Wednesday, April 29, 2009
breaking this fixation
Here are the highlights from our trip down south. We met up with my family in Las Vegas, then headed on to Palm Springs, CA where Klayton and my dad went to Coachella while Zach, Av, me and my mom shopped. The next day we all went to Magic Mountain with my dad's Single's Ward. We had so much fun. I love my family so much - they are the coolest. Yes, they are cooler than your family. Sorry. It's true. The biggest highlight? Av is now in a forward-facing car seat! Yes, she will be two next month and she just BARELY meets the weight requirement to face front like a big girl. Yes, most kids do this when they are one. She's small, okay? Geez.
She loved meeting the characters at Six Flags (she kept shouting "HI!" and "DUCK!" and "BUNNY!" She didn't quite know what to make of Marvin the Martian. I can't wait to take her to Disneyland this summer! She's going to freak!) and the kiddie rides. We even stopped on the way to see the huge dinosaurs on the side of the road. You know, the ones from Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Wizard. "CALIFOOOOORNIA!!" Love that movie.
She loved meeting the characters at Six Flags (she kept shouting "HI!" and "DUCK!" and "BUNNY!" She didn't quite know what to make of Marvin the Martian. I can't wait to take her to Disneyland this summer! She's going to freak!) and the kiddie rides. We even stopped on the way to see the huge dinosaurs on the side of the road. You know, the ones from Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Wizard. "CALIFOOOOORNIA!!" Love that movie.
Monday, April 13, 2009
there goes my hero
I hosted the First Annual Tietjen Extended Family Easter Egg Hunt/Easter Dinner on Saturday at my house and a nearby park. I put myself in charge of the dessert and found this saucy, chocolicious recipe on my hero's blog.
It's delicious. It's enormous. It's a 10 layer cake (the recipe was for a fourteen layer cake, but I used 1/4 of the cake mix to make cupcakes for the kids [pictured below]). Click here for the Bakerella recipe (in case you missed it, Bakerella is my aforementioned hero[ine]. I made it Easter-y with chocolate shavings and mini Cadbury Eggs on top (like a nest). 
just another manic monday
Avery got into my make-up bag this morning and got a tube of mascara open...
Friday, April 3, 2009
yo, mama
I must admit that I'm still a big kid in many ways. I actually have a recurring nightmare in which I turn into one of those moms who stops thinking that her kid is cute and hilarious and instead acts like said kid is a big, fat, obnoxious burden. I really do. So, it's no huge surprise that I get a kick out of a lot of the same things as Avery. Things like blowing bubbles and The Imagination Movers. But lately I have been really struggling to understand why all kids seem to like the same things. One thing, actually. One fuzzy, red monster on PBS...
This one is a bit hypocritical since I loved Sesame Street as a kid, but, seriously - What the heck is with little kids and Elmo? I don't get it. He's a furry red monster, he's a dude who talks like a lady in the third-person (ex. "Elmo LOVES jumping. It's Elmo's favorite thing!"), he has used his crayon (which he sings about in his opening number) to color a room, a TV, a window, a door, a table with a drawer. I mean, does this guy's imagination suck or what? Couldn't he at least color himself a room on a spaceship or something? Sorry, I digress. Where was I... Oh, yeah. He has a goldfish named Dorothy with whom he is telepathically connected, he ends every episode with the same song tune (Jingle Bells) with the word of the day substituted (Jump Jump Jump, Jump Jump Jump, Jump Jump Jump Jump Juuump!), he has a creepy, mute neighbor who pantomimes everything (who, by the way, is 30 years old, and when kids ask him, "Can you jump, Mr. Noodle?" he immediately starts running in circles or picking his nose or something. Who doesn't know how to jump? Who is this guy's mother? And is it really nice to giggle at something that someone that stupid does? Where are those PC Human Rights Activists when you need them?), and all of Elmo's drawn-on appliances talk to him and move and dance in some strange way. Oh, and here's the real kicker- each and every episode of Elmo's World, Elmo asks a baby about whatever topic he has landed on that day. A baby. It goes something like this (every single time):
Elmo: "Oh, hello baby."
Baby: Blank stare off-camera. Slight drool coming out of mouth.
Elmo: Giggles. "Baby, can you show Elmo how you jump?"
Baby: Blank stare intensifies. Handler off-camera most-likely jiggling rattle or making peek-a-boo face to keep baby from looking at creepy talking red monster and screaming his/her head off.
Elmo: Giggles. "Aww. Thank you baby! Give Elmo a kiss!"
Baby: Drools on Elmo's furry red mouth (do they wash Elmo in between taping?). Baby will then repress the last 5 seconds in his/her memory until mid-life crisis therapy session reveals severe aversion to shag carpet texture and felt orange noses.
Who came up with this guy? I just don't get it. I love that Avery loves him, though, and continue to check out all of the episodes of Elmo's World that our library has. But if anyone would like to explain this to me, I would really appreciate it.
This one is a bit hypocritical since I loved Sesame Street as a kid, but, seriously - What the heck is with little kids and Elmo? I don't get it. He's a furry red monster, he's a dude who talks like a lady in the third-person (ex. "Elmo LOVES jumping. It's Elmo's favorite thing!"), he has used his crayon (which he sings about in his opening number) to color a room, a TV, a window, a door, a table with a drawer. I mean, does this guy's imagination suck or what? Couldn't he at least color himself a room on a spaceship or something? Sorry, I digress. Where was I... Oh, yeah. He has a goldfish named Dorothy with whom he is telepathically connected, he ends every episode with the same song tune (Jingle Bells) with the word of the day substituted (Jump Jump Jump, Jump Jump Jump, Jump Jump Jump Jump Juuump!), he has a creepy, mute neighbor who pantomimes everything (who, by the way, is 30 years old, and when kids ask him, "Can you jump, Mr. Noodle?" he immediately starts running in circles or picking his nose or something. Who doesn't know how to jump? Who is this guy's mother? And is it really nice to giggle at something that someone that stupid does? Where are those PC Human Rights Activists when you need them?), and all of Elmo's drawn-on appliances talk to him and move and dance in some strange way. Oh, and here's the real kicker- each and every episode of Elmo's World, Elmo asks a baby about whatever topic he has landed on that day. A baby. It goes something like this (every single time): Elmo: "Oh, hello baby."
Baby: Blank stare off-camera. Slight drool coming out of mouth.
Elmo: Giggles. "Baby, can you show Elmo how you jump?"
Baby: Blank stare intensifies. Handler off-camera most-likely jiggling rattle or making peek-a-boo face to keep baby from looking at creepy talking red monster and screaming his/her head off.
Elmo: Giggles. "Aww. Thank you baby! Give Elmo a kiss!"
Baby: Drools on Elmo's furry red mouth (do they wash Elmo in between taping?). Baby will then repress the last 5 seconds in his/her memory until mid-life crisis therapy session reveals severe aversion to shag carpet texture and felt orange noses.
Who came up with this guy? I just don't get it. I love that Avery loves him, though, and continue to check out all of the episodes of Elmo's World that our library has. But if anyone would like to explain this to me, I would really appreciate it.
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