depending on how you view the royal family.

My friend Chelsea at work is lucky enough to have English parents and they understood the importance of being there in the crowd for the wedding. They took Chelsea along with them and she brought me back some souvenirs. I now own a William and Kate shopping bag, tea towel and one of the flags the crowd waved. I don't know what to do with them but I am very glad to have them.

The Courtship Of Declan's Mom

Today, Tim and Grace left for an overnight Girl Scouts trip to Boston. This left Declan and I all alone. This never happens and I turned into a divorced parent trying to cram in as many activities as possible into their custody weekend. You could practically hear Harry Nilsson singing in the background.

We got Free Comic Book Day and the weekly library visit out of the way early. We then drove up the Gray Animal Farm. We got there just in time for the thunderstorm. Now I know they had said there would be rain this afternoon but somehow I just thought that didn't apply to me. I had spent the gas money to drive 20 miles from home and we were going to go inside. I just decided to wait out the rain.
Declan was not happy with me because he thought we were going to float away.
The rain finally let up and so we finally went in to see some lions and tigers and bears. Okay, they don't have lions or tigers but they do have bears. And moose.

This raccoon did not seem to like the weather either. It did seem to like to pee judging by the smell of his cage.
We spotted a Canadian Goose. You can also spot that Declan wasn't happy and wanted to get through the park before we were struck by lightning.
He perked up at the bear cage. He yelled at them to do circus tricks but they just kept staring at him.
Here is a gang of bully wild turkeys trying to intimidate the peacocks. Declan was more interested in looking for Harry Potter's owl.
I think every kid in Maine has taken a picture at this bear cutout. Declan did his best to cooperate. It's a good picture of his eye. After this we got ice cream. I discovered they make an Andes Candies mint ice cream bar. How did I not know these existed? Then it started to pour so we finally left.
After that, we came back to to civilization and we went shopping for some summer clothes and new sandals. We ended our day with a high class dinner at Denny's. Hey-kids eat free on Saturdays. Declan spent some time reading the paper while we waited for our bacon and french toast. Then we went home and Declan got to watch a movie in his room. Now I have to come up with something else for tomorrow before we have to pick up Tim and Grace at the train station.

Nutty

This is Nutty the baby squirrel. Friday night, she or he, was found barely moving in the road by Grace. I'm going with her being a she. We think she fell out of a tree and smashed into the tar. She was barely moving when we found her and we thought she was all broken. Turns out-she just stunned herself. I guess baby squirrels are bouncy. A little time to herself inside Tim's shoe inside a box and she was ready to go.
Trouble is, she had become very attached to us. I Googled her after she tried to nurse on Tim's leg and it said the best thing to do for her is put her back where we found her. That way, hopefully, her mother could find her. We tried at first to just leave her on the lawn but she would just come running over to us whenever we went outside to check her. Tim finally had to take her over to the tree and she scooted back up it. It got dark after that and we haven't seen her again. I don't know what became of her but I just keep telling myself she's curled up back in her mothers nest.

My Secret Addiction

Whenever I see people that collect Elvis memorabilia or china dolls off QVC, I think to myself that they are nutters. Who in the world would want all that junk in their house? Then, I have to admit to myself that I have my own secret collection. I don't like to talk about it too much or I'll be looked at like those doll women. But, here goes-I am obsessed with the British Royal Family and I have been for about 30 years.

From far away, these just look like normal bookcases. If you get up close you will see that there are approximately 40 books on Princess Diana and or the Royal Family. After her death, I discovered EBay and it was flooded with books and I bought them all.
There are more books on top of the bookcase because they are just too tall. My favorite one is the one on top-Princess by Robert Lacey. I used to check this one out of the library over and over when I was little.
Once, on EBay, someone was selling their 1980's Diana People collection. Of course I bought all of them. Except they didn't have the wedding issue which I still need.
There's jewelry too. A silver heart pin belongs to that cardboard backing but I can't find it at the moment. I know I put it someplace though because I come across it every once in a while. I just can't remember where that is right now. I also have a Diana scrabble tile necklace. I never wear it but I just like having it.
Here's where things get sort of creepy but I know it at least. I have the BBC recordings of her funeral and I sometimes like to listen to it in the car. I know it is strange but I love to hear her brothers eulogy where he tells the Queen to stuff it.
My friend Heather understands this obsession because she shares it. We agreed it was a crime that she lives all the way in Idaho and we couldn't watch Williams wedding together-Facebook had to do for us that morning. She heard there that TJ Maxx had a stash of William and Kate stuff but mine didn't. I did manage to score these little tea tins and some shortbread cookies.

So there you have it-My name is Kate and I'm a Royal Family addict. I like the way I handle it though. Other than the books, nothing is out on display. It's not like I have giant posters on my walls or I walk around the house wearing a tiara. Now, excuse me while I go off to find the ingredients to make Prince Williams cookie groom cake. Here, watch this-because God knows I can't stop watching it.