Her First Movie Ever

I  took Mads to her first ever movie theater experience with our friends sans WZR. We saw The Princess and the Frog. Mads dressed for the occasion in her Cinderella dress with a crown. She wanted to wear her princess heels, but I drew the line there.

The theater was actually pretty empty, but it was small enough so as to not overwhelm her. Our friends got popcorn and she had some candy; the eating part was what she relished most of all. Otherwise I think she just felt like she was watching tv, but with other people.
Now, about the movie: it was cute. The voodoo stuff was a little over the top, actually, somewhat scary. Like most Disney movies, there is love, death, and lessons to be learned. Overall, it was a good movie with some catchy tunes, but there were a couple of areas that required some thought. I don’t think Mads cared one way or the other, but as an older viewer, I have some questions:

1. How did Prince Naveen get changed into a frog? Like he said, one minute he’s dancing and the next he’s a frog.
2. Why didn’t Charlotte just front Tiana the money for the restaurant?
3. Did Tiana still live with her mother? The scene showed Tiana as a little girl leaving her room and coming back as an older Tiana. Then her mother shows up at the restaurant-to-be with Tiana’s father’s cauldron as a gift.

Ok, I’ll stop asking questions. As my husband would say, “It’s a movie.” I like that there’s a new princess in town, though.

Our Gingerbread House

Our friends invited Mads to a gingerbread house decorating workshop at a candy store, Sweet Rexie’s, for her birthday. I’ve never actually done that myself, but thought that was a great idea. We arrived first, but I got a look from the salesgirl when I walked in with Mads and WZR, who was in a stroller. There was no warm greeting by any of the staff. In fact, I was pretty much ignored. Ok, am I supposed to know where to go for this shindig? I’ve never stepped foot into the store. There were also 2 doors visible so naturally I thought it might be in one of the rooms. Finally I asked where we were supposed to go for the workshop. A different girl smiled and told me to follow her. She led us to the back of the store where there was a table with 2 families already decorating houses. This cramped space was also not very inviting. When our friends finally arrived, we got to work. While help was offered, I think there should have been better instructions, like to stick the candy onto the house, apply the icing glue onto the candy, stick it on, and then let go. She did say, the less icing you use the faster it’ll dry. Anyway, I also felt like we had to fight for the candy. We had to share bowls of candy with others, so we ran out of things pretty quickly and we had to pretty much beg for more. Mind you, they boasted about “lots and lots of candy from the giant candy wall.” Ideally, we’d be able to walk around with our own bowls and select our own candy. Again, it was emphasized that we had to share the meagerly-filled bowls of candy that they suggested. I shamelessly requested candy that I saw on the other girls’ houses. Frankly, unless they move some of the displays around, I don’t see how they can host birthday parties in this new location. The old one seemed more spacious from the pictures. In any event, we finished and shopped for candy. Yes, they have a large selection, but it goes by the pound, $9.99 a pound. Jellybeans and sour candies that I like are not worth this much money. I found them at Fresh Market’s display for $4.99 a pound. Huge difference, especially when it’s very easy to fill a poundful of candy when your eyes are entertained by all the bright colors. I will give the store lots of credit for their baskets and other gift ideas, but it is not a place one would be able to frequent routinely. It’s a neat little place to visit, but you can easily drain your savings if you’re not careful. Don’t get me wrong, I think the candy store is an asset, but I just didn’t have the ideal experience.

Westport Pizzeria

Not the BEST I’ve ever had, but good enough to serve adults and children for Mads’ 4th birthday party. Even my husband ok’ed it. So I called (gasp!) and asked (double gasp!) if they would offer a discount if I gave them a large order. I ordered 10 pies and a platter of baked ziti; the guy gave me about a 10% discount. How cool is that? And although he wasn’t sure if they took Discover (I knew they did because I used the card the night before), the man who took my order said if they don’t I can write him a check or pay him next time I go in. Wow! I like local businesses! Don’t be fooled by the crampiness when you walk into the restaurant because all the chairs seem to be occupied all the time. Also, during the summer, we saw a lot of their boxes at the Levitt Pavilion.

