Back in the swing of things

Thank you, everyone who commented or sent me emails in response to my last post’s brain spew. It felt very good to get it all out of my head and to hear your words of encouragement.

I’m happy to say that things are looking much more “up”. I cleaned the kitchen today (one armed as I had a whiney 12 month old on my other arm) and went grocery shopping with the kids. Jaden used the restroom all by herself (after I popped in to make sure the stalls were free of suspicious looking characters) and Jonas showed me he can use a straw and has no problem trying to launch himself out of a shopping cart.

Tonight, Jessie is over for dinner, wine and old TV DVDs (Ab Fab, Gilmore Girls, Spaced, etc.) and I made this.

Fantastic! My changes: Upped it to 3 servings, using 1 cup cream instead of the “adjusted amount”. I couldn’t find softer pears so I sauteed the pear cubes with some eggplant I had in some 2 Tbl butter with a couple dashes of nutmeg. I followed the rest of the recipe as written (except the toasted walnut part because I’m afraid of my broiler so I just used raw chopped walnuts). Very very good and upping it to three servings made a TON! Next time I’ll just stick to the 2 serving recipe as given.

Make it! It’s yummy! You’ll have a bunch of left overs. So good!

Set the Controls

It’s been a while since I’ve done a full-on brain spew. Click below to read the result (whee!)

Set the Controls

Dinner’s at 6

Mom and children arrive home from a long day at work and at gramma’s, respectively.

Mom fills a pot with water and puts it on the stove to boil. This is all she manages before the children start needing attention.

Dad is outside mowing the lawn before the rains come.

Mom would very much like to play with the children but one of them (Son) is yelling very loudly and demanding food. Mom has a grand plan. She shows the daughter a Mystery Bag made of cream colored linen. “What do you think is in here?” She asks mustering all the fake enthusiasm she can. “I don’t know!” Daughter is intrigued and reaches for the bag. Thinking back to her favorite Home Schooler, Mom says, “Ok, but you can’t open it up! You can feel the outside and listen but you have to guess without peeking. Fun, huh???!”

Daughter puts one hand on the bag and declares, “Blocks.”

Mom makes a note that perhaps a thin linen bag is not the best Mystery Building Medium but trucks on: “Yeah! Blocks! Look they’re BIG alphabet blocks; like the ones you already have but BIG! Great Grampa got them for you and Brother. Cool, huh??!?!”

“YEAH!” Daughter is excited and even better, is all about showing her brother how to make towers and buildings.

Children now engrossed for at least 5 minutes, Mom runs to the kitchen and chops up zucchini and onion and saute them with some garlic in olive oil.

Dad pops in half-way through onion chopping and asks for a glass of water. We’ll assume he knew his wife’s tears were from the onion and not some deeper issue and that’s why he didn’t ask why she was crying and sniffling.

(He’d be right.)

During the next 20 minutes, Daughter makes up songs about Ewoks and home building and Mom finishes cooking dinner while oohing and aahing over Daughter’s tower, getting Son a cup of water, and trying not to make a giant mess.

(Too late.)

Mom sets the table and dishes everyone up a generous portion. Dad smells something that is definitely not dinner.

Dad changes Sons diaper. Son comes to the table sans pants.

At last it is dinner time and the family gathers for Zucchini and Pasta:

Son cannot get enough of the meal. Yells very clearly: “Ma-mA!” when Mom fails to keep food on his tray at all times.

Dad loves the meal and asks what the sauce is made of.

Mom is modest and names off the ingredients. Dad is impressed and happy.

Daughter asks to toast and clink.

Son yells and flails wildly sending pasta flying. Halts suddenly when his wee fingers grabs a piece of zucchini by mistake. Examines zucchini with scientific intensity before cramming it into his maw.

Daughter abruptly changes the topic of conversation from precipitation/evaporation to human anatomy: “Wait, ok, ok. If you and Jonas have penises and me and mommy have labias…” Mom and Dad wonder where this is going and Daughter queries with exasperation: “…what do we do with our butts??”

Dad chokes on his zucchini. Mom falls over into fits of laughter.

