2008 October

Ghouls Night Out

Due to technical difficulties I am unable to show you the girls’ Halloween costumes. (They are wearing their silk dresses brought back from China.) And while I cannot show them in the outfits, yet, I can show you the video of their father shopping for the dresses in Beijing’s Silk Market this past August.

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I took the picture girls in the beautiful dresses on my iPhone and can see it on my e-mail attachment, but am unable to get it to transfer as a picture file here. Give me a weekend to figure out the kinks and I’ll have a photo ready. Plus, a few bars of chocolate will help me think better anyway.

Elizabeth has had a sore throat for the last week days and is finally better today. She had these shivers last night that made me concerned. I called our nurse hotline and could not get through at 2 a.m. She finally feel asleep and seemed to be able to break her fever and she’s eating so I think her throat is feeling much better. Either that or she’s faking it so she can go trick-or-treating tonight. Either way she’ll be in bed early tonight if I have my way. But chances are I’ll not get my way and have sugar-crazed and cranky kids still haunting this place after 9 p.m. this evening…. so goes the holidays.

Happy Halloween to all our ghoulfriends and boyfriends, even though we tell Elizabeth she is too young EVER to have a boyfriend.

Campaign to Stop the Campaign Madness

TO RNC AND DNC PESKY AUTOMATED PHONE MESSAGE LEAVERS: I don’t know if I have the correct initials or where you are really calling from (far, far and farther from the White House I’m sure), but YOU obviously have my phone number and way too much time on your hands, given YOU are calling EVERY NIGHT NOW. I am tired of hearing from YOU on WHICH CANDIDATE I should or shouldn’t be voting for. I’m TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT POLITICS. I’ve made up my mind on who I will vote for and you will not sway me NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY. I don’t care who was friends with so and so. This is SO junior-highish. I teach my daughters to be friends with EVERYONE. There is no right or wrong candidates only wrong campaigns. STOP LEAVING ME MESSAGES or I will be forced to call my State’s Department of Whatever that handles the No-Call Lists. Yes, you can call and leave me that phone number if you want, but ANY OTHER INFORMATION LEFT ON MY VOICE MAIL WILL BE DEEMED IRREVERENT AND HASTILY AND JOYFULLY DELETED. Yes, thank you for YOUR SUPPORT of helping me keep a wee bit of sanity leading into Tuesday. God Bless America!

Lyceums, Yellow Leaves & Falling Rain

First, I felt very old when I walked into Elizabeth’s school last week and told the secretaries I was there for the lyceum. The secretaries just sort of stared at me and asked me again what I was there for.Â

“The lyceum? The program in the gym I think with the author?” I stated.Â

See, when I was in school a few light years ago, whenever we’d have a traveling show or jazz singers or guys who could chop wood in half or trained monkeys or whatever, we’d call it a “lyceum.”Â

I explained to the secretaries that I thought it was another word for gymnasium, which seemed to be where all these performances usually were held. (Note, I didn’t explain that I came from a class of 12 and that my school is now sadly vacant which a beautiful gym that I never got to play in –or watch performances in –but the few hundred townspeople from surrounding communities are still paying the bond on.)

I debating whether I should try to get the word “lyceum” back into the modern lexicon or just feel dated when going to performances that may or may not be presented in school gymnastics or amphitheatres. Really, is this what Romans felt like when their great Coliseum was falling into disrepair and younger, hipper people were clamoring for gladiators to play in stadiums?Â

Secondly, speaking of violent fighting, I am not one to rave about any martial arts movie. Okay, maybe a daffy Jackie Chan movie is my speed. But I was impressed with the Chinese film “Hero.” The film has stunning use of color and cinematography and Jet Li. Thanks to Netflix, I have viewed a fair share of Chinese movies since Joe went to China in August, and this is my favorite. There is this great scene where the two female characters wearing red flowing gowns are facing off with swords among rustling and windswept yellow and red leaves. It was quite the vivid scene. Here is the trailer for the film…

DANG IT, I MEAN BANG IT?Â And writing about falling leaves reminds me of falling rain. (And reminds me of how much we LOVE Laura Numeroff’s “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” series of books.) I think it is only fair to question the theatrics involved with the pending Game Five of this World Series. I think Milli Vanilli’s or whoever’s “Blame it on the Rain” is appropriate for all athletes, reporters and fans waiting for an appropriate time for this game to continue. Â Our plans include hubby coming home for Halloween. My girls will not accept an extended RAIN DELAY for DASHING their trick-or-treating.

