I've been blogging for TWO YEARS now.
Wow. Doesn't seem that long at all.
I was hoping to do a two-year synapse (since I never got around to doing the one-year one), but I've been so distracted with housework, little league and t-ball, violin concerts [and buying new clothes for said violin concert], and searching my house like a mad woman for missing GS badges, that I never got around to it.
Oh well. Maybe one of these days...AFTER the visit from my mother.
But here is my very first post. Not too exciting, but there ya go.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Found 'em!
After the mini-panic attack (which I quelled by finally eating lunch and watching a couple episodes of The Avatar I had missed), I started in on the de-cluttering again.
In a junk drawer--which is basically the KID'S junk drawer--hidden underneath kid paintings, drawings, old homework, and flashcards.
I wasn't even LOOKING for them there, just trashing all the junk.
Yeah. The evidence points that *I* am not the one who put the badges there.
@#$% kids.
In a junk drawer--which is basically the KID'S junk drawer--hidden underneath kid paintings, drawings, old homework, and flashcards.
I wasn't even LOOKING for them there, just trashing all the junk.
Yeah. The evidence points that *I* am not the one who put the badges there.
@#$% kids.
Calling all Maids
Memorial Day weekend sneaked up on me. I thought I had a whole 'nother week. Nope. It's early this year. Which means that my mother will be visiting us THIS weekend and not NEXT weekend as I originally thought.
So now I'm panicking and going around like a madwoman trying to figure out what pile of clutter to hit first. I've been gradually cleaning for a few weeks now, but I look around and realize there's just SO much more to be done. And I'm hyperventilating.
Yesterday I got most of the laundry caught up. Today I started on the piles in the kitchen--and even (gasp!) cleaned out the refrigerator.
But I've already gotten distracted. Because while putting something away from one pile, I see another pile in the bedroom and start cleaning that. Then walking back I get the urge to tackle something else. Then I have three huge piles scattered across two rooms--and nothing's REALLY gotten done. And then I decided to check my email. In which I was reminded that I had a potluck tonight--and I've got nothing in the house to cook for it. And then I'm reminded of some GS stuff I need to get together for our last meeting tomorrow. And holy CRAP! I can't find the BADGES! The ones *I* am supposed to bring and I had, all nice and neat and rubber-banded together, and I SWORE were in with the rest of my GS stuff. So then the panic sets in, and I'm going around the house like crazy checking every spot I knew I had them and every spot my brain feebly thinks I may have stupidly placed them. ...And I still can't find them. And then while looking for THOSE I find a letter a friend had sent me from last MARCH that I never saw and knew nothing about.... And now I'm blogging.... Cripes. I'll NEVER find those badges now. Crud. I've got three days until Mom gets here, and I still need to shampoo the rugs, clean the bathrooms, clean out the spare room and set up the bed, wash all the linens, and I want to buy new kitchen towels, and do a touch-up to the paint in Keith's room, and.....
Oh crap. This week is gonna SUCK.
So now I'm panicking and going around like a madwoman trying to figure out what pile of clutter to hit first. I've been gradually cleaning for a few weeks now, but I look around and realize there's just SO much more to be done. And I'm hyperventilating.
Yesterday I got most of the laundry caught up. Today I started on the piles in the kitchen--and even (gasp!) cleaned out the refrigerator.
But I've already gotten distracted. Because while putting something away from one pile, I see another pile in the bedroom and start cleaning that. Then walking back I get the urge to tackle something else. Then I have three huge piles scattered across two rooms--and nothing's REALLY gotten done. And then I decided to check my email. In which I was reminded that I had a potluck tonight--and I've got nothing in the house to cook for it. And then I'm reminded of some GS stuff I need to get together for our last meeting tomorrow. And holy CRAP! I can't find the BADGES! The ones *I* am supposed to bring and I had, all nice and neat and rubber-banded together, and I SWORE were in with the rest of my GS stuff. So then the panic sets in, and I'm going around the house like crazy checking every spot I knew I had them and every spot my brain feebly thinks I may have stupidly placed them. ...And I still can't find them. And then while looking for THOSE I find a letter a friend had sent me from last MARCH that I never saw and knew nothing about.... And now I'm blogging.... Cripes. I'll NEVER find those badges now. Crud. I've got three days until Mom gets here, and I still need to shampoo the rugs, clean the bathrooms, clean out the spare room and set up the bed, wash all the linens, and I want to buy new kitchen towels, and do a touch-up to the paint in Keith's room, and.....
Oh crap. This week is gonna SUCK.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Yo Mamma's Weekend
My Mother's Day actually started on Friday. Keith's class gave a Mother's Day Garden Party at school. He and his class sang motherly songs, and put on skits, and served us mothers chocolate pudding with gummy worms in it (what better snack for a mom than that?). And Keith gave me a baby marigold sprout in a styrofoam cup. It was very cute.
Saturday we spent most of the day at the ballpark. Keith and Mary both had to have their baseball team pictures taken. Then Mary had a game. It was her team's turn to man the concession stand, so I spent the latter part of the game behind the counter doing quick math in my head, counting back change, and managing to spill half a large blue slushy and a Pepsi on me (um...and a customer). And although I am surprisingly good at the math portion of the concessions, I DID manage to screw one person out of the correct change. I just KNOW I did, but I didn't catch it until she had walked away. I imagine her mother was probably furious when she found out. So what with screwing a teenager out of $5 (and someone from Mary's TEAM, none-the-less), and accidentally overcharging bottled water by 50 cents, the concession stand turned a pretty nice profit Saturday due to yours truly....
Sunday Mary eagerly gave me HER Mother's Day gift. She had made a little Mother's Day scrapbook in school. It was very cute and a definite keepsake. She also asked to go to the grocery store with John so that she could pick out something else I wanted. She remembered that I wanted a garden bunny OR turtle, and she bought me the bunny. We then set off for the Lilac Festival and spent a ton of money on parking, rides, corn dogs, and a smoothie. And we inhaled the Lilac smells and enjoyed the brisk but beautiful weather.
John picked up pizzas for dinner, and we all sat and watched the Survivor finale.
A very nice weekend.
Saturday we spent most of the day at the ballpark. Keith and Mary both had to have their baseball team pictures taken. Then Mary had a game. It was her team's turn to man the concession stand, so I spent the latter part of the game behind the counter doing quick math in my head, counting back change, and managing to spill half a large blue slushy and a Pepsi on me (um...and a customer). And although I am surprisingly good at the math portion of the concessions, I DID manage to screw one person out of the correct change. I just KNOW I did, but I didn't catch it until she had walked away. I imagine her mother was probably furious when she found out. So what with screwing a teenager out of $5 (and someone from Mary's TEAM, none-the-less), and accidentally overcharging bottled water by 50 cents, the concession stand turned a pretty nice profit Saturday due to yours truly....
Sunday Mary eagerly gave me HER Mother's Day gift. She had made a little Mother's Day scrapbook in school. It was very cute and a definite keepsake. She also asked to go to the grocery store with John so that she could pick out something else I wanted. She remembered that I wanted a garden bunny OR turtle, and she bought me the bunny. We then set off for the Lilac Festival and spent a ton of money on parking, rides, corn dogs, and a smoothie. And we inhaled the Lilac smells and enjoyed the brisk but beautiful weather.
John picked up pizzas for dinner, and we all sat and watched the Survivor finale.
A very nice weekend.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Busy, Busy
This weekend, our GS troop had an overnight at an Aquarium. Mary wasn't there but fifteen minutes before she exclaimed to me, "This is the best GS trip EVER!" Her excitement never waned. She loved all the exhibits (especially the penguins and sharks), she loved the craft (a fish made out of cast off A O L disks), and the touch tank (horseshoe crabs are COOL!), and especially the sea lion show the next day. I was surprised at how much sleep I got--once the lights went out, there was hardly a whisper to be heard--and all the girls in our troop were out cold. I'd always heard from other leaders that it was a good program...and now I will recommend it also.
The trip did cause Mary and me to miss the opening day parade for Little League Saturday morning. After last year's debacle , I wasn't too upset about it. But John took Keith who marched proud and with no tears what-so-ever. Mary and I were only home from our Aquarium adventure for about an hour before we did have to leave for her first game of the season. She was a bit tired and cranky from the overnight, but she basically kept a good attitude and played well. She got two hits from her two times at bat (both from the first pitches off the pitching machine!), and she even made a few good attempts at getting outs on defense. (If she'd been paying a little bit more attention for one particular play when she was in the outfield, she probably WOULD have caught the ball. Ah well.)
Keith doesn't have his first game for yet another week, but his league is mainly an instructional league, so they don't have as many games. The league let younger kids in it this year, too, so he's playing with several kids younger than he is. John has been helping out at practices and it has just been reestablishing his firm conviction that he does NOT have the patience to teach preschoolers. Keith is holding his own, and we're eager to see how well he does in the more-competitive tee-ball league next year.
I bought the kids a sandbox, and it's probably the best toy I've ever bought. There was a particular kind I wanted, but when I didn't find it after going to two stores, I decided I wasn't in the mood to drive all over the city looking for it. So I bought the standard "turtle" one (Mary liked it...) and some buckets and shovels--and the kids are in HEAVEN. Now when they are outside, they spend almost the whole time in the sandbox. Of course, now I'm remembering the few reasons why I've never bought a sandbox before. The sand sneaking onto the kids' clothes and then "depositing" itself on my clean floors, the sand "mysteriously" taking refuse in Izzy's hair in HUGE amounts, the million WORMS and bugs that somehow sneaked their way into the covered box (Seriously? How did they do that?), the sand being tossed into other kids' eyes and the sand dust getting inhaled, the pound of sand that hitches a ride in each kids' sneaker.... I'm learning to look past it all and try to enjoy the ZEN of the moment--that my kids are having fun, and I can sit next to them in the sun reading and perhaps getting a bit of sun on my legs. Yes, it's going to be a nice, sandy summer, indeed.
