Archive for February, 2010
Don’t cry over Mac n’ Cheese
Feb 19th
I was just over reading Theta Mom’s blog and her post about snarky comments reminded me of a situation I was in about a month and a half ago.
It was early January and my awesome friend Molly was up visiting. We were out doing some errands with my girls and decided to stop somewhere for lunch. I really wanted to go to Chili’s but Brinley demanded we go to Applebee’s instead. When we got there it was a bit after lunch time so it wasn’t too busy. The hostess brought us to the last table in the back left corner of the restaurant. I’m sure the fact that we had two young kids with us landed us that fabulous table, but I wasn’t going to complain (I know, you’re surprised!).
Anyway, we were looking at the menu and Brinley was coloring on the little kid’s menu/coloring book that restaurants provide while Nora finished up her nap in her car seat. (No, I didn’t leave her in the car! She was tucked into the booth.) The waitress came by a few times to see if we were ready to order, but Brinley couldn’t decide what she wanted to eat. She eventually said she wanted a grilled cheese but then I remembered back to another time we had gone to Applebee’s and what the grilled cheese was like. Basically they take a hamburger bun, flip it inside out and put some cheese in the middle. Then they “grill” it in the burger grease. DISGUSTING! Last time we ordered it for her I refused to let her eat it when it came out. The manager took it off the bill and I had steered clear of Applebee’s since then.
Much to Brinley’s dismay, I ordered her Mac n’ Cheese instead. Now, this is something that she typically loves so I didn’t think she’d really even notice that I had ordered something different than what she requested. Boy was I wrong! When the food came, she flat out refused to eat it. She wouldn’t even take a single bite. I asked her a few times to eat her lunch because she said she wanted dessert. I eventually backed off of it thinking she’d eat it when she was ready, but instead she flipped out. She was crying (fairly loudly) and just wouldn’t snap out of it. If you are lucky enough to have a three year old, you will recognize this as a tantrum. This was a result of her not being in control of the situation. Yes, my little three year old control freak!
Aaaannyway, at the table behind us sat two older women. I’d say they were at least 70. Well, one of them said in disgust to the other one, “If that were my kid I’d just smack her.” Followed by, “Someone needs a parenting class.” Now I don’t know if they thought I was hard of hearing (maybe because they were), but I heard what they said as clear as day. I attempted to bite my tongue and not say anything which is VERY difficult for me to do. I happen to think that I am a damn good parent. Sometimes there is just no reasoning with a three year old. If my food hadn’t just arrived on the table and I wasn’t with company, then I’d have taken Brinley right out of the restaurant and gone home. Well, we stayed, Brinley continued to pout (not quite as loudly as before) and Molly and I tried to enjoy our lunch. The two old women continued to make snarky comments. Eventually I just lost it and turned around to them. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but the woman proceed to tell me that when she made those comments that she was referring to her nephew and how he is out of control. Hmmm, I wonder why she was referring to him as a her?
Molly and I finished eating and then got ready to leave. I made sure to give a nice look to those old ladies on our way out. There was another family there with young children who gave me a nice, sympathetic, “I’ve been there, too” look as we passed them. I’d really like to have seen how those ladies would have dealt with a stubborn three year old having a “moment”. Maybe I will learn some techniques for handling it in my parenting classes, NOT!
Things I’m not..
Feb 18th
A phone person – I’ve never been one for the phone. I’d just rather talk to a person face to face. I can count on one hand the number of phone calls I’ve made in the last week. Unless I am calling to make plans or to confirm an appointment, I just don’t see the need to be on the phone. When I want to “catch up” with a friend, I’d rather just make plans to get together and see them in person. It’s easier and more enjoyable for me to catch up that way, especially with two kids on my hands. So, if I don’t call you often (or ever) don’t take it the wrong way. It’s not you, it’s me 
A neat freak – Much to my husband’s dismay, I am just not a neat freak. My house is by no means a pig sty, but it’s also not immaculate. I don’t know how it could be with two small children constantly taking things out and not returning them to their “proper” places. I try to have Brinley return one toy before taking out another one to play with, but most of the time she puts it somewhere convenient for her, not necessarily where it goes. There are so many things that I have to do on a daily basis, I just don’t have time to worry about being super neat. I load and empty the dishwasher probably twice a day, I do a few loads of laundry most days, I get three people dressed and fed everyday. So if my bed goes unmade, I just don’t worry about it.
