Mostly Odds

Ben a"mazes" auntie Kate with his maze skills. Yes, I did SO just go there. Pun-tastic.

* Remember how Ben is kinda accident-prone? Or just, "impulse-control challenged"? I have two more rather drastic examples. A few weeks ago I retrieved my hand mixer from the large drawer on the opposite side of my kitchen island. I left the drawer open, since I was coming back for the appropriate attachment, but I wasn't fast enough. Ben came charging out of the bathroom, and smacked his little forehead right into the corner of the drawer. Incredibly, while a good sized egg & bruise arrived rather quickly, it never actually bled.

Adam gazes adoringly at his uncle Aaron.

Unlike his foot on New Year's Day. He was trying to help make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches by getting the jelly out of the fridge - but dropped the jar. Aaron (I wasn't home at the time) thinks that the jar hit his foot first and then shattered on the tile, but either way, he had a cut about a half-inch long on the top of his foot, and also a bruise surrounding it. I have to hand it to him, though - he was pretty tough. After the initial drama, he was proud to show off his Diego bandaid.

* Recently I have decided that the only way for me to be interested in cooking (I mean REALLY interested, not just out of hunger or necessity) is to torture my kids. No more cooking only kid-friendly stuff that I know they'll eat - it's time to experiment. Not necessarily every meal or every dish, but frequently enough so that I'm not bored stiff with pasta or rice and a meat.

"Thanks for the paper dolls, Grandma!"

* Yesterday I went grocery shopping. As I was grabbing 2 bags of parsnips, a fellow shopper stopped and asked, "Can I ask what you are making that you need TWO bags of parsnips?"

Is this odd? Has anyone else ever been interrogated about their produce selections?

Anyway, I'm making parsnip pancakes tonight. Leah loves parsnips, although usually I just roast them. She also LOVES pancakes. Ben doesn't really like either too much, so I'm preparing for battle.

* Going along with the "trying new foods" project, I'm also giving time-outs quickly and frequently these days. It seems that a time-out given (usually to Ben) before we even sit down is pretty efficient - he hates being left out, AND he's hungry. I just make him try a few bites of the new/disliked food. But bedtime snack is a limited portion. "Oh, you're still hungry? I guess you should have eaten more for dinner!"

* Television is just the greatest, don't you think? How did people ever amuse themselves without it? Oh yeah - they were actually DOING stuff. Poor folks.

Anyway - we are enjoying new episodes of Castle (yay for more romantic tension! "He's all yours!") and I enjoyed the first of two parts of Return to Cranford on PBS's Masterpiece. Aaron refused to watch "that old stuff" (yes, I DID tell him that Judi Dench was in it AND nominated for an Oscar last year for her role. Somehow, that didn't impress him much.) and chose instead the second hour of the new Chuck.

When I went to the site for that PBS link above, I saw that the Emma that will be on after Cranford is a NEW adaptation! (With a blonde Emma! I just can't see her as a brunette, many apologies to Kate Beckinsale.) I will be doubly sure to tune in - and Sunday evenings after that will be booked as well, since Northanger Abbey and Persuasion will follow. I can't wait. *Sigh*

* Adam is definitely growing new hair, so his cue-ball-like state is slowly diminishing. He does not, however, like cereal or any solid food any better. This is not making his sole source of nutrition (me) very happy. On the up side, though, I have no reason NOT to eat a huge bowl of ice cream and/or five cookies.

Rolling is not going so well, either, but he is a pro sitter-upper. At seven months, we are getting a bit antsy for him to be able to retrieve his own toys, but the upright posture is a good thing.

So what odd things are going on at your house? What new food are you trying to introduce to your family?