Preschool Drama

Our life has been full of preschool drama the past few weeks. When we started out the year at Hope Creek we learned there would be a new director. We also learned that one of Kennedy's teachers was a woman from our ward. I felt good about sending Kennedy to this preschool and she LOVED the first half of the year. In December both of her teachers quit. This was not something new to the preschool. I think they have on of the original teachers from the beginning of the year.
Even though my friend quit she still substituted there on occasion. A few weeks ago we went on a ward temple trip and ended up carpooling with this woman. She gave me a bunch of information about Kennedy's new teacher that made me uncomfortable about keeping her at this particular preschool.
I wanted to find out for myself what was going on in the classroom so I met with the teacher and that made me feel better. I wondered if my friend was just disappointed that the new teacher didn't continue the same routine and activities as they had done. I was confused about what to do so I asked Kennedy what she thought. Immediately she said, "Mommy, take me out." I was a bit surprised because she has loved having time away from home doing her "own thing". I asked her why she wanted me to take her out and she replied, "Because sometimes Miss Carol yells at us."
That was the last thing I needed to hear. I meant to leave her in her class until the end of March since our tuition has been paid through the end of the month. However, when I met with the director to discuss the situation the reaction I got was not one of support but one of combative behavior. She basically invited me to not bring Kennedy back to preschool. I felt horrible. I didn't want to tell Kennedy that she was never going back to her preschool.
Last Wednesday was her last day. I didn't take her back after that. I am now doing things with her at home and she seems perfectly fine with that.
Next year we will try a different preschool.

Bread Baking Class

I had another class at Williams-Sonoma tonight. This time it was bread baking. We learned how to make brioche which can also be made into cinnamon buns. I really learned a lot from the class and how all the ingredients work together to make bread. I guess the most enlightening thing I learned was how much temperature makes a difference throughout the process. The teacher checked the temperature of his ingredients and dough several times throughout the process. It was very interesting. Of course I had to buy a digital thermometer after the class so I could come home and put to use what I had learned. At least I got a 10 % discount.

Garden

We were busy planting last week. A few weeks ago we placed an online order for some fruit plants and landscaping plants. They came last Thursday just as I was winding down a play date at our house. I spent the next three hours placing some plants in our front landscape area. I would have taken a picture but it would have looked like dirt. The roots come dormant and so there is nothing growing yet. Maybe in a few weeks. Friday we had some much needed rain. It rained all day.Last summer North Carolina experienced the worst drought in history. It seems it could rain all summer and we would not recover. Saturday was still overcast but we worked out in the yard again. This time we planted 7 raspberry bushes, 20 strawberry plants and 1 rhubarb. Again, I would have taken a picture but it doesn't look like much. We do have some peas coming up in our garden though so I know the growing power is there. I sure hope all this stuff works or it will be a lot of time and money misspent.

Night Out

I had such a fabulous night out last night. A few weeks ago I had an e-mail from Williams-Sonoma, my favorite kitchen store in the mall. It was an advertisement for some upcoming cooking classes. I almost immediately signed up. All the classes are taught by local chefs and bakers. I signed up for two classes, Italian Comfort Foods and a bread class.
I'm so thankful I have such a supportive husband. He came home from work to watch the kids. I headed off to the mall for my 2-hour class. When I got to the store there weren't many seats left. The food was cooking on the stove already so I thought I was late. Not so. The chef had everything already prepared so he could teach us some basic skills. Here are some of the things I learned:
1. Don't us Pyrex for lasagna. It's better to use a big, heavy metal pan. Reason? Glass is not a good conductor of heat and lasagna needs to be cooked clear through, especially if you use an egg in your cheese mixture.
2. Don't rinse any pasta after you cook it. Pasta was invented to have with sauce. If you rinse the starch off the pasta the sauce won't stick to it like it's supposed to. For lasagna noodles, drain off the water and lay the noodles in a single layer on a lightly-sprayed baking sheet. He said to let them dry just a little so the sauce will stick to the noodles better.
3. Don't use a garlic press--something I'm guilty of. He said that when you press a garlic clove the press takes out all the good stuff and leaves just the pulp. he said it's much better to slice the clove lengthwise and then chop it. Go figure.
4. Don't chop your fresh herbs. He said that by chopping the herbs the cut edges of the herb are damaged and will start to turn black. He used a nice, sharp chef's knife and sliced right through them.
We got to "sample" (it was more like a full serving rather than a sample) three different recipes: Lasagna, Bolognese and Meatballs. All were delicious and restaurant quality.
I had so much fun I signed up for another class in April.

Life and Science Museum

Since Monday was a holiday Kennedy didn't have preschool. My friend, Jennifer, called and asked me if we wanted to meet her and her two kids at the Life and Science Museum. Her daughter goes to preschool on opposite days as Kennedy so they don't get to play together very often.
I used to take my kids to the museum more often because Wednesday afternoons are free to Durham County residents. Now that Tristan takes one nap in the afternoon it is basically impossible to get there in time to make it worth it.
Last time we went to the museum Tristan was too little to get out and play. This time he really enjoyed it. Kennedy was interested in some older things too. They really liked the butterfly house. It really is a nice museum and they have made some great improvements since we moved here. I just might have to go back.

The Moral of the Story is. . .

"I think I just ate a booger!"
Let me back up a few steps. It was Saturday morning. I usually make a special breakfast on the weekend but we were having someone over for lunch so I wanted us to be good and hungry when our guest arrived. Thus we had cold cereal for breakfast.
Tristan and I had Mini Wheats, Kennedy had Lucky Charms and Chris had Grapenuts Trailmix Crunch. We were all done eating by the time Chris started his breakfast. Tristan was crying and fussy for some reason so Chris offered him a bite of his cereal. Tristan happily agreed and climbed onto Chris's lap.
I started cleaning up and preparing for our lunch. In the meantime, something planted itself on Chris's shirt that could have been mistaken for either a morsel of Grapenuts Trailmix Crunch or, that's right, a booger! Assuming it was the former (not even thinking it could be the latter) Chris ate the unidentified object. As described by Chris, "it was a bit too salty and gooey to be a Grapenut morsel."
The moral of the story is: Don't by cereal that could be mistaken for a booger or vice versa!

Wrong Line

I always pick the wrong line when I'm checking out at a store. It could be the shortest, fastest-moving line but as soon as I get in line something happens that slows me down. Today I went to Sam's Club. I dropped by just before picking up Kennedy from preschool so I had limited time. It was very busy for a weekday. There were probably 4-5 lines open and each line had about four people already. I picked one that seemed to be going fast. I didn't realize the lady in front of me had two packed-full carts. They were filled with breakfast-type foods: grits, eggs, sausage, etc. One cart was filled with 5-6 boxes, not cartons, of eggs. She must run some type of business. Anyway, my clock was ticking and it was minutes before I had to leave or be charged for picking up my daughter late. I thought about changing lines but by then the other lines were long enough that it wouldn't be worth it. I only had three items and was a little annoyed that the lady in front of me didn't let me go first, especially since she was cooing at my fussy toddler just before her turn. I don't know how this happens to me all the time. I'm just not a good line picker. What's the secret?
Luckily my transaction didn't take much time at all and I made it to the preschool just in time. Kennedy wasn't even the last one to be picked up.