Ice Cream, Pizza, Donuts, & Poop

So I've been doing lots of fun stuff with the kids that I'd normally write about here, but since I was on assignment, you'll have to make a few extra clicks! (Or pick up some free publications around town.)


I'm guessing not a lot of you read the Saturday Commercial Appeal, which is a real shame since my review of the new exhibit at the Pink Palace Species' feces from aardvark to zebra ran today. The Scoop on Poop is a must see!


Also if you come across the new Memphis Parent, pick it up. I have a fun story about free (or almost free) things to do with the kids when it's too cold to go outside called What's Cooking. It covers learning to make ice cream at Maggie Moo's in Peabody Place, pizza at Lou's Pizza in Cooper Young, and donuts at Gibson's Donuts out east. Chip was by my side for all three, taking awesome pictures as usual.

This was one of the best assignments I've ever had as all of the above activities were super fun. However, if I had to choose, I think making pizza with Lou was the best.


And while I'm here, I'd like to go ahead and pimp my two stories in the current Edible Memphis. I give the latest on Project Green Fork and brag on our schools' lunch daddy, Stephen Hassinger, of Hunt Phelan.

A Trip to the Dentist

Dr. Rump let Jiro wear some of her special sunglasses since the light was too bright for his delicate eyes. Read my column this week Make trip to the dentist fun time for kids to find out what else goes on at the dentist's office.

Snow Day!

Snow was the big story today. Too bad our annual dusting fell on a week day. (Too bad for me who has to work, good for everyone who gets to stay home!) As is our custom, it was off to the park. Warren, the boys, and the dogs enjoyed some sledding, crunching in the snow, and throwing snowballs.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I'm tackling the mountain of wet, muddy laundry now, hoping for another snow day...on a weekend.

Hawaiian Mystery Box

Mary, Bo, & I took Natalie to a cooking class at Tsunami in honor of her 30th bday. The theme was Hawaiian Mystery Box, which means I got to call a nice dude in Hawaii named Koko and order a bunch of fish. Ben didn't know what was in the box until class started. That didn't stop him from making four amazing dishes. Tako Poke, Walu sashimi, steamed perch with Chinese black bean sauce, and grilled swordfish with celery root salad and beet vinaigrette. And lychee sorbet. YUM!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Ben's doing classes every Tuesday in February. $60 bucks gets you a 4 course meal, plenty of wine, and one hell of a good time.

The only reason I'm frowning in the one picture is because Ben miscounted on the sashimi course and I had to wait to taste it.

Driving Lessons

Mario Cart is the game du jour in the Oster household. Part of me thinks the legal driving age should be lowered, since the monkeys are undoubtedly getting hours and hours of practice behind the wheel.

And, of course, part of me thinks it should be raised because Satchel and Jiro drive like maniacs!

But really I wish we'd get a fourth steering wheel so I could play too.

Auction for Anna

Goner Records owner Zac Ives' little girl, Anna, has been undergoing treatment for cancer during the past two years. She's been through quite a lot, but she's been a trooper and unimaginably strong, charming everyone who has met her with unwavering cheer. Anna has been through her second surgery and is undergoing radiation treatment, which will mean the whole family will be staying 8 weeks in Boston.

Goner Records is auctioning off items to help offset their expenses. Please take a moment and check it out here. There are some great items. The auction ends Monday, Feb 2 at 8pm. (You can also make a donation rather than bid on an item if you prefer.)

And don't forget the Anna Ives Vs Cancer Benefit Concert Thursday, January 29 at the Hi Tone with Harlan T Bobo, John Paul Keith & 145s, and Jack Oblivian & The Tearjerkers. Short Sets, rotating all night!

Thanks

On Friday, I wore my Bag Monster costume to Satchel & Jiro's school. (Don't worry, I only made one little boy cry.)

It was actually a lot of fun, and Satchel was especially thrilled to see the Bag Monster in person.

As is customary in the elementary, