« December 2007 | Main | March 2008 »
January 24, 2008
Perfect Pancake Puff?
So I think it's time to tell my Perfect Pancake Puff(TM) story. Let it be known that my favorite commercials on television are the "end of the world" commercials. You know, "Has this ever happened to you?" And then all the Tupperware comes cascading out of the cabinet. Or the scissors totally mutilate the photograph. Or the spaghetti getting strained goes all over the stove and drips down the front. The actors in these commercials always throw their arms up in the air like it's the End of the World. Which is why we call them "End of the World" commercials.
The Perfect Pancake Puff(TM) seemed like it was going to be one of those, but then it wasn't. It made… well, Perfect Pancake Puffs that look so delicious that I was drooling watching the commercial. Then they surprised me with glee by making Perfect BROWNIE Puffs. And Perfect CORNBREAD Puffs. Amazing. So I mentioned that I'd love a Perfect Pancake Puff(TM) for Christmas.
And it's important to note that when you ask for something for Christmas and your 5-year-old hears you, it will not be forgotten, since clearly Christmas is the very most important thing in the whole wide world and what you ask for, you should get. So for Christmas, the kids got me a Perfect Pancake Puff Puff(TM).
I read the directions and one morning, decided that it was time to make the perfect breakfast. The breakfast of champions (but without the nasty Wheaties). The breakfast to end all breakfasts. The breakfast that was going to make us wish that every meal was either breakfast or could be mutated into a Puff-like product in our Perfect Pancake Puff(TM).
I mixed up the batter and heated the pan (making sure to slip on the CompleteWithEverythingSeenHere Professional Handle Cover, which is really a teeny tiny pot holder that fits over the handle and then gets lost in the cupboard until you are just throwing things around the kitchen because, really, you can't make Perfect Pancake Puffs without the Professional Handle Cover, now can you?). I brushed the pan with butter using the CompleteWithEverythingSeenHere Pastry Brush (which lost some bristles in the brushing). I filled the CompleteWithEverythingSeenHere Sugar Shaker with some powdered sugar in anticipation of our Perfect Pancake Puffs (the lid kept falling off, but who doesn't like a pile o' sugar on their pile o' puffs?). I debated using the CompleteWithEverythingSeenHere Gourmet Flavor Filler, but we didn't have anything fun to fill them with so I tossed that flimsy plastic syringe like product in the Drawer of Doom (things that we have for the kitchen that we really don't understand or use).
Then I poured them up. Perfect Pancake Puffs! On the way! Coming right up! They puffed and browned and looked like… semi-perfect pancake puffs! WOO HOO!!!
I picked up a CompleteWithEverythingSeenHere Flipping Stick and pondered its use. While the little puffy things looked a bit cute, they were in reality PANCAKES. How do you flip a pancake with a tiny stick? I figured they must know, since they do it on TV. So I tried. It POKED the Perfect Pancake Puffs, but didn't do anything other than that. I tried a few times, but the poking continued. Then I tried a spoon. Still didn't budge. So instead of looking like this:
My perfect pancake puffs looked like this:
Now the sound of the phrase "flipping sticks" has totally changed.
Posted by Debbie at 08:33 PM | Comments (3)
January 23, 2008
Webkinz, Baths, and Beyond
I have a Perfect Pancake Puff story for another day (remind me), but in the interim, here are the notes I've taken to regale everyone with cuteness.
William: Day Day, bath?
Marc: No bath for you, Will. That's Sister's bath.
William: (screaming crying tantrum from the depths of hell)
Marc: NO, WILL. STOP! That is not your bath, okay?
William: (quietly and sadly) 'Kay. (pause while his face goes back to normal from Demon Child Face and looking at me sweetly). Momma? Bath?
On Christmas Eve, we pulled up the Santa Tracker. For those of you without children, it's a website that tracks where Santa is throughout the evening. He jumps around a bit, but every once in awhile you can click on a video of him that shows actual video of Santa going in and out of chimneys or flying through the air with the reindeer. This apparently goes over well with children of all ages (me), but if you have a daughter who is trained by a master movie watcher (Marc), she will say loudly, "Why is Santa computer generated and not on real video like on You Tube?"
Speaking of Christmas, did I write about it? We had a great one, but it flew by. We spend Christmas Eve with the Spencers at Mom's and then Christmas Day at home. It was all relatively relaxed and non-stressful.
We got more Webkinz for Christmas (okay, Signa did) and now we are obsessed with them (okay, I am). They are stuffed animals that come with little codes and you go online and you register them and then you get to play with them like Sims only they don't die or pee on the floor like the Sims do. They just are happy and gleeful at you when you do stuff. And every day you can do stuff to get more pretend money to buy more pretend stuff for your Webkinz (we have 9 now). It's supposed to teach saving up for things, etc. but instead I think it's teaching Signa that if you get Momma into something, you get 9 of them and counting. Oh, and that Momma will get up early every morning to do all the daily things on Webkinz.com to get you all the pretend money that you need to furnish the room for the horse in a complete western theme...
Signa went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago. I didn't go, so when she told me about it later, she said that the dentist informed her that her teeth were "this close" to being loose. And she held her hands up and apart an exact distance, checking and rechecking against her memory of how far apart the dentist's hands were. Like it was a science. She's VERY excited about losing teeth. Marc and I are going to take up drinking to get through the horror of pulling them out that we know is coming "this soon."
Now the not-so-cute. Will was sick a few weeks ago with a fever and cold-like symptoms that quickly turned to sores all over his face. We took him to the doctor and he had cold sores in his throat and mouth. Painful and disgusting. It was so sad to put him on antibiotics, as Signa has still (knock wood) not needed them. But I didn't want his little face or mouth infected with crud, so... you do what you must.
We just got back from a quick trip to Oregon. We spent 3 nights at a great hotel that we love. We went to dinner with Dad and Molly the first night and just relaxed in the room. On Saturday, we went to the mall where they have a great store with home schooling curriculums and so we got a carload of crap for that. Then we searched for snow to play in, but we went from nothing to Mt. Ashland and no where to just frolic in the snow. So we went to Hometown Buffet and stuffed ourselves stupid instead. Sunday was spent at Signa's favorite place in Oregon (only because she doesn't remember the safari place very well) - the science museum. We love it there, too and I think were there for 4 hours or so. Then we went and ate again at the Chinese place we like there. Then it was time to come home on Monday after a quick bite to eat with Dad. It was a quick trip, but really relaxing and fun. I love to be with Marc and the kids, especially when I also get to be with my dad (and Molly!!!).
Will is absolutely a Grampa's boy. He doesn't want anyone else, including me, when Dad's around. It was funny to watch, as he's just not like that with anyone else in the world. He calls him Neeno and whenever Dad was talking to someone else or doing something not Will-related, William would grab Dad's face between his tiny hands and physically turn Dad's head towards him. So funny.
And at dinner at the Chinese place, Signa exhibited her love of pot stickers by announcing, "Can I please have the last three pot stickers?"
The end. For today.
Posted by Debbie at 03:39 PM | Comments (1)