A storybook character – You’ve probably read some of my posts about Brinley’s imagination and how she likes to pretend that our family takes on the persona of various storybook characters. Well, don’t be confused, my identity still has not changed. I’m still a 29 year old wife and mother of two. Yes, I will age, but I will always be a wife and mother and not a furry creature. Sorry to disappoint you!
Unemployed – About a month ago, Scott and I were filling out some sort of paperwork, either for our mortgage or our taxes (I can’t remember which). We got to the field regarding employment. The choices were either ‘employed’ or ‘unemployed’. To me, I do not fit into either of these categories. I’m not technically employed as my bosses are a 3 year old and a 9 month old who do not pay me monetarily (rather with hugs and kisses). However, I don’t consider myself unemployed either. To me, unemployed implies that you are seeking employment, not that you chose to stay at home and raise your children. So, where do I belong?
I will likely be adding to this list as time goes on.
Wish List Wednesday
Feb 17th
It’s that time again – Wish List Wednesday!
I’m going to be materialistic this week. When we move in to our new house, we will be looking (at some point) to get a new, larger refrigerator. I really, really, really want one of those sleek, modern french door ones with the freezer drawer on the bottom… like this:
For the record, I only have two children.
Feb 16th
Brinley has quite an imagination. Lately she has been really into The Berenstain Bears. About a month ago, Chick-fil-A (our favorite food court destination) started giving out Berenstain Bears books with their kids meals. After reading her the story umpteen times, she had it committed to memory and begged to go to the books store to get more of the stories. We obliged and she now has a small collection of the furry family’s tales.
Anyway, after memorizing these stories and characters, she decided that our family would become the Berenstain Bears. The family consists of four critical members, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother and Sister, and an additional cub, Honey Bear, who was not part of the family until 2000. As you can guess, I became Mama Bear, Scott became Papa Bear, Brinley became Sister and Nora became Honey Bear. With no one left in our family to become Brother, Brinley decided that he would just be imaginary. He would join us where ever we went and even had a seat in the car right between Sister and Honey Bear.
So last week, we took a trip to my favorite store, Target. We were just picking up a few things and were on our way to the check out. Brinley was helping me to put the items on the conveyor belt and the nice cashier was making small talk with us. She asked Brinley how old she was and Brinley replied that she was four (because Sister is four, at least that is what Brinley thinks). Then the cashier asked Brinley what her sister’s name was. Brinley said, “Oh, her name is Honey Bear.” The cashier looked confused, but smiled anyway. Brinley proceeded to tell the cashier, “I have a brother too you know.” The cashier asked if he was at school and Brinley told her, “No, we just left him in the car for a little while.”
I nearly died! The cashier looked at me like I had committed a crime (which I guess I could have by leaving my son in the car). Since we were all paid and ready to leave, I didn’t bother explaining to her that Brother was an imaginary bear. I just took our bags and left the store.
The magical crock pot does it again!
Feb 15th
So tonight we had pulled pork sandwiches and they were absolutely delish! I was very skeptical about how this would turn out and I was extremely surprised. I can’t take credit for this recipe but I want to share it anyway. Again, I just used one of the McCormick seasoning packets found in the spice aisle at the grocery store.
Ingredients:
- 3 lb pork shoulder roast, well trimmed
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- McCormick Slow Cooker Pulled Pork packet
Basically put the pork roast in the crock pot, mix everything else together in a bowl and then pour it over the roast. Turn the crock pot on and cook for 4 hrs on high or 8 hrs on low. Near the end of the cook time, remove the pork and shred it with two forks. Return it to the crock pot and mix it together with the juices. Let it all heat up for about 20 minutes.
I think the key to this one is getting a nice fresh bulky roll. It was so sloppy and delicious. The only issue I had was trying to trim the roast before cooking it. It’s really hard to cut fat off of raw pork. So I did my best and then I just cooked it. What was good was that when I pulled the pork out to shred it, most of the fat just fell off anyway and I threw it away.
I wish I had had some sweet potato fries or corn bread to serve with it, but I did not so we just had it with corn. Yum!
