I suppose there are many forms of humiliation really, some more humiliating than others, but this week has been full of it. (well last week really, but this post wouldn't cooperate, so I am re-posting.) Unintentionally wrecking your friend's car when you agreed to switch cars with her for the weekend so that she could take her visiting family to Portland for the weekend would be one. Yikes. Yes, it happened. That is what I get for wanting to go to Portland. Now Shelly has no car for the next month or so. Oops. Bad idea. No, this is not the humiliation of mine, but I'll get to that. Again, there are many forms.
Perhaps humiliation is having to be carried out, upside down, from the library, by your mother because you are screaming and yelling so loud at the Big Bird on the library computer monitor that the behavior begins to draw stares and shushes by librarians and other elderly patrons. Again, not my own humiliation, but I do believe Wynne would agree he was humiliated by the event.
Now on to my own...its Wednesday night. Shelly and I have already treated the boys to a morning at the skatepark and tons of fun besides, but because we are loving, adoring parents, we decide to take all 5 boys swimming at the YMCA for the evening, followed by supper out at the Puerto Vallarta mexican restaurant. The swimming part went just fine. It was the pool removal process that proved somewhat difficult.
Wynne had to go to the potty, which, as anyone with a 3 year old knows, is not an individual sport. Yes, this requires a mom for escort, so I took him to the locker room, while Shelly extracted the other 4 from their chlorine enrichment. Shell finally got them all out of the pool and in line waiting for an open "family locker room" (of which, there are only 4 of these, what the ?$@#*?? Hello, families are the ones using the Y, make more of these people, or make the women's locker room more family friendly for those of us with male children people!!!) It should be noted here that Shelly was holding all the clothes, shoes, towels, goggles, purses, etc. necessary to make a trip to the Y, since I was assisting W at the time. Finally, we procure a locker room, get the boys showered, match up the appropriate clothes to child, and eventually ourselves begin to get dressed. Oh yes, we swam too. I begin to put on my clothes only to realize that they were the closest thing to Shelly's swimwear when waiting for the locker room, which is to say, they are soaked. The boys are starving at this point, we've promised them mexican and home is a distance from here. What to do?
I push my skirted swim bottom down as low as I can as not to offend anyone, and make it out of the Y and into the car dripping wet and a bit embarrassed. No big deal, people understand I was swimming, right?
No what? I consider going for nachos in this get up but realize I will make a huge puddle in the restaurant and never be invited back, so the only thing left to do is find another acceptable get up. What is near? Target, of course.
Shelly drops me off ALL ALONE to run into Target, IN MY SWIM BOTTOMS,in the middle of January mind you, to grab a new pair of pants and get out. Easy right? Okay, I walk quickly to the athletic section, grab pants, get to the check out (enduring many eyebrow raising stares) only to be DENIED at the checkout for my $17 purchase. C'mon! Seriously Target, I have been shopping with you for long enough, I am good for it.
I walk back out to the car, borrow $ from Shelly and go back in, only to endure more humiliation, grab another pair of pants and finally make it out with new bottoms, hooray!!! Sure, we all have to go through a bit of humility to be human, or at least decent people, but I feel I've been sent a message lately. Hmmm.. Okay, I'm out. Until next time....
1.15.2010
surprise location
We rang in the New Year with the Oates family on the west side of the state, only to get in the car the next day to drive to east, spend another week, only to hop on an airplane to go west again. Ridiculous, we know, but, here we are again, much sooner than expected, back in Washington state. Thanks to Bryce's extreme generosity and ever changing work schedule, we flew out to Seattle on Wednesday of this week to stay a few with Shelly, Chris and the boys we love so well. Shelly and Chris managed to keep the secret from the boys which made the trip up that much more exciting.
We surprised Drew by walking into his classroom to take him home early from school. His eyes focused on Henry and Wynne with confusion and amazement that quickly spread to pure joy as he hugged us all tightly, afraid we would disappear as quickly as we had appeared. Christian was in art class when he spied us in the hall. We waved his way only to have him smile, look at us strangely and then remark, "I'm painting right now." We got the boys out of school, into the Parrish tram and headed back to the Parrish fortress. The boys quickly picked up where they left off until another surprise batch of visitors arrived. Heather, Jack and Jessica Brown joined us and made it a party. Shell's special margaritas didn't hurt any either.
It has been nonstop fun around here with a forecast for lots more as we continue on our journey this weekend with a special trip planned for the whole crew...possibly even crossing state lines.
Before I forget, the above collage is one of the whole family baking pretzels together today. The recipe must be included, as its simple, well sort of, okay, not so much, but the fun factor makes it worth it.
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 c. flour
mix together in large bowl or bowl of stand mixer.
In a small bowl mix:
1 c. warm/hottish water (110 degrees)
1 Tbsp. honey or sorghum or agave (whatever sweetner you want)
1 Tbsp. melted butter
Add this mix to the dry mix. Mix on medium speed 3 minutes. Let rest a few minutes. Then mix in 1-1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour to make a dough. Use dough hook or turn out on board to knead 8 minutes or so.
Let dough rest long enough to have little boys go outside to ride bikes and dig in mud, while Shelly does laundry and Jenny takes Drew to the knit shop to buy yarn for new knitting project - approx 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Divide dough evenly among family members. Roll out long ropes. Twist into pretzels. Let pretzels rest while you boil:
7c. water &
1/4 baking soda
Drop pretzels into boiling soda water for 20 seconds each, then salt, then bake on greased cookie sheet for 8 minutes or so in a hot oven ( 425 degrees) on top rack in oven. Take pictures. Enjoy. Do it all again tomorrow.
1.09.2010
Oates Family Holiday Fun
It was difficult to find just a few pictures to post in a collage of all the fun we had when we visited Adrian, MO for some holiday time with the Oates family at large. We arrived on the 27th to lots of snow and a new (9 days new) cousin, Raquel Lynn Oates....Raquel is as cute as she can be and tiny as a little bean. She didn't have too much to say about us, but we all agree, we are delighted to have her in the family. Eric and Rachel seemed to be adjusting to life with a little one (again) quite well, and suspiciously, looked no worse for wear. Big brother Liam really seemed to enjoy having someone almost his size join the family, calling Raquel "my baby" and periodically patting her on the head to let her know he was there for her. "Miam" as he calls himself, is just now two, but enjoys it most when running with the oldest batch of cousins, Aubrie and Henry.
All the cousins (and aunts and uncles) enjoyed sledding near Heath and Allison's where there were plenty of near misses on sleds flying every which way, as well as snowball fighting and snow fort building started by Oliver and Allison. Although Liam did his best to eat the snowfort as fast as they could build it, he is after all only one small boy. The snow fort still stands. As for standing, Wynne took the opportunity to stand on the sled nearly all the way down the hill, causing his uncles to try the same, with different, more painful (but really funny) results. Its hard to be outdone by a 3-year old sometimes.
12.26.2009
Family Time
Well, hello again everyone and Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day to you (today) and Happy New Year! We have been having a wonderful time with family, specifically my (Jenny's) family here in St. Louis. I guess we've been here for 2 weeks on and off. We've taken several "Christmas Lights" tours about town and even checked out the zoo lights and Botanical gardens displays, even got to catch up with old friends and their growing families and reconnect with folks from the past.
Attended mass with mom and dad last sunday at St. Stanislaus, which was followed by a bigos dinner accompanied by wine and screwdrivers (the drink, not the tool.) Ahh..the catholic church. What is bigos? A traditional polish stew made with meat and cabbage (of course) in a tomato-y broth. Very yummy. Sometime during my post meal stupor I agreed to help create scenery and props for their upcoming Christmas pagent of sorts. Luckily, we only had to construct two lambs. Unfortunately, Uncle Frank had to do much of the constructing as I spent my time tearing up boxes, creating a mess of paint with the boys and covered, well, mostly ourselves in glue and cottonballs. It was a lot of fun, but the sheep the boys and I created looked more like a puffy white cloud than an animal, so thank goodness for Uncle Frank to the rescue! As Frank repaired our damaged the boys got to work running around and being silly, and I made 70 or so pierogis for the upcoming Polish Christmas Dinner at mom's house. Before we knew it, it was Christmas eve, with lots of cleaning, cooking, preparing and excitement about Santa. Henry set out the cookies for santa and made sure to include a note for santa stating that the cookies and carrots were in the kitchen so Tillie ( my parents' dog) didn't eat them for him.
We all attempted to attend midnight (this really means 10 p.m.) mass on Christmas eve, despite the time and the yucky rain, but the boys fell asleep on the way, so Bryce dropped me off to attend church with my parents and Frank. I sat down in the pew only to realize a minute later that I had the key to the Czyzewski abode. Oops! I removed myself from the sanctuary and desperately tried to reach Bryce to warn him to turn around, but alas, his phone was trapped in the house. I tried telepathy for a few minutes, with no results and finally, Dad volunteered to drive back home to let them in, where he found them asleep in the blue VW sleigh. Dad then returned to church to join us in time to turn around and walk back out. Thanks dad! morale of the story : If you marry a forgetful spouse, be prepared to sleep in the driveway.
