Snippets
*When I was a kid I loved making those Makit & Bakit bead stain glass sun catchers. I don’t know why, but it was my favorite craft. Maybe because it was foolproof? I started buying them for Erik years ago, which. . . hahahahaha. Not his thing. Sitting still? Paying attention? Meticulous placement of tiny beads? Not gonna happen.
The elf left us a couple of Christmas ornament sun catchers the other day, which was probably a mistake. Erik was mainly disappointed that the plastic beads weren’t sprinkles. He thought I was lying, then was so surprised when he tried one and it was just a hunk of plastic.
At least Elsa gave it a go! When she’s older she’s going to rock the crafts; heck, she already does. She was very precisely filling in each hole, keeping her colors separated. I had big plans to post a picture of Erik’s work and her work and have you guess which was which. Then he went and ruined it by convincing her to do hers the same why he did his–mix up all the beads and pour them on top of the thing in a heap.
Gee, thanks, kid. And this is why we can’t have nice things.
*Today the elf told us to make gingerbread houses. Danged elf didn’t actually leave us the gingerbread houses so I had to run all over town looking for the only kind I will make. There’s a special kind that comes with an E-Z Build tray that makes it. . . you guessed it. . . easy to build the house. Generally I hate these stupid things because I can’t make them stay up, but this has a tray with a template that holds it up. They don’t carry them at Target or Michaels. I couldn’t figure out where else to go, but finally had a vague memory of Bed Bath and Beyond and struck gold. I think that may be the only place that carries this brand.
Kids enjoyed it, of course, but mainly wanted to eat the candy and suck the frosting out of the bag. I have always had big dreams of making the perfect gingerbread house, but those dreams were shattered at a young age when my friend and I tried to bake our own gingerbread and make a house out of it. Do you know how hard it is to make your gingerbread the exact right size and shape? Especially when you are about 12 years old and no grown-up will help you or give you hints?
I’ve tried to make a super awesome house in my adult years, but I hate spending that much money on candy that will go uneaten and I hate working with frosting. I am not very creative and can’t see how things fit together, so it turns into a stressful project. I give up on gingerbread houses.
*I snagged the spot for “special holiday treat” for the preschool Christmas party. I think I’m going to do reindeer cupcakes. I did graveyard pudding cups for Halloween and only two kids would even try them, which was disappointing. Surely they will try a cupcake (though I noticed several kids in the other classes didn’t eat their Halloween cupcakes). Maybe I should go with plain ol’ cookies instead? I like making something special that reflects the holiday, but the kids seem pretty meh about the whole thing. They’d probably be just as happy with a dried up old shortbread cookie as a fancy cupcake.
Or maybe I should do Reindeer Chow (a chocolatey chex mix type thing)? Then the kids would at least be able to separate out what they want. Kids seem to do better with little snacky type things.
*We went to Buca for lunch today and sat next to the most annoying table ever. Buca is an Italian chain that specializes in family style dining. During lunch on the weekends you can sometimes order individual portions, but in general they want you to order from the family menu. You order portions that feed several people, so you have to agree on what you want. I sort of hate it since I am picky. I’d never go with a large group who wanted to do the family menu, but Mike will always let me get something I prefer.
The table beside us appeared to be a college study group. Two were vegetarian, one was dairy-free and one was gluten-free. I don’t think most of them had been there before and they had quite a time placing their order. They finally each ordered their own dish, but didn’t realize it would serve 2-3 people (even though they had been trying to decide what to share. I was so confused about their confusion), so it was kind of hilarious when they were brought these GIGANTIC portions. They kept sniping about the menu not meeting their individual needs, which would have been fine if they were talking amongst themselves, but they were being so rude to the waiter. What was he supposed to do about it? The gluten-free lady told him in a super snotty voice “so I guess I’ll just eat lettuce then. I really want to sit here and chew on lettuce all day.”
Ummmmm. . .
I have complete sympathy for people who can’t eat gluten. It is a really tough diet to follow and I would never want to have to do it, but there are several local restaurants that offer gluten free choices. Every gluten free person I know extensively researches restaurant options. They never, never assume that they are going to get an edible meal at a restaurant they don’t research first. I can totally understand being frustrated by lack of options, but don’t take it out on the poor waiter who has nothing to do with the menu.
At the end of the meal Erik begged for the cannoli. We rarely get dessert when we go out, but we were in the holiday spirit so decided to let him do it. I’ve never had a cannoli before and thought it might be interesting to try. They have cannoli on Curious George quite often (or maybe it is just one episode and I’ve seen it a zillion times? I don’t pay much attention, but I know they frequent an Italian restaurant with a mentally ill chef who thinks his cat is a food critic), which was why Erik wanted to try is so badly.
I took a bite and it was SO DISGUSTING. Gross gross gross. I don’t know what they put in that thing, but I wanted to go in the bathroom and scrub my tongue. Everyone else loved it, so I guess I was the crazy one at my table. Probably a good thing I didn’t like it–I don’t need any more sweet obsessions.