Monday, June 28, 2010

Cures

Normally, my posts are about things that make me twitch. Not today. Today I am posting something that helped with the twitching...Frozen Hot Chocolate. I first heard about this divine invention on Oprah. My friend and I were tempted to find the restaurant in NY where they serve this delicacy, but we were never in the right area. Lucky for me, a magazine (Woman's Day) was delivered into my mailbox today with a recipe for Frozen Hot Chocolate. Just what I needed on a hot summer day!

Frozen Hot Chocolate

1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups ice cubes
Garnish: whipped cream and/or chocolate shavings

1. Combine chocolate syrup, evaporated milk, vanilla and ice in a blender until smooth.
2. Pour into glasses. Garnish.

ENJOY! Feel those twitches disappear.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Barnes and Noble

The other night Chance asked if I wanted to go to Barnes and Noble with him. He had heard from fellow gamers that they were selling all of their games as 75% off. (For those of you who don't know my husband, he is a big time gamer. We have several bookshelves full of games in the basement.)

I asked Arionna and Alora if they wanted to join us. They both agreed. On the way their Arionna asked if there was anything she could by with her money. I told her there wasn't because she only had a couple dollars. I told her the next time we went to Target, she could look in the dollar section.

We park and she asks, again, if she can buy something in the dollar section. No, we are at Barnes and Noble. There is NO dollar section.

Walk in, go to the game section...all games are still full price. Sigh. Look around for 5 - 10 minutes and head back home.

Oh well, at least it got us out of the house for a little bit!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Girls Sleeping in Same Room

Normally, Alora and Arionna have separate rooms. This is VERY good because they have totally different likes in their sleeping environment. Alora likes it pretty dark (just has her door open so the light in the hallway shines in a little). Arionna likes it daylight. My mom always jokes that the planes landing at the local airport are going to think it is the landing strip.

This weekend we had a full house. My parents were down for the weekend. They normally sleep in the basement, but this weekend my nephew and his two friends were also here. So, the boys got the basement and my parents got Alora's bedroom.

The first issue we had was (of course) with the lights. We compromised. We turned off the big lamp next to the bed and the flower lights on the wall .
SMILA BLOMMA Wall lamp light pink Depth: 3 " Diameter: 13 " Cord length: 8 ' 2 "  Depth: 7.5 cm Diameter: 34 cm Cord length: 2.5 m
I moved her blue light from across the room to right next to her bed. Alora felt the light coming in from the hallway was still too bright, so we closed the door to a crack. Lighting issue solved.

Later, I hear the calls of, "Mom, mom, MOM!!" Arionna wanted me to "rewind" her CD. She always listens to the same CD each night. Alora wanted a local radio station. Since Arionna had listened to the entire CD once, I put on the radio station for Alora. Arionna was sobbing that she wouldn't be able to get to sleep without "her" music. I told her we would wait 10 minutes and if she was not able get to sleep I would switch it back to her CD. I came downstairs all proud of myself because Arionna can't tell time. It was going to be a REALLY long 10 minutes...like until the next morning.

When I went up to bed I hear Arionna, "Has it been 10 minutes?" Drats! I switched on the Cd and went to bed.

Next time, I think I will have Arionna sleep on Kaylee's floor and give the parents Arionna's room. At least Kaylee and Arionna both like it daylight when they sleep!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

OSF Part V

In the middle of OSF sits a train car. There are tables in the train car. Arionna has yearned to sit in the train car for YEARS (yes, I know she is only 6).

When we were seated, Arionna was very disappointed that we were not seated in the TRAIN. I explained that to sit in the TRAIN there could be no more than 4 people at a table. But, when Kaylee went to college (is that really on 2 years away??), we could sit in the TRAIN.

Half-way through our meal, we are once again discussing the TRAIN and Alora pipes up with, "Oh, I thought it was a bus." ????? "Oh yeah, now I see the track."

Ok, so really, the "train" is a trolley car (hence the mascot of the children's menu being Walley the Trolley). But, that is not as funny...so we are sticking with train.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

OSF Part IV

Ok, so we have now all ordered. Alora ended up choosing her typical: Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithera Cheese.

Fast forward to our orders being delivered. The waiter says, "Italian Meatloaf?" This goes to my eldest, Kaylee. I was rather surprised when she orders this, because she is not a huge fan of meatloaf. She will eat it, but it is not something she would request.

She looks at her plate and states, "This isn't exactly what I was expecting."

Me: "What did you think it was?"

Kaylee: "Spaghetti and Meatballs."

??????????

Lesson: When the menu states: MEATLOAF ITALIAN STYLE
Homemade meatloaf prepared with ground beef, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese topped with marinara sauce and grilled mushrooms. Accompanied by spaghetti with Brown Butter and Mizithra cheese.

It, indeed, means MEATLOAF!

Kaylee: "But the description on the menu made it sound like meatballs."

Yes, being the good parent I am, I looked up the menu online and showed my 15 year-old the description. Yep, sounds like meatballs to me. WAY more than the description of the dish: Sicilian MEATBALLS.

The waitress must have thought we were lunatics. We were laughing hysterically each time she walked past.

Monday, June 14, 2010

OSF Part III

Ok, so Chance and Kaylee have ordered and we have established the fact that there is only one soup option...minestrone.

It is now Arionna's turn. Soup or salad. Arionna, "Soup or salad."

no, no, no. It is a CHOICE. That is why it is soup OR salad. The OR means one OR the other. Oh, our poor waitress.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

OSF Part II

For those of you who have never been to The Old Spaghetti Factory, it is an Italian restaurant (shocking, I know) that offers a complete meal: bread, soup or salad, a choice of beverage, and (my favorite) spumoni.

It is time to order. Chance starts and the waitress goes through the list: soup or salad. Chance inquires about the soup choices...there is only one... minestrone. Chance selects this and places his entrée order.

Now, on to Kaylee. Soup or Salad. "What kind of soup do you have?" REALLY??? Really, really? It didn't change in the 20 seconds it took your dad to order. It is still the same... minestrone. Yes, I was twitching.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Welcome!

I have thought of blogging for awhile, but just couldn't figure out a "theme." Tonight, while eating dinner out with my family, I figured it out! When my girls (6, 10, 15) do something that drives me crazy or just makes NO sense, I tell my husband that I am "twitching." With all that went with dinner, there was a lot of twitching going on...and the blog was born!

So, what happened at dinner? This is going to be a mini-series.
Part I
Alora (10) looked at the kids menu and said she wanted to "try" a grilled cheese sandwich. This is a child who does not LIKE melted cheese. Besides, paying for food at a restaurant is not a good time for a child to "try" a new food. At home where I have Kraft singles and a loaf of bread? SURE! Paying $4.99 to "try" it? No.
Alora then got the forlorn look on her face that many girls here age seem to wear. Being good parents, we inquired about her misery. The restaurant only had spaghetti and we had eaten spaghetti the night before (actually it had been her night to cook, so she is the one who made the spaghetti). Chance and I looked at each other and I said, "But you are the one who suggested eating here?!"
Alora responds with, "But I forgot what they have here."
The restaurant: The Old Spaghetti Factory
twitch, twitch