Day #73 (It's Better in Mentor... really) (from Saturday)

This morning, I was willing to sell all 4 of my daughters BEFORE 9:00am (aggh!!! None of them are capable of waking on time for school without multiple wake-up calls from mom. But, of course, there's no problems with waking EARLY on the weekend - when NO ONE has to get up!)

Around 9:30am, we headed out for the annual "It's Better in Mentor" parade. IBIM is a 3-day event, celebrating our community. It starts on Friday and ends Sunday. The parade, which lasts upwards of 2 1/2 hours, is Saturday's event. The kids love it because they get to see friends march (Girl Scouts, cheerleaders, band, orchestra, etc.) Oh, and the people in the parade all toss candy to the kids. Each girl had one of the reusable-type grocery bags, so we came home with 4 bags filled HALF-WAY. Yikes! Way too much candy for us. Especially since most of it, Julia & Frankie can't eat because of their braces. So, they bagged up a bunch of candy and gave it to our various neighbors. Nice to see the girls "share the wealth."

After surviving the parade (we didn't get home until 1:00pm), Amelia announced she wanted macaroni and cheese for dinner. Hmmm... I had pasta shells on hand, a pound of cheddar cheese waiting to be shredded, a can of evaporated milk (much lower in fat and calories than using heavy cream). Okay, sounds like a plan. My recipe is really filling, we tend to serve it as a main course. To bulk it up a bit, I added half a pound of cooked ham. With biscuits and a garden salad, it was such an easy and extra-yummy dinner. (Thanks for the suggestion, Amelia.)

Then it was time for another couple of loads of laundry. Eventually, I just collapsed for the night.

Mary