The trip did cause Mary and me to miss the opening day parade for Little League Saturday morning. After last year's debacle , I wasn't too upset about it. But John took Keith who marched proud and with no tears what-so-ever. Mary and I were only home from our Aquarium adventure for about an hour before we did have to leave for her first game of the season. She was a bit tired and cranky from the overnight, but she basically kept a good attitude and played well. She got two hits from her two times at bat (both from the first pitches off the pitching machine!), and she even made a few good attempts at getting outs on defense. (If she'd been paying a little bit more attention for one particular play when she was in the outfield, she probably WOULD have caught the ball. Ah well.)
Keith doesn't have his first game for yet another week, but his league is mainly an instructional league, so they don't have as many games. The league let younger kids in it this year, too, so he's playing with several kids younger than he is. John has been helping out at practices and it has just been reestablishing his firm conviction that he does NOT have the patience to teach preschoolers. Keith is holding his own, and we're eager to see how well he does in the more-competitive tee-ball league next year.
I bought the kids a sandbox, and it's probably the best toy I've ever bought. There was a particular kind I wanted, but when I didn't find it after going to two stores, I decided I wasn't in the mood to drive all over the city looking for it. So I bought the standard "turtle" one (Mary liked it...) and some buckets and shovels--and the kids are in HEAVEN. Now when they are outside, they spend almost the whole time in the sandbox. Of course, now I'm remembering the few reasons why I've never bought a sandbox before. The sand sneaking onto the kids' clothes and then "depositing" itself on my clean floors, the sand "mysteriously" taking refuse in Izzy's hair in HUGE amounts, the million WORMS and bugs that somehow sneaked their way into the covered box (Seriously? How did they do that?), the sand being tossed into other kids' eyes and the sand dust getting inhaled, the pound of sand that hitches a ride in each kids' sneaker.... I'm learning to look past it all and try to enjoy the ZEN of the moment--that my kids are having fun, and I can sit next to them in the sun reading and perhaps getting a bit of sun on my legs. Yes, it's going to be a nice, sandy summer, indeed.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Spring Training
The little league and tee-ball seasons are ON. And I may just finally start sprouting those gray hairs now. Just this week, I have one (and usually TWO) kids who have practice FOUR nights out of the next FIVE.
(Where's that paper sack? I'm starting to hyperventilate.)
In preparation for Keith's first practice tonight (Mary's already had FOUR within the last week), I took him to finally get the rest of his hair cut off. I was so excited to be able to requisition the usual "Four on the bottom, and trimmed just a tad longer with the scissors on the top." OH! He looks GORGEOUS! A whole new boy! He said he got a lot of compliments at school (I'll bet those teachers were all thinking, Oh God! About time that poor boy had a decent haircut!). His teacher said he looked older--he looked as if he could be SEVEN! (Keith really thought that was neat.)
Well, we got the baseball pants, stirrup socks, cleats, and baseball hat on him, and it was just....neat. With the gear and the new, neat hair cut, he was just so BOYISH! I mean, I know he's not my baby anymore, but seeing him all sported up like that just made me so proud.
'Course, being the Mom, I almost forget to have him put on his cup (he still doesn't understand the necessity of this, but his wiser father KNOWS and insists upon it). A cup! Yikes! I still can't believe I've got a SON! It's just such an alien world to me.
Well, we'll see how our little ball players do. Mary is already showing improvements from last year. She hit a double at last night's practice, and John says she's one of the fastest runners on the team (still needs to work on catching high fly balls). Keith is very excited that he finally gets to play, and seems to do well practicing in the back yard. I actually have a bit of the excitement myself. I know it'll dwindle down a bit by the end of May when I'm all worn out from running to all these games.... Ah well. Here's hoping we have a good season.
(Where's that paper sack? I'm starting to hyperventilate.)
In preparation for Keith's first practice tonight (Mary's already had FOUR within the last week), I took him to finally get the rest of his hair cut off. I was so excited to be able to requisition the usual "Four on the bottom, and trimmed just a tad longer with the scissors on the top." OH! He looks GORGEOUS! A whole new boy! He said he got a lot of compliments at school (I'll bet those teachers were all thinking, Oh God! About time that poor boy had a decent haircut!). His teacher said he looked older--he looked as if he could be SEVEN! (Keith really thought that was neat.)
Well, we got the baseball pants, stirrup socks, cleats, and baseball hat on him, and it was just....neat. With the gear and the new, neat hair cut, he was just so BOYISH! I mean, I know he's not my baby anymore, but seeing him all sported up like that just made me so proud.
'Course, being the Mom, I almost forget to have him put on his cup (he still doesn't understand the necessity of this, but his wiser father KNOWS and insists upon it). A cup! Yikes! I still can't believe I've got a SON! It's just such an alien world to me.
Well, we'll see how our little ball players do. Mary is already showing improvements from last year. She hit a double at last night's practice, and John says she's one of the fastest runners on the team (still needs to work on catching high fly balls). Keith is very excited that he finally gets to play, and seems to do well practicing in the back yard. I actually have a bit of the excitement myself. I know it'll dwindle down a bit by the end of May when I'm all worn out from running to all these games.... Ah well. Here's hoping we have a good season.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Mommy Moments
1. Yesterday John and I dropped off his car to see about repairs and then I took him to work. He was only going to stay for a few hours, so he suggested I take Keith and Mary (it's Spring Break) to get haircuts. OK. Keith's hair is atrocious, as previously mentioned. I handed him over to the stylist and said, "Do what you can." She thinned it out and trimmed up the ends--it still looked awful. Well, I guess it WILL since he's been growing it out...maybe it needs to grow out some more. Maybe it'll look better after Keith washes it tonight.... When John saw it, he HATED it. He's throwing in the towel and wants me to take Keith back to get his hair cut super short--the way *I* wanted it in the first place!
2. After the haircuts, I took the kids to Wendy's. An employee took pity on me and my three-kid haul and helped me carry our trays to our table. I got the kids seated, doled out the food and drinks, and then went up to get more napkins and ketchup. In the 30 seconds I was away, Izzy managed to get a hold of the barbecue sauce and spill it all down her shirt and into her lap, and then she sat on a pile of it, too.
3. I was thinking of stopping by at the park, or maybe at my old job (was in that spot of town), but I couldn't bloody well go with a kid with barbecue sauce all over her butt. I loaded up the kids and headed to Tar-jay--my favorite cheap knit pants store. Of COURSE it just figures that ALL the knit pants have mysteriously disappeared (I couldn't even find them in the clearance racks). And nothing else was tempting my pocketbook, so I grabbed the detergent and fabric softener they had on sale (AND a bottle of stuff to spray on the Izzy stains!) and made my quick escape--but not before running into an acquaintance from work! As Izzy was in the cart at this point, I don't think he saw her self-marinade.
4. Not to be defeated, I loaded up the kids AGAIN and headed across the street to the mall. TCP was having a BETTER sale than even last week, so I grabbed a pair of pants (alas! the only pair left in her size!), TWO shirts, and two sets of barrettes. The kids were spreading out and playing hide and seek in the racks, and my patience was about to burst, BUT upon leaving the store, I saw a cute pair of shoes for Mary and ended up going back to the register to buy those also.... Also while in the store, I had a freaky mommy moment where I couldn't remember if after putting the kids in the car at Target whether or not I then remembered to put my purchases in the car. I couldn't even remember if I put the cart in the cart bin or just left it there in the parking lot (I'm OBSESSIVE about putting the cart back to be courteous to future parkers). I was almost back to the mall parking lot (with those crazy, wily kids in tow) when everything clicked back into place (I remembered the trunk door being dirty when I shut it!), and I could breathe again.
5. Izzy had to go potty, and we tried at all three stops (Wendy's, Tar-jay, mall), and she absolutely REFUSED to go. While going potty at the museum on Sunday, the @#$% toilet flushed on her butt and completely FREAKED HER OUT. Even when I pick toilets that DON'T automatically flush, the SOUND of the other toilets flushing freaks her out and she starts screaming and insists on being taken off. A ban on public toilets!!!
6. At this point, completely frazzled, I call John to see how much longer he will be. "About an hour." So--it's not quite worth it for me to go home, but I've pretty much run out of places I'm willing to take my squirrelly (albeit, now freshly-clothed) kids. I decide to take a chance at the park. Maybe the running around will get it out of their systems. Just as I'm leaving the mall parking lot, John calls again and says he can leave now. Cripes! So the three pent-up kids and their most-anxious mother drive all the way back downtown through heavy traffic (Did I mention that there is major construction going on, so most of the exits from the bypass are blocked? No?! WELL!). After picking up John, we then had to drive ALL THE WAY BACK to the part of town I was JUST in to check on the car. Upon getting there John decides to go ahead and have the repairs done. "I should have just called. I don't know why I bothered to drive all this way." INDEED. Because at this point, Izzy has missed her nap, and the kids have missed a BEAUTIFUL day being lugged from one boring place to another and ALL have gone COMPLETELY INSANE. John is gritting his teeth, and I'm giving the evil eye to the back seats of the mini-van every five seconds.
7. After getting home and letting the kids run out their jigginess, we were all happier. Mary even finally pulled her tooth that's been loose for so long (see how good I'm being at letting things go?) that the adult tooth had started growing in behind it. The application of an ice cube helped her gums--and her nerves. Well, one tooth fairy FORGOT and exhausted, went to bed without a thought.... The OTHER tooth fairy put the money down--and added an extra bonus for the "effort" (these teeth are getting more and more expensive--and we've still got two more kids to go through this!). Mary woke me up pouting this morning because she couldn't find her money. "She didn't leave me anything! I worked real hard at pulling that tooth yesterday!" She was TICKED. When Mary left the room, I tried waking up the Grumpy tooth fairy to question the location of the goods. Not happening. So I finally got up and helped Mary look for the money. It took forever. Next time, the fairy who deposited it needs to help her look for it.
