Musical Thursday

This musical Thursday started out with a music class for WZR at the Enchanted Garden in the morning and then a free drum lesson for Mads in the afternoon. In between, I got my Glee CD from Amazon and started belting out tunes as we shuffled from place to place. I thought my Facebook status was pretty clever, and only one person understood what I was saying:

Don’t stop believing just because there is no air and you can’t fight this feeling that she’s a gold digger. I’ll just take a bow after busting your windows alone because I’m taking chances. Maybe this time there’s somebody to love or there will be hate on me. You just keep me hangin’ on so I’ll keep holding on until you bust a move, sweet Caroline. Until then, I’ll be dancing with myself defying gravity.

Yes, these are the track titles on the CD…

My Princess Rock Star

Aurora Princess Rock Star – 10/24 for Halloween Fair in Weston

Indian Princess Rock Star – 10/27 for Miss Joy’s Halloween

Cindy Princess Rock Star (minus gear) 10/29 for Boo! at Bisceglie

Mermaid Princess Rock Star Debut 10/30 for preschool party

Mermaid Princess Rock Star II and Sidekick 10/31

Every day her answer had been different, but the most frequent answer was a “mermaid princess rock star” heavily inspired by Princess Katie. Thankfully, Mads has a closetful of dresses, but we didn’t have Ariel’s outfit. Lyn came to the rescue (IOU). The rest of the outfit was easy, since she has 2 pink guitars, 5 tiaras, and a pink mike, oh, and plenty of sunglasses (wait, where are they now?). So, the concept was made into a reality during Halloween week. I thought it would be fun to dress up as a different princess every time. I didn’t get a chance to squeeze in Chinese Princess Rock Star, but she can be that for Chinese New Year in 2010. A couple of people were pleasantly surprised with the mermaid princess rock star costume.

WZR, on the other hand, didn’t have a choice in the matter, but it wouldn’t have made a difference as he was always trying to take the elephant jacket off. Maybe next year.

The lesson to be learned is, let their imaginations run wild. Your job is to create. The genuine smiles and memories that emerge? Priceless.

How many U-turns can one make in a day?

Needless to say, it was an adventure finding my friend’s house in Westport and revisiting my dentist. At least I no longer panic and just try to find driveways compatible with making turns. I missed Hockanum Road and ended up going to Punch Bowl Drive (that’s such a silly name for a road!). Then I made two U-turns on Bushy Ridge Road because I thought the corner house on Punch Bowl Drive was my destination due to the house number. Nope. So, I made my second U to go back on the road of ascending house numbers. Found it, parked, but had to go back towards Punch Bowl Drive to go to the dentist, so I made a third U. I drove past the lot for the dentist (always do) and made a U to go back. At least the appointment was uneventful. Then I drove back to my friend’s house to pick up the kids and had to make one final U. I guess that’s my record – 5 U-turns in a day.

Social Media Monday

I tweet a lot (manage 5 accounts) and even have over 1000 followers under subumom. I update my Facebook account too frequently. I have to get more acclimated to linkedin. I blog a lot. I am having fun with social media. Anyway, each of these accounts have different reasons for existing. Mostly, I maintain them to reconnect with people (FB and linkedin) and to express my thoughts (twitter and blogs). Twitter is most challenging because you’re only allowed 140 characters per tweet, and I enjoy that because it forces me to be succinct. I have also met a lot of moms, readers, musicians, and foodies through this outlet. Mind you, I do not tell people when I go to the bathroom or anything of that nature. It’s a miniblog for entries that do not warrant paragraphs.

In any case, I sometimes ask for advice on twitter, especially if it’s something my husband would probably roll his eyes about. Once I asked what I should do about the mud on my tires and got a few responses (nothing). Today I asked if anyone had ever used lens.com to order contacts. A company I hadn’t even heard of (Coastal Contacts) responded to my tweet and even told me they would be willing to match the price of lens.com. After looking at their site, I may just order from them when I get a chance. I have to call them and you know how much I like talking on the phone.