Joining the Computer Race

After months — actually years — of claiming I’d regain my equilibrium by purchasing an apple computer, I’m proud to say, these blog posts are now being produced on an iMac! My new machine is streamlined and sexy in only a way a Mac can be, and oh so fast.

The minor glitches are that I’ve not purchased PhotoShop Elements for Mac yet (or any other great and EXPENSIVE Adobe products) so my favorite programs are on hold. At least til hubby can download the Microsoft platform for me to switch over to my Microsoft programs for a few Web design programs. For instance, Michael Rosenberg’s site needs a gazillion more glowing reviews of praise that I didn’t get a chance to update before the great computer switch. (So I’m scheming to set up the old computer in hubby’s office while he’s watching baseball this week.)

Usually my mother-in-law is a few steps ahead of me in the technology department, but I will now be able to tell her, “You ought to get a mac.” Though as a computer programmer her PC may be the better fit. They just need a speedy computer, as well as my parents who for some reason cannot even get an Internet connection. When my father called I told him there wasn’t much I could do on the phone, especially since he believes the virus protection programs were keeping him off the web. I told my father that he might want to call an actual computer tech person. I guess I could give them my old computer, even if it is a PC.

Leaving the Labels

I’d have guessed or at least hoped to be able to take my daughters out in public with them being reasonably rational and mature young ladies of 7 and 3 and a half (which is a big difference between the temperamental just-turned-3 stage, by the way). But sometimes the notion of a girls day out is best spent at home, away from too many distractions.

We had a reasonable shopping day finding more winter school clothes, which are different than the clothes Elizabeth gravitates toward. You know those seemingly beautiful clothes seen on runways in Milan where it’s always sunny and modified for even the youngest consumers but don’t take in to consideration that the youngest of fashionistas still have P.E. every other day in school.

Thus, Elizabeth did not get her fancy boots or her too short hot pink skirt. Why are manufacturers making skirts short to begin with when children tend to grow taller not shorter fairly quickly? I don’t care if she has leggings on under these skirts, they are short on my daughter and she’s not exactly tall to begin with…

But the real “mean mom” part came when I threatened the girls with a quick retreat from The Children’s Place if they did not stop shoving each other. It was too late in the afternoon to be out. They’d had a big weekend with shopping and haircuts and skating and Sunday School and playdate. A silly thing like listening to me was beyond their comprehension. Elizabeth still could not understand why she couldn’t get a second bonus pair of glittery shoes for school. Katie, thankfully, remains pretty easy to please with clothing, especially if it has Strawberry Shortcake on it or is pink in general. But looking for clothing and reprimanding daughters playing among clothes displays gets tiring fast.

So the warning (which I usually give out but have a harder time enforcing.) More shoving. The repeated warning while browsing labels, hushing the girls and realizing the clothes were not quite cute enough to keep me from placating my daughters while I browsed and tried to ref. Another shove. I hung up the two sales items for Katie and picked her up and then grabbed the oldest by the arm.

“We’re out of here,” I told them. To which the chorus of complainers made sure I knew I was: “unfair,” “mean” and “no fun.” Even if we were noisier than we should have been leaving the store, I’m pretty sure leaving was the best thing to do. And both girls fell asleep on the car ride home, probably just dreaming about being temperamental fashion models.