8. When I went to make lunch for the kids today, I got side-tracked by the computer (which I haven't had on in several days). I finally shook myself off after a while and went upstairs. Well, Mary got sick of waiting for me and had already made lunch for herself and her siblings, and they were enjoying their repast out on the porch. Call me chagrined.
2. After the haircuts, I took the kids to Wendy's. An employee took pity on me and my three-kid haul and helped me carry our trays to our table. I got the kids seated, doled out the food and drinks, and then went up to get more napkins and ketchup. In the 30 seconds I was away, Izzy managed to get a hold of the barbecue sauce and spill it all down her shirt and into her lap, and then she sat on a pile of it, too.
3. I was thinking of stopping by at the park, or maybe at my old job (was in that spot of town), but I couldn't bloody well go with a kid with barbecue sauce all over her butt. I loaded up the kids and headed to Tar-jay--my favorite cheap knit pants store. Of COURSE it just figures that ALL the knit pants have mysteriously disappeared (I couldn't even find them in the clearance racks). And nothing else was tempting my pocketbook, so I grabbed the detergent and fabric softener they had on sale (AND a bottle of stuff to spray on the Izzy stains!) and made my quick escape--but not before running into an acquaintance from work! As Izzy was in the cart at this point, I don't think he saw her self-marinade.
4. Not to be defeated, I loaded up the kids AGAIN and headed across the street to the mall. TCP was having a BETTER sale than even last week, so I grabbed a pair of pants (alas! the only pair left in her size!), TWO shirts, and two sets of barrettes. The kids were spreading out and playing hide and seek in the racks, and my patience was about to burst, BUT upon leaving the store, I saw a cute pair of shoes for Mary and ended up going back to the register to buy those also.... Also while in the store, I had a freaky mommy moment where I couldn't remember if after putting the kids in the car at Target whether or not I then remembered to put my purchases in the car. I couldn't even remember if I put the cart in the cart bin or just left it there in the parking lot (I'm OBSESSIVE about putting the cart back to be courteous to future parkers). I was almost back to the mall parking lot (with those crazy, wily kids in tow) when everything clicked back into place (I remembered the trunk door being dirty when I shut it!), and I could breathe again.
5. Izzy had to go potty, and we tried at all three stops (Wendy's, Tar-jay, mall), and she absolutely REFUSED to go. While going potty at the museum on Sunday, the @#$% toilet flushed on her butt and completely FREAKED HER OUT. Even when I pick toilets that DON'T automatically flush, the SOUND of the other toilets flushing freaks her out and she starts screaming and insists on being taken off. A ban on public toilets!!!
6. At this point, completely frazzled, I call John to see how much longer he will be. "About an hour." So--it's not quite worth it for me to go home, but I've pretty much run out of places I'm willing to take my squirrelly (albeit, now freshly-clothed) kids. I decide to take a chance at the park. Maybe the running around will get it out of their systems. Just as I'm leaving the mall parking lot, John calls again and says he can leave now. Cripes! So the three pent-up kids and their most-anxious mother drive all the way back downtown through heavy traffic (Did I mention that there is major construction going on, so most of the exits from the bypass are blocked? No?! WELL!). After picking up John, we then had to drive ALL THE WAY BACK to the part of town I was JUST in to check on the car. Upon getting there John decides to go ahead and have the repairs done. "I should have just called. I don't know why I bothered to drive all this way." INDEED. Because at this point, Izzy has missed her nap, and the kids have missed a BEAUTIFUL day being lugged from one boring place to another and ALL have gone COMPLETELY INSANE. John is gritting his teeth, and I'm giving the evil eye to the back seats of the mini-van every five seconds.
7. After getting home and letting the kids run out their jigginess, we were all happier. Mary even finally pulled her tooth that's been loose for so long (see how good I'm being at letting things go?) that the adult tooth had started growing in behind it. The application of an ice cube helped her gums--and her nerves. Well, one tooth fairy FORGOT and exhausted, went to bed without a thought.... The OTHER tooth fairy put the money down--and added an extra bonus for the "effort" (these teeth are getting more and more expensive--and we've still got two more kids to go through this!). Mary woke me up pouting this morning because she couldn't find her money. "She didn't leave me anything! I worked real hard at pulling that tooth yesterday!" She was TICKED. When Mary left the room, I tried waking up the Grumpy tooth fairy to question the location of the goods. Not happening. So I finally got up and helped Mary look for the money. It took forever. Next time, the fairy who deposited it needs to help her look for it.
8. When I went to make lunch for the kids today, I got side-tracked by the computer (which I haven't had on in several days). I finally shook myself off after a while and went upstairs. Well, Mary got sick of waiting for me and had already made lunch for herself and her siblings, and they were enjoying their repast out on the porch. Call me chagrined.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Strawberry Pie Recipe
I got this recipe from the Taste of Home's 2004 Quick Cooking book. There's a picture of the pie right on the cover--yum!
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 in)
3/4 C sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 C water
1 pkg (3 oz) strawberry gelatin
4 C sliced fresh strawberries
fresh mint, optional
Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450* for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.
In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes or until slightly cooled. Meanwhile, arrange strawberries in the crust. Pour gelatin mixture over berries. Refrigerate until set. Garnish with mint if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.
My Grandma's Pie Crust
1 1/2 C flour
1 t. salt
1/2 C shortening (I usually use butter-flavored)
several t. cold, cold water
I mix the flour and salt together then I use my pastry blender to cut in the shortening (before I had one of those, I think I just used a fork). When it gets to a crumbly consistency, then I start adding the water. (I usually fix a cup of ice water and put it to the side while I'm mixing the other ingredients--then it's really, really cold by the time I'm ready to use it. The colder the better, folks.) I have found that it takes me about 10 "big spoons" (yeah, no accurate teaspoon-measuring here!) of cold water to get my dough to the consistency I want. Anyway, after you put in the cold water, mix everything together with your hands. If you're lucky, the dough will come together beautifully. Too doughy? Add more flour. Not doughy enough? Add a bit more water. It may take some time to get it down, but I've surprised myself with how well I can do this. It helped to have a Grandma and Mom that I watched do this for years. Anyway, once you get it, roll away!
But you can always get pre-made crusts, and I won't tell! Those are wonderful things, aren't they?
Also, the recipe calls for you to NOT prick the pie crust, but I've noticed that a couple times I've made this that I did get a bubble in the middle of my crust (which does go down a little once the crust has cooled--but not all the way). I'm wondering if I should try pricking the crust the next time--just once right in the middle????? Or maybe I need to fix the foil over top the pie more securely before I bake it??
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 in)
3/4 C sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 C water
1 pkg (3 oz) strawberry gelatin
4 C sliced fresh strawberries
fresh mint, optional
Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450* for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.
In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes or until slightly cooled. Meanwhile, arrange strawberries in the crust. Pour gelatin mixture over berries. Refrigerate until set. Garnish with mint if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.
My Grandma's Pie Crust
1 1/2 C flour
1 t. salt
1/2 C shortening (I usually use butter-flavored)
several t. cold, cold water
I mix the flour and salt together then I use my pastry blender to cut in the shortening (before I had one of those, I think I just used a fork). When it gets to a crumbly consistency, then I start adding the water. (I usually fix a cup of ice water and put it to the side while I'm mixing the other ingredients--then it's really, really cold by the time I'm ready to use it. The colder the better, folks.) I have found that it takes me about 10 "big spoons" (yeah, no accurate teaspoon-measuring here!) of cold water to get my dough to the consistency I want. Anyway, after you put in the cold water, mix everything together with your hands. If you're lucky, the dough will come together beautifully. Too doughy? Add more flour. Not doughy enough? Add a bit more water. It may take some time to get it down, but I've surprised myself with how well I can do this. It helped to have a Grandma and Mom that I watched do this for years. Anyway, once you get it, roll away!
But you can always get pre-made crusts, and I won't tell! Those are wonderful things, aren't they?
Also, the recipe calls for you to NOT prick the pie crust, but I've noticed that a couple times I've made this that I did get a bubble in the middle of my crust (which does go down a little once the crust has cooled--but not all the way). I'm wondering if I should try pricking the crust the next time--just once right in the middle????? Or maybe I need to fix the foil over top the pie more securely before I bake it??
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Spring Cleaning
I've been spending my days mostly OUTSIDE enjoying picture-perfect weather. It's been heavenly the last few days.
I got all "domestic" and felt the urge to bake--and made two smashingly-good strawberry pies. One for the new neighbor, and one for ME ('cause there is not much sharing when it comes to strawberry pie, folks). Delicious.
When I dropped off my neighborly boon, B invited me in and showed me her house. I had to ask, "Um, HOW LONG have you been living here?" Because despite her "only two month" apologies, the house was quite neat and tidy and PAINTED and not an unpacked box to be seen. Now, we don't have too many boxes in sight, as most have been secreted down to the out-of-sight, out-of-mind basement, but we have nary a picture hanging, have only painted the kids' rooms (and are unhappy with the results of the mysteriously peeling paint in one, and the too, too dark, oppressive colors of the other), and have just a sense of incompleted-ness about our cluttered place.
I decided to get to work (because who knows when B will show up to return my precious pie plate?), so yesterday I tooled around the bedrooms picking up, sweeping, and putting clutter in order as I've never done before. Now when I walk upstairs, I see a clean hallway with a peek into almost-clean kids' rooms ('cause they are never FULLY without cluttered clothes hanging 'round no matter how many times I say, "PLEASE put your clothes in the basket"), and a quite tidy master bedroom (albeit with a still half-toddler bed it in, as the darn thing is being uncooperative about coming apart). I'm feeling quite housewifely and neat now and am afraid of when it'll all come crashing down about my ears again. I cannot control the neatness of my kids and ESPECIALLY not my husband. I'm quite the clutterer myself, and although I do think I've gotten better in the last few years, I know the tendency is quite there and my laziness will ruin my picturesque house in a few days time. MUST CONTROL URGE TO CLUTTER.