Mike’s Pizza

I have a problem with dry food – I don’t like it. Pizza is no different; I like it with a lot of sauce. The plain pie I ordered was greasy (I used a lot of paper towels to dab at the cheese). The clam pie I ordered was not what I expected; it was mistaken for a plain pie with clam topping vs. white pizza with clam topping (this is the exception to my lots of sauce pizza rule). Anyway, I should have known I wouldn’t be happy with it the minute I placed the boxes on the passenger seat. The smell was of grease. Ok, the first slice was ok, but subsequent slices were not satisfying. The clam pizza tasted just like the plain. As my  husband put it, “it has no taste.” Of course, Mads and WZR ate it just the same. Thus, Mike’s Pizza in Westport would be fine for kids’ parties, but not for the snobby pizza lovers that we are.

Textless Tuesday

We heard a song called Bubblegum during Miss Joy’s story hour and Mads has been singing it all evening. Well, I figured it was by Amy Rogell and I was right. We have the CD and I’m sure she can’t wait to hear it over and over. Other than that, it was an uneventful day. Sometimes those are the best kind of days.

Sunday couldn’t come soon enough

Sunday couldn’t come soon enough because I’m a bad traveler. I always worry about whether or not I turned the stove off, closed the refrigerator door tightly, locked the doors, unplugged the iron, etc. Also, I do like the comfort of my home, as messy as it is. Mads, on the other hand, loves staying in hotels. We finally found out why…she likes the complimentary “color cereal” that’s served at Best Western. I used to like that particular hotel for the waffle iron, but I have one of my own now, so there’s no need to stay there anymore. Well, since we stayed at a different hotel this time, she kept asking every morning where we were going to have breakfast. There was always a look of disappointment when we said, Dunkin Donuts or Grammy’s house because fruity pebbles were not in tow. I promised her I would get some if that’s why she keeps asking to stay at a hotel. Kids sure are funny, aren’t they? And the things they remember…

By the way, the house was fine while we were away. Of course, it was, I’m just crazy.

Funny Friday

“Doorbusters” at 4 am? I think not. 30% off before noon? Ok. I don’t shop well under pressure, but we found great deals for the kids at Gymboree and Children’s Place. I found corduroys for Mads – no complaints about the button bothering her belly or potential bum cracks. Kudos to my sister-in-law, who is done with her shopping and still took advantage of the deals. One of these days I’m going to have to shop for myself sans the kids and/or the husband. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing nothing as it was raining and cold.

Other crazy terms:

• Shopportunities
• Cyber Monday

Woozy Wednesday

My husband drove us into the city today. We had plans to meet my family at Imichiu on E32nd St. to celebrate Thanksgiving and then go to the Upper West Side to a pre-Macy’s Thanksgiving parade party. The original plan was to park uptown and take the train downtown. I started getting woozy as a passenger when my husband squeezed between cars, trucks, buses, and weaved in and out of lanes. If you’ve been to NYC then you’d know how crazy aggressive cab drivers can be. To top it off, the garages were tightly packed and full. They were also already charging “event parking” prices of $40+ at noon. Down by the West Side Highway, the attendant sized us up and asked for $58!!! We ended up going down to midtown, parked in a larger garage, and paid with a coupon. Final price? $19. Only in New York!

Sweet Saturday

We had the best chocolate chip pancakes ever this morning at the Sherwood Diner in Westport. Mine are good, but these were GOOD! And BIG! So I asked my husband what my pancakes are missing and he said, “buttah.” Ok, I exaggerated a little, but it makes sense. I don’t grease up the griddle with a ton of butter. Good to know, though!

Friendly Friday

Today was a day of friendly encounters. In the afternoon, we reconnected with old friends we see monthly, but rarely get to really talk to. Mads also hasn’t played with her friends in a while without distraction. She did a good job of sharing and being nice this time. Sometimes Mads forgets that she’s not the queen of the scene. However, we did all have to be her assistant in her imaginary magic shows.

In the evening, a friend came by in her mobile house (SUV) and we made it to a Mexican restaurant for mom’s night out. There were 6 of us; one woman was a new face to me. I had a good time and enjoyed the company, as well as my food and drinks. No frantic phone calls or emails were received throughout the night, but they were still awake when I got in at 10. They did fall asleep shortly after, though.