Loose Tooth

Oh, how I wish I could say that the loose tooth is due to one of my children losing a baby tooth. Unfortunately, it's because one child ran his head (accidentally) into the other child's mouth. 

It's Vincent. The one who already has had some trauma to his two front teeth. The first happened about 3 years ago on Superbowl Sunday. There was a slight fracture to one tooth, and bruising to the other. Today, he fractured the one that was previously bruised. He actually bumped two teeth, but the one next to the fracture tooth is fine. It bled a little, but is fine. The fractured tooth is ever so slightly loose, which is good.

For now, we do nothing. He gets to eat soft foods for the next week or so. We'll go back for another look in a month. Worse case scenario, if the pain continues, the doctor recommends we pull both of the front teeth, since they are both fractured. The point is to make sure we don't let any infections interfere with his permanent teeth. 

Of course, this happens on the day Vincent and I are planning to fly to Los Angeles. Sheesh!

The Pool

Upon hearing about the rainy forecast for this weekend, I decided yesterday that I would take the boys to the indoor pool up north today. David had plans in the morning, so we dropped him off first, then headed over. We got there early, as I planned, so that we could make sure we get in. This place fills up fast, and if you don't get their early enough, you don't get in. I'll be damned if I drive all the way there to be turned away. It's happened in the past. Not fun.

We made it with plenty of time, and paid a little extra to play in their indoor playground. The kids loved the water. It's a bit crowded in there, and you have to be within arms reach of your kids if they're under 7 years old. Since I abide by rules, I kept close to both, which is pretty hard to do. Luckily, both are tall enough now to comfortably reach the bottom of the pool. 

I got them out of the pool a few minutes before the session ended, to ensure we get a spot in the showers. I felt pretty proud of getting them showered and dressed, and then myself changed, in a reasonable amount of time. Then, I sat them down for a snack, while I bought popcorn and milk for them. Coffee for myself, too.

Tyler was still hungry when we left, so I let him get a cheeseburger at MD's. Vincent opted for chicken bites. As we got close to home, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Vincent with his eyes closed. He looked like he was pretending to sleep. Tyler was awake, but starting to drift off. Ty was trying so hard to stay awake and finish eating, while Vincent, eyes still closed, snuck a piece of chicken in his mouth. I caught him and called him out on it. He smiled, eyes still closed, and kept chewing.

Unfortunately, when we got home, while I was putting our wet stuff in the wash, I realized that I had left the boys' swim clothes in the shower room at the pool. Doh!

The Food Worker

I just finished up 3 straight days of working outside of the house.

Day 1 - Lark, 2pm-10pm. Normally, I would stay til the very end, helping with clean-up. But, I had to be up early the next day, and with Daylight Savings, I wimped out and went home early.

Day 2 - 1) Mt. Townsend Creamery, 9:30am-1pm. I got a second job working at Pike Place Market selling cheese. Sunday was my first day. 2) "Cooking Club," 3pm-7pm. This is when I get together with a few other moms and we cook up batches of food that we divide up and take home. 

Day 3 - Little Uncle, 9am-2pm. My friends own a little Thai take-out spot in Capitol Hill, and they asked me to help out with a catering gig they did down at Zillow. We were serving up food for about 350 employees. There were 7 of us, and tons of food. 

This post goes out to all the awesome people I've ever worked with in the food industry. They truly are an amazing breed of super humans. I am in awe of their commitment, drive, and endurance. I can especially say all this because I, too, was once a super human. And, knowing all that it takes to work in the food industry, leave it, and then come back to just a small glimpse of it and feel totally wiped out after only 3 days, really makes me value what they do. To top it off, they have a lot of fun, too.

Let's start with Lark. John: father, husband, chef, owner, in the process of writing a cookbook and making an iPhone app. He does all this, has a positive attitude, and people love working for/with him. The Lark cooks: work 10-12 hour shifts, go out after work, have a great time, and get up early the next morning to do a catering gig for Little Uncle. 

Next up, Little Uncle. Wiley and PK: husband and wife, with two kids, started their own business. Dedicated to food, Thai culture, each other. The aren't open on Saturdays or Sundays, but spent those two days this weekend preparing for this huge Zillow gig. After Zillow, PK runs off to cook another meal for Geena Davis, through One Pot. 

Finally, Mt. Townsend Creamery. Allyson: She's my new manager. I don't know her very well, as I've only just met her. She seems kind, driven, dedicated, and loves food. She came out to Seattle because she wanted to work for the creamery, and she made that happen. Now she runs the cheese shop in Pike Place Market, but also does all the creamery's social media stuff. 

Remember when I said I had to go home early the other night? Not these people. Up late, up early. Smiling and ready to go. 

Oh wait! And, a special shout out to my friends, Alicia and Monica: Moms extraordinaire. Their love for their children is inspiring, and my afternoon spent with them in the kitchen was so therapeutic. Thank you, thank you, ladies.

Oh my goodness! One more! David: father, husband, techie, awesome. He took charge of dinner for both evenings I was gone. Packaged pasta one night, and homemade cashew chicken the next. Both served with some "blasted" broccoli. I got to have the chicken, which was quite yummy. The spouse of a cook gets to be a super human from time to time, too.

Anny's Beauty Salon

I gave my first successful haircut today! I have attempted haircuts a few times in my life, but have not ended well. 

My first attempt was when I was about 17 or 18 years old. My ex-boyfriend asked me to cut his hair. My response was, "Um, I don't know how to." He shrugged it off, and handed me scissors anyway. I ended up having to shave all his hair off with a pair of clippers. His mom was NOT happy with us. Excuse me, Nancy Briggs, but I'm a teenager, who doesn't care if her boyfriend has a shaved head. Don't get mad at me, lady. You should've taken your son to the barber before he came asking me.

Since then, I've only used clippers to give buzz cuts to David and both my boys. 

Today, I had this weird sense of confidence that I could, in fact, cut my child's hair. I had cooked up a little plan in my head of how I was going to approach it. It involved television...of course. I told Tyler ahead of time that I wanted to cut his hair. He said, "no." Then, I told him my plan. He was on board. 

I moved the rug, laid down a tablecloth, set up a stool, and Tyler sat down. I wrapped a towel around him, turned on 'Ni Hoa Kai Lan' and went to work.

Two episodes later...

Unfortunately, I didn't get a "before" picture.