And with the lovely spring weather the need for new clothes became urgent. I've gotten too plump in my derriere for comfort and had to face facts and buy new capris and other spring stuffs. I'm not lamenting the weight gain too much. I always get especially thin after having a baby, so it stands to reason that once the nursing is done, and winters go by, I do start to plump back up a bit. So I don't fret the need for new clothes too much, as really it's only a trip back to my "normal" size. So last night I spent some money saved from X-mas and b-day and bought some badly needed clothes. I'm not the most fashionable person, but I do see the need for new duds from time to time, and I'm especially thrilled with the conquest of new jeans for less than $10 a piece!
I must use this new spring energy for good and get outside with my kids and not let the plumpness continue now that the baby-making days are over. So after I finish off this strawberry pie (!), I will continue to make strides to take more walks and continue the healthy eating I do honestly try to pull off year round....
I got all "domestic" and felt the urge to bake--and made two smashingly-good strawberry pies. One for the new neighbor, and one for ME ('cause there is not much sharing when it comes to strawberry pie, folks). Delicious.
When I dropped off my neighborly boon, B invited me in and showed me her house. I had to ask, "Um, HOW LONG have you been living here?" Because despite her "only two month" apologies, the house was quite neat and tidy and PAINTED and not an unpacked box to be seen. Now, we don't have too many boxes in sight, as most have been secreted down to the out-of-sight, out-of-mind basement, but we have nary a picture hanging, have only painted the kids' rooms (and are unhappy with the results of the mysteriously peeling paint in one, and the too, too dark, oppressive colors of the other), and have just a sense of incompleted-ness about our cluttered place.
I decided to get to work (because who knows when B will show up to return my precious pie plate?), so yesterday I tooled around the bedrooms picking up, sweeping, and putting clutter in order as I've never done before. Now when I walk upstairs, I see a clean hallway with a peek into almost-clean kids' rooms ('cause they are never FULLY without cluttered clothes hanging 'round no matter how many times I say, "PLEASE put your clothes in the basket"), and a quite tidy master bedroom (albeit with a still half-toddler bed it in, as the darn thing is being uncooperative about coming apart). I'm feeling quite housewifely and neat now and am afraid of when it'll all come crashing down about my ears again. I cannot control the neatness of my kids and ESPECIALLY not my husband. I'm quite the clutterer myself, and although I do think I've gotten better in the last few years, I know the tendency is quite there and my laziness will ruin my picturesque house in a few days time. MUST CONTROL URGE TO CLUTTER.
And with the lovely spring weather the need for new clothes became urgent. I've gotten too plump in my derriere for comfort and had to face facts and buy new capris and other spring stuffs. I'm not lamenting the weight gain too much. I always get especially thin after having a baby, so it stands to reason that once the nursing is done, and winters go by, I do start to plump back up a bit. So I don't fret the need for new clothes too much, as really it's only a trip back to my "normal" size. So last night I spent some money saved from X-mas and b-day and bought some badly needed clothes. I'm not the most fashionable person, but I do see the need for new duds from time to time, and I'm especially thrilled with the conquest of new jeans for less than $10 a piece!
I must use this new spring energy for good and get outside with my kids and not let the plumpness continue now that the baby-making days are over. So after I finish off this strawberry pie (!), I will continue to make strides to take more walks and continue the healthy eating I do honestly try to pull off year round....
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Gone a Courtin'
The weather was still a bit decent yesterday afternoon, so the kids and I went outside as soon as the bus dropped off the older two. I was pushing Izzy around on her trike (she's almost figured out how to pedal), when I saw a sight to behold: another Mom across the street (but two houses down) pushing a kid on a tricycle and holding another on her hip. I was stunned--and nervous. Where did this visage come from? That's when I realized that the house across the street (and two doors down) must have SOLD--and to a YOUNG FAMILY!
It's kind of daunting on our street as every house surrounding us is filled with retirement-aged or middle-aged, childless couples. The only young family within close proximity moved out last summer. It's kind of a bummer for my kids AND me.
But now, a new family! I waved at her, but I wasn't wearing my glasses, so I wasn't sure if she could see me. Then she started walking down the sidewalk. I waved again, but I didn't see any recognition yet. Hmmmm..... But, YES, here she is, walking across the street to meet ME! Yes!
We had a nice chat, and I was all nervous about my appearance and how my older kids wouldn't stop playing long enough to say "Hi" or even LOOK at her and her two darlings. But Izzy, upon being introduced to the neighbor's two-year old, immediately greeted her with big smiles and jumping jacks and sweetly shared the sidewalk chalk.
Awesome.
I knew we would probably be all right when the neighbor proffered her sleeve for the two-year old to wipe her nose on. Not to mention that the little girl and her 11-month old brother were both decked out in TCP clothes.
It may be too soon to tell, but we just might be in love.
It's kind of daunting on our street as every house surrounding us is filled with retirement-aged or middle-aged, childless couples. The only young family within close proximity moved out last summer. It's kind of a bummer for my kids AND me.
But now, a new family! I waved at her, but I wasn't wearing my glasses, so I wasn't sure if she could see me. Then she started walking down the sidewalk. I waved again, but I didn't see any recognition yet. Hmmmm..... But, YES, here she is, walking across the street to meet ME! Yes!
We had a nice chat, and I was all nervous about my appearance and how my older kids wouldn't stop playing long enough to say "Hi" or even LOOK at her and her two darlings. But Izzy, upon being introduced to the neighbor's two-year old, immediately greeted her with big smiles and jumping jacks and sweetly shared the sidewalk chalk.
Awesome.
I knew we would probably be all right when the neighbor proffered her sleeve for the two-year old to wipe her nose on. Not to mention that the little girl and her 11-month old brother were both decked out in TCP clothes.
It may be too soon to tell, but we just might be in love.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Random Thoughts on a Spring Birthday
It's John's birthday. Poor guy.
It's finally turning into Spring out there. Last Friday there was snow on the ground when I woke up Mary for school. She looked out her window and immediately starting bawling. "It's supposed to be Spring!" she whined. Poor girl. But it is warm out there now--I even let the kids play outside this morning. No sign of flower life yet, but I think John may have pulled up all our tulips last fall.... But the birds have come back, and I now need to get Mary and Keith new Spring jackets as their winter coats are way too bulky.
Izzy is making progress staying dry through the night. She had a three-day streak there where she did not wet her pull-up. So when the last one got used up, I bought a shower curtain and put it on her mattress. It's still a work in progress, and I sense much washing of the linens in the next few weeks. After the kids got in from playing outside, and I was trying to rush Keith into his school jeans and shoes, Izzy was in her room crying because I hadn't put her sheets back on her bed after I had to wash them this morning (um...they hadn't been put in the dryer yet). So I pulled the spare set out and made her bed. After Keith got out and on his way to school, I noticed that she hadn't come out of her room yet. She was enjoying playing on her "new" bed. Ten minutes later all is quiet. Sure enough, she had climbed in and was falling asleep. All that exercise and wonderful Spring air must have taken its toll--and for once I didn't have to fight to get her down for her nap!
John decided he wanted to let Keith's hair grow out, since that's the style again. Well, now it's all bushy and unmanageable, and I had to ask John, "Um, what do we do now?" Guess we'll take him to a barber to see what can be made of it. Frankly, I'm all for getting the clippers out again, but John is determined.
We got Mary and Keith signed up for softball and t-ball, respectively. Poor Keith is getting all Mary's hand-me-down gear from last year, but Mary is getting treated to a new glove, new bat, and new cleats. They both seem excited, but all I can think about is how I now have TWO different baseball schedules to attempt to keep up with--when the ONE was a hassle last year! (And what about in two year's time when Izzy is old enough to start! Ai carumba!)
It smells wonderful in the house now as I just baked John a cake for tonight. It'll be a short celebration as I have an important can't-possibly-miss-it G.S. meeting tonight at 7:00. Ah well. Birthdays just aren't so exciting for us old fogeys now, anyway.
Hope you all are enjoying wonderful weather, too!
It's finally turning into Spring out there. Last Friday there was snow on the ground when I woke up Mary for school. She looked out her window and immediately starting bawling. "It's supposed to be Spring!" she whined. Poor girl. But it is warm out there now--I even let the kids play outside this morning. No sign of flower life yet, but I think John may have pulled up all our tulips last fall.... But the birds have come back, and I now need to get Mary and Keith new Spring jackets as their winter coats are way too bulky.
Izzy is making progress staying dry through the night. She had a three-day streak there where she did not wet her pull-up. So when the last one got used up, I bought a shower curtain and put it on her mattress. It's still a work in progress, and I sense much washing of the linens in the next few weeks. After the kids got in from playing outside, and I was trying to rush Keith into his school jeans and shoes, Izzy was in her room crying because I hadn't put her sheets back on her bed after I had to wash them this morning (um...they hadn't been put in the dryer yet). So I pulled the spare set out and made her bed. After Keith got out and on his way to school, I noticed that she hadn't come out of her room yet. She was enjoying playing on her "new" bed. Ten minutes later all is quiet. Sure enough, she had climbed in and was falling asleep. All that exercise and wonderful Spring air must have taken its toll--and for once I didn't have to fight to get her down for her nap!
John decided he wanted to let Keith's hair grow out, since that's the style again. Well, now it's all bushy and unmanageable, and I had to ask John, "Um, what do we do now?" Guess we'll take him to a barber to see what can be made of it. Frankly, I'm all for getting the clippers out again, but John is determined.
We got Mary and Keith signed up for softball and t-ball, respectively. Poor Keith is getting all Mary's hand-me-down gear from last year, but Mary is getting treated to a new glove, new bat, and new cleats. They both seem excited, but all I can think about is how I now have TWO different baseball schedules to attempt to keep up with--when the ONE was a hassle last year! (And what about in two year's time when Izzy is old enough to start! Ai carumba!)
It smells wonderful in the house now as I just baked John a cake for tonight. It'll be a short celebration as I have an important can't-possibly-miss-it G.S. meeting tonight at 7:00. Ah well. Birthdays just aren't so exciting for us old fogeys now, anyway.
