Fun With Mim

Miriam knows to come bearing gifts. This ensures a warm welcome, even if the under-7 crowd still whispers to Dad at the table, "She's weird!"

In this case, Miriam sent Iain a balance game in which one must stack wooden animals. As you can see, the animals include the usual suspects (sheep, monkeys) and some unexpected choices (gila monsters, hedgehogs). You roll a die, then either extend, stack, or force someone else to stack animals.

Above, a very successful stack. Below, not so much. 

It was fun. This morning, when we took Miriam to the airport, Iain cried.

Preppy Forever

 

You can take a girl out of the South. But we all know you can't ever erase the cultural norms she learned there.

Pearls: check.
Plaid: check.
No white after Labor Day: CHECK, DAMMIT.

And weejuns. Barefoot, y'all. No socks with your weejuns. That's nasty.

Today, I received a lovely new pair. First pair since my beloved bought-at-16 pair (I wore those for almost 15 years but eventually a hole appeared in the sole). I'm wearing them right now and plan to keep wearing them for the next 15 years.

Puzzle Madness

I received a puzzle as a gift. I lovelovelove jigsaw puzzles but I never get to do them. This is because puzzles require: the entire dining room table, good light, and plenty of time. When do I have any of those things? 

Summer, that's when. So I received this puzzle as a gift. A gift. 

 

 

Day one: "the easy part!" Find the edges, put together the frame. Easy, right? No. 

NO. This puzzle has an interior composed of lots of different colors. It's deceptive. You miss the fact that the edges (2 or 3 solid inches of edge) are EXACTLY ALIKE IN EVERY WAY. Kill me.

Anyway, it took the better part of a day to find the edge pieces, pull out the corners, and then (entirely using the process of elimination) build the frame.

I also sorted the pieces into colors using leftover takeout containers. Because when a puzzle is officially Hard As Hell (TM) being anal turns out to be not just useful but essential.

(Above) Day one, midnight: some progress.

(Above) Day Two: a false sense of achievement. I got the saffron, the red peppercorns, the green cardamom, and the paprika going pretty well.

Day Two: Closeup.

(Above) Day Three: Keep in mind that Charles was in California. So I was doing this for several hours every day, with complete silence. Iain was at camp. And yet...see those wide open areas on the sides? It was like watching a slow-moving storm. The bad part was on its way.

(Above) Day Four: Spices pretty much done. Only pain and suffering now. How many more days?

So this is when Charles returned. I continued to work on the puzzle that day. The next day I flew to DC to do a tiny little talk. (No, really. 20 minutes. But I got a great tour of the National Portrait Gallery out of it!) I was in DC for 5 days. I said to Charles, "I'll just leave the puzzle here and finish it when I get back."

Oh, no. No, no, no. I thought maybe another day or two.

Instead, it was an odyssey. I spent a couple of days trying to see patterns in the beige. Huge mistake. My eyes started to cross and I spent one miserable night dreaming about pieces failing to fit together.

New strategy: I sorted the pieces into types. By far the largest set was the basic piece - two roundy bits, two roundy-bit receptacles. But there were about 5 other types. Once sorted, it was possible to move methodically through the potential fits, trying one piece after another.

It took FOREVER.

How long? I started the puzzle on June 14.

Charles returned from LA on June 19.

I left for DC on June 20.

I returned on June 24.

Today is June 30.

So the final count is...12 days or so. Not counting the time I spent dreaming about it. 

Gah. So, so hard. This was not for beginners.

Next I'm making a quilt. Angsty blog post to follow.

Another holiday gift

A couple of years ago, I needed new pot holders. Charles gave me two new ones for Christmas that year. One was your basic potholder. The other had stripes made of silicon. In theory, it would protect my hands from heat even better than the padded material in a traditional pot holder.

It was a great success. The only problem was that I used the silicon pot holder all the time. To the exclusion of almost anything else, I reached for it.

As a result it wore out pretty quickly. You can see the burned spots and holes above. This year, Charles bought two new pot holders. Both have the stripes.

I've been baking like mad, of course. Gooey Cinnamon Cake yesterday, Blueberry Cornmeal Cake today. Who knows what tomorrow might bring?

Gifts

Me: What should we give Cousin Audrey for Christmas?
Iain: I don't know. What kind of Legos does she like?
Me: I'm not sure if she likes Legos.
Iain: No, what type of Legos does she like?
Me: She might not like Legos at all. She might like dolls or trucks or balls or playing kitchen.
Iain: Ok, so we'll give her Duplos.

