Behold my awesomeness:
This was for Madalyn's class. It was her turn to bring snacks today. JZ is usually the one who gets the fancy stuff for snack because it's not a problem for me to bring the snacks to the class when it's time to eat them. Therefore I often make things that need to be put together and then eaten immediately, which I then deliver to the class at snack time. I'm not really able to just drop in to Madalyn's class and hang around so she usually gets the prepackaged snacks that don't need any special care. I saw this idea on the Jet-Puffed display at the store, though, and had to give it a whirl. Usually when I make things like this I'm disappointed with how it turns out, since it never looks anywhere near as nice as the picture. These, however, didn't end up half bad. There was some labor involved, being that I had to wash and de-leaf the strawberries but it was all pretty straightforward. The chocolate was even easy because I bought the Baker's tub that you just pop in the microwave to melt. I made enough for everyone in class to have two with strawberries and then I also made a third skewer that had two marshmallows (not pictured).
It was quite a bit of work for something as simple as marshmallows and strawberries on sticks, but the "wow" factor is considerable. The arrangement got lots of attention when I carried it into the school, and when Madalyn's teacher carried it to the refrigerator in the teachers' lounge. I'm not sure I'd go to all the trouble again for a school snack but certainly for a party or other event, just because it looks so festive (and impressive).
Editing later to add: I forgot to say that is not Easter grass on top of the sugar in the bowl. It's coconut flakes dyed with food coloring. Also, this would make a great treat for a Valentine's party. You could do white chocolate and pink/red/white sprinkles, and make the coconut pink.
Yet ANOTHER weekend has gone by and we didn't move the crib. WTH? I truly feel if we'd move her into another room we could make some serious headway, and yet we're still farting around.
On Friday I slept late and when I got up Robert left to go run errands and was basically gone all day till Madalyn got done at Boys and Girls Club. We had already decided to go to have a family night out so we did that and then didn't get back till past Eliza's bedtime. Then, Saturday, I was gone all day and she was in bed when I got back. Today I slept in, then, when I got up, she went straight down for her nap. When she got up we had cooked so we ate and then R. had stuff to get done before he left for work again. So, it's not as much a matter of us being lazy as it is having all kinds of other stuff to do, and the fact that it's going to take at least a couple of hours to complete the entire transfer (and it's not really something you can leave incomplete until the next day -- we need it finished by naptime or bedtime).
I can say that she did better last night than she had done for a week-and-a-half prior. She just went through yet another phase where she was up every 1-2 hours. Last night she slept for four hours once, and then three after that. So hopefully she is cycling out of that awful pattern so that, this week, I can get a bit more sleep.
Oh yeah, and I just realized we're going to be gone next weekend, too, so that puts it off another week. Ah, well, after not sleeping for nearly 13 months, what's another two weeks?
Eliza's too smart for her own good. She knows I'm a soft touch and that all she has to do is holler long enough and I will give in. Over the weekend she gave me trouble a few days in a row with taking her afternoon nap. She'd mess around in her crib a while and then start crying. I'd go in, give her back her paci, make her lie down, only to have it start all over again. Then she would start refusing to even take the pacifier back and I get flustered, like, "Oh no, now what?" and I'd give up and take her out of the crib.
She definitely needs that second nap still, though, so on Saturday when she pulled the same thing I just made sure she had her pacifier in bed with her, went out, shut the door, and didn't go back. She carried on for about five minutes and then plugged her paci in and went to sleep. Now, you can't tell me that child doesn't know exactly what she's doing! The same thing happened just now, for her morning nap. She was in there playing around in the crib and then started crying because she wanted out. I went in here, put her down, covered her up, and tried to give her the pacifier. She smacked my hand away (ohhh, yes, she did) so I just set it down next to her, said, "Night-night" and left. She screeched for a couple minutes, then got her pacifier and went to sleep.
People, I'm being played by a twelve-month-old.
This further reinforces my belief that, once we move her crib out of our room, I will probably be able to get her to start sleeping better by doing this same thing in the middle of the night when she wakes. I haven't tried it yet because it's not going to work with me lying there in full view, a foot-and-a-half away. She knows I'll get up and get her, eventually, because I always have. Plus the older two are usually sleeping in the room with me and I don't want them disturbed. I really think that, when we put her in the other bedroom, it will take just a little work and she'll be maybe even start sleeping all the way through. I think she'll be like JZ -- once she realizes she's not going to get the boob every time she wakes up, she won't bother. Right now, she knows if she keeps it up I will give in, eventually -- plus I think she feeds off the attention.
It would be great if she was sleeping through by the time we go to California. Actually, it would be great if she was sleeping through by the time Vacation Bible School rolls around at the beginning of June, since I have signed up to help and it makes for a looong week, during which I could use a good night's rest every night! Wow, I'm just imagining what this summer would be like with her sleeping through. I think I'd have a lot more patience in dealing with all three of them all day, every day, plus a lot more energy to do fun stuff!
So, it's settled: we are absolutely, definitely, 100% certainly going to move that crib first thing on Friday morning. I know you're thinking, "Why haven't you done it before now you stupid, stupid woman?" The answer is, it's not that easy. Number one, it has no wheels. Number two, even if it did, it's too wide to fit out the bedroom door, which means we have to actually disassemble it (and it was a PAIN IN THE BUTT to put together). Number three, there is physically no way I could do it by myself. You need at least four hands to take it apart so, not being an octopus, that takes me out of the running to accomplish it without Robert's help. Plus there is other furniture that will have to be moved to make room for the crib. We keep saying, every week, "We need to get the crib moved!" and then other stuff comes up and we don't. And this weekend, of course, he was out of commission for anything of that nature. By the end of this week, though, he ought to be back to normal and ready to do a little shuffling. I'm excited. Who knows? By this time next week we may have some drastic improvement to report! (And the polar ice caps could re-freeze, the Buffalo Bills could win a Super Bowl, and there could be world peace).