Hope you all are enjoying wonderful weather, too!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Persuasion
A five-minute, simple conversation about what to eat for breakfast can apparently persuade me to try something goofy--like buy a waffle maker.
I had my doubts about that particular appliance. I remembered my mom's from when I was a kid and how it seemed so...MESSY...and unsafe!...and quite a bother!
But an idea popped into my head after seeing a marathon of "Jon and Kate + Eight" (it's really like a car wreck, you just HAVE to see it--and then you can't stop watching). Kate was making her eight children homemade waffles--and except for the clamoring children in the background--I realized, "Crap! If SHE can do it! It MUST be easy!"
I didn't act on the impulse right away. I filed it away with "pipe dreams of a stay-at-home mom" and went on making cold cereal and instant oatmeal for my poor children (cold cereal REALLY rocks because two of my three children can make it FOR THEMSELVES and I can stay in bed for perhaps an extra fifteen minutes before worrying about my late-sleeping three-year old).
But then we went home to IN for Baby Fest '08. And while sitting amongst the toy fields and bodies of multiple-aged children milling about--and trying to decide what to eat for breakfast--Dave mentioned that they had a waffle maker. And that waffle makers weren't too difficult to use.
I wonder if he saw the "click" behind my eyes. Wow. Another pleased customer. Make it so!
The very day after we got back from IN, I sent John to the grocery store. He had to call me about one of the items on the list. "Um....does this say 'waffle maker?'" Why yes, dear, it does. I'm game. It's time to try it out.
My first foray into the waffle-making business I admit was a complete flop. I mean, when a waffle maker advertises that it's "non-stick" I'm just gosh-darn gullible enough to BELIEVE it! I ruined three waffles (and completely DASHED my kids hopes of having waffles for breakfast that morning) before I finally got smart and tried cooking spray. Ahhhh....NOW I've got it.
We've had several successful breakfasts (AND dinners) of waffles since then. My kids think of me as some sort of Waffle Goddess now. Cheers abound when I pull the waffle maker out of the pantry.
I was persuaded. And it was good.
I had my doubts about that particular appliance. I remembered my mom's from when I was a kid and how it seemed so...MESSY...and unsafe!...and quite a bother!
But an idea popped into my head after seeing a marathon of "Jon and Kate + Eight" (it's really like a car wreck, you just HAVE to see it--and then you can't stop watching). Kate was making her eight children homemade waffles--and except for the clamoring children in the background--I realized, "Crap! If SHE can do it! It MUST be easy!"
I didn't act on the impulse right away. I filed it away with "pipe dreams of a stay-at-home mom" and went on making cold cereal and instant oatmeal for my poor children (cold cereal REALLY rocks because two of my three children can make it FOR THEMSELVES and I can stay in bed for perhaps an extra fifteen minutes before worrying about my late-sleeping three-year old).
But then we went home to IN for Baby Fest '08. And while sitting amongst the toy fields and bodies of multiple-aged children milling about--and trying to decide what to eat for breakfast--Dave mentioned that they had a waffle maker. And that waffle makers weren't too difficult to use.
I wonder if he saw the "click" behind my eyes. Wow. Another pleased customer. Make it so!
The very day after we got back from IN, I sent John to the grocery store. He had to call me about one of the items on the list. "Um....does this say 'waffle maker?'" Why yes, dear, it does. I'm game. It's time to try it out.
My first foray into the waffle-making business I admit was a complete flop. I mean, when a waffle maker advertises that it's "non-stick" I'm just gosh-darn gullible enough to BELIEVE it! I ruined three waffles (and completely DASHED my kids hopes of having waffles for breakfast that morning) before I finally got smart and tried cooking spray. Ahhhh....NOW I've got it.
We've had several successful breakfasts (AND dinners) of waffles since then. My kids think of me as some sort of Waffle Goddess now. Cheers abound when I pull the waffle maker out of the pantry.
I was persuaded. And it was good.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
It's like you were reading my mind, man!
I was thinking of writing a post about how I met my husband--then thought better of it and scratched that idea. NOW I see everyone else posting about how they've met their friends/significant others. So now I gotta join the band wagon. But I'll shorten the circumstances to protect the innocent....(and you know who YOU ARE).
I met my friend M in elementary school. We were in Girl Scouts together. Then I went to a private school for a couple of years. Then I came back. I became best friends with J, and M was friends with C--but we all were in the same G.S. troop. Sometime during our eighth grade year M and I started hanging out more than J and me--and C started hanging out with J. I called it the "Great Best Friend Swap." We were all much happier after that. AND stayed in Scouts together until we got out of high school. I am still in email contact with C. I don't hear from J anymore. It's harder to stay in touch now with M since she lives in Hawaii--but we try.
I met my friend JJ my freshman year in college--right around the time I turned 19. She and I were kindred spirits from the word "Hi." I think that I am one of the few people who appreciate her sarcasm--except for her husband and MY husband, that is.
Three weeks after I met JJ, I met my future husband. The weird part is that he and JJ were from the same hometown, were only a year apart in the same private high school, and yet they had never met. Anyway, John's roommate and I were in the same English class. He invited me over after our exam. John answered the door. I found out we had the same major--and that was that. Took me just about a week to dump the other guy I was seeing (who lived one floor above John) and "pick up" John. (Told you it'd be the short version!)
My old high school boyfriend was a KNOWN flirt. My bff M had a crush on him and introduced us while he was playing guitar for a school play. It wasn't until two years later that he asked ME out. And as M was quite over him, it never caused a problem between the two of us. We lasted eight months, and it was a mutual breakup. He was a year ahead of me and going off to college. Due to his flirtatious nature, I knew I couldn't trust him, so I set him "free." SO GLAD I did that!
I must mention another boyfriend from high school. My MOTHER set me up with him. She worked at the toy store in the mall, and he was ALWAYS there. He was the town's James Dean look-a-like--but only if he combed his hair a certain way (and scrunched his face a certain way), and he was much too short (shorter than I!).
S is a friend who lived in the apartment across the street from John and me. I kept seeing her walk around with her two kids and thinking, "I really should introduce myself to her," but I was too shy. When I had Keith, John put a big "It's a Boy!" sign on our door. She stopped by and gave me some brownies. She was too shy to approach ME up to then! We've been friends ever since, and she helps me keep my motherly sanity.
L (if you follow my blog at all, you'll know the name) was kind of a fluke. John and I had just moved to a bigger apartment and were looking for childcare for 6 mos-old Mary. We found someone who lived down the road, but we weren't 100% happy with her (big rottweilers and pit bulls in cages in the back yard and just a sense of..."yikes!" around the place). We were getting desperate. One day, I just happened to check the local Advertiser and see someone with our same phone exchange advertise for child care. I called the number, and the lady lived in the same apartment complex--and had one kid who was just days older than Mary! We met her and that was that. I kept sending my kids to her even when we moved and I had to drive waaaay out of my way. She's wonderful. We still call each other almost every day....
Many of my other friends I met through John. I quite like the gang he introduced me into--they're all quite amusing. And then I introduced JJ to the gang. (LOTS of phone calls at 2 o'clock in the morning of "Hey! You need to come over!") And then someone from the gang introduced her to her future husband. You two owe us big time!
I'm sorry if I left anyone out.... Still feeling anti-post-like right now.
Love you all!
I met my friend M in elementary school. We were in Girl Scouts together. Then I went to a private school for a couple of years. Then I came back. I became best friends with J, and M was friends with C--but we all were in the same G.S. troop. Sometime during our eighth grade year M and I started hanging out more than J and me--and C started hanging out with J. I called it the "Great Best Friend Swap." We were all much happier after that. AND stayed in Scouts together until we got out of high school. I am still in email contact with C. I don't hear from J anymore. It's harder to stay in touch now with M since she lives in Hawaii--but we try.
I met my friend JJ my freshman year in college--right around the time I turned 19. She and I were kindred spirits from the word "Hi." I think that I am one of the few people who appreciate her sarcasm--except for her husband and MY husband, that is.
Three weeks after I met JJ, I met my future husband. The weird part is that he and JJ were from the same hometown, were only a year apart in the same private high school, and yet they had never met. Anyway, John's roommate and I were in the same English class. He invited me over after our exam. John answered the door. I found out we had the same major--and that was that. Took me just about a week to dump the other guy I was seeing (who lived one floor above John) and "pick up" John. (Told you it'd be the short version!)
My old high school boyfriend was a KNOWN flirt. My bff M had a crush on him and introduced us while he was playing guitar for a school play. It wasn't until two years later that he asked ME out. And as M was quite over him, it never caused a problem between the two of us. We lasted eight months, and it was a mutual breakup. He was a year ahead of me and going off to college. Due to his flirtatious nature, I knew I couldn't trust him, so I set him "free." SO GLAD I did that!
I must mention another boyfriend from high school. My MOTHER set me up with him. She worked at the toy store in the mall, and he was ALWAYS there. He was the town's James Dean look-a-like--but only if he combed his hair a certain way (and scrunched his face a certain way), and he was much too short (shorter than I!).
S is a friend who lived in the apartment across the street from John and me. I kept seeing her walk around with her two kids and thinking, "I really should introduce myself to her," but I was too shy. When I had Keith, John put a big "It's a Boy!" sign on our door. She stopped by and gave me some brownies. She was too shy to approach ME up to then! We've been friends ever since, and she helps me keep my motherly sanity.
L (if you follow my blog at all, you'll know the name) was kind of a fluke. John and I had just moved to a bigger apartment and were looking for childcare for 6 mos-old Mary. We found someone who lived down the road, but we weren't 100% happy with her (big rottweilers and pit bulls in cages in the back yard and just a sense of..."yikes!" around the place). We were getting desperate. One day, I just happened to check the local Advertiser and see someone with our same phone exchange advertise for child care. I called the number, and the lady lived in the same apartment complex--and had one kid who was just days older than Mary! We met her and that was that. I kept sending my kids to her even when we moved and I had to drive waaaay out of my way. She's wonderful. We still call each other almost every day....
