Friday kept me on my feet: the two pounds (dry) of beans I soaked overnight went on the stove and a double batch of Chex mix went into the oven before lunch, we had lunch at Pollo Salsa with Vogon's coworkers, and I had the second cake in the oven when Vogon came home ready to go out for last-minute party purchases.

It went a little bumpier from there as I finished the cake (two 9x13" from-scratch cakes turned into the numeral 18 with a few cuts and store-bought frosting), we forgot to pick up the game room key before the complex office closed, and Pizza Hut was a disappointment. After previous satisfaction with Internet ordering, this time neither the 2-liter of soda nor the complementary marinara sauce we ordered arrived with our order. Vogon went the few blocks to the restauarant and got the sauce and and the cost of the soda taken off the order.

While all this was underway, Laurel decided to try walking in the nerdsprout's hamper and climbed in with several teens watching her. (I was nearby but had my back turned and attention on the cake. She promptly tipped it over and was indignant because she bumped her head!

The party started out at the pool further from our building and the kids quickly demolished most of the pizza and drinks. They also took Laurel with them so she had fun while I finished frosting. While I was there, I got some adorable pictures of Laurel vamping around in her swimsuit.

They drifted back to the closer pool and hot tub after I took Laurel back to sleep, where one of the kids that took a powder mid-party called the house and, after it hit him I wasn't the nerdsprout on the phone, said "I know you! You're her mom-- no, stepmom or something." I replied that I was definitely or something. (:

Laurel had an awful time going down to sleep -- she wanted to play on the patio and I accidentally closed the cat out (I was embarassed, but she was v. affectionate after I let her in), she didn't want to head in to bed, and then she pooped her pants as she was agreeing to lie down and try to sleep. On the bright side, we learned she loved Italian sodas made with white chocolate syrup.

Several kids slept over post-party, but Vogon let me sleep in and I missed most of them. His nerdsprout spent the night with a friend Saturday night, so we had a very quiet and leisurely evening with the midget. Along the way, he fixed the leg on the table we'll be using for my computer, I cleaned one of the stretches of counter and organized the cabinets beneath it, and Laurel talked to Mom on the phone. The girls should be in soon, but for now it's all quiet on the western front. (: