Blame It On The Frosting

Today after church, we went into the basement for social hour, as we do every Sunday. All the children play off to the side with whatever they find while the adults tend to be at the other end of the gathering room, eating and chatting.

I knew the wee ones were tired -- especially since they'd spent so much time with Grandma and Grandpa the past couple days (yep, Grandma and Grandpa who don't believe that sleep is important). I didn't realize quite how tired until I heard Mister Man crying because some little boy pinched him hard on the leg.

I told Mister Man to tell the boy not to pinch him and just move on. He did, but he was still a little snuffly. A little bit later, I happened to be looking up at him when I saw him wipe out. I strolled over to him, knowing that he'd probably be somewhat upset, as he's a bit of a delicate flower.

He was screaming. In fact, he was starting to throw up. Not a good sign, and I quickened my pace to him. He couldn't calm down, so Daddy took him outside with a cup in case he really started throwing up. Mommy doesn't do puke.

When he fell, there were no other kids near him. He didn't trip over anything. He wasn't turning or looking another way, he simply tripped over his own feet, from what I could see. Yep, that's my husband's child alright!

He finally calmed down, but his arm was still sore. My husband brushed it off, but I asked him if it just hurt or if it hurt when he moved his arm. Yeah, you guessed his answer, didn't you?

Bummer is that my parents were taking the wee ones to go see Peter Pan this afternoon and had already bought tickets. If his arm were broken, a couple of hours really won't make a difference. As long as I get him to the ER in a reasonable amount of time, no harm done. I asked him what he wanted to do, and he decided to suck it up and go see Peter Pan. Shocking, I know.

On the way to the car, his arm started hurting more, and he changed his mind. You know that's not good. I couldn't see any swelling, and it wasn't bruised, so I asked him again. And he changed his mind and decided to go to Peter Pan. So he went to Peter Pan.

And I just got back from three hours in the ER to find out that Mister Man has a broken growth plate in his elbow. We don't know what stage it is (apparently there are four?), but I have to call an orthopedist tomorrow to try to get an appointment to see him.

It was so sad when the X-ray techs had him turn his arm various ways and straighten it for the X-rays. It really hurt him, but you could see how brave he was trying to be. Completely heartbreaking... until he asked me why we had aprons on. And why they were heavy. And why X-rays couldn't penetrate lead. That's when I knew he was feeling at least a little back to normal.

Swimming is out for awhile, as is bike riding, etc. I think that's the part that he's most bummed about, and I can't blame him. He's going to school tomorrow, and he's going to start writing with his left hand. My husband and I always hoped that he'd be a lefty (we both are, as is Little Miss), and we may now get our wish. Be careful what you wish for!

Oh, and as we were walking out of the hospital, Mister Man turned to me and said, I guess I should have been a little more careful of that frosting from the St Patrick's Day cupcakes at church, huh, Mom? It was awfully slippery.

Oh. I guess he isn't that clumsy. He slid on frosting that some child had spilled in the food free area and hadn't cleaned up. I think I feel a little better!

The three visits to the ER for three different family members in just over three months? Not feeling so good about that, however.

She Did What?

I had choir practice this morning, and let's just say that we tend to have fun. So much fun, in fact, that one member had to give up puns for Lent. And we periodically do nearly as much, if not more, talking than singing in practice.

After rehearsing a song for Maundy Thursday, one of the members asked if the altos (they're always so much trouble!) could get help with a few notes. She was having a hard time in one place where they go from an F sharp to a B.

The choir director, played the F sharp B B B. And then continued for a few more beats. Does this sound familiar? he asked.

Ummm, yeah. It's Here Comes The Bride.

The woman who was having trouble and giggled. Yeah, I've heard that one a couple times.

The choir director rejoined, Well, you might want to work on that so you don't have to hear it again.

She blushed. I've taken care of both of them, one way or the other.

We all laughed at that one. And that kind of tells you how irreverent this choir is.

Yeah. Because you could say that she has taken care of her husbands. She divorced one husband when she was young, and her longtime husband died about four years ago.

On the plus side, none of the altos had trouble hitting that series of notes after this exchange.

Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

Last night, I headed over to the wee ones' preschool after I finished work to have Little Miss's conference and then help close up and break down the book fair. It wasn't hard work, but it still took us until almost 10pm to finish.

Near the end of packing things up, the principal came in to help me and the other woman finish. She's quite a gabby lady, and it's easy to get her off on a tangent. We had some leftover posterboard that belongs in our PTO room. I volunteered to take it down if someone showed me where the room was (yes, the PTO has a storage room in the school, I'm the PTO president, and I've never seen it -- I'm a mobile worker, what can I say?).

The principal told us that we weren't to go down there. The PTO room is in the basement of the school, which they don't use because preschool and kindergarten is legally required to be on ground level. When I inquired why not (thinking it might have something to do with the inhabitants of the rough neighborhood the school is located in), she explained that Gus the Ghost was down there and that we weren't to go.

I laughed it off some and told her it would be nice to meet the ghost. She refused, but she did spill some of the ghost stories that she knows about our building.

Our nighttime custodian was in the teachers' lounge one night eating his snack when he heard a noise like someone with a huge key ring trying to open the office door. He kept eating, and the rattling continued. He realized it was probably either the principal or the assistant principal coming back at 9:30pm for something. He never locks the doors until he's leaving for the night, and he suddenly felt badly that he'd locked them out. He shouted that he was sorry and he was coming to let them in. The rattling persisted though. Until he got to the door, where there was no one on the other side. And the rattling of keys suddenly stopped.

The principal was working on evaluations alone in the building one summer night, fairly late, and she suddenly heard a loud crash. She assumed it was an easel set up in the front hallway that had come crashing down. She came out of her office to investigate, but the easel was still sitting on its table. None of the corkboards on the side had fallen either. Curious, she continued to search for something that could have made that noise, but everything was in its place. The more she thought about it, the more it had actually sounded like someone throwing a metal chair against the wall, and she decided it was time to skeedaddle. Gus the Ghost was tired of her being there.

Another day, the principal was walking down the therapy hallway (meaning there isn't much traffic during non-school hours), when a shadow crossed her path. She stopped abruptly, as the way the shadow moved indicated that the person was about to run into her. She assumed it was the speech therapist coming out of her office. When she turned around, there was no one there. In fact, none of the therapists were in that hallway at all during the time the shadow went through hers. No one was there at all.

The one that most creeped me out about our school was the story of a very autistic girl who was in the gym one day playing with her class, as they do on days when the weather doesn't cooperate for going outside. She refused to join her class, however, at one end of the gym. She was simply staring into one corner of the gym, not moving. When the teacher asked her why, she said she didn't want to go near the ghost. He's right over there, she said pointing to where she'd been staring. Can't you see him? He's jumping up and down on the trampoline. He's right there. The teacher could see nothing, but the girl insisted. No one had ever talked about ghosts to her, nor said anything about the school being haunted. And if you know autistic people, they tend to not have the best imaginations. Things either are or aren't. They don't make them up.

The last story of the night was one from a different district that involved our district's maintenance supervisor. He worked in a building where writing would periodically appear on a chalkboard. Don't leave me alone. A single desk would sometimes be pulled out from the others and placed in a different fashion. They found out that the school had been built on the site an orphanage from the early 1800s. It included a graveyard where they buried children who died while in their care. When the site was cleared for construction, they moved the graveyard. Except for one little boy they left behind. They eventually moved that grave, as well, but apparently the spirit of the boy stayed behind.

I don't know if you believe in any of this or not, but at 10pm last night in an old building, alone except for two other women, the stories gave me goosebumps. What good ghost stories do you have to share?

It's Back To Childhood

Remember when you were a kid? What was the first thing you asked your mom when you woke up each day? For me, I had to ask what day is was. I never knew. And really, I only asked some days when I had a pressing need to know or something was coming up that I was excited about.

Granted, I generally knew if it was a weekday or weekend -- although sometimes I'd forget and start to get ready for school on a Saturday. In summer though... all we did was wile away the hours hanging out and playing. There was no schedule we cared about and no structure. I'm sure I knew what month it was, but day of the week? No clue.

As I got older, this happened less often. I remember being in junior high and trying to forget the days of the week during the summer. I didn't really succeed, although I was able to forget for a day or so at a time.

Once I reached high school and had more responsibilities, I always knew what day it was. I knew what I was supposed to do that day and the next. I knew what preparation I had to do to get ready for the upcoming days.

And I knew that my childhood was truly coming to an end.

They always say that your dotage is a second childhood. Apparently I'm older than I thought.

I almost sent Manic Mommy a note yesterday evening to ask her where her blood drive contest winners were. They were to be posted on Thursday (today) after all. Fortunately, I realized what day it was before sending.

Of course, the reason I remembered in time is because of an earlier incident.

I went to the grocery store with a list of items to pick up. Eggs were $0.97 for eighteen with a $10 purchase. I needed applesauce to make two dairy free recipes for Little Miss. And they had chicken on sale for $2/pound, which you don't see too often anymore. And I can always use more yogurt... which was on sale 32 oz for $1.49.

I picked up the eggs and headed towards the meat section. I saw whole chicken on sale. And drumsticks for $1.49 per pound, but I couldn't find the $2 chicken breasts. The yogurt was no problem, and I picked up my applesauce.

I then headed to the front of the store to find a flyer so I could complain to the store and ask them to get the right price up. Looking at the flyer, I could see that it was still last week's flyer. I sighed at their incompetance and headed to the other entrance, hoping I could find a flyer there. Nope, still the same stupid flyer from last week.

Irritated now, I decided to go to the front desk and inquire about the chicken. The woman looked at me funny and asked if it was the flyer I'd gotten in the mail. Umm, duhhh! Then she reminded me that the sale items don't start until Thursday. Of course they don't start until Thursday. I know that, but my issue is that. Oh. Yeah. Today's not Thursday yet, is it?

The woman gave me a sympathetic look, as I explained my confusion. And may I point out that this is further proof that being rude to people is never called for. I wasn't mean to her but just inquiring about the sale chicken. And since I was totally wrong, she was nice to me and only a single snort of laughter escaped rather than having her patronizingly correct me and treat me like the moron I am.

Uhhh yeah, I put back the eggs and the yogurt. It's the grocery store version of the walk of shame. I still bought my applesauce though. And made some yummy goodies today -- granola, chocolate applesauce cake, and whole wheat carrot cranberry muffins.

And yes, even after this very memorable incident, I still thought it was Thursday later that evening.

Anyone know of any good nursing homes in the Chicago area?

Mental Note: Find Childcare

Things have been pretty busy around here lately.

I usually work three days a week, but has anyone seen the economy lately? Pretty much anyone who's left with a job is working more and more hours. I worked six hours on my day off on Friday. And eleven hours on Monday. And so it goes.

Add the PTO president to the list. I have my usual duties -- and at a special needs preschool, we have our own challenges. Parents are usually only there for two years and in some cases less, before they move on to elementary school. Plus, they're new to the school system, dealing with special needs kids and frequently have even younger siblings at home. Our volunteer base is small, but with 300 kids, our needs are large.

I'm in the midst of planning our Cinco de Mayo event where we bring in Folkloric dancers, students perform songs and dances, we sell traditional foods, and we hold a silent auction and raffle for the parents and community. Gaining donations is the biggest piece of it, as without cool prizes, no one puts in raffle tickets! This year is a bigger challenge than ever because of the economy, but I'm really impressed with and appreciative of some people I know not connected with our school at all who are small businesspeople who have donated some items to us. I'm hoping this makes up the difference for us (and hey -- if you have an Etsy shop and have something you could donate to help our preschool, let me know!).

And then there are the other things I toss in those spare moments, the making it to the chiropractor twice a week, choir practice twice a week, trying to run three times a week, cooking dinner for the family, and so forth.

This isn't at all to say that I'm more busy than anyone else of course, but I'm trying to justify my mental lapses. So ummm make me feel better, here.

Yesterday afternoon, I had a Cinco de Mayo meeting to talk through the donations we've collected and need to collect, as well as to figure out how much food we think we'll sell on the day of the event.

My dad has been watching Little Miss while I'm at those meetings so she can nap. Because she needs to nap. When I called yesterday morning to confirm that my dad was getting her off the bus, he had no idea what I was talking about. And had other plans. As did my mom. As did the other SAHMs in my babysitting co-op. Whoops.

So I brought her with me.

And she brought Snowy. And we spent the meeting with her tossing the teddy bear up in the air and screeching with laughter. And picking up the tambourines that had somehow been left in the room and banging them on desks. And running up to me with castanets and showing me how they can be earrings. And telling me to stand up when she clicked them together. And throwing the teddy bear at me. And knocking over my water bottle.

This meeting should have lasted no more than forty-five minutes to an hour. It was an hour and a half because of the three year old who so desperately needed a nap. I did bring her blankets with her hoping that she would lay down on a couch and rest. Yeah. I know better now.

March 31 is already on my dad's calendar. And I think I need to talk to the school about making sure she's in morning preschool again next year!

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Oh. You came here to find out who won the Spring Fling contest?

Well, as I promised I put all the entries into a spreadsheet -- because I'm anal that way. I was impressed. I only had two people not follow the instructions and have their entries forfeited (yeah, I'm a stickler for the rules; what can I say?). Ninety-seven entries total, and:

True Random Number Generator

Min:
Max:
Result:
86

Ok, if someone can tell me how to make it all pretty in my post like I see elsewhere, please let me know. this was the best I could do!

#86 in my list was MEGAN from INfertile Myrtle! She's a new follower, and I hope she (and the rest of you) stick around. Thanks for playing!

Sping Fling: Spring Is Here!

Yep, I know... two posts in one day. That's kind of unusual for me. BUT I made such yummy dinner on Sunday that I wanted to be sure to share that for TMTT. And the SITS Spring Fling is today, so I had to participate there, too.

For the Spring Fling, there's way cool celebrations going on. Every hour, they have a giveaway from one of their sponsors, and they're some pretty cool stuff. So far this morning, it's been some great jewelry and some really cool downloadable card templates. I can't wait to see what the rest of the day brings.

In addition to this (because this isn't enough, right?), SITS girls are all hosting their own individual giveaways today. Go here to see the full list of pretty awesome stuff -- but stay away from the prizes I really want to win, would you?

I dithered and dithered about what to give away. It took me a lot of thought to come up with what I wanted to do. And then I changed my mind. It had to be something spring related since this is the Spring Fling after all. Finally I made up my mind.

Prize A is Gap Scent Editions with 5 blendable perfume oils and scent tray. You know how you find a perfume you like but you wish you could just tweak it a little? Now you can completely make your own scents. It has some suggestions on the back, or you can make your own. This version has crushed peony, sueded musk, sheer tuberose, woven cassis and crepe gardenia as its scents.



Prize B is a fun spring tote. I've had my eye on this one for a long time, because it's so fun. It's just the right size to put stuff to run to the pool (someday) or bring home happy groceries or just pal around in. The blue corners and handles are sueded -- see, I'm tying in with the first prize here!



And Prize C is a mystery prize -- see how it's all nice and wrapped up? I promise that it's something that I bought an extra one of myself because I think it's cool. AND it's something that you need in springtime if you live in the Midwest.



So what do you think? Fun? Want the Spring Is Here package?

All you need to do is let me know your favorite thing about spring and comment below for an entry. And I'll go with the crowd on this one -- if you follow me (already follow or start today), I'll give you an extra three entries. Leave a second comment letting me know. US addresses only, please. And make sure I can contact you via email if you win. I will use Random.org to choose the winning entry -- all your names go onto a spreadsheet in the order commented, with three lines being devoted to the follower entries. Oh, and if I don't hear back from the winner by Friday evening, I'll choose another winner. Sound good?

I'll shut the contest down tonight when I go to bed, which is probably going to be around 10 or 11pm CST. Winners to be posted tomorrow, so come back to check.

Good luck, and have fun with all the Spring Fling contests!

Tasty Tuesday - Miso Glazed Chicken

Last night, I made one of my favorite dinners. In fact, it's one of the wee ones' favorite dinners, too. Unfortunately, I haven't made if for a couple months, so when the wee ones saw it, they refused to eat it.

But Moooooooooom, it has sauce on it.

Mommy, I don't like it.

Mommy, I don't like this dinner.

I want something else, Mommy.

And no, they hadn't tried it yet. This wasn't shaping up well. But it's a favorite. So I give you my Miso Glazed Chicken.

Miso Glazed Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white or yellow miso paste (or a mix of the two)
1/4 cup sugar (scant)
1 T soy sauce
1/4 c chicken stock
3 T oil
1 T ginger, grated
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.



This is a super easy one. Put all the marinade ingredients into a bag, and squish the bag until it's all nicely combined. Then add chicken!



I prefer to let it marinate overnight in the fridge and cook it for dinner the next day. This time I marinated it only for three or so hours, and the flavors hadn't quite penetrated the way I wanted, but it was still yummy!

After you've marinated it, pray that it's warm outside and you can grill!

Or if you live in Chicago, pull out that grill pan and heat it up to medium/medium high. Once it's fully heated, plop that chicken on down.



Cook until it has nice grill marks on one side, then flip to the other. Cook until it's done all the way through. Let it rest for about five minutes before you serve it.

I like to slice it against the grain and serve it with some quinoa. Yum!



For more yummy stuff, check out this week's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday with Blessed With Grace!

Oh, and twenty minutes into the meal, the wee ones finally tried their food. Below is Mister Man's review. Little Miss helped out in the background, which also explains the shaking camera at the end, since she was hanging off my arm.



Enjoy!