Product Testing

You may have heard about my new helmet. It's for biking. I'm a biker.

But we take our gear seriously. So I had to do a little product testing. Upside down check? Yes! Tickle check? Yes!!

I think we can call this helmet a success. It's a keeper.

And Now We Are Three

For his birthday last week, Iain received a scooter bike. No pedals, just a lightweight frame for a kid to push along and coast. Iain can't easily push along his own weight (muscles not up to his mass yet) but he can learn to balance on a moving vehicle.

Not that he's learned yet, of course. But he likes it.

Cracks in the sidewalk take a little consideration. Daddy and Iain had to have a conference about how to handle this challenge.

Thank you, Nana

Climbing on The Dad is good fun. He'll let me do this when I'm 6'4" and 210 lbs., right?


Anyway, one of my favorite presents [yesterday, during a diaper change, Iain said, "I need to open another present! Right! Now!"] was a little puzzle Nana sent. Dad helped me put it together.

It's Thomas the Tank Engine! I love Thomas. And Percy. And Bertie. And Emily. And trains in general. And cars. Trucks. Loaders. Diggers. Backhoes, Graders. Buses. Airplanes. Helicopters. Taxis. Really anything with wheels and an engine.

Prezzies!

Holy Turmeric, Batman! Yesterday Iain received an entirely unanticipated gift from Miss Clare. She sent him the 4-jar curry box from Penzey's.

So I made banana bread, of course.

What? You say. Be careful, dear, you're showing your ignorance.

Penzey's packs their gift boxes so that the glass jars won't wiggle. What do they use as packing? Styrofoam? Paper? Fairy kisses? NOPE!

They use cinnamon sticks, whole nutmegs, and dried Turkish bay leaves.

Is everything becoming clear now? No?

I did not have on hand all the ingredients I might need for curry (next stop: the store), but what was sitting in my fruit bowl? 3 half-rotten bananas. And what's in the fridge, leftover from making lemon-buttermilk sherbet? Buttermilk, obvy. And what's on the back of the enclosed recipe card sent by Penzey's? Grandma's recipe for banana bread. And where is Penzey's located? Wisconsin! Mid-westerners know baked goods, y'all.

So I used my new nutmegs to make banana bread (and banana bread muffins because mid-westerners bake in quantity, y'all). It's really quite good.


Wait...

Does that mean...

YES! I baked something here (at 4500 feet) and it did not suck. YAY! I am no longer a total failure.

Thanks, Clare. You've restored my mojo. I'd stay to chat but I've got tandoori spice to rub into chicken breasts.

Truck? Truck? Truck?

Today is Charles's birthday. He opened his presents during our post-snack snack after camp but before dinner. You follow?

Anyway, there were 7 gifts, all wrapped in white butcher paper (In other words, wrapped in the IKEA paper that threads into Iain's easel. Mommy's lazy and cheap.). With each gift, I asked Iain, "What do you think it is?"

And - every time - he said: "Truck!"

No, dude. Unfortunately, adults don't get 7 trucks for their birthdays. Not even someone as awesome as Daddy.

Oh, Didn't I Mention the Shoto?

Ben sent Iain a short sword. Iain is now considering the virtues of a career as a ninja. Callie, of course, found the sword irresistible. Did I mention that it squeaks?

Also, Callie wanted to play with the camera:


She wants you to see our neighbor's house. I believe she's transitioning from a portraiture-based period in her artistic sensibility towards a more landscape-based focus. Like Picasso in his Blue Period. Like that.

Thanks, Ben!

So....Ben went to Japan. (I KNOW!) He sent me a care package containing some awesome, awesome, awesome stuff that melds Japanese and American traditions. Above, my new banana holder. I'll eat a banana anytime, but The Dad thinks it's gross when they get banged around in my backpack, so this is a useful tool.

What? Did I mention a backpack? Here's a bit of dialogue from The Staff 3 weeks ago:

The Dad: Next time, Iain can maybe carry a little backpack or something.
The Mom: Yeah, he can tote his own books and toys and maybe Kleenex.
The Dad: That would be good.

I didn't say that The Staff are riveting. They're pretty dull, to be frank. But anyway, no sooner had they cast those words out into the world than the above backpack arrived in the mail. And what's that I see on the zip pocket? Is that a vehicle??

Why yes, yes it is. It's a picture of my other gift. See above. And below. ZOMG. A motorized Disneyland Japan bus that rides on a track and has a map of Japanese Disneyland for a background. Did I mention ZOMG?

