What was your first CD?

I read this article which mentions Lady Gaga's first CD purchased with her own money. I was horrible. I totally refused to make the conversion to CDs. I loved my little tape player. However, eventually, I just had to bite the bullet. My first CD was The Cranberries Everybody Else Is Doing It. Oh, the irony. Hm, I think that's irony. Stupid Alanis Morisette has ruined the concept forever. I am not sure I still have the CD. It's actually doubtful, but if I do, it's purely for sentimental reasons.

Weekend Update - Wedding Bells

Last weekend, Little Miss and I were in a wedding. So, Thursday, Little Miss and I drove to the airport to pick up a fellow bridesmaid. Then, we dropped Little Miss at school. We ate a quick breakfast and then three bridesmaids and the bride went to get our nails done. We also had a nice lunch and went shoe shopping - quite a lovely day. On Friday, we traveled to Pennsylvania for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. It was a nice evening. Little Miss was very good. She was very confortable with everybody.


On Saturday, Little Miss joined the ladies and got her hair and make up done. Then, she got to ride in her first limo. The women toasted with flutes of champagne and Little Miss had a juice box. Here is a picture from the limo:

We mostly just hung out at the venue for a couple of hours. There were some pictures and a lot of eyes on the weather. The ceremony was to be outdoors, but there was rain in the morning and more predicted throughout the day. As it turned out, the weather held off and never went beyond a misting during the ceremony so we got to have the wedding outdoors as well as a handful of pictures.

 

 Above is a picture of the women in the bridal party surrounding the beautiful bride.

 

Above is a picture of the cranky Flower Girl.  She didn't really nap and it was a rough day for her because we arrived to the venue around the time she would have napped so there were a few tears, but I think the peer pressure of getting to stay with all the grown-ups helped.  She didn't break down for long.  I was very proud of her.

Above is the Flower Girl walking down the aisle.  She was very good.  She walked down slowly and all by herself.  I couldn't really see her, but I heard she did excellent.  During the ceremony, she did whisper that she had to go to the bathroom so I told her to go to Husband.  She walked over to him (luckily in the second row) and he tried to discreetly escort her into the building.  Halfway down the aisle, she turned to the bride and groom and shouted "Be right back!"  I've heard from nearly everybody how adorable she was, but it isn't asadorable when it's your kid.  I was just glad she didn't announce that she had to go to the bathroom or exactly what she had to do in the bathroom.
After the wedding, we had pictures taken on the golf course.  Little Miss wanted to come because it was her chance to ride in a golf cart.  So, the groomsman was very patient dealing with me in a long dress and a toddler.  Plus, he kindly made sure the seat was dry for us which I appreciated.  While we took pictures, Little Miss decided it was her chance to run as far as she could while all of the bridal party was occupied.  She took off in the middle of the course so I had to hike up the skirt and try not to destroy the course with my 4" heels.  I'm thoroughly thrilled that Father-in-Law captured this moment on video, too.  I can still hear Little Miss's giggles.  She knows I hate to run. 

It was a fun reception.  Little Miss ate like a champ and then, before the music started, fell fast asleep.  She spent the evening with the In-Laws while Husband and I got to party and sleep late.  Then, we all went to brunch the next morning and wished the bride and groom well.  Good time had by all!

Little Miss "Reading"

Little Miss has memorized a couple of very short books about Snow White.  Last week, I videotaped her.  Enjoy!



Husband's Favorite Story

While the Husband's hockey team was still in the Playoffs for the Stanley Cup, I was talking with him.  So, I was going on and on about something wildly important and Husband's eyes were starting to glaze over while he wondered how long he had to pretend to listen before he could give the 1% of attention given to me back to the game.  So, Little Miss turned to me and said "Mommy, stop talking!"  Husband then laughed as if she took the words right out of his mouth.

Weekend Update - Mother's Day

On Friday, Little Miss had a Mother's Day Tea at preschool. It was adorable and the kids were so cute.

On Friday night, we cleaned like crazy people. On Saturday morning, I drove Little Miss to my parents' house so she could spend the weekend with them while we held our Fourth Annual Kentucky Derby Party. We played drinking games, watched the Derby, ate a lot and watched the Pacquiao/Mosley fight. A good time seemed to be had by all.

