Pretzels. And the zoo. And dinosaurs made dead by other dinosaurs.

You’ll have to excuse me, because I’ve only got a few minutes.  This one will probably be all pictures.  During a bout of insanity I decided to make a batch of homemade soft pretzels.  I think it was because the children were playing so nicely with colored rice and beans in the kitchen that I thought it would be the perfect time to bake.

(Also, I’m sort of on a diet, or maybe not really a diet, just a let’s-not-eat-all-that-Easter-candy-in-one-setting-mkay?-type of thing.  I’m also trying to cut back on the amount of breadish things I eat, which may be why the recipe caught my eye when I was trying to find something for supper.  Apparently I like torture.)

But how could this entire situation end badly, right?

The bat costume has made another appearance.

 

Adele decided to dump her box of beans on the floor a couple of times, then Sebastian thought that looked like an awesome idea, but he did his slowly by dumping cup after cup of rice all over his head.  I’ve swept my floor four times.  I’m still finding rice and beans.

But it’s time for me to shape the pretzels, but I wanted to take a minute to tell you about our trip to the zoo last week. 

He insisted on having his picture taken here.

We had a perfectly lovely time, with only two small meltdowns, one from each child, that were nothing I couldn’t handle, with a little help from my mom.   

I may have over packed on the snacks.

We saw all the animals, including an orangutan who seemed to enjoy staring at people up close.  I admit it was pretty awesome, but I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as the man in the second picture wearing the hat.  He was having a moment with the animal and refused to get up and move and let small children look.  This is why I did not apologize when my children booted him to try and see the animal better.  And it wasn’t like he’d just got there.  He’d been there awhile.

But the most exciting thing we saw, and pretty much the reason we went, in Sebastian’s eyes, was to see the dinosaur exhibit.  My 8-year-old niece really enjoyed it, too.  And I admit, it was pretty cool, and would be especially neat for young kids.  The dinosaurs moved, made noise, and one even spit.  Both my kids waved to them and said hello.   

Everything was great until we got to the end of the exhibit.  This is what we saw:

Would you like a closer look?

Now, really.  Was that necessary?  I know I’m overprotective, but surely the people who made this would know that small children would be walking through and maybe the parents of those children are not ready to explain death to their 3 year old yet.  The blood was a nice touch.  As was the flailing and moaning triceratops, which just so happens to be Sebastian’s favorite dinosaur.

Assholes.

If he asks, Sebastian thinks that the triceratops got up to go find his mom.  After, of course, the t-rex killed him and made him dead. 

That was really the only negative part of the day, besides the poor decision I made to ride the carousel with my kids.  I forgot that they make me dizzy.  I did not throw up, but it took me a minute to find my head once the ride was over.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go shape a bunch of pretzels, then boil them, then bake them before Adele wakes up from her nap.

I'm kind of an idiot sometimes.

Happy Easter!

This is the best photo I could get. I pretty much sums up our morning. Notice that Sebastian has refused to dress up and Adele refuses to sit on the couch. They're holding stuffed bunnies I stayed up late sewing last night. The candy is much more exciting to them, as you'd expect.

Homemade Friday: The best granola bars in the entire world

I think this recipe might be single-handedly responsible for the five pounds I am sure I’ve gained recently, but I don’t know for sure because I refuse to weigh myself because there are some things I just doing really want to know.

It’s either these or the beer I drank all week to distract myself from the fact that Christopher was out of town again.  Also I considered it a reward since no one got the flu like last time. 

I’ve made a batch of these granola bars three times in as many weeks and they have not lost their appeal with repetition.  I’ve used smitten kitchen’s recipes lots, especially recently when I seem to be on a mission to make normally store-bought things at home, and I’ve never been let down. (Going through my archives, I realized that I haven't shown you the homemade goldfish I made, or the oreos.  Woops!)

Helpers! See the stripes?  That's Adele trying to stand on the
chair with Sebastian.  It didn't end well.

For this one, I was looking for something to make for a new mom who already had two daughters before her new little boy arrived.  I figured she’d need something quick and satisfying and nutritious and easy, since more than likely she’d only have half a hand to grab a bite to eat.  Plus I’d been wanting to find a good granola bar recipe anyway.  I think they are a nice thing to have around for an easy snack, be it late night waiting for your husband to get home from his business trip already, or midday when you need a pick-me-up because it’s been nonstop children for years it seems like and all you want to do is have a quick lie down but there’s no way in hell that’s going to happen for HOURS yet.  I’ve also used them for breakfast with fantastic results.  (Those results being I thoroughly enjoyed eating it and it lasted longer than a piece of toast or a cup of coffee.)  (Yes, I do have plans to give them to the children.  When I can stop eating them myself.)

So I was excited when I found this recipe online.  It sounded easy and delicious.  And it was.

I baked these first in an 8x8 pan, but the center wouldn’t set before the edges darkened too much for my taste, which may be the fault of my oven.  I had better results using a 9x13 pan.  She offers suggestions on her website on how to avoid the crumbling when you cut the bars, which I kind of wish I’d read beforehand.  I believe I’ve mentioned that I have a hard time reading an entire recipe.  I don’t know what my problem is either. 

For my bars I used walnuts, pecans, raisins, dried blueberries, cranberries and cherries, and dark chocolate chips.  I didn’t have any coconut, but I think that would be delicious.  I also made them one time using the 2 tablespoons of corn syrup, but that was all I had so the other two times I made it I just used all honey.  I didn’t notice a difference.

