ice cream factory

Today we attended the ice cream workshop at Gorgeous Millie. Or, as I told my dad, I went to the ice cream factory. I had a grand time making the ice cream and an even better time playing. As usual, I was able to earn some one-on-one time with the instructor so I could tell her about my favorite flavor. She  had a multi-color set of measuring cups so it was important for her to know that my dad's favorite color is blue (probably not true) and that my best color is orange (also not entirely true). After the ice cream was ready, there were a variety of toppings to sprinkle on my sundae.

Here is a photo of me enjoying the fruits of my labor. Though I once loved ice cream more than anything, I am not terribly interested in it anymore. My mom once bought a less good flavor of Ben and Jerry's and that ruined my life. My mom loved the ice cream today. very creamy, she said.

When we got home, I had no interest in napping. But I had a raging sweet tooth so we had to make peanut butter cookies. Then I ruined my dinner because I ate 1/4 jar of organic (unsweetened) peanut butter - straight out of the jar.

more goodbyes

Today was the final day of the Gorgeous Millie summer term. Luckily for me, I will be attending a birthday party there tomorrow, another later in the summer, and we have signed up for an ice cream workshop on Tuesday. We already know how to make ice cream but it is an excuse to prolong the impending arrival of countless empty days.

We are scrambling to make some meaningful plans for August. We have our Monday playdates. Our week will now include a trip to story/craft time at the Laura Bush library. We have some other invitations that we need to accept. and quick! We also need to start resetting my internal clock so I can become a student who gets up early five mornings a week.

This photo is of me and the new love of my life. She was in my preschool class and she is the one who talked us into joining Gorgeous Millie (best decision ever). We both love puzzles and reading. We also like to hold hands.

You might wonder why I am wearing my pajamas - especially when I don't even sleep in them! Today was a special "pancakes and pajamas" party. And we got an e-mail late last night that there would also be treats from the Cupcake Bar.

This is what cupcake envy looks like. It did not matter that my mom did not restrict me to one cupcake and she let me pick the ones I wanted (one at a time, of course). I have an affinity for pink frosting (or butter, as I call it). But still I could not help but long for whatever cupcakes each of my friends had. Can I have a white one? I need a chocolate one. They were all deliciously moist cupcakes and somehow I managed to choke down four of them. My mom did too.

baking

This morning we woke up and baked banana bread. It isn't really baking weather but we turned the AC way cold and ignored the summer.

As usual, my job was to stir. The key to making the best and biggest loaf is not stirring very much (and always always always stir by hand but this rule applies to all baking). We put blueberries in our bread; I know when the stirring is done when all of the berries are hiding.

I could share my recipe, but I won't. My mom has recently but reluctantly shared her best recipes with Trinity: quiche, potato cheddar soup, and baked mashed potatoes.

After the loaf is tucked safely in the oven, my mom lets me lick the spatula. I would rather just eat the entire loaf raw.

the princess and the fireman

Gorgeous Millie has been our saving grace this summer. Two mornings a week, we visit with good friends and enjoy the greatest collection of toys ever assembled. My mom is especially fond of the neverending supply of English breakfast tea. She did not become a victim of the latte machine, luckily.

The moms at Gorgeous Millie love me. And I love all of the praise I get for being the sweetest boy. The moms ask: how did you get him to be so articulate? well mannered? gentle? (Hint: turn off the tv and read some books. easy as pie.)

I mostly play with the girls. I like to dress in high heels and wave my wand about. I can even run in heels now! That really impresses the moms . . . but not so much my mom.

Now that I am a big kid, I play nicely with the little ones. I am not sure when I became the role model though but I take my responsibility very seriously.

Sadly, Gorgeous Millie closes for the summer next week. Then what?

If I cannot be a princess much longer, I can always be a firefighter. Here I am reporting for duty on Monday. I impressed the crew during the fire safety lecture with my story about that time our fire alarms malfunctioned (remember that debacle?) and the other time that my neighbors burned down their house when their parents weren't home.