On Sunday, we went to pick up Little Miss from my parents' house. As a thank you, my sister and I took my parents out to dinner. Dinner was great and the kids were good - though restless towards the end. It was a good Mother's Day.

Miss Moon

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but Little Miss always calls the moon "Miss Moon".  It's always exciting to her to see the moon.  It's especially exciting for her to see Miss Moon during the day.  The other week, it was a big full moon so we rushed her out to the balcony to see.  She gasped and looked up and said "She's so beautiful!" 

Plays Well with Others - NOT

Little Miss rarely talks about school.  We try to prompt her often.  The other week, she was saying how two girls in her class are mean to her.  I thought this was unusual so I asked why she thought they didn't like her.  It's been so long that I'm only sorry I don't remember the exact details, but it finally came out that the little girls said "no" to her because she stole their toys.  Awesome.  So, I have the big, fat, demanding bully in school.

Weekend Update - Bowling

Two weekends ago, it was supposed to be a quiet weekend, but we ended up doing quite a bit. I'll see if I can jog my memory and remember what we did. On Friday, I met a friend after work for a drink and a movie.


On Saturday, Little Miss and I went to my parents' house, I believe. If I recall correctly, the kids played very well together. It was a quick visit. After, we went grocery shopping and head home.

On Sunday, we met Brother-in-Law and Nephew to go bowling! The kids had a blast. Little Miss loved it and wanted to stay.

Movies Watched in April 2011

1. Kick-Ass
2. Tangled
3. Easy A

Not a bad movie month. I watched Kick-Ass just for Hit Girl's purple wig and want one so badly. I thoroughly enjoyed Tangled even if Little Miss wouldn't sit through even the opening with me. I enjoyed Easy A quite a bit and laughed out loud in parts. I had lowered expectations for Water for Elephants so wasn't terribly disappointed in it. The adorable elephant made up for a few of the shortcomings, I suppose.

Books Read in April 2011

1. The Guy Next Door by Lori Foster, Susan Donovan and Victoria Dahl
2. Rock Hard by Olivia Cunning
3. Night Road by Kristin Hannah
4. Dark Horse by Kate Sherwood
5. Ryan's Return by Barbara Freethy

Good thing I read a lot last month! I've read almost nothing this month. Fun month - lots of quick reads with only Kristin Hannah to act as the heavy dramatic read.

Go the F to Sleep

Just ran across this article. I'd love to link it, but this is a somewhat family-friendly site and the link doesn't censor. The site does censor the cover so here is the picture. I think it sounds amusing if it's in the correct hands. I'm sure many parents identify with the author's story.  The article linked does have the backstory and author's inspiration (if you couldn't figure that one out already).

Weekend Update - Food

There had to be a post on food, right?

First, we had brunch when we got back from church. Husband and Little Miss made us all yummy pancakes. We had cheese and crackers, scallops wrapped in bacon, and shrimp cocktail for appetizers. Then, we made pierogi and kielbasa for dinner.

I took out Grandma's china which I like to use for Easter because it's looks like Spring with its light blue flowers. I always use our regular china for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. Also, this is the one time a year I can use my Easter egg tablecloth. I've used it every year since college.

Little Miss didn't want any Polish food so she got chicken nuggets and cheese. She was kind of melting down so I was happy if she just sat at the table with us.

For dessert, we had some Polish desserts that Husband baked with his dad. We had nut bread, Babka and chruściki. We were all stuffed but in a good way, not a Thanksgiving way. Back to the grindstone this morning. Mondays are always such a rude awakening.

Weekend Update - Easter

Little Miss woke up early on Easter. So, we had time to do an egg hunt. She found 12 plastic eggs left by the Easter Bunny and filled with chocolate or coins. She'd open an egg filled with coins and then had to put the coins in her bank. Then, she'd come back and find another egg. This went on for quite awhile. Then, she opened her presents from the Easter Bunny. She got a pirate puzzle, Hungry Hungry Hippos, 2 t-shirts (one of which is below with Snow White) and some candy. We got dressed. She wore some nice jewelry like a big girl and added her Mardi Gras beads. We head to church. We got to church about a half hour early to get a seat so, by the time the service started, she had crawled up into my lap and had fallen asleep. She slept until Communion where she went up with Husband. She was very excited to have her grandparents with her on Easter.