Many of my other friends I met through John. I quite like the gang he introduced me into--they're all quite amusing. And then I introduced JJ to the gang. (LOTS of phone calls at 2 o'clock in the morning of "Hey! You need to come over!") And then someone from the gang introduced her to her future husband. You two owe us big time!
I'm sorry if I left anyone out.... Still feeling anti-post-like right now.
Love you all!
Still Here
Oh, um....HI! I know, I know. It's been awhile. And I don't really have much of an excuse for my absence. Just your typical run-of-the-mill, semi-annual abhorrence to the computer that I occasionally get. Seriously. Sometimes I just think, "Ugh! I simply CAN'T turn on the computer today!" And I decide to do something ELSE instead--not playing with my wonderful children. Oh no. Instead I pick up a book and ignore my house/kids/husband/chores/life for a while and just simply TUNE OUT. It might be a seasonal (or perhaps cycle) thing.... Anyway, the cure to my recent frumpy, kinda down-in-the-dumpy mood this last week (um, or TWO) has been to reread tons of books around the house--including the complete Harry Potter septology (um....is THAT the word?). And instead of cheering me up out of my apparent depths of despair, I have bummed myself out even more crying again over the deaths of certain characters that Ms. Rowling found necessary to extinguish with her evil, sharpened quill. WENCH! (Trying to keep the blog PG as my parents DO read it occasionally!)
[And now a moment of silence for those characters who were sacrificed for the greater literary good....]
....
ANYWAY!!!
What have the Qs been up to lately??? Well, we took a portion of our governmental proceeds and bought a brand-new TV. For once, my life was like a commercial. You know--that one bank commercial where the wife disgustingly throws down the remote and says to her husband, "You're right; we DO need a new TV" and the husband gleefully goes out shopping to "I want it all" playing in the background. Yes, that was us. YES, after YEARS of grumbles and complaints from my other half, I finally HAD to admit that I could actually SEE the TV was DYING and yes, OK, we DO need a new one. And he brought home a new 46-inch HD TV and a new cabinet on which to place it. NOW we have a problem though. HD TV but NO HD signals coming in. After much deliberating and price-checking, we ended up switching dish providers. It was a bit costly to do the exchange (had to pay high dollar to get out of our contract with previous provider), but we feel it will be worth it in the long run. The new provider (who is actually a PREVIOUS-previous provider for us) had a better HD deal and more channels that we watch than the cheap provider we had previously who didn't have hardly ANY of the channels we actually like to watch. We got the new hook-up last night, and I'm in AWE of the clarity--um, in the FEW HD channels that exist.
We had our parent-teacher conferences for Units #1 and #2, and not that there was any doubt, I am proud to say that both kids are doing great. Keith's teacher is especially giddy about how well he's reading/writing. John bought the kids a new Wii game for a reward (well, that was his EXCUSE for buying it, anyway!).
Our car is acting kinda funny, so John is taking the mini-van to work, leaving me home with the kids and NO means of transportation. It's not that big of a deal usually, but why is it when a vehicle busts down is when you NEED it? Our names were on the list to volunteer for one of Mary's after-school activities the other day, and John got held up at work and couldn't come home in time. As a result, I had to walk to the school. It's not too terribly far (takes maybe 3-4 minutes driving), but it was a pain due to the fact that I was pushing Izzy in the stroller up a big hill with NO sidewalks most of the way (both ways! in the snow banks!) and THEN it started raining. Hey, we made it, and it felt good to actually be doing some physical activity. I'm thinking I will be doing more walking once the snow finally melts. (Yeah--not holding my breath on that.)
Izzy is going through the terrible threes right now and being quite stubborn and ignoring both of her parents. There are days it takes two hours to get her out of her PJs and into her clothes (and vice-versa that night). She's very independent, so I get a lot of "I do it!" And since she NEEDS to be doing this stuff on her own, instead of Mommy continually babying her, I'm taking a step back and letter her do it. But now she's not listening and not following directions and just generally driving Mommy and Daddy nuts. I tell ya. With all three of my kids, three was definitely worse than two. But John and I know that we just need to weather it out a bit, and she'll be fine again. *sigh*
March Madness has begun and once again I am awakened to regional distinctions. I sometimes even FORGET about the tourney now-a-days whereas when we lived in IN, it would have been inexcusable for me to at least not have HEARD of the teams who were in contention. Even John has gradually removed himself from basketball fever. Who ARE we?? Anyway, it also reminds me of how Memorial Day will come and go, and I'll completely even FORGET about the Indianapolis 500 since it's not on the news/radio EVERY FIVE FREAKIN' MINUTES. It's as if I'm in a different dimension. I mean, you can drive down a whole neighborhood here and see only one, maybe two, basketball hoops. That's just not NORMAL, is it? What's WRONG with these people?
I've also been busy doing my GS job that I got volunteered for ('cause let there be no mistake that I did NOT volunteer myself). So, I guess I should be honest here and say that I HAVE turned on the computer almost every day--but I was only checking/responding to emails about my "job" and nothing else. I apologize to my friends that have been pushed to the bottom of my emailing priority list. But let me reassure you all that if it weren't for this stuff I had to do for GS (darnit!), I wouldn't have even walked INTO the computer room. And even now, I'm getting antsy just typing this post and thinking oh God, WHY did I even TYPE IN my blogger address??? I DON'T want to be here.
Obviously, it's time to quit. Perhaps the Spring Fever will abate soon and you will hear more from me in a few days.... We'll see.
[And now a moment of silence for those characters who were sacrificed for the greater literary good....]
....
ANYWAY!!!
What have the Qs been up to lately??? Well, we took a portion of our governmental proceeds and bought a brand-new TV. For once, my life was like a commercial. You know--that one bank commercial where the wife disgustingly throws down the remote and says to her husband, "You're right; we DO need a new TV" and the husband gleefully goes out shopping to "I want it all" playing in the background. Yes, that was us. YES, after YEARS of grumbles and complaints from my other half, I finally HAD to admit that I could actually SEE the TV was DYING and yes, OK, we DO need a new one. And he brought home a new 46-inch HD TV and a new cabinet on which to place it. NOW we have a problem though. HD TV but NO HD signals coming in. After much deliberating and price-checking, we ended up switching dish providers. It was a bit costly to do the exchange (had to pay high dollar to get out of our contract with previous provider), but we feel it will be worth it in the long run. The new provider (who is actually a PREVIOUS-previous provider for us) had a better HD deal and more channels that we watch than the cheap provider we had previously who didn't have hardly ANY of the channels we actually like to watch. We got the new hook-up last night, and I'm in AWE of the clarity--um, in the FEW HD channels that exist.
We had our parent-teacher conferences for Units #1 and #2, and not that there was any doubt, I am proud to say that both kids are doing great. Keith's teacher is especially giddy about how well he's reading/writing. John bought the kids a new Wii game for a reward (well, that was his EXCUSE for buying it, anyway!).
Our car is acting kinda funny, so John is taking the mini-van to work, leaving me home with the kids and NO means of transportation. It's not that big of a deal usually, but why is it when a vehicle busts down is when you NEED it? Our names were on the list to volunteer for one of Mary's after-school activities the other day, and John got held up at work and couldn't come home in time. As a result, I had to walk to the school. It's not too terribly far (takes maybe 3-4 minutes driving), but it was a pain due to the fact that I was pushing Izzy in the stroller up a big hill with NO sidewalks most of the way (both ways! in the snow banks!) and THEN it started raining. Hey, we made it, and it felt good to actually be doing some physical activity. I'm thinking I will be doing more walking once the snow finally melts. (Yeah--not holding my breath on that.)
Izzy is going through the terrible threes right now and being quite stubborn and ignoring both of her parents. There are days it takes two hours to get her out of her PJs and into her clothes (and vice-versa that night). She's very independent, so I get a lot of "I do it!" And since she NEEDS to be doing this stuff on her own, instead of Mommy continually babying her, I'm taking a step back and letter her do it. But now she's not listening and not following directions and just generally driving Mommy and Daddy nuts. I tell ya. With all three of my kids, three was definitely worse than two. But John and I know that we just need to weather it out a bit, and she'll be fine again. *sigh*
March Madness has begun and once again I am awakened to regional distinctions. I sometimes even FORGET about the tourney now-a-days whereas when we lived in IN, it would have been inexcusable for me to at least not have HEARD of the teams who were in contention. Even John has gradually removed himself from basketball fever. Who ARE we?? Anyway, it also reminds me of how Memorial Day will come and go, and I'll completely even FORGET about the Indianapolis 500 since it's not on the news/radio EVERY FIVE FREAKIN' MINUTES. It's as if I'm in a different dimension. I mean, you can drive down a whole neighborhood here and see only one, maybe two, basketball hoops. That's just not NORMAL, is it? What's WRONG with these people?
I've also been busy doing my GS job that I got volunteered for ('cause let there be no mistake that I did NOT volunteer myself). So, I guess I should be honest here and say that I HAVE turned on the computer almost every day--but I was only checking/responding to emails about my "job" and nothing else. I apologize to my friends that have been pushed to the bottom of my emailing priority list. But let me reassure you all that if it weren't for this stuff I had to do for GS (darnit!), I wouldn't have even walked INTO the computer room. And even now, I'm getting antsy just typing this post and thinking oh God, WHY did I even TYPE IN my blogger address??? I DON'T want to be here.
Obviously, it's time to quit. Perhaps the Spring Fever will abate soon and you will hear more from me in a few days.... We'll see.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
I must be crazy
Saturday there was a huge snow storm. Of course, it was just starting right at 1:00 when I had to take Mary to a birthday party--20 minutes away. It was starting to sleet (Keith: "Mommy! It's raining ice cubes on me!") when I headed out. And then the snow started accumulating. I had some trouble getting back into the driveway, but after a bit of rocking, we got the mini-van in the garage just fine. Two hours later, I had to head out to pick Mary up. Still snowing/sleeting, but I went out with a purpose. Since I'm ALREADY out in this crap, why not take the kids to the movies???? So, I drove across town to the Dollar theatre (which is now TWO dollars, thank you), and I FINALLY got to see Enchanted.
