Whew!
What a crazy day this has been.
Elsa totally busted my laptop, so there goes that dream of unfettered internet access anywhere in the house. Mike bought the accident insurance so I’m sure they’ll fix the screen, but I don’t know the time line. Not like I have time to actually call and get it all worked out. I’ll get on that tomorrow.
We had preschool cooking class here today.
I knew it was going to be a challenge and I set myself up for success, but it was still a very draining afternoon. Fun, but draining.
Erik has been begging to be enrolled in cooking school but there just isn’t one in the area that fits our needs (cheap, age appropriate, in the late afternoons). I thought he’d love having a cooking class right here at home but I should have known better. Historically he always responds poorly to having events hosted in his own home. I don’t know what the deal is, but he starts pouting and goes upstairs and hides or is just a menace.
I told him about the cooking class and was shocked (though I guess I shouldn’t have been) when he said he wasn’t going to be a student. He was going to tell everyone to go away. He didn’t want to look at any people. Yadda yadda yadda.
Once people were actually here he hid up in his room for 15 minutes. I told him he either had to stay in his room the whole time or participate the whole time. He finally came down and was lovely. Silly kid.
Prior to everyone arriving I set up stations for each kid with all the tools and ingredients that they would need. I thought it was a fairly simple recipe (instant vanilla pudding, crushed nilla wafers, whole nilla wafers, sliced bananas all in a clear cup) but I guess severely overestimated most of the children’s skill levels. Erik can make just about anything if I premeasure the ingredients. He is a champ when it comes to crushing cookies or crackers in a baggie with a rolling pin. He can slice fruit (not pretty, but he can do it).
The other kids?
Not so much.
It seemed some of them had never tried to cook anything before, so it really was a cooking from scratch sort of lesson. The other moms were really helpful and everyone took a part in cleaning up or managing the children so I don’t have any complaints, but it was just a very tiring two hours (it didn’t take that long to cook–we played for an hour in the basement. My basement was not really meant to contain 6 four/five/six year olds, 3 two year olds, 1 baby and 5 moms.
I will say, I think most of the kids could beat the pants off most of the contestants on “America’s Worst Cooks.” Have you seen this show? It’s like Top Chef, only with totally terrible home cooks. The idea is that two professional chefs will teach them to cook and the one who makes the most progress will win a bunch of money.
Hoo boy. What a disaster! I love cooking competition shows, but usually I’m curious about the techniques and have no idea what they are doing.
(Side note: I didn’t know how to use a broiler because I never saw Jamie Oliver use a broiler. I learned everything I know about cooking from The Naked Chef.)
I feel guilty watching them flail so badly, but I figure they put themselves into the contest. They had to know how bad they are. I’m scared I’m going to give myself even worse wrinkle lines around my eyes because I spend most of the episode with my face scrunched up in a puzzled expression, trying to figure out just what the hey-tang the cooks are thinking. Sadly, I think my mother would fit right in on the show. Don’t tell her I said that.
Ok, Elsa is crying so I guess I better go parent. I thought I was going to have an early night. Erik must be sick because he went to sleep three full hours before his bedtime. Mike was in bed by 9:30. Elsa was asleep a half hour ago, but then she woke up, raring to go. Poor sleepy baby doesn’t know she’s sleepy.