Airing Out the Laundry

So I think I might have mentioned our washing machine went on the fritz a few weeks ago or maybe I just twittered about that or mentioned in my mom2mom blog. I opened the washing machine after a cycle and there was still a full load of water in it! It had been making weird noises for the last two months and when I tried to restart that failed load it really made a garbled sound and started to have that burnt engine smell. Though I guess it’s got a motor and not exactly an engine.

Why compare my washing to an engine makes zero sense. My washing wasn’t ever a real model in efficiency. I was always good at cleaning the clothes, but the clean clothes would always end up in a giant heap beside the bed. The girls would play on their “mountain of clothes” unable to understand the concept of folding.

And why should they, their mother wasn’t much for folding as much as stuffing garments into wardrobes and hoping the off-springs wore fewer than four outfits in a single day. Washing was a task, a job, and not as fun and effortless as they made it seem in gazillions of laundry commercials. Notice how quickly everything gets washed and hung up?

For once I was just scared I’d have to make a trip to a laundromat. Not that there’s anything wrong with that other than the smell in there.

So I called the Maytag Company’s 800 number and was told that yes, 10 years was just about the life expectancy of a washing machine and that if I needed just a belt replaced I’d be able to detect a burned rubber smell. The worn-out machine wasn’t producing au de la rubber but a more defeated, and much more expensive odor.

But hubby was more than ready to throw out our set to make room for a more energy efficient set. Seems I’d washed and dried and SHRUNK just a few too many of his shirts. And he was right, after every load of clothes from the dryer they’d come out as hot as Hades. That’s when I remembered to get them right out of the dryer. But that had to be pretty un-energy star worthy.

So a quick Consumer Reports print out, tips from moms at mom2momkc and a trip to Lowe’s got us a new washer and dryer set we liked and next day delivery (with free installation and haul away.) And it could be stacked to gain more room in our crowded laundry room. And besides feeling good about the energy star qualifications (will we really save money on energy costs?) I am really excited about using the new clean machines, even if I still end up with a pile of clean clothes. If only they had a folding machine…

Flower Power or Two Types of Inspiration

So early this summer I had this great plant blooming with these beautiful pink flowers. It was a plant from Lowe’s and benefited Breast Cancer Research. I’d pick the flowers and make mini-arrangements or give them to the girls.

Here were their two interpretations of flower design:

Elizabeth used it for a hair accessory, while adding my black shawl for a glam shot.

And then there was Katie who took her single flower upstairs,

and then studied the flower, rearranged the flower and left this design:

I’m not sure if she ended up on “Loves Me” or “Loves Me Not.” But my two children couldn’t be more different on their appreciation of pink flowers. And yes, it’s October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I want to extend my thoughts and love and support to everyone discovering, dealing and surviving breast cancer.

Kansas City’s Back in the Swing shopping event starts next week.

Have you read “Nordie’s at Noon: The Personal Stories of Four Women “Too Young” for Breast Cancer?” It’s a brave and candid story of four young women meeting at Nordstrom Cafe in Overland Park to share and support each other through their different stages along the journey to cure their breast cancer.

Wii Go Together or Adventures in Shopping

I knew it was only a matter of time until someone in my family couldn’t LIVE without the Nintendo sensation called Wii.

My 7-year-old played the game at a friend’s house and was hooked. But luckily, she thought the little PINK Nintendo DS was sufficient for her birthday. She’s still into cute, and the color was the real clincher.

Well fast forward to this weekend, where Joe visits his parents who are very tech savvy. It was my mother-in-law who encouraged me to:

1. Join facebook

2. Buy an iPhone

3. Donate to Barack Obama’s campaign

4. Get a Wii

I have done three out of the four, plus I’m hosting them here for Thanksgiving. (And I will be getting ALL my knives sharpened if only so my mother-in-law will not remind me that they are not sharp enough. She is right, of course. I will injury my fingers one of these days on my dull knives.)

So Joe plays on his parents Wii setup. They have Wii Fit and Wii Sports and I don’t know what all else. He loves the tennis. He returns home on Monday convinced that the Wii must be in our home theater basement setup soon.