My dear husband is currently laid up for the weekend following a, uh, procedure he had performed yesterday. ('Nuff said.) While I do think that three labors and deliveries still trumps the, uh, procedure, I am, nonetheless, grateful and willing to allow him to milk the situation for a few days. So, contrary to my usual m.o., I have been trying to pamper him. I spent a couple hours on my feet in the kitchen last night making dinner AND dessert, which I served to him in his comfy chair in the living room. He responded by giving both of my efforts rave reviews. In fact, he swears the main course was the best chicken dish I've ever cooked. Now, keep in mind, dude would eat anything that doesn't eat him first, including seafood (in any stage of cooked-ness, including "not"), buffalo, squirrel, lion (he swears he's not making that up), Various Random Shit That's Been in the Fridge for at Least Three Weeks, and deep-fried testicles, so perhaps his opinion of what's good isn't that reliable. Also, he was possibly still high on drugs at the time. However, I'll pass along the recipe, just in case. If you make it, and like it, you, too, can marvel at my culinary prowess:
Zesty Chicken and Rice Casserole
(Note: if you are not a huge fan of onions and like a milder onion taste, use yellow onions instead of red. That's what I'm going to do next time I make it.)
And don't forget dessert:
His final comment, at the conclusion of dessert, was, "I thought you told me once you couldn't cook. You lied." Which, all told, wasn't a bad way to end the day.
So we all know what I'm reading offline (or you would, if you'd pay attention to my sidebar, you little minxes!) but how about Madalyn, my young bookworm-in-training?
Well, we received our latest Scholastic book order yesterday, and in it was: three Cam Jansen mysteries, four of Judy Blume's Fudge books, two Beverly Cleary Henry and Ribsy books, three Jack Russell: Dog Detective books, Nim's Island (just saw the movie last weekend) and five Poetry for Young People books: Animal Poems, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Lewis Carroll and Robert Frost. Think that will keep her busy for a while? The poetry books are probably a bit over her head so I will read those with her, but the rest is all for her own perusal. This is in addition to the six books I got her at the library last week.
I am not sure how many book she has going right now but she appears to have inherited my ability to read multiple books concurrently without becoming confused. There are quite a few lying around the house in varying stages of completion. She went off to school today with her nose stuck in Nim's Island and one of the Jack Russell books in her backpack, "in case I finish" (I doubt she will, as Nim's Island seems to be a pretty involved book and she does have other things to do at school besides free reading).
I keep finding myself, when we're trying to get ready to go somewhere and she's reading instead of moving, on the verge of scolding her about reading, but I always catch myself and stop. If there's anything I can understand, it's reading. I remember being that age and going about with a book tucked under my arm. I remember my books being my friends and companions, not just paper and ink. I would never take that away from her or make her feel self-conscious about reading, or imply she was wasting her time doing it. I plan to support her habit to the best of my abilities. Heck, I may start taking up the books after she lays them down and reading them, myself. It would give us something to talk about and young reader books are probably about all my addled brain can handle nowadays, anyway.
I have temporarily turned off commenting because I got on some asshole spammers' list and got about a hundred spam comments in twelve hours. Leaving the comments off for a few days usually deters them (until the next bunch comes along). May their servers crash when all their spam messages get bounced back. Comments will be enabled again during the week sometime.
As you may, or may not, know, Robert and I have been big Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans for over a decade. It is, in fact, the entire reason we met. Since it went off the air in 1999, there has been a dearth of bad-movie-riffing of the type we craved. So, imagine our excitement when we heard that the best of the original cast has reassembled to riff, once again. The name of the new project is Cinematic Titanic.
I am on the CT email list and I received an email of great interest to us this morning. It appears the CT cast, plus Kevin Murphy ("Tom Servo") will be attending the U.S. Film Festival in Dallas (a mere 2.5 hours away) at the end of April. They will present a panel discussion on "Mystery Science Theater 3000 at 20" (this year being MST's 20th anniversary), followed by a LIVE Cinematic Titanic show!
Now, obviously, we can't let this pass without at least trying to attend. Our optimum scenario would be for the entire family to make the trip to Dallas that weekend, accompanied by a family friend who could babysit the kids at the hotel while Robert and I attend the panel and live show. (I don't feel like Eliza is old enough to leave at home for two days with someone she doesn't know well, and the live show begins quite late so going down and coming back the same day isn't an option.) However, we're not sure if this will work out or not, in which case the kids have to stay home, as they just aren't old enough to sit through an evening like this one. Robert has said, if this is the case, that I should go alone. While I would really hate to go without him, as I know he'd enjoy it as much as I would, I'd also hate to miss it. I think he truly expects me to go, though; I don't think he's just saying that and figuring I'll decline. So I will certainly consider that option if it's the only one feasible. It would be fabulous, though, if the babysitter would work out so that Robert and I could have a date night -- and one as exciting as this one would be!
Here's hoping that we'll be aboard the Titanic in just three-and-a-half short weeks....