Highly recommended recipe.  You should make them.

(Would it be easier if I posted the recipe here instead of just linking to it?  I never know if I should do that as it’s not technically my recipe.  But maybe since I link to it it wouldn’t be a problem?  Anybody know?)

We mesh well, you know? He’s a part of me.

Please to be enjoying this scanned photo of a
scanned photo.  It's the first one ever taken of us. 
I used a self timer.

I was busy today, which in all honesty doesn’t happen that much.  Usually I’m begging (in my mind) for someone, anyone to come and speak adult talk to me or say something interesting, so I can say something interesting back.

Although, at this point, when someone says something interesting to me I return with “My kid ate broccoli today!”

I’m a confined, stay-at-home mother, is what I’m saying.

But anyway, today I had not one, but two visitors!  My friend Laura, who lives about 30 minutes away, had to take her daughter to the doctor and so decided to come and visit beforehand, then decided to come back after, too.  It was a fantastic visit.  Sebastian had a blast with ‘My best friend, Kaylin!” and I had a blast with Kaylin’s mama.  Adele was only a little mean, then she took a nap and so wasn’t there to smack anyone in the face anymore, or bop her brother on the arm with a little metal play pan.

(I’m still hoping that she’ll outgrow this stage soon.)

But in the middle of this visit, my mom also came over.  She hardly ever makes it this way, mostly because she works about 150 hours a week at work, then comes home and volunteers for all sorts of church-related stuff.  Also, she’s making my cousin’s fiancé’s wedding dress, which is why she was in the neighborhood.  She needed sewing supplies.

Since my mom is off all this week, she’s taking us and my nieces and nephew to the zoo tomorrow, which should be especially exciting since they have a dinosaur exhibit and Sebastian is currently obsessed with them.  That is, of course, when he’s not obsessed with his NEW! BATMAN! UNDERWEAR!  He’s easy to please, at least.

But, as it’s April, I thought we were ready for another one of my journal entries.  And I have a special treat for you.  Yes, you get a glimpse into how Christopher and I met.  This is the first time he’s ever mentioned in my journal and you are welcome.  And even though this one is a little more recent, it is no less embarrassing.  Actually, I think it might be more embarrassing.  Yes.  Definitely more.  Also, I hope you enjoy the one, continuous paragraph.  It makes reading easier, no?  It takes care of those pesky pauses and changes of thought, or whatever.

(Here’s the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, if you are so inclined.  At some point I will try to figure out a way to put a category on my sidebar to make it a little easier to scroll through, but I am computer illiterate and that may never happen.)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7/8/99 (12:09 a.m.)  (Two days away from my 18th birthday!)

I just had one of the worst days of my life.  I got called into work 4 hours early, so I worked 12-9 bagging.  (Present-day Jaime says I worked at a small grocery store called IGA.  It was fun, until it wasn’t.)  I’ve been working so much, and so hard lately, that I’m exhausted.  Anyway, I had to put out frozen backstock & I knocked over a big metal shelf-like thing full of ice trying to get to the backstock.  Then I had to face frozen & dairy so my hands were numb.  Then I got hit on twice by one guy who was high or drunk & by another one who thinks I have a body that won’t quict.  What the hell does that mean, anyway?  Then I ripped a huge hole in my jeans from waist to mid-thigh, so my ass was hanging out for everyone to see.  Fun, Fun, Fun.  I really hate work now.  I’m never in a good mood there.  I’m tired.  I’m in love, though.  Where did that come from?  I don’t know, I just want to write about him.  His name is Chris Thomas (Name not changed because he is far from innocent!).  We mesh well, you know?  We go good together.  Let me explain.  He saw me playing guitar at the Town by the River festival.  He thought I was interesting, & he watched me.  This was in late August or early September.  Anyway, He kind of had a crush on me.  I didn’t know anything about it.  It wasn’t like he was focused completely on me, though.  Then for Valentines day the whole school took a quiz to see who you were most compatable with, and he was first on my list.  I was like second or third on his list.  (See how nonchalantly I put that in there?  And did not include my burning jealousy at whoever was top on his list?  It shows I lied to my journal just as much as I lied to myself.)  We sat beside each other at this Army band concert @ school.  Actually his best friend Karsten (Also not an alias.  Also not innocent.) made him sit there because of his crush.  That same day he came into IGA & walked in, walked around, then left. He said he was going to strike up a conversation & ask me for my number, but he had only brought a dollar with him.  His friend Jeff Higgs (Not alias. Not innocent.)  saw me at work & told Chris where it was.  Then I found out he liked me.  I got very 7th gradish.  He had Mr. Reynolds for second block, so I would go in there to “work.”  It was stuff I needed to get done, but it got done a lot sooner than it normally would have.  I kept calling myself a stalker & laughing @ myself for it.  Everybody teased me.  Finally I got up the courage to talk to him.  Actually, Tawny made me.  She gave me the idea to find his fourth block class & talk to him.  And so I did.  I love Annual Staff!  I just went to the office & said I needed to find a student & they gave me his class.  I told his teacher I needed to see him for Annual Staff.  The first thing he said to me was “Are you stalking me?”  I was so nervous, my legs were shaking!  I told him that I had heard he was interested in me, then I got interested & if he still was did he want my number?  He did.  His hands wer shaking!  I talked to him on a Monday, then the Tuesday of the next week he asked me out.  It was March 16.  We’ve been together almost 4 months.  I love him so much, I just don’t think I can describe it.  He’s a part of me.