It's been a very Monday Monday, so I'm going to pause and reflect on our weekend fun.
Friday night: We picked up Popeye's chicken and shared the salty, juicy, crunchy, bad-for-you deliciousness (along with a wholesome homemade salad) with our friends Jay and Kate and their kids. We all got a chance to cuddle and sniff their new baby. And apparently I'm some kind of baby laxative, because every time I picked her up she farted or pooped. Like, endlessly. After getting home and putting the kids to bed, Josh and I watched Winter's Bone (good and depressing) and I finished one of these fingerless gloves.
Saturday morning: I skipped Derby practice and Josh and I drove the kids to Navy Pier for the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. My blog got me media passes, so we checked out all the exhibits before the crowds of Monopoly fanatics tore through. Which was a good thing, because 60 minutes was about as long as my kids could last in front of hundreds of toys they could touch but not take home. I was most impressed by the Silly Band Factory (design and bake your own silly bands at home!) and the Baby GoGo doll, a gender-neutral baby doll designed to ready older siblings for a new baby.
Saturday afternoon: While our mother's helper entertained the kids, I prepped Martha Stewart's Tuna, Artichoke and Noodle Casserole for our Chavurah potluck. It was delicious, both immediately and as leftovers, but it really makes a TON of food.
Sunday morning: There was a family activity for all 1st graders at Sunday school, so I finally got to meet some of the other Temple families with kids the same age as Z. Then Josh deposited me and A at home and drove Z to yet another birthday party. It seems she goes to one a weekend, and this one was at an indoor water park in Elmhurst! While Z was gone, A and I polished all of my silver jewelry*, lunched and napped. Well, she napped and I ironed and neatened up for dinner.
Sunday evening: We had our friends Megan and Bruce and their 5 year old daughter (also Z) over for dinner. Josh made Peruvian chicken with Cook's Illustrated's oven fries. My contribution? A salad. Delicious food for delightful company. And I'm not just saying that because they brought 2 awesome bottles of wine.
I also spent part of Sunday writing Thanksgiving shopping lists. We're contributing butternut squash souffle, roasted brussels sprouts and grapes, cranberry-orange sauce, salted caramel pumpkin pie and apple crumble pie. I'm also making salad and dinner rolls or biscuits, but I haven't settled on a recipe yet.
*To shine silver jewelry, line a shallow dish with tin foil. Pour in boiling water, 2 tbsp baking soda and 1 tbsp salt. Mix to combine and put in your silver for a few minutes. Rinse pieces in cold water and buff with a soft cloth. (I learned this from The Modern Girl's Guide to Sticky Situations).roasted brussels sprouts and grapes