When we got home, we changed her out of her dressed and into her new clothes. She accessorized herself. We had a nice brunch and then snacked on appetizers before the main course. In between, Little Miss kept us all amused by playing with her toys and running all around.

Below is a photo of our big girl. She made bunny ears in school. She wore them just for one photo, but I can't get over how big she looks.

Weekend Update - Good Friday

Last Friday, I took the day off of work to spend time with my extended family. Little Miss and I met Mom, Dad, Sister, Nephew, Aunt, Uncle and Youngest Cousin in the city. We first went to Madame Tussauds. Little Miss posed with Teddy Roosevelt's teddy bear, Bob Woodward, Calvin Coolidge, astronauts, and other wax figures. I think she was unimpressed, but she was a good girl.

After the wax museum, we all went to Union Station for a late lunch.  Little Miss wanted plain pasta and, by the time I came back with it, she had fallen asleep.  She did eat a little and woke up in time to get into a cab  and head to the White House.  The cousin wanted to see it so we took a cab.  Most of the back of the White House was hidden by the Egg Roll setup, but we got to see the front of the White House which I haven't seen in awhile.  The weather was absolutely beautiful (NOT) and Little Miss stole my umbrella so I got a tad bit damp.

Later, we made it back to Mom and Dad's house. The kids ate dinner and played while the adults got take out. It was a nice evening, but we all welcomed bedtime! In the morning, Aunt took Little Miss downstairs and gave me some extra sleep which I definitely appreciated. Then, there was a nap and an Easter scavanger hunt. We dyed eggs and made sock puppets. Plus, at one point, Little Miss was in the other room. I thought she was hanging out with Mom, but it turns out, she was having a tea party with the cat. Poor kitty was just trying to take a nap and he was being force fed tea.

Husband came out for dinner with my side of the family and then we head home to prepare for Easter at our place with the In-Laws.

The Fruits of our Labor

After all of the work last weekend, we had to give the food a trial run to see if it was worthy of company. So, for dinner, we had pierogi and kielbasa.

Easter Eggs

Tonight, we dyed Easter Eggs. This is the first time that Little Miss has done a lot of it herself. She placed the dye in the mugs, helped fill the mugs with water, and placed the eggs in the mugs. She probably would have done more by herself if I let her, but I kept seeing disaster so there was more supervision than was probably necessary. She did a great job and really seemed to enjoy herself.  Below are the final eggs - we would have had 12, but we lost one in the boiling stage so pardon the hole in the display.

Pierogi

As I mentioned in the Weekend Update, we made pierogies last weekend - 202 to be exact. Here is a picture-by-picture demonstration of the different steps. First, make the dough. This is Husband's job - the dry ingrdients, the well for the eggs and wet ingredients.

Then, he rolls it out and then rolls it out and then rolls it out until it's paper thin.

Next, he uses a coffee can to cut uniform circles.  This used to be my job when we had more people to the assembly line.  It's a good job for a beginner - or child.

Then, he takes the filling he made earlier out of the fridge.  It's a mashed potato and cheese mixture that tastes delicious all by itself.  Seriously.  I know this because I got to eat it with a spoon to "see if it tasted ok".  Now, we begin my part of the process.

I get to take 1/2 teaspoon of the filling and place it into a circle-shaped piece of dough.  The picture below has a beginning pierogi which was filled with like a Tablespoon of filling.  I adjusted and then adjusted more through the process.  I forget that I should fill like a normal person and not fill with as much filling as I would enjoy.

Then, I folded over to make a half circle.  I press the edges together and crimp with a fork. 

Then, I'm done and there's a perfect pierigi - only 201 to go!  Below is the first tray ready to be frozen.

We freeze them in sheets and, once frozen, put in freezer bags.  When it's time to eat, we drop the frozen pierogi into boiling water and then pan fry them with butter and a little garlic salt.  (By "we", I mean, the boy serves them that way.  I just wait for them to hit the plate before my involvement.)  It took us a full day, but it wasn't that rough of a process.  We got an incredibly late start.