And Uncle Tony - that's a VW bus, isn't it? Are you freaking out?

So I hooked up all my trains (even the 6 train from NYC and one of Thomas the Tank Engine's freight cars) to the bus and made a little caravan. It's excellent.

Thank you, Ben! You're the greatest.

Did I Mention the Cupcakes?

As a thank-you for babysitting tonight, Callie's parents brought us a box of cupcakes. Apparently, the NY/LA cupcake craze finally decided to make a pitstop in Lexington. Above, left to right from the top row, you see strawberry shortcake, chocolate with chocolate icing and chocolate chips, red velvet with cream cheese, lemon, malted milk, and apple spice.

After dinner we tried them out. I had lemon, Charles ate the red velvet (a guilty pleasure if ever there was one).

All I have to say is: 2 inches of frosting.


Tomorrow, that malt ball is MINE!

A Nice Day (Medicated)

Iain awoke this morning at 6:48am. But no worries. I buried my head in the covers and whispered "go back to sleep!" and he did. Until 8:29. Yay!


For brekkie, we made waffles. Recall that we received the above device (A Cuisinart) for Christmas. Iain sat beside me and helped ensure that I didn't leave anything out - eggs, flour, oil, salt, baking powder and soda, sugar and milk. He waved a whisk at me to keep my attention focused.

I told him the machine would be ready when it beeped. It beeped. Iain said "BEEEP!"

He consumed an entire waffle, with butter and syrup, for brekkie, accompanied by a healthy dose of milk. Minus waffles for me and Charles we again had 6 waffles to freeze, so the menfolk can eat a waffle this week anytime they like.

After that, we had to shop.

In the run-up to our trip west, I used up all kinds of things and didn't replace them. "Oh, I'll just get more salad dressing when we return," I thought. But you may recall that we returned around 11pm and I had to teach the next morning. Oh, and did I mention that I like to take salad for lunch? Hmmm... [I can report that Mark Bittman's recipe for a little bit of vinaigrette (1.5T vinegar, 3T oil, plus a little salt plus a little mustard, plus a little sugar plus something flavor-y like shallots or garlic or herbs) isn't bad.]

But between my new MFW teaching schedule and my trip to Frankfort Thursday to talk with middle school teachers, we just didn't have a moment to get milk or kiwi or cereal or any of the things Iain consumes by the pound.

So we spent the day shopping. In the morning, for meat and eggs, then in the afternoon Charles and Iain went out for everything else. I curled up on the sofa for a nap while my drugs kicked in.

Because - YES - I am sick again. Yucky sick, too. Lots of nose-blowing and coughing and a regular supply of antibiotics and Mucinex and Nyquil.

It's ok, though, because Iain is in such a good mood. Last night he stood at the living room coffee table and literally rocked with glee. He flung out his arms, then pulled them back in, giggling. We asked him, "Are you in a good mood?" and he couldn't even answer because he was grinning too hard. Then, today, he spent his time ping-ponging from me to Charles, offering hugs and reading books and playing Tickle Truck ("What kind of truck is that? Oh, a dump truck. And that? A cement mixer? What about the Tickle Truck? Do you see one of those? No? How about NOW!!!").

Iain is abed, Charles is feeding the dogs (and probably dipping into the dark chocolate raspberry ice cream), and I'm about to go read a book.

Christmas, Part 3: Christmas Morning with Thomas

On Christmas morning, Iain awoke to find a new train set in the living room. It's small - just a figure-8 with some accessories. But it's not just a plain train set. It's a Thomas the Tank Engine train set.

I have no idea why putting a face on a train and making up an island paradise where trains fall victim to all the usual human foibles delights so many children. But Iain is firmly in the Totally Obsessed camp.

The set comes, along with a bridge and a flatbed car for Thomas to pull (complete with a piece of "cargo" that fits into the flatbed), with a water tower. The water dispenser flips down and the whole thing connects via magnets to the track.

As you can see, we've positioned Sir Topham Hat (or, in Iain-speak "HAT!") at the tower so he can give Thomas orders. He likes to compliment the trains by telling them that they "have been really useful."

Iain found that his older trains (Iain-speak: "BUS!") from the IKEA set work fine with this new bunch. Also, you can set up the IKEA tracks next to the Thomas ones and have a huge train yard complete with derailments and obstacles.

Below, Sir Topham Hat has keeled over in a stupor while the water tower has to compete with the Sippy Cup Tower. But Iain doesn't care, because he's busy pushing a long train across the double bridge The Dad built.