I tried to tell my husband that these Wiis are hard to come by. He seems to think I have time to call every major electronics selling outlet in a quarter of Kansas City. I stop at Target in rain. I call several Best Buys. (Check the newspaper ads on Sunday and get there early. Nice to know they are advertising in the paper, still, but I’m not an early bird shopper.) I stop at Game Stop and am told to phone every day around 10 a.m. from Monday to Friday. (At this point, I do NOT want a part-time job of tracking down one game system.)

I have one last resort. I decide to try Wal-Mart, which is where my sister and Joe’s parents were able to buy their systems. My sister, who IS a regular Wal-Mart shopper told me she thinks they get new shipments from Nintendo every Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m ready to start making a bar chart of a crime bulletin board like you see on all those investigative shows on TV. I’m ready to hire a private investigator.

But I am in shock when the lady in electronics at Wal-Mart replies, “Yes” and quickly starts walking to the locked case three aisles away. There is today’s holy grail. The game system I cannot wait for my family to see. It is the Wii Sports with the Wii Play bundled together. It looks great. It looks fun. I won’t look at the nearly $300 price tag. I think we will get our money’s worth.

I think I know how those cavemen felt. I feel I’ve just won on the “Price is Right.” Wii have arrived!

Now, if anyone knows how to get the Wii FIT, I think we are truly in business!

Pre-Debate Watch Party Prepping

Our casual, impromptu watch party prep is getting underway. I found a red wine called, “3 Blind Moose” atÂ SuperTarget.Â Really, I think no political commentary is needed.

We are ordering pizza because I don’t have time to fix a feast.

But I did find a cool recipe from my 1972 Kraft Hostess Awards Recipe Book with fun themes from America’s Junior Miss Pageant winners. A New Hampshire Junior Miss that year held a White Elephant Swap theme and fixed Wilkie Buttons, a cheesy baked cracker. I think they look like buttons (or elephant snouts).

WILKIE BUTTONS

1 cup margarine
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream margarine and cheese until fluffy. Add flour and salt; mix well. Chill. Heat oven to 350. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly; make “buttonholes” with skewer. Bake at 350 10 to 15 minutes. (Makes 4 1/2 dozen.)

Donkey Dips could represent the arch-rivals to the Elephant items. Here is my favorite beer dip. For election flair, try Samuel Adams varieties. (Different beer types will alter flavor of dip.)

BEER DIP

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (.4 oz.) package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
8 oz. beer

Beat all ingredients together with electric mixer until well blended. Chill for several hours. Serve with mini pretzels or butter snap squares pretzels. (From Dining In In Kansas City, A Collection of recipes from the Greater Kansas City Alumnae Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta.)

Here are some links for party ideas, though I think the debates will be entertaining enough.

Shindigzparty

Oriental Trading Company

My Ducky Birthday

Let’s face it, after the age of 21, birthdays are a bit anticlimatic. Though it’s cute when my 7-year-old remembered my birthday first thing this morning. It took my youngest a bit longer to clue in. In fact, she really didn’t care much or make ANY special consignments. She was happy to play with her dollies all day, including when I wanted to nap.

I have a box with my chocolate birthday cake from our dinner at the Peppercorn Duck Club. Though the label on the cake says, “Happy Anniversary.” At least where were just two candles instead of a WHOLE bunch. You go to Peppercorn for the duck and sauces (though I ordered the beef ribs) and then you just eat half the $40 entree so you can gorge on the Chocolatte Bar (fancy name for great chocolate delights) and ask for the rest of your meal to go home with you. The leftovers then get placed in cute tinfoil-shaped ducks, a red rose is presented to each female (at the same time the bill is brought to the table) and then can pick out one chocolate-covered strawberry to top off the meal. That is the Peppercorn experience.

Even if my daughters ask me how old I am tomorrow, I can divert them with three beautifully wrapped ducks and the order of chocolate cake for breakfast. That’s called a good day after.

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A Course for Adventure

Exploring Countries for Kids Without Leaving the House