Sunday in Chinatown

It’s been a while since we’ve visited my family, so we found a Sunday free of parties and left early. Fortunately, we had an extra hour in the day so we were able to leave on time. There was no traffic and we found a free parking spot and saved at least $20 and a lot of local traffic aggravation. Construction on every street corner and a movie being filmed at night near Columbus Park was a recipe for road rage, so we parked by Worth Street. Dim Sum at Sun Shine 27 (Bowery) was pretty good. I had my share of dumplings, chicken feet, and noodles. Then we headed to my mother’s to drop off the kids for some bonding time (babysitting). It was nice to be without the kids and just with the hubby, even for just an hour. (If he reads this, he will be thinking out loud that I should find us a sitter so we can go out more.) With a mango jasmine bubble tea in hand, I accompanied my husband to get a nice haircut for $8 at China Beauty Salon (15 Doyer St.) and then we headed to Kam Man, where the dried goods are in the basement (shown below) and the perishables and snacks are on the main level. I needed more curry powder. We also got some jasmine tea pearls because my aunt in NJ told me that she got a tin can of those from there. I really liked it, but did not (gasp!) take a picture of the brand, so we had to buy it by the pound. Tea pearls are little balls of tea leaves that unravel in hot water and release their magic. Ha! Anyway, on our way to Kam Man, we did see a Chinese band on Mott Street (in front of the Chinese School) and a food vendor on Canal Street. Too bad I was full because it looked like there was good food being cooked on both sides of the cart, usually for just $1. Finally, we bought some roast pork and ginger scallion chicken to bring home for dinner. My mother took care of the other shopping earlier for vegetables and she even made soup for us. So home we went. The sunset was a happy ending to a Sunday in Chinatown.

Golly, it’s Halloween!

We put off pumpkin carving weekend after weekend, evening after evening, and suddenly it’s Halloween! Mads had soccer in the morning, but WZR and I were excused from sitting on the wet field. After lunch, we got down on our knees and started the carving, I had gotten a flimsy set of tools, but they helped, despite the main tool snapping in half. Mads had fun digging out the goo. It was a family affair, with WZR prancing around the circle while we were hard at work. The final products justified our efforts and delay.

Next, we went to a members-only party at the Little Gym, where Mads won “funniest costume.” The kids had a lot of fun tossing balls and crawling through a mountain of foam.

The Ragamuffin Parade was a little wet, but we did get to parade to the fire station, where a haunted house, ice cream, donut holes, popcorn, and coffee were waiting.

Finally, we hit Joanne Lane for some trick-or-treating. The houses are a little too far apart and the houses a little too sunken in from the road. Briar Oaks Lane had lots of kids running around in packs. We drove through Salem Road, where there were bonfires and A LOT of people, but THIS is clearly the place to be on Halloween night! This is where we will come next year. Happy Halloween!

Finally Friday

I had started out the morning very gung ho about going to either the Maritime Aquarium or Fairfield’s town center for more Halloween fun with the kids, but by 2 o’clock, I wasn’t so sure anymore. I was feeling sluggish and WZR was dripping everywhere, so I decided it was best to rest up for Saturday’s events: soccer, pumpkin carving, party at the Little Gym, Ragamuffin parade, then trick-or-treating.

I did enjoy a nice stroll and got some shots of fall colors, though. I picked up some maple leaves and put them between wax paper. I should iron them at some point.

Thorough Thursday

This has been a busy day! First I dropped Mads off then went home and took part in a 2-hour webinar to fulfill my licensure requirements. Then I did some last minute preparations for the Boo! at Bisceglie and went to pick up Mads. Off we went to Bisceglie and set up the table. It was a nice gathering of 9 moms and about a little over a dozen kids. There were plenty of snacks and treats to go around. I lined up the kids and paraded them around the tot playground, stopping at various stations for treats. It was great! After that, we cleaned up and we went to a birthday party at Kids U in Norwalk. A driving adventure in that I drove past the entrance twice going both ways. Other than that, it was fine. The party was 90 minutes and we drove home in the dark (gasp!).

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

“And you didn’t even say ‘thank you,’” the lady sneered as I walked around her car to get to my trunk. I need a bigger shopping cart. I pack things on the bottom that like to slip out when I slide the cart down the slope. Today I was holding two 8-packs of Bounty and pushing the cart. Of course, the 10-pack of juice boxes decided to slip out. The lady told me that it fell. I remember saying, “Oh” and backtracked. I also remember thinking, “couldn’t you have helped me pick it up?” Unfortunately, I don’t remember if I said, “thank you” or not, because I thought it would have been my natural response when she told me. I answered, “I did.” I was thinking, “of course, I did.” She said she was sorry, but she didn’t hear me. Eventually she drove away, but left me pondering about it all day. Maybe I didn’t? I’m sorry if I was too preoccupied to say, “thank you.” So, it was a wordless Wednesday…

Recipe: Easy Baked Turkey Ziti

What I used:

• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter (or less to grease baking pan)
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 jar of pasta sauce (I had baking sauce)
• 1 box of ziti
• 1/2 bag of mozarella cheese
• parmesan cheese

How I made it:

1. Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Grease baking dish or pan.
2. Cook the pasta according to directions on box.
3. In a pan, cook the turkey and chopped onions.
4. Add the sauce to the meat/onion combination. Mix well.
5. When pasta is cooked and drained, layer pasta in dish/pan.
6. Add half pasta sauce and spread across pasta.
7. Sprinkle mozarella and parmesan cheese on top of sauce.
8. Layer the remaining pasta and repeat steps 6 and 7.
9. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 10 minutes.

Comments: This is actually something I used to make in college, so I didn’t follow exact measurements. Came out good anyway.