Yesterday was my birthday and it was fabulous! Hubs and The Boy got me some awesome pressies, I had lunch with a friend and went on a mini-shopping spree and it was even vaguely Autumnal in So Cal.
All good things.
Then the family and I went out for some Mexican food for my birthday dinner. Now, The Boy has been cutting his canines and his usually cheerful demeanour has been soured a bit, especially in the evening.
He made it through dinner well, but started getting antsy after Hubs had ordered me a birthday fried ice cream. So Hubs searched the diaper bag for The Boy's shoes so he could go for a walk(we don't leave his shoes on since he either eats them or removes them, or both). He couldn't find them so I stepped up inhaling my ice cream, but The Boy was relentless, so Hubs took The Boy out for a walk - barefoot. We were inside and Hubs was holding The Boy's hand, and keeping a keen eye on the floor lest The Boy encounter anything sharp or unsavoury that he shouldn't step on.
So, I finished my dessert and asked for the bill within a few minutes and was going to pay when this old woman - the grandmother of a family sitting nearby -said venomously, "I can't believe those people are letting that baby walk around barefoot."
Really? Really lady? I recognise it wasn't ideal, but he was supervised in a clean, carpeted place. Would you rather he had ruined the last of your dinner by screaming? Would it be better if Hubs had taken him to the cold, dark parking lot to scream while I got the bill and paid? Are you really so confident in your own parenting skills that you'd feel comfortable telling your own daughter she was wrong for giving me an embarrassed glance after your snarky scolding of me - a stranger, who's birthday dinner you just ruined?
Screw you lady, for putting a crappy ending to a perfect birthday!
Signed, Someone who is far too concerned about the opinions of others
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Please forgive me while I waste some time on the pity pot
We went to a first birthday party yesterday, The Boy, Hubs and I.
It was lovely. It was in a train museum in a park, my friend and her husband did a fantastic job getting everything ready for their little boy and my little boy had an awesome time running around and playing in the dirt.
All of my friend's friends were sweet and I got to see some folks I haven't seen in years.
It should have been a perfect day out, were it not for the fact that I was the creepy chick who sat glued to a park bench instead of the fabulously witty and social girl I'd like to be.
Everybody loved The Boy but seemed slightly bemused when they found out he belonged to me.
I took my scooter because I was worried about how far into the park the party might be, and some of the older kids(belonging to an old friend) asked 1st) if I could walk and 2nd) if they could ride my scooter. They were polite about it, and I could console myself with the thought that I didn't actually need the stupid thing, but I was still mortified.
Both situations - the isolation on the park bench and examination of my gimpy chariot - could have been avoided if I'd stayed in my scooter and moved about like a social butterfly in it, but I'm stubborn and have yet to come to terms with the fact that, on a hot day like yesterday, I'm usually incapable of comfortably standing around whilst having a chat.
So, crappity crap! It's all my fault! I'm imperfect, but I'm working on it. If I can't be the fabulously witty girl flitting about on foot, then I'll be the fabulously witty girl flitting about on wheels.
It was lovely. It was in a train museum in a park, my friend and her husband did a fantastic job getting everything ready for their little boy and my little boy had an awesome time running around and playing in the dirt.
All of my friend's friends were sweet and I got to see some folks I haven't seen in years.
It should have been a perfect day out, were it not for the fact that I was the creepy chick who sat glued to a park bench instead of the fabulously witty and social girl I'd like to be.
Everybody loved The Boy but seemed slightly bemused when they found out he belonged to me.
I took my scooter because I was worried about how far into the park the party might be, and some of the older kids(belonging to an old friend) asked 1st) if I could walk and 2nd) if they could ride my scooter. They were polite about it, and I could console myself with the thought that I didn't actually need the stupid thing, but I was still mortified.
Both situations - the isolation on the park bench and examination of my gimpy chariot - could have been avoided if I'd stayed in my scooter and moved about like a social butterfly in it, but I'm stubborn and have yet to come to terms with the fact that, on a hot day like yesterday, I'm usually incapable of comfortably standing around whilst having a chat.
So, crappity crap! It's all my fault! I'm imperfect, but I'm working on it. If I can't be the fabulously witty girl flitting about on foot, then I'll be the fabulously witty girl flitting about on wheels.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Foodie Friday
Except for a mis-step at a BBQ last weekend(I had half a hot dog), I have steadfastly adhered to the no red meat portion of my diet.
The no dairy portion, not so much. I've been good about cutting out most milk, but the cheese and yogurt are proving harder to give up.
And then there's my newest culinary adventure; I made rice pudding for the first time this week. It was done as a pumpkin delivery system, really, and it didn't turn out half bad.
It was adapted from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe, and here it is:
Pumpkin Rice Pudding
2/3 cup of Arborio rice
4 cups of milk
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 a cup of unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
Bring rice, milk and vanilla to a gentle boil then turn heat down to low.
Cook for 45 minutes.
Add pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.
Serve to hungry toddler who had previously turned his nose up at sweets, but console yourself by reminding yourself that pumpkin is a superfood.
The no dairy portion, not so much. I've been good about cutting out most milk, but the cheese and yogurt are proving harder to give up.
And then there's my newest culinary adventure; I made rice pudding for the first time this week. It was done as a pumpkin delivery system, really, and it didn't turn out half bad.
It was adapted from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe, and here it is:
Pumpkin Rice Pudding
2/3 cup of Arborio rice
4 cups of milk
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 a cup of unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
Bring rice, milk and vanilla to a gentle boil then turn heat down to low.
Cook for 45 minutes.
Add pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.
Serve to hungry toddler who had previously turned his nose up at sweets, but console yourself by reminding yourself that pumpkin is a superfood.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Walkie Wednesday
I may be having a crappy walking week, but damn my kid is gorgeous!
The Boy has been particularly ornery this week, or maybe it's just him becoming more of a boy, but it has left me exhausted. I've had to move furniture to keep him from climbing it, move all of my essentials(lip salve, cell phone, tissues) out of reach and I've had to begin to sort out yet another move of my poor books up the bookshelf - and they've already been moved as high as the back of the 3rd shelf!
My poor books.
The end result of all this moving and chasing is that Walkie Wednesday isn't so walkie. Oh well. My boy may be a daredevil, but at least he's a super cute daredevil!
The Boy has been particularly ornery this week, or maybe it's just him becoming more of a boy, but it has left me exhausted. I've had to move furniture to keep him from climbing it, move all of my essentials(lip salve, cell phone, tissues) out of reach and I've had to begin to sort out yet another move of my poor books up the bookshelf - and they've already been moved as high as the back of the 3rd shelf!
My poor books.
The end result of all this moving and chasing is that Walkie Wednesday isn't so walkie. Oh well. My boy may be a daredevil, but at least he's a super cute daredevil!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Is it too early...
To think about The Boy's schooling?
I am happy to admit that I'm a big proponent of educational activities. I got The Boy a DVD of some strange, French teaching panda when he was about 5 months old. I've been playing him French nursery rhymes and showing him flashcards in French and English for about 6 months. I'm a big fan of alphabet blocks and toys with letter buttons.
I'm a little less happy to admit that I will, most likely, be a bit of a helicopter parent. I'll try to be cool about The Boy going out into the great big world, being a regular kid and learning from his own mistakes, but I can already tell I'm going to be more involved than he might like. I never had to deal with my parents pushing me into sports(I tried almost everything, but proved to be a spectacularly bad athlete) or attempting to assert themselves too forcefully into my academic career(the PTA was anathema to them and the 80's wasn't exactly the heyday of parental involvement).
The Boy won't be so lucky. I've been spending an embarrassing amount of time looking at websites that rate schools; some that rate just high schools and some that rate entire school districts. Some that list property values in the school district. Some that rate private schools.
It's overwhelming. Part of me wishes my nomadic, anti-hipster family was already well-established somewhere so where The Boy was to be schooled was already a faite accompli, but we're still as rudderless as we were in 1999. That means where we go is wide open, yet entirely based on some weird school calculus that is way above my head.
Bah!
(And my younger self is mortified right now)
I am happy to admit that I'm a big proponent of educational activities. I got The Boy a DVD of some strange, French teaching panda when he was about 5 months old. I've been playing him French nursery rhymes and showing him flashcards in French and English for about 6 months. I'm a big fan of alphabet blocks and toys with letter buttons.
I'm a little less happy to admit that I will, most likely, be a bit of a helicopter parent. I'll try to be cool about The Boy going out into the great big world, being a regular kid and learning from his own mistakes, but I can already tell I'm going to be more involved than he might like. I never had to deal with my parents pushing me into sports(I tried almost everything, but proved to be a spectacularly bad athlete) or attempting to assert themselves too forcefully into my academic career(the PTA was anathema to them and the 80's wasn't exactly the heyday of parental involvement).
The Boy won't be so lucky. I've been spending an embarrassing amount of time looking at websites that rate schools; some that rate just high schools and some that rate entire school districts. Some that list property values in the school district. Some that rate private schools.
It's overwhelming. Part of me wishes my nomadic, anti-hipster family was already well-established somewhere so where The Boy was to be schooled was already a faite accompli, but we're still as rudderless as we were in 1999. That means where we go is wide open, yet entirely based on some weird school calculus that is way above my head.
Bah!
(And my younger self is mortified right now)
Friday, October 1, 2010
Foodie Friday
The MS diet thing is still not going well. For a number of reasons.
1. I have gorgonzola in the fridge that I've been using (sparingly) with my lunch because no one else will eat it.
2. We ran out of Almond Milk yesterday morning so I was forced to use The Boy's whole milk in my cereal.
3. It's really hard to cook for Hubs and The Boy and not use any fat, so I've still been using olive oil.
Despite those setbacks, I have been adhering to the revised MS diet I charged myself with following last week - I haven't had any red meat. No burgers or bacon or steaks. So that's progress.
So, for next week, I'll try to do a better job at avoiding the dairy and then I can really start to say I'm giving this MS diet thing a real chance.
Oh, and in related news, I'm going to try to get in a wee bit of exercise.
Take that, spare tire!
1. I have gorgonzola in the fridge that I've been using (sparingly) with my lunch because no one else will eat it.
2. We ran out of Almond Milk yesterday morning so I was forced to use The Boy's whole milk in my cereal.
3. It's really hard to cook for Hubs and The Boy and not use any fat, so I've still been using olive oil.
Despite those setbacks, I have been adhering to the revised MS diet I charged myself with following last week - I haven't had any red meat. No burgers or bacon or steaks. So that's progress.
So, for next week, I'll try to do a better job at avoiding the dairy and then I can really start to say I'm giving this MS diet thing a real chance.
Oh, and in related news, I'm going to try to get in a wee bit of exercise.
Take that, spare tire!
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