Christmas morning came too quickly and was everything that children and parents want it to be...full of joyful surprises of all sorts. Wynne was so overwhelmed with the display that it wasn't until he tripped over his gift, that he realized what was happening. He simply declared, " A loop-de-loop track - hey,I wanted that!" It took a minute for it all to sink in. The boys even surprised me with gifts they saved for, and dad took them out to buy. A box of chocolate truffles from Henry, and the movie "Tale of Desperaux" from Wynne because, as he says,"mom, you are princess and I am desperaux, a brave little mouse." It was too sweet and thoughtful. We all had a great time opening gifts and all until we had to prepare for the onslaught of visitors for lunch.
Christmas dinner was successful with all sorts of polish fixins and wonderful company until late into the night. I could go on, but we have more christmas tomorrow...if we can make it, as we are headed to Adrian and the Oates side of the family, which is covered in a frosty white blanket as we speak.
Attended mass with mom and dad last sunday at St. Stanislaus, which was followed by a bigos dinner accompanied by wine and screwdrivers (the drink, not the tool.) Ahh..the catholic church. What is bigos? A traditional polish stew made with meat and cabbage (of course) in a tomato-y broth. Very yummy. Sometime during my post meal stupor I agreed to help create scenery and props for their upcoming Christmas pagent of sorts. Luckily, we only had to construct two lambs. Unfortunately, Uncle Frank had to do much of the constructing as I spent my time tearing up boxes, creating a mess of paint with the boys and covered, well, mostly ourselves in glue and cottonballs. It was a lot of fun, but the sheep the boys and I created looked more like a puffy white cloud than an animal, so thank goodness for Uncle Frank to the rescue! As Frank repaired our damaged the boys got to work running around and being silly, and I made 70 or so pierogis for the upcoming Polish Christmas Dinner at mom's house. Before we knew it, it was Christmas eve, with lots of cleaning, cooking, preparing and excitement about Santa. Henry set out the cookies for santa and made sure to include a note for santa stating that the cookies and carrots were in the kitchen so Tillie ( my parents' dog) didn't eat them for him.
We all attempted to attend midnight (this really means 10 p.m.) mass on Christmas eve, despite the time and the yucky rain, but the boys fell asleep on the way, so Bryce dropped me off to attend church with my parents and Frank. I sat down in the pew only to realize a minute later that I had the key to the Czyzewski abode. Oops! I removed myself from the sanctuary and desperately tried to reach Bryce to warn him to turn around, but alas, his phone was trapped in the house. I tried telepathy for a few minutes, with no results and finally, Dad volunteered to drive back home to let them in, where he found them asleep in the blue VW sleigh. Dad then returned to church to join us in time to turn around and walk back out. Thanks dad! morale of the story : If you marry a forgetful spouse, be prepared to sleep in the driveway.
Christmas morning came too quickly and was everything that children and parents want it to be...full of joyful surprises of all sorts. Wynne was so overwhelmed with the display that it wasn't until he tripped over his gift, that he realized what was happening. He simply declared, " A loop-de-loop track - hey,I wanted that!" It took a minute for it all to sink in. The boys even surprised me with gifts they saved for, and dad took them out to buy. A box of chocolate truffles from Henry, and the movie "Tale of Desperaux" from Wynne because, as he says,"mom, you are princess and I am desperaux, a brave little mouse." It was too sweet and thoughtful. We all had a great time opening gifts and all until we had to prepare for the onslaught of visitors for lunch.
Christmas dinner was successful with all sorts of polish fixins and wonderful company until late into the night. I could go on, but we have more christmas tomorrow...if we can make it, as we are headed to Adrian and the Oates side of the family, which is covered in a frosty white blanket as we speak.
12.14.2009
candy cane crash and burn
Its been a week or so since I've updated in my journal entry-like way and its been a holiday-mania of sorts, much of which involves kind-hearted folks pumping my kids full of sugary snacks. Santa even gave away full sized candy bars, cans of coca-cola (Coke, seriously?!) and, of course, candy canes. How exactly are these kids supposed to behave after ingesting all this crap? (And yes, I know its my job to monitor the intake, but 3 parades, 2 visits with santa and several other holiday gatherings with family...I can only do so much here people.) I am beginning to think that Santa is always watching just as a psychological and physiological experiment to study the effects of sugar on these little folks. Last year we called Henry and Wynne the sugar-high, super-fly, candy guys. This year they are truly living up to the name. I only hope to survive to 2010 myself with these two clowns.
Since my last lecture, my parents came to visit us in VanBuren, giving Bryce and me a bit of a break from the munchkins in the evenings so we could enjoy some local culture. Our choices in the culture category are drinking at the bar, drinking at home, or drinking on the river while spotlighting deer. We did have a drink at the bar, but decided to save the cash and go pass out at the cabin under 14 blankets to keep warm.