Weekend Update - Drinking, Cooking, and Napping

The title certainly sums up my weekend. On Friday, after work, I went to a Happy Hour which was a lot of fun. The cosmos were much appreciated after such a long week.


On Saturday, Little Miss woke up and begged Husband to wake up with her. So, he did. He made her breakfast and brushed her teeth while I got to sleep an extra hour or so. It was glorious for everybody. Also, Little Miss informed us that she did not want me to wake up and be with her. Who am I to argue? Late morning, we drove Little Miss to the In-Laws' apartment so we could do some baking for Easter dinner. We went grocery shopping and then started preparing and freezing 202 pierogies. It was a long day, but they came out well, I think. We'll know definitely next week when we eat them (well, some of them).


On Sunday, Husband woke up with Little Miss again. I joined them for pancake breakfast. Then, we got ready to go to Kielbasa Factory to pick up some kielbasa for Easter. Little Miss was given a lollipop (which you can see above) which she loved. When we got home, Little Miss and I took a nap which brought us right into dinner and bath time.

We Couldn't Be More Proud

The other morning, Little Miss was trying to work the remote control. She was unsuccessful. So, she handed it to me and said, "Screw it! I'm going to go play. Excuse me." Mouth open, I asked her to return to me and repeat what she just said. She looked at me wide-eyed and said, "Excuse me." I said, "Before that." At this point, she thinks she's in trouble so the eyes start welling up and the mouth starts to quiver. So, I assure her that she's not in trouble. It is her first offense. She already knows I'm not happy so I was feeling a bit lenient. She whispers "Screw it." I asked where she heard that phrase before and she said "I don't know" which is her common answer to confrontation. So, I followed up and asked if she heard the phrase from Mommy or Daddy just to cover all bases. She said no. I said that it is not a phrase for little girls to say and asked if she understood. She nodded.


Later that night, I asked her again if she was supposed to say those words and she said "NO, never". Then, I asked where she heard the words again. Sometimes, if she's in trouble or thinks she is, she'll clam up and it takes some time to get the real answer from her. So, she looks at me and says "Nanny!" Now this is definitely not true. My mother rarely curses and, if she does, it has never been that phrase. So, I tell her that I don't think that's the truth and realize that our moment of truth has passed. Then, I immediately call my mother to let her know that she is a bad influence on my child.


Note: all laughing has been done away from Little Miss so she is not encouraged because next time she will know better and will get punished.  Privately, I am pleased she used the phrase in the correct context. 

Weekend Update - Family, Friends, & Chick-Fil-A

Last weekend, we babysat our little nephew. Little Miss was a teeny bit jealous to share her parents and her toys. At one point, she had a little tantrum at which point her little cousin just looked at her and laughed. It was kind of funny. Husband took Little Miss grocery shopping while I stayed home with Nephew. Then, when he came back, we switched and he watched Nephew while I took Little Miss out for lunch.

Little Miss and I met my friends at Chick-Fil-A after which we stopped in at Coldstone to pick up some ice cream. Little Miss has been enjoying our monthly trip to the ice cream shop to get her favorite blue ice cream. It's Cotton Candy flavored and looks absolutely disgusting, but she loves it. Husband left when we returned to hang out with the guys, but it was a fairly easy afternoon. Little Miss took a nap while Nephew and I hung out. Then, the In-Laws came to pick up Nephew. There was dinner and bedtime. Pretty low-key evening.

On Sunday, Little Miss had some Daddy time and then we head out to my parents' house. Little Miss had some time with the cat who was so good with her. Sister and Nephew metus there later. The kids had fun playing Tag and running around. Then, my mom, Little Miss and Nephew drove to the mall so I could pick up some lipstick while Clinique was having its Bonus Gift promotion. It was definitely a fun day. Little Miss fell asleep going home, but we managed to squeeze in a bath before bedtime.

Then, on Monday night, we went into peek in on Little Miss before heading to bed and found her in the position above. Lately, she's been sleeping in the oddest positions. This is one of the odder ones but not the oddest. She gets very angry if you try to stretch her out so we usually leave her. It's cute and reminds me of how she slept as a baby in the crib with her diaper-covered bottom right in the air.