I was struck by a picture I took of Baylor this weekend. I occurred to me just how fast she has grown. Here’s what I mean:
March 20, 2010 October 22, 2011
Same kid. Same bench. From cruising to climbing. Several inches and a lot more hair in just a year in a half!
Mmmmhhh….
I love this because it’s so simple. And because it’s a great fall dish!
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash (or precut squash works well too)
1 large yellow onion
1/2-1 tsp Thyme – preferably fresh but dried is ok
1/2-1 tsp Sage – ditto
Chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Peel, seed and cube the squash into 1 inch(ish) chunks.
Dice onion and saute in butter. Add sage and thyme. Then add in cubed squash and lightly cook adding salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken stock and cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.
Transfer mixture to a food processor. Cover food processor with a towel before blending. Again add salt to taste. Ladle in to bowls and serve as an appetizer, soup course or the main meal. I think it would be delicious with fresh bacon crumbles and a blue cheese salad on the side!
Saturday night we hosted a neighborhood party. We decorated our front patio with the straw bales from Trunk or Treat (which were actually quite handy), iced down the drinks and set out snacks and set out to chat with our neighbors for a longer stretch of time than it takes to walk by their homes with Bear.
I was a little nervous about it because we know and like a good 70% of our neighbors, but we’ve never had a social setting where we were all together. I was worried people wouldn’t get along or wouldn’t talk – and I was totally wrong. Everyone had a ball and stayed until the wee hours of the night (thank you MH for the delicious wine, however my head did not thank you on Sunday am). The kids ran around like banchies and there wasn’t one fight or tear. They were all having a fantastic time playing tea party, pushing baby strollers and dressing up in capes.
As usual, I got great before pictures, but I was having such a good time, I didn’t get any during the party! But here’s our lovely patio:
{I love the lime green and the orange together}
{Straw seating – we also used it to corral the kids and keep the Bear from running away}
{Our newest Halloween decoration – Baylor shouts “BOO!” at him at least once a day}
{I couldn’t get over how beautiful the Yellow Bells were against the blue sky}
{Looking down the street for her buddy, Britain}
{I always complain that I’m never in any pictures because I’m always taking them – but my little lady was not in the mood to cooperate (I’m literally hanging on to her). Oh well!}
We went to our first Trunk or Treat at Bay’s school on Friday night…and we have 4 bales of hay to prove it.
Trunk or Treat is a big event where families volunteer to bring their cars and decorate the trunk. Then all the munchkins dress up and trick or treat – or trunk or treat – at each car. It’s kind of like a tale gate for trick or treating. And it was awesome.
I signed up to be on the planning committee and when I explained the process to Peter, he immediately said “We’re going to do a trunk, right?!”. A little shocked by his enthusiasm I said of course we were. We settled on a western theme and set out to find bales of hay to put in the back of the truck. I got cowboy hats and bandannas to decorate several pumpkins and LOADS of pretzels, Goldfish and candy to give out. I had two crock pots of chili cooking all day (our house may never get the smell out!) and my mom brought a third to contribute to the total of 18 crock pots and 100 hot dogs! And not one drop of chili or one singe hot dog was left at the end of the night.
We handed out candy and crackers to tons of Bay’s friends and watched her play and interact with all of them. It was so cute to see all the kids and all the parents put so much work into their trunks. One of my personal favorites was our friends Stephanie and Jeff. Their trunk was filled with luggage and departure and arrival time signs. Stephanie was dressed as a flight attendant and Jeff was a pilot. And Morgan their daughter was a gnome…get it? She was the Travelocity Gnome! So clever and adorably executed!
{Holding down the fort}
{So excited to get started!}
{Good grief! When did she get such long legs?!}
{Noni!}
{Handing out Goldfish}
{Hanging out with our “trunk” neighbors who also had straw}
{Other trunkers}
{Did I mention that she and her work team solicited flight attendants for extra peanuts so they could give out real airline snacks?!}
{The Roaming Gnome, Morgan}
{Baylor said “Truck or Treat!!” because we had a truck, not a trunk. Cheeky girl.}
Last week, Bay had Fire day at school. I came to help heard the two-year-olds towards the trucks and to the hoses. While I thought the fireman that came was a little underwhelming and not used to being around small kiddos (fire alarms? Sirens? Not smart to do with 2 year olds!) they did have a blast taking turns squirting the fire hose and sitting the back seat of the fire truck.