We spent most of Saturday going to parades - the cowboy christmas parade in VanBuren, then visited Alley Spring and Mill, snooped around Emminence, consumed some fried fare and waited in the cold for the Emminence Christmas Lights Parade. As we waited, we watched the bank sign featuring the temperature drop from 32 down to 29. This parade did not disappoint. Not sure where these folks came from, but I felt like I was transported to the Disney Lights parade in Orlando. Wynne jumped and cheered when he saw the best of all...Santa's sleigh pulled by 8 very cool ( and loud) Harleys (motorcycles, peeps) all lit up and on the back of a tractor trailer with no less than 30,000 lights adorning the float. If the coke from Santa, the huge bag of candy from the parade didn't put him in bliss, that did it. He is still talking about it. Tough to come down from a high like that, for these guys, anyway.
The rest of the week was more of the boring, same old, same old stuff; bald eagles, herons, discovering caves, racing giant icicles down the river, making driftwood boats, fishing hats out of the river, attempting gravity defying bike tricks, gluing parade candy onto the gingerbread house, being crazy. The usual. As the week ended, we sadly realized we have only a few days left here.
Friday, we rode to Doniphan for a visit with Nancy Smith where she spoiled us with a delicious dinner. Nancy and Bryce flew off to a meeting while we settled down to Snow White. The boys were sleeping in no time. When Nancy and Bryce returned, we talked into the wee hours, followed by a morning of croquet fun with a beautiful view of the river.
St. Louis was invaded late Saturday after a disappointing visit to the Dinosaur exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center. If you're thinking of taking the kids to this over priced "dinosaur experience"...put it out of your mind now. Go get a book about dinos at your local bookstore. You'll learn more, and still be able to treat the family to ice cream. The boys liked it, but what do they know?
Zoolights sunday night was delightful with Henry's moping and Wynne's demands that the train re-open for his personal enjoyment. After some hot chocolate, all was well and spirits were lifted. Thanks dad. The fun continued as we drove through the city and even to "candy cane lane" to check out outrageous lights displays. Frosty the snowman seems to be the most popular lawn ornament this year. Wynne was quite fond of any candy cane decoration. Hmmm...a pattern?
While its been lots of fun here, we get to move on to see friends tomorrow in Columbia, so we can't wait.
Since my last lecture, my parents came to visit us in VanBuren, giving Bryce and me a bit of a break from the munchkins in the evenings so we could enjoy some local culture. Our choices in the culture category are drinking at the bar, drinking at home, or drinking on the river while spotlighting deer. We did have a drink at the bar, but decided to save the cash and go pass out at the cabin under 14 blankets to keep warm.
We spent most of Saturday going to parades - the cowboy christmas parade in VanBuren, then visited Alley Spring and Mill, snooped around Emminence, consumed some fried fare and waited in the cold for the Emminence Christmas Lights Parade. As we waited, we watched the bank sign featuring the temperature drop from 32 down to 29. This parade did not disappoint. Not sure where these folks came from, but I felt like I was transported to the Disney Lights parade in Orlando. Wynne jumped and cheered when he saw the best of all...Santa's sleigh pulled by 8 very cool ( and loud) Harleys (motorcycles, peeps) all lit up and on the back of a tractor trailer with no less than 30,000 lights adorning the float. If the coke from Santa, the huge bag of candy from the parade didn't put him in bliss, that did it. He is still talking about it. Tough to come down from a high like that, for these guys, anyway.
The rest of the week was more of the boring, same old, same old stuff; bald eagles, herons, discovering caves, racing giant icicles down the river, making driftwood boats, fishing hats out of the river, attempting gravity defying bike tricks, gluing parade candy onto the gingerbread house, being crazy. The usual. As the week ended, we sadly realized we have only a few days left here.
Friday, we rode to Doniphan for a visit with Nancy Smith where she spoiled us with a delicious dinner. Nancy and Bryce flew off to a meeting while we settled down to Snow White. The boys were sleeping in no time. When Nancy and Bryce returned, we talked into the wee hours, followed by a morning of croquet fun with a beautiful view of the river.
St. Louis was invaded late Saturday after a disappointing visit to the Dinosaur exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center. If you're thinking of taking the kids to this over priced "dinosaur experience"...put it out of your mind now. Go get a book about dinos at your local bookstore. You'll learn more, and still be able to treat the family to ice cream. The boys liked it, but what do they know?
Zoolights sunday night was delightful with Henry's moping and Wynne's demands that the train re-open for his personal enjoyment. After some hot chocolate, all was well and spirits were lifted. Thanks dad. The fun continued as we drove through the city and even to "candy cane lane" to check out outrageous lights displays. Frosty the snowman seems to be the most popular lawn ornament this year. Wynne was quite fond of any candy cane decoration. Hmmm...a pattern?
While its been lots of fun here, we get to move on to see friends tomorrow in Columbia, so we can't wait.
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