February 19, 2013

  • A Surprising Day

    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    Looks like the weatherman screwed up again.  Our weather was really nice today.  It was sunny and got up to the mid 50's again.  That meant Chewlee got to go outside and play for a bit.  She could have played outside more but she never did get a jacket from her mother taken to school.  Her mother never showed up with her backpack or folder either.  I didn't let Chewlee play her NickJr. games either because I had no way of knowing if she had deserved a smiley face or a squiggly one.  That's why having her backpack with folder is important.

    Chewlee never argued about it at all.  Plus, a little later, one of the Beast's friends from church came by with his youngest daughter, Alyia so they got to play together for an hour and a half before heading home.  This is the friend that thought he was having a heart attack but it was fragments of buckshot from many years back that had been left in place due to their location that were moving and creating pain for him.  He's due to go back soon since the infection that the surgeon found is now gone and the rest of the fragments can be removed.

    What I thought was cute was Alyia actually showed (and helped) Chewlee how to make her bed.  That's a chore Alyia has to do every day and it bothered her that Chewlee didn't do hers up.  Of course, Alyia is two years older than Chewlee but Chewlee liked to do it with her.  They did a great job, too.  I was very surprised but pleased when Chewlee insisted I had to come see.  I praised them both.

    Chewlee actually took a much shorter bath than usual when she had been told that it was later than normal and she would have to go to bed right after her bath.  When she heard she COULD have time to stay up if her bath was shorter, she complied.    I think it may have been her fastest bath ever.  She got in and started washing.  She cracked me up at how she washed under her arms because she said *she had stink under them*.   I don't think I have ever smelled a child her age *stink* except for a dirty and sweaty head.  Have you?  I DID say her age, remember. 

    She is now reading her own bedtime story.  I lay there with her while she reads and I help with the *big words*, as Chewlee calls them.  I help her sound them out and it won't be long before she will know them by sight.  There are only a few in her favorite book to read, like *actually* (that one pops into mind easily).  But after she read her story, a few kisses here and there (face, neck, ears, forehead and quite a few giggles), she settled down under the covers.  I had to adjust her nightlight (a Dora one that you can direct to a ceiling or wall) since Alyia had been playing with it much to Chewlee's surprise.  **Why would she play with that?*  I told her that maybe Alyia had never seen one like it before.  Ya think?  Anyway, Chewlee fell soundly asleep within about 15 minutes.    Guess she had a full and busy day.

    The Beast went to put my door up and rediscovered the fact that the hinges have to go on a special way.  He does this every time with a door and poo-pooed my attempt to tell him what was wrong.  But he did, finally, do what I had told him had to be done and the door went back on easily.  He did need my help for just a minute since it's hard to balance the door while attempting to put the pins in place.  But I have my door back up now so I don't feel so exposed and I don't have to listen to the Beast's TV blaring since his hearing is so bad.  It's always a shock to me when I turn on that TV and the volume is so high it hurts my ears.  Sheesh!  I really have to get him into an ear doctor and have his hearing tested.  In reality, it's probably cheaper to take him to a Beltone store for one of their free hearing tests and the hearing aids they have are both smaller and much cheaper than an ear doctor offers.   The Beast is nothing if not vain.  He would balk at a hearing aid that was big and could be seen easily.

    The Beast made an interesting casserole tonight.  It consists of some browned beef, some canned chili, some Fritos and some shredded Mexican 4-cheese blend cheese easily found in any food store.  His problem was he doesn't read directions well and he put the cheese on top when he put it in the oven so he ended up taking it out before it had heated up enough.  The recipe he read (and thought he memorized) called for the three ingredients to be layered (not the cheese) and it was supposed to heat in the oven for about a half hour I believe (I saved the recipe, didn't memorize it) and then the cheese was to be put on top and left in for an additional 10 minutes or just until well melted but not browned.  When I ate some, I ran into a LOT of cold spots (the cans of chili were COLD due to the weather and the fact they had been out in the garage) but had to admit, it was very good if a bit salty.  I think if I made it, I would add some drained, diced tomatoes to it to add just a little more flavor and cut the saltiness.  I think the Beast salted the ground beef he had browned, not think that the Fritos were salted and there is a lot of salt in the Mexican cheese blend, as well as the canned chili.

    Love you all.  Gotta jump in the shower before I hit the sack.  I wanted to shower earlier but then we had company and that put me off my normal routine.  Hope you have a great week and a good Hump Day.