Wednesday

Tonight was the last night of Sparks. I'm not so sure that anything more could have gone wrong today. This morning looked pretty good - I started out early getting the brownies baked and ready to go, I even put some of my new Pampered Chef caramel sprinkles on them. While they were baking, I thought I would take some time to read the ingredients. Did you know that sprinkle-type toppings have tree nuts in them to make them crunchy? And, did you know that some people that are allergic to peanuts are also allergic to tree nuts? I can't say I was disappointed that I had just made two batches of brownies purely for my own consumption...

So out I go to run my last minute errands to get ready for our special Sparks night - getting forms for next year, couple things at the dollar store, more brownie mix - with three kids. This is the part where my mom starts going on about how in her day they just left the kids in the car with the windows down.... I get to the dollar store and get the one who I think is the most trouble put into the cart. Did you know that at the moment you open the door to the dollarama, it instantly transforms into a race track? Door opens and BAM! (in my bestest indy car commentator guy voice) there goes Bailey down the first aisle seeing nothing that she can play with or break and quickly moves on to the summer toy aisle where she OOOH knocks down a small display of water guns. What's this? Looks like Reilly has snuck up and started taking out all of the hula hoops. Mom starts to pick up the hula hoops and WHOAAAAA! Here come Bailey and Jack up the home stretch with several soccer balls!!! And now Reilly has discovered that he does not have one and has started to voice his discontent....

Half an hour later we are out the door and on the way to the grocery store. Did you know that two year old boys can imitate a crcodile's death roll to a 'T' when it comes to not wanting to get into a cart? And did you know that a 4 year old girl can ask to buy exactly 5643 things in the amount of time it takes to pick up a package of brownie mix?

Now, at home, new brownies in the oven and old (delicious yet dangerous) brownies being consumed by elated after schoolers, I am trying to fashion an oven from a box. I am using said oven for the thing tonight (We are putting the Sparks in the oven so that they come out as Brownies), so we are all helping put it together. Reilly has decided that he will be the official oven tester. I can't keep him out of it. "NO MAMA! MY UH-BIN!!" Tip: it is almost impossible to get a toddler out of a cardboard oven without wrecking it.

So I finally get to the church to get set up and we are stuck with a small room and lots of familie coming to watch their girls become brownies. And I can't get Reilly out of the oven. Again.

The Sparks party goes well and we have moved on to the snacking part when Bailey comes to ask if she can have another brownie. "I only had three mama" she says. Three. Aw crap how many have the other two had....It's going to be a loooooooong night isn't it? Wish me luck.