I never get as many pictures as I want and this time was no exception. The truck was parked near the road (because it had to be) so I was on high alert for runners. But I did manage to get a few good pics in when Bay wasn’t freaking out over the siren – normally she’s a big fan of fire trucks, but being that close and that loud was a bit overwhelming!
{Waiting for their turn with the hose}
{She loved that she was the same size as the tire!}
It’s time for Scottsdale Mom’s Blog post again! Check out this week’s post about a great recipe for fruit “sauce” that has some sneaky veggies too!
Have a great weekend!
I would say that 80% of the time, Baylor is an angel. She is polite, sweet and just an all around good kiddo. But the other 20% of the time she’s a beast. And worse, that 20% behavior is unpredictable. I never know when it’s going to hit and how bad it’s going to be. That said, I’ve learned to take “crazy baby” time in stride and not get too worked up about it. But I can’t say the same for those around us – and that makes me crazy! Like it’s going to help me that you are gasping at her behavior?! Here’s what I mean:
We hit the grocery store late yesterday. It was probably too late in the day to be going since we were up against dinner time, but I needed a few things desperately so we went. All was going well; Bay was happily driving the Car Cart and I had only hit one display with the damn thing. We were chugging through the store and had only one aisle left to hit. Then Bay announced she needed to go to the bathroom and since we’re potty training, we abandoned the cart and dashed to the bathroom despite the fact she was wearing a pull up. Once in the bathroom, she decided she didn’t really have to go. And I realized she was missing a shoe. So now I’m getting frustrated that we’re standing the only slightly clean grocery store bathroom nearly barefoot and for no good reason. I washed her hands and we went back to the cart.
That’s when it all seemed to fall apart. B suddenly decided she didn’t want to ride in the car cart. I refused to stop and told her to please sit down because we were almost done. Instead of being deterred by the moving cart, she tucked and rolled out the side. It was quite graceful actually. But I was not in the mood. She insisted on pushing the cart and when I said no, she got LOUD. I tried to regroup; I got down on her level. I asked her, calmly, to please not shout and to please sit down so we could get home. She answered me by saying “SHOUT!!” as loud as she could. Again, trying to stay calm I said screw it to the discipline and let her push the cart – we just needed some milk and then we would be home free! If only…
We got to the check out line and as I was putting the groceries on the belt, the cashier from the other lane stepped back to say hello to Bay. Bay then proceeded to bury her head in my leg in an act of shyness and then BIT ME. HARD. ON THE THIGH/BUTT. Not only did it hurt, but it surprised me so I yelped and then said “DO NOT BITE ME!!!”. That’s when the cashier gasped, loudly, and then exchanged a look with the lady in line in front of me.
So now not only am I in a bit of pain (I have the bruise to prove it), I am annoyed that my kid has just quite literally become a pain in my ass and now I’m embarrassed because the checker has just judged me for my somewhat out of control two year old. I got on Baylor’s level, said “Get back in the cart and sit still” in the low, mom “I mean business” voice that is similar to a dog’s growl and then tried to calm down while I finished unloading groceries. It was then that I got mad – who was this lady to cop a holier than thou attitude about how my kid is behaving? I can’t control everything she does and while she was not being good, she wasn’t tearing up the store or screaming or biting other people so really, I’m doing ok as a parent!!
As I swiped my card, the cashier joked (badly) “Does she bite often??”. I responded “Only when the cashier takes too long”.
While that’s not the best line I’ve ever had, it did wipe the smarmy smile off her face. So I’ve got that going for me. Which is nice.
When we were kids, we had good family friends that we went to California with every summer. Their four kids to our two plus their parents and my mom made for one packed suburban. After a week of driving to and from the beach to the rental house, our friend’s dad would declare that the SUV smelled like “there were too many butts dragging across the seats”. This became a signature scent in our family and anytime something smelled wrong, it was always reminiscent of too many butts.
Last night I confessed, while laughing hysterically, that I had dropped an entire cheese stick between my seat and the console of my car. I had been trying to open it for the kiddo and it slipped right out of the plastic. Now, for anyone who knows me, any friends or roommates, they will testify that I am neat. Annoyingly neat. ridiculously clean. My worst fear is that someone-will-think-my-house-smells-funny kind of clean. So the fact that I’m knowingly driving around with a cheese stick under my seat is so appalling, it’s funny.