Son drinks his water.

Wish

To be the one taking Jaden to her first dance class. Alas, work hours prevent this. I didn’t realize how much I wanted to be there for this milestone until I wrote that opening sentence. I remember the one class I took outside of school: piano lessons. I was in the 2nd grade and my cousin and I were offered lessons, paid for by our grandpa who wanted musicians in the family to follow in his steps. (Little did he know that the only way he would get those musicians would be via marriage as there is not a musical bone in either my cousin’s nor my own body.)

I remember walking into my piano teacher’s living room and waiting my turn at the keyboard. My heart pounded as I approached the bench and placed my hands in my lap, afraid to touch the gleaming white keys.

My mom was there that first day. Every week after that, she waited for us in the car. She could’ve held our hands all the way up the stairs and down the hall and to the bench itself every week. She chose to let us face this challenge on our own, perhaps to help me get over my crippling shyness. (Joke’s on her: I still have crippling shyness. Take that, mom!) (My cousin never seemed to have this problem. Bitch.) I see this shyness in Jaden sometimes and I worry. I don’t want her to be afraid to try new things because of the chance she’ll make a complete ass of herself. I don’t want her to give up as soon as it gets too hard (“Music Theory? Practicing for hours instead of…not practicing for hours?” the 11 year old Marcoda thought, “Forget that.” To this day my grampa shakes his head in disappointment at what was lost.).

POINT: I wanted to put her tights, leotard, and shoes on. I wanted to put her hair up in a bun and clip all her stray hairs back in the flower barrette. I wanted to hold her hand the first time she walked into the dance studio, let her know I’m proud of her for trying and give that little hand to her teacher.

Then go back to the car and play on etsy for an hour.

I think “vignette” is the correct term for this layout

Jaden: played with her toys while Matt watched HP and the Sorceror’s Stone. Matt didn’t think she was paying attention but during the final scene she kept weaving in sentences from the movie into her play. She also cried out “DUMBLEDORE!” ala the Mysterious Ticking Noise.

Jonas: screams at me whenever I put the gate up as if to say, “Woman! There are places that need exploring on the other side of that gate!  Death Schmeath! Let me at those stairs!”

Jaden: has been making up little songs,operettas, if you will. Once it was a song about needing to listen to her mommy and daddy (I liked that one), another was about her mommy and daddy protecting her from the monsters in her closet, and last night it was a lullaby sung to her heffalump that was so sweet I had to stop myself from interrupting her and smothering her in a giant mom hug.

Jonas: is going to be tantrum kid, I just know it. Not just a tantrum kid, a stubborn tantrum kid. The other day I gave Jaden her “big kid” sippy cup as she was laying on the couch all sick. Jonas tried to take it from her so I gave him his Nubby. He threw it on the ground, stomped his little feet and screamed at the injustice. I walked away and he followed, throwing indignant exclamations all the way.

Jaden: laid out some ground rules when her cousin asked to see her pony: “Yes, you can play with it but remember: it is my pony. You can play with it now but when we get to the zoo, we have to leave it in the car. And when we get home I get to take into my house because it is my pony.”

Jonas: ran around the livingroom last night laughing his fool head off at some inside joke only he got while my sister and I sat on the couch watching and marveling at what was so damn funny.

Jaden: was very sad she couldn’t play tee ball last night because she was sick. She used her illness to her advantage and weaseled herself into my bed at 8:30 and watched Big Bang Theory with me for an hour before falling asleep with her fingers entwined in my hair.

Jonas:  calmed down when daddy held him at 12:45am while I got him a bottle and calmed down myself when I saw the two of them.

Jaden: woke with a smile this morning and explained, “Mommy! I didn’t have any bad dreams last night! The monsters sent the bad dreams to me but my dream catcher catched them!”

Jonas: said “dadada” when mommy told him too. Dadada beamed.

Marcoda: kissed her husband as he slept this morning.

Matt: asked his wife if she kissed him this morning or if he dreamt it.

Marcoda: Hopes the rest of the day is as good as this morning was.