Also known as my family... had a mini get together this weekend. The good news is that we all survived, with no permanent damage; and I have to admit, it was actually kind of fun.
At present, our activities together are limited to those of a child-friendly nature. No mountain climbing, kayaking, or scuba diving for now. (Maybe one day) Rather, we indulged in that one special activity we could all agree on ... eating. Even Little Monkey participated. Over the course of the past few weeks, I have come to the conclusion that Monkey's hunger strike has nothing to do with food. Like real estate, it's all about the location. As long as the food is placed before him somewhere other than home, he's just fine. Restaurants, pubs, bagel cafes, and diners are all perfectly acceptable places to eat. At home, at the dining table - is not.
I digress.
The dilemma in feeding a large group of people, apart from the whole cooking and cleaning thing, is that it gets boring. So, to mix things up a bit, and just because I am a glutton for self-abuse, we decided to take the gang out to eat.
In a restaurant.
Among the vast quantity of child-friendly establishments we had to choose from (read, sarcasm) I finally made an executive decision and booked us a table for eleven at The Cheesecake Factory. Say what you will about the soul crushing nature of chain restaurants, the lack of imagination, and the mediocre food. Cheesecake factory was the PERFECT place to take the monkeys and assorted relatives.
There were at least 15 pages worth of food to choose from, a huge table with plenty of elbow room, and an entire mall to run around in while we waited for the food to arrive. The staff were accomodating with special requests (hi mom!), patient with those who felt like complaining (hi bro!), and unfazed by those who chose to bring their own food along (hi Mina!) All things considered, I would highly recommend the place for large group gatherings.
Go early. The place is always a madhouse. And save some room for dessert. Or, do what the Monkey does - ask for it first.
Going out to eat warrants an appropriate outfit. Here, Miss Mina models her latest.
Right down to her black-patent Mary Jane's with rhinestone buckle.
My parents made it.
And so did Uncle Osman, and Auntie Dallice.
With some, I applauded the attempt at eating healthy.
And with others, I just applauded the attempt at eating anything.
The drinks were pretty good too.
The topics of conversation at the table varied. There were light hearted discussions of Middle East politics, the nature of Iranian leadership, and of course, Britney Spears' latest haircut.
Miss Mina seemed as confused by it as I was. Oh well. Time for dessert.
Like many of my generation, Saturday mornings held a special place in my heart. This was back in the day before 24-hour kiddie programming, ala Nickelodeon, Disney or Noggin. Saturday mornings were the penultimate day for television cartoon gluttony. There were at least a good three hours of cartoons before Solid Gold came on.
Although not exactly a cartoon, one of my all time favorite late 70's shows was "Land of the Lost." Dinosaurs, crystals, time travel, "sleestacks," interspecies conflict resolution ... it was a pretty sophisticated show for its target audience.
Alas, these days, cartoons and their like are on night and day. There's no Saturday morning School House Rock to look forward to, no Superfriends, no Land of the Lost. But we still have dinosaurs to play with. As Miss Mina recently discovered.
Some dinosaurs have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect them.
La, la, la ...Miss Mina is happily minding her own business, oblivious to the harm approaching her.
She turns ....
Ah! Hit by a two-horned creature!
She responds in the only way she knows how ... go for the weaker member of the pack.
And consume him! Head first! It's survival of the fittest, baby.
The dreaded blizzard did arrive in our neck of the woods, finally. For two days, we've been cooped up at home. That translates into a LOT of hours that need to be filled. Here's how the monkeys occupied their time:
We "do art!" Note the seriousness of this budding Picasso.
We exercised on our sit-n-spin.
Then boosted our self-confidence some more by reading junkie fashion mags.
We tackled some serious construction projects together.
Even before we became parents, we were big fans of Costco. The limited confines of a one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn did not deter us from buying our paper towels and chicken in bulk. No way, man. We managed to make space. Who wouldn't when there was all that savings to be had?!?