Peter, not believing me, trucked out to the garage with a fork in hand to retrieve said snack. When asked why I hadn’t done something about it, I said that I had A. forgotten about it having become accustomed to the smell that ridding around with a toddler who snacks in the car brings and B. I’m having my car detailed this weekend and I was going to have them get it out. disgusted, Peter forged on moving the driver seat forwards and backwards, continually stabbing at the missing dairy product. I, a little buzzed after a glass (or 2) of wine am giggling in the passenger seat. The role reversal of the situation was hilarious. It’s also a good 116 degrees in our garage so it may have been a heat induced state, I’m not sure.
Five minutes later, Peter grabbed the hardened stick off the fork, threw it away and declared me disgusting. All while scretly finding it hysterical because I know he’s accidentally dropped an entire spit cup in his truck. I’ll take a wayward cheese stick over that any day.
Sherri, this one is for you!
Wow, the kiddo was busy this week.
To start, Baylor’s bag of choice was a gift bag from her birthday. It lights up when you push the button and it took me 9 tries to get a picture where you can see the lights.
Contents:
1 sippy cup
1 soft picnic basket with food inside
goggles
her super silly glasses
her new Ariel shoes from Auntie Ali that she LOVES and wears any time she’s in the house
a bean bag
1 ball
Mouse
Sing-a-Ma-Jig
her Cubs hat
a rosary
play sized cooking utensils
play food pizza, bread, doughnut and hot dog
Peter, Baylor, our friend Cameron and myself all met at one of our favorite restaurants, Orange Table for breakfast on Sunday. Peter and Cameron had been out “killing clay” (i.e. at the shooting range) so B and I met them there.
As we were sitting on the over stuffed couches waiting, a little girl about 4 years old and her parents walked in. When the girl saw Bay, she immediately made a beeline for her, ripped the sun glasses off of Baylor’s face and proceeded to rifle through Bay’s bag of books and other entertainment. Baylor’s immediate response was a look at me like “why would she do that?!”. Annoyed, but not wanting to make a scene, I said to the girl “these are Baylor’s toys. You need to ask her if you would like to play with them”. As I finished this statement, I noticed the girl’s parents were watching me say this to their daughter and yet didn’t do anything. Thankfully the hostess showed them to their table.
Just when I thought the coast was clear, the girl came running back over to retrieve a toy she had left. Baylor saw her coming and politely held up the forgotten stuffed animal. Again, the girl ripped the toy out of Baylor’s hand and then made a swipe for Bay’s bracelets (she was well accessorized). This time the father followed the girl and sat down to WATCH her repeatedly grab at, pull on and steal from my daughter. He said hello and introduced himself but never said anything to his kid. At this point I’m getting to incredulous and about to say something like “could you please ask her to stop since she is not listening to me?” when Peter walked in.
PW gave me a strange look which I answered with a “I have no idea who these people are and yes, they are making me crazy too” face. At the same time, he witnessed the little girl grab a book out of Baylor’s hand and shout “MINE!!” which Peter answered with “NO, no it’s not” and took the book back from the girl. All the time, her dad is sitting on the couch saying nothing, just smiling like an idiot. It was then that I noticed the mother was sitting right behind me, seeing all of this and also doing nothing.
We were finally shown to our table and got to leave the little terror behind. Sadly it didn’t stop her from running to our table at least 3 times to again try to take a toy, a phone or a bite of Baylor’s breakfast. And again, parents were right be hind her saying nothing.
Peter and Cameron were shocked. I was annoyed but this isn’t the first time we’ve encountered ill behaving children whose behavior is ignored by their parents. I hesitate to tell the parent’s how I really feel about these situations because I don’t want to run into these people later and learn that I burned potential clients for Peter or the family’s guest lodge or after I’ve accidentally rear ended them and they decide to call the police instead of just exchanging insurance.
So I am putting this out as a question: what do you do in these situations? How do you handle it when you cannot get away from a kid who is being a demon? Do you say something to the parents? Ignore it? I welcome any and all comments and I will post a follow-up in a few days with some of the responses. Bonus points for the funny, ridiculous and best of all, clever responses.
The Goon Room 