This was a huge success. Iain played with it all weekend, and this morning come to breakfast saying "Thomas? Thomas? Thomas?" Too bad The Mom already put everything away. Bad Mommie!

Delicious, Fun, and Educational

"Hi, Iain? It's Isla. Hey, I'm just calling to say: sorry I missed you in October. I heard you're going to be hanging out with Maddie while you're in LA, and I just want to be sure I've still got a chance. I mean, I could be The One, dude. Think about it."

"Oh, and any chance I can get some of that apple pie your mom made? Just Fedex it, dude."


Iain got a lot of books for Christmas. Check it out above. Wow. You'd be amazed how many of those are about trucks, tractors, airplanes and other construction/conveyance vehicles. He is now capable of identifying a tanker truck, cement mixer, dump truck, back "ho," bulldozer, roller, airplane, car, digger, and logging truck. Oh, and he can count the cars on a car carrier, up to 9. When you ask him what comes after 9 he says "3."

As for Mommy, I'm luxuriating in the glow of my new toy. It's a mixer paddle for my Kitchen-Aid standing mixer. As you can see, it has spatulated (I made that word up) sides so it scrapes the bowl while it mixes.

I need Charles and Iain to eat a bunch of pie today and tomorrow so I can make something new in my mixer. Hurry up, gents!

Christmas, Part 2 (with a soupcon of Hannukah, rather late)

About a week ago, I noticed a bunch of Hannukah paintings drying at daycare. I was all excited, and kept waiting for Iain to bring one home. Bupkus. Finally, this Wednesday, I asked about it. "Oh, that was Donna's class. We didn't do those," said Meghan. But she offered to ensure that Iain would do one on Christmas Eve. Excellent.

I guess they didn't have the other sheets (which were just photocopies on white paper of a menorah. They had the kids finger-paint them with blue paint.). Instead, Donna and Meghan helped Iain make the masterpiece above. It's construction paper, with cutouts of his fingers for candles, plus glitter paint plus glued-on glitter. Thatsa lotta glitter, peeps.

It's wonderful. And I'm particularly happy that when they realized I was interested they made sure he did it, then made it much, much better than the original activity. Love those ladies.

And while we're on the subject of what a good job they do, try this on for size: this morning I made waffles. I had to measure 6 tablespoons of oil into the batter, and Charles helped count it out. Iain sat on his lap. We counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...and Iain said "six." Clear as a bell. HOLY COW.

In other news, let's get the gift train rolling. From his Auntie Miriam, Iain received this:

It's part of a set. There's a spoon and a "buh-doh-r." That would be a bulldozer to you. And there's a plate, with slots for each utensil and rubberized bits to help the plate stay in place on the table. You use the pushing utensil to push food into the spoon or onto the fork. It's adorable and genius and Iain played with it right away:

In fact, last night he wasn't that interested in actually eating because he was so excited to pretend to eat with his "back ho!" and the bulldozer, and his "pork!" Tonight, he used them and ate, which was much better. Throughout, he likes to hold up the utensil of the moment and say, "Back ho!" which Charles finds delightfully silly.

To the right in the photo above, you will see another present. This one came from Iain's cousin Audrey. She's in upstate NY right now, but she remembered her boy cousin and his obsession with construction vehicles. Check it out:

Outstanding! And that black button, when pressed, lifts up the scooper. So it's a bulldozer that actually works. Also, it's wooden and from PLAN toys, which we love. Turns out that they now have an entire line of construction trucks for each age group. Uh...we're in trouble if Iain finds that little catalog.

More to come...stay tuned.

Christmas, Part 1

In Charles' family, tradition dictates opening presents on Christmas Eve after dinner. Iain doesn't have the best after-dinner track record, so we decided to alter the tradition a tiny bit. He came home from his last day with Miss Donna/Meghan at 3, and all the presents were laid out. About 45% are for him, the rest for me and Charles.

As you can see above, Iain was unimpressed. He was all, "Tuck!" and demanded that Charles read to him from his sad, half-torn, duct-taped Spanish book on trucks (bought for 25 cents at the Friends of the Library book sale).

Eventually, though, we convinced him to give presents a try:


After that, he was somewhat more enthusiastic. Below, a floor puzzle from Nana. He loved, loved, loved many of the other gifts (photos to follow - don't be greedy!) and spent a long time playing before his dinner. Then it was bathtime, more playing, and time for bed.

We saved one toy for this morning, and he's playing with it even now. I'll give you a hint what it is: T--mas the T--k E--ine.