Needless to say, now that we are deep in the throes of suburbia, and knee deep in monkeys, the relevance of Costco has taken on a whole other dimension. Rarely does a weekend go by when we don't manage to find our way to the warehouse away from home. We almost always bring the monkeys. And we have it down to a science.
Now that both of them can fit into the Costco shopping cart, we can dispense with the double stroller. Bonus - we push them around really fast, and they think it's fun. Look at Miss Mina grinning from ear to ear! Of course, she's holding on for dear life, but that's ok. She's got a good grip. Little Monkey is more dare-devil now and uses his hands to tweak the pom-pom on his sister's fuzzy hat.
Miss Mina was pretty excited to be shopping. She leans in to discuss items on her list. No, we have enough Ipods, I think.
Someone actually asked us if they were twins. Hmmm.. I really don't think they look anything alike. But then again, I also don't think they look too much like me - their mother, the one who carried each of them for about 10 months apiece..the one who still has the stretch marks to prove it.
I really like that Costco has the shopping cart that allows two kids to sit in it. Unfortunately, like most males, Little Monkey takes up more than his fair share of space.
Miss Mina fights back. She's a toughie.
Apparently, all the excitement of bulk shopping has worn out Monkey. He lets out a massive yawn.
But then leans back in contentment. Wouldn't you be this blissful knowing you had all those diapers ahead of you? No doubt, great things await us. Costco also sells garbage bags in bulk. We like them too.
You've been so busy at work this week, we haven't had much of a chance to hang out. I know that makes you sad, so I thought I'd send a smile (plus dimples!) your way. Pretty irresistable huh? Now, can I have a new car?
After yet another week of healthy eating, working out, and no sleep, I threw caution to the wind and decided to round up the brood for a meal out. What better way to celebrate Superbowl Sunday than by indulging in a true American gastronomical delicacy? That's right, people - barbeque! Dinosaur Bar-B-Que to be exact.
Many thanks to my favorite daddy blogger for putting the idea into my head. As he wrote, it "may just be the best barbeque this side of the Carolinas." Enough said.
Off to Harlem we went.
With the menu laid out before us, Miss Mina and I felt our mouths begin to water. Hers leaked out onto her chin, but was easily mopped up by the folds of her jaunty, pink scarf.
Even Little monkey could not resist, and licked his chops in anticipation. For those considering venturing out to eat with the little ones, this restaurant was a perfect spot to dine. Large, loud, and filled with every manner of visual distraction necessary to guarantee peace at the table.
Miss Mina took the opportunity to demonstrate her bottle holding skillz. Good times, people. Good times, indeed.
But alas, all tasty things must come to an end. Back on the wagon today.
In anticipation of Superbowl Sunday, the monkey stakes his spot on the couch with low-fat rice cakes in hand.
Miss Mina, as we have discovered, is a big fan of the "real women have curves" school of thought. She prepares to tackle lunch head on. Don't be fooled by the girly-girl bow and pink-flowered bib.
As usual, I'm behind in posting. We've been busy. In the run of the mill craziness that passes for normal in this house, I completely overlooked the two year anniversary of Jordan's heart transplant. Have we gotten that used to it all? Apparently so. It's a far cry from a year ago.
It's the ordinary things that have kept us busy.
Picking out the perfect pictures to cut out during art class.
Making our very own telescope .... and learning how to use it.
And spending some time in the "naughty chair" for time outs. You can judge for yourself how well that is going. This time out thing, undertaken with the blessing of the monkey's pediatrician, began as a result of the monkey's increasingly bad behavior at the dinner table. Mealtime had become such an unpleasant experience for all of us, that it seemed "time out" was warranted. Needless to say, Monkey and chair have gotten to know each other very well.
Other members of the family have been celebrating the new peace and quiet at mealtime. And yes, that is an industrial size ketchup container on the table. It goes really well with everything from dinosaur chicken nuggets ... to pizza (don't ask.)
I hope Monkey will rejoin us at the table one of these days. We shall see.
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This blog is a glimpse into our version of normal after our world came to a halt. Two kids, one dog, a house and a heart transplant later, it's amazing how good life can be.