After the movie, we went out to the snowy landscape--and the van needed scraping. Of course, a few weeks ago John noticed that our ice scraper had gone MISSING. Seriously, how does one misplace an ICE SCRAPER? The only time it's ever taken out of the car is to SCRAPE the car! And we don't have to scrape the van very often since it's mostly in the garage all day. So where the freak did the ice scraper GO? It's a mystery. Anyway, there wasn't a lot of snow on the van, but some ice crusted on the right-hand side. I let the van heat up and thawed as much as I could....then decided that since we were ALREADY out in this crap, let's go out to eat!
We headed over to Pizzaria Uno. And this is the first I really noticed a lot of snow. The parking lot hadn't been plowed yet and it was kinda thick. Ah well.
We were only in the restaurant about an hour, and then I decided since we were ALREADY out in this crap, we should go look for an ice scraper. So I brushed off the snow with my gloves and headed over to my boyfriend Danny Wegman's place. Sheesh! He has EVERYTHING, but I didn't see an ice scraper! Danny! You let me down!
At this point, everyone is tired and cranky (including ME), so I decided to mail it in and head home. The trip home on the highway was fun as no lines could be seen, but I'm used to it. No problem.
We finally got home just after 7:00. Um. I couldn't get the van in the driveway. I tried rocking. No good. So, I put the kids in the house, grabbed the shovel, and started trying to shovel my tires free. No good. I was on my third shoveling attempt when my neighbor came over. Thank goodness! I was just thinking that if this last attempt didn't work, then I was going to knock on his door.... Larry and his son saved the day. We three shoveled out a path up to the garage, and Larry pulled the van in.
Sunday morning, I couldn't tell my driveway from my yard. A clean sweep of snow expanded the whole front of my house--you couldn't even tell where we'd shoveled tire paths the night before. I took a picture on the cell phone and sent it to John. His response, "I'm not coming back. Nice knowing you."
On the off chance that John DID come back (ha!), I went out Sunday afternoon to try to clear a spot in the driveway for him to at least pull in his car. The kids played in the snow while I tried to shovel. Getting thwarted by the amount of snow, I decided to try the sno-thrower.
John has never shown me how to use the sno-thrower, so I did what any girl on her own would do--I called my Daddy. I did manage to get the machine started, but I couldn't figure out how to make it GO. Dad couldn't help much since he couldn't SEE the machine and was going by how HIS works (didn't think until later that I could have sent him a picture with the cell phone). We both figured it was probably not a good idea for me to play with John's toys, so I got the shovel back out again. I managed to clear just enough snow at the end of the driveway that John could pull in once he got home.
John had left his car in the long-term parking at the airport. It took him 45 minutes to dig himself out of that. "I can't believe they don't clear these parking lots!" All I could think of was that scene in Fargo where the "Funny-lookin' guy" was trying to steal plates from the long-term parking lot....yeah, airports DON'T give a rat's butt about your parking conveniences!!!
John's reward for leaving me alone with the kids all weekend: having to clear the driveway the minute he got home. He told me that the sno-thrower was probably too powerful for me to handle, so he's glad I never figured it out (visions of my losing control and it running away to chew up the neighbor's house across the street are flashing in my mind!).
So....I survived the weekend. I actually did get out of the house--but I probably shouldn't have. And if Mary hadn't had that #@$% birthday party, I never would have stirred.
Oh well. At least I finally got to see Enchanted.
After the movie, we went out to the snowy landscape--and the van needed scraping. Of course, a few weeks ago John noticed that our ice scraper had gone MISSING. Seriously, how does one misplace an ICE SCRAPER? The only time it's ever taken out of the car is to SCRAPE the car! And we don't have to scrape the van very often since it's mostly in the garage all day. So where the freak did the ice scraper GO? It's a mystery. Anyway, there wasn't a lot of snow on the van, but some ice crusted on the right-hand side. I let the van heat up and thawed as much as I could....then decided that since we were ALREADY out in this crap, let's go out to eat!
We headed over to Pizzaria Uno. And this is the first I really noticed a lot of snow. The parking lot hadn't been plowed yet and it was kinda thick. Ah well.
We were only in the restaurant about an hour, and then I decided since we were ALREADY out in this crap, we should go look for an ice scraper. So I brushed off the snow with my gloves and headed over to my boyfriend Danny Wegman's place. Sheesh! He has EVERYTHING, but I didn't see an ice scraper! Danny! You let me down!
At this point, everyone is tired and cranky (including ME), so I decided to mail it in and head home. The trip home on the highway was fun as no lines could be seen, but I'm used to it. No problem.
We finally got home just after 7:00. Um. I couldn't get the van in the driveway. I tried rocking. No good. So, I put the kids in the house, grabbed the shovel, and started trying to shovel my tires free. No good. I was on my third shoveling attempt when my neighbor came over. Thank goodness! I was just thinking that if this last attempt didn't work, then I was going to knock on his door.... Larry and his son saved the day. We three shoveled out a path up to the garage, and Larry pulled the van in.
Sunday morning, I couldn't tell my driveway from my yard. A clean sweep of snow expanded the whole front of my house--you couldn't even tell where we'd shoveled tire paths the night before. I took a picture on the cell phone and sent it to John. His response, "I'm not coming back. Nice knowing you."
On the off chance that John DID come back (ha!), I went out Sunday afternoon to try to clear a spot in the driveway for him to at least pull in his car. The kids played in the snow while I tried to shovel. Getting thwarted by the amount of snow, I decided to try the sno-thrower.
John has never shown me how to use the sno-thrower, so I did what any girl on her own would do--I called my Daddy. I did manage to get the machine started, but I couldn't figure out how to make it GO. Dad couldn't help much since he couldn't SEE the machine and was going by how HIS works (didn't think until later that I could have sent him a picture with the cell phone). We both figured it was probably not a good idea for me to play with John's toys, so I got the shovel back out again. I managed to clear just enough snow at the end of the driveway that John could pull in once he got home.
John had left his car in the long-term parking at the airport. It took him 45 minutes to dig himself out of that. "I can't believe they don't clear these parking lots!" All I could think of was that scene in Fargo where the "Funny-lookin' guy" was trying to steal plates from the long-term parking lot....yeah, airports DON'T give a rat's butt about your parking conveniences!!!
John's reward for leaving me alone with the kids all weekend: having to clear the driveway the minute he got home. He told me that the sno-thrower was probably too powerful for me to handle, so he's glad I never figured it out (visions of my losing control and it running away to chew up the neighbor's house across the street are flashing in my mind!).
So....I survived the weekend. I actually did get out of the house--but I probably shouldn't have. And if Mary hadn't had that #@$% birthday party, I never would have stirred.
Oh well. At least I finally got to see Enchanted.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Home Alone
John has run off to play with his internet friends, leaving me Home Alone with the three kids until Sunday. Now that Izzy's older, I don't mind as much. AS MUCH.
So now I have to run out to the school this afternoon to be present for Mary's violin lesson (which is normally John's thing) WITH the three-year old. This might be interesting.
I'm still trying to decide if the kids and I are actually going to DO anything, or just stay hermit-like at home playing Wii and watching movies all weekend. I guess I'll see how much energy/coffee I have tomorrow, and see what kind of mood I'm in.
My internet wasn't working this morning, and I was waiting for an email from a friend clinching our plans to meet for lunch today. I kept trying to call her, but it was going directly to her voice mail. I finally left anyway since I figured it would force me to get a particular errand done--that normally would have NOT been done in a timely manner. We (Keith, Izzy, and I) ended up at the mall eating subs when I couldn't reach her. I even tried my former co-workers, but they had already gone out to lunch--at a somewhat swanky place to which I did not want to bring my kids OR pocketbook (at least not TODAY). My gf finally called--she DID email me this morning telling me she couldn't make it AND to top it all off, her cell phone stopped working. She had to go to her carrier and get a replacement. Third replacement in SIX MONTHS. And yes, folks, I DO believe her!
I got ahold of John when I got back who suggested I turn off/on the modem on our computer. And gee, it worked (duh...can you tell?).
Anyway, the busted lunch plans and the later violin lesson have thrown off my whole day. I normally do most of my cleaning on Fridays in the attempt to have a moderately clean house over the weekends. Eh. John's not here, anyway. We'll just continue walking OVER and THROUGH the crap for another couple of days.....
Hope you all have a good weekend! Hope the kids don't drive me nuts by the time John gets back!
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
In the mind of a three-year old
About mid-way back on our 8-hour trip home a few weeks ago, Izzy--who must have been just pooped as she spent most of it just staring, staring out the window--suddenly piped up to me, "Mommy, I like pizza."
And then went back to staring out the window.
And now we know the thoughts of a three-year old.
As if we ever had any doubt...!
And then went back to staring out the window.
And now we know the thoughts of a three-year old.
As if we ever had any doubt...!
Monday, March 03, 2008
A Day of Spring
It was gorgeous outside today. A big, fat TEASE by that old witch Mother Nature. Why dangle this beautiful 55* day in front of our noses, only to snatch it directly back out of our sights--with a big, huge, storm abrewin'. It's just not FAIR!
And how did I enjoy my eye-of-the-weather-hurricane day? I had to go to the DENTIST to get a CRAPPY filling. I've done a great job of taking care of my teeth lately (after the seven-cavities-and-a-root-canal fiasco of my first pregnancy), so I felt like a kid getting caught with her hands in the cookie jar (hmmmm....) when I was told I needed a filling. BUT! I've been doing so WELL! Well, so much for THAT!
I attempted to sweat it out and go without Novocaine, as the cavity wasn't too deep, but the vibrations of the drill were too much for my nerves. The dentist (I love this kind man--and he probably loves the yacht that my pregnancy-induced enamel-malaise from eight years ago presented him) gave me just enough of the juice to "take off the edge," and I was then able to submit to cavity filling again without the herky-jerky "Oh God, I FELT that!" motion which was previously hindering him. Sheesh. Natural childbirth THREE times, and I still can't handle a simple filling!
I made the mistake of making an AM appointment, so I had to drag two of my three children to my drilling date with me. I made the mistake of picking up the newspaper while waiting--and tuning out my goofy children. Before I knew it, millions of dental leaflets were being thrown around the waiting room, to the gleeful chorus of my two young'uns. I instantly turned into one of "those" parents--who had to give the stern looks and reprimands to her kids to cover up the embarrassment that the behavior was pretty much HER fault for ignoring her kids and not preventing the bad behavior in the first place. Consider me chagrined.
Knowing that I cannot trust Izzy and Keith together in the same waiting room (he just gets her up to all sorts of hijinks--case in point: dental leaflets strewn around the room), I brought Izzy back with me to witness my demise. The dentist had barely started whenever Keith just sort of wandered back into the room. The dentist was conciliatory, and the hygienist was amused. Keith and Izzy hunched down in the corner together and played with their toys (the only time I have recently let them bring toys out of the car and into a place of business--I was hoping to keep them quietly distracted--ha!). Yes, the dentist and hygienist were quite entertained by my kids' imaginations. Even I had to giggle--mid-drill--when Keith's transformer exclaimed, "Holy, Crickets!" to his foe the Bear. "Wow," says Sam, the dentist, "my kids mostly just fight." I was in too precarious of a position to throw back, "SO DO MINE--I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY'RE BEING SO GOOD, BUT THANK GOD!" But I'm sure he got the telepathic message my eyes were sending. The moochers begged for prizes (they are well aware now of the "treasure chest" for kids after dental visits) and were duly awarded. Imps. Then we went home. Mostly unscathed.
I have felt a bit under the weather (oh, HAR!) since last evening. But my poor vitamin D-starved kids demanded an outside excursion, and knowing we would not have this respite in just 24 hours hence, I played outside with them after school. Oh. So. Nice. Almost made me forget my tummy ache. Almost.
Bleh.
And how did I enjoy my eye-of-the-weather-hurricane day? I had to go to the DENTIST to get a CRAPPY filling. I've done a great job of taking care of my teeth lately (after the seven-cavities-and-a-root-canal fiasco of my first pregnancy), so I felt like a kid getting caught with her hands in the cookie jar (hmmmm....) when I was told I needed a filling. BUT! I've been doing so WELL! Well, so much for THAT!
I attempted to sweat it out and go without Novocaine, as the cavity wasn't too deep, but the vibrations of the drill were too much for my nerves. The dentist (I love this kind man--and he probably loves the yacht that my pregnancy-induced enamel-malaise from eight years ago presented him) gave me just enough of the juice to "take off the edge," and I was then able to submit to cavity filling again without the herky-jerky "Oh God, I FELT that!" motion which was previously hindering him. Sheesh. Natural childbirth THREE times, and I still can't handle a simple filling!
I made the mistake of making an AM appointment, so I had to drag two of my three children to my drilling date with me. I made the mistake of picking up the newspaper while waiting--and tuning out my goofy children. Before I knew it, millions of dental leaflets were being thrown around the waiting room, to the gleeful chorus of my two young'uns. I instantly turned into one of "those" parents--who had to give the stern looks and reprimands to her kids to cover up the embarrassment that the behavior was pretty much HER fault for ignoring her kids and not preventing the bad behavior in the first place. Consider me chagrined.
Knowing that I cannot trust Izzy and Keith together in the same waiting room (he just gets her up to all sorts of hijinks--case in point: dental leaflets strewn around the room), I brought Izzy back with me to witness my demise. The dentist had barely started whenever Keith just sort of wandered back into the room. The dentist was conciliatory, and the hygienist was amused. Keith and Izzy hunched down in the corner together and played with their toys (the only time I have recently let them bring toys out of the car and into a place of business--I was hoping to keep them quietly distracted--ha!). Yes, the dentist and hygienist were quite entertained by my kids' imaginations. Even I had to giggle--mid-drill--when Keith's transformer exclaimed, "Holy, Crickets!" to his foe the Bear. "Wow," says Sam, the dentist, "my kids mostly just fight." I was in too precarious of a position to throw back, "SO DO MINE--I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY'RE BEING SO GOOD, BUT THANK GOD!" But I'm sure he got the telepathic message my eyes were sending. The moochers begged for prizes (they are well aware now of the "treasure chest" for kids after dental visits) and were duly awarded. Imps. Then we went home. Mostly unscathed.
I have felt a bit under the weather (oh, HAR!) since last evening. But my poor vitamin D-starved kids demanded an outside excursion, and knowing we would not have this respite in just 24 hours hence, I played outside with them after school. Oh. So. Nice. Almost made me forget my tummy ache. Almost.
Bleh.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
A Good Time Was Had By All
Yesterday we had Keith's birthday party. (Hello! My son turned six a week and a half ago--did I leave that out? Sorry!) Anyway, we postponed his party a bit due to the winter break. We didn't want Keith's party to be thwarted by all those folks who had plans to go skiing or Florida or whatever the week the kids were out of school.
We gave Keith the choice of venue: the museum or Adventure Landing. He choose the latter. AL is like Barfy Cheese's--only MORE FUN and NO annoying, singing RAT. Along with the usual token-eating fare, they have a nerf-ball cannon room, miniature golf, and go-carts. Of course, since this was the middle of freaking winter, we couldn't do the last two activities, but a bunch of five- and six-year olds are more than easily entertained by token-eating machines and shooting things at each other.
I chose to have the party at 10:00 in the morning. Initially it was because I have come to realize that I HATE those 1:00-2:00-3:00-middle-of-my-precious-Saturday parties. A party in the morning means that you still have the rest of the day to maybe get something done. But once we got there, we realized the OTHER benefit--there was practically no one else there, and we had the whole fun place to ourselves! And the other parents were thrilled about it too.
I'm feeling a bit smug here. AL is across town from where we live, but it never crossed my mind that no one on this side of town had ever heard of it. For a lot of parents/kids, this was their first time there. The kids loved it. The parents were sort of in awe. Why, yes, there ARE better places to go waste your tokens than Bary Cheese! And let me tell you, AL puts on a very well-organized party. I was consulted and kept in the loop about everything--and the hostess even wrote down the gifts for me. AL sold their services to quite a few parents that day. And don't I feel the all-knowing one for introducing them to the place! See, you East-siders! The West side DOES have its amenities, too! (There is a definite East-side, West-side war going around about here).
So, we played games, ran around in the ball room, ate pizza (bleh--the pizza at AL is just as bad as the pizza at Barfy Cheese's) and cake, opened gifts (G.I. Joes and Transformers and Power Rangers, oh my!), then went out to play more games. I took a some-what shy boy under my wing and went around with him to show him how to play some of the games. Keith ran around in the ball room with no reservations (he was a bit nervous in there the last time we were there). Keith and his best friend ran, jumped, shot cannons, and generally beat up on each other--like all best friends do. And we had three kids break down into tears when their parents told them it was time to go home.
Most enjoyable. And I didn't even have to take a Tylenol ONCE.
We gave Keith the choice of venue: the museum or Adventure Landing. He choose the latter. AL is like Barfy Cheese's--only MORE FUN and NO annoying, singing RAT. Along with the usual token-eating fare, they have a nerf-ball cannon room, miniature golf, and go-carts. Of course, since this was the middle of freaking winter, we couldn't do the last two activities, but a bunch of five- and six-year olds are more than easily entertained by token-eating machines and shooting things at each other.
I chose to have the party at 10:00 in the morning. Initially it was because I have come to realize that I HATE those 1:00-2:00-3:00-middle-of-my-precious-Saturday parties. A party in the morning means that you still have the rest of the day to maybe get something done. But once we got there, we realized the OTHER benefit--there was practically no one else there, and we had the whole fun place to ourselves! And the other parents were thrilled about it too.
I'm feeling a bit smug here. AL is across town from where we live, but it never crossed my mind that no one on this side of town had ever heard of it. For a lot of parents/kids, this was their first time there. The kids loved it. The parents were sort of in awe. Why, yes, there ARE better places to go waste your tokens than Bary Cheese! And let me tell you, AL puts on a very well-organized party. I was consulted and kept in the loop about everything--and the hostess even wrote down the gifts for me. AL sold their services to quite a few parents that day. And don't I feel the all-knowing one for introducing them to the place! See, you East-siders! The West side DOES have its amenities, too! (There is a definite East-side, West-side war going around about here).
So, we played games, ran around in the ball room, ate pizza (bleh--the pizza at AL is just as bad as the pizza at Barfy Cheese's) and cake, opened gifts (G.I. Joes and Transformers and Power Rangers, oh my!), then went out to play more games. I took a some-what shy boy under my wing and went around with him to show him how to play some of the games. Keith ran around in the ball room with no reservations (he was a bit nervous in there the last time we were there). Keith and his best friend ran, jumped, shot cannons, and generally beat up on each other--like all best friends do. And we had three kids break down into tears when their parents told them it was time to go home.
Most enjoyable. And I didn't even have to take a Tylenol ONCE.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Pics of the Party
Gee, Marcus. Thanks for picking the MOST FLATTERING ones.
Pictures of Baby Fest '08.
(How weird to note that four bloggers were represented in these photos...and a fifth was the guy doing the flashing.)
(*chuckle*--I'll leave the "flashing" comments to MR. Marcus, buddy, you will NEVER live that down!)
Pictures of Baby Fest '08.
(How weird to note that four bloggers were represented in these photos...and a fifth was the guy doing the flashing.)
(*chuckle*--I'll leave the "flashing" comments to MR. Marcus, buddy, you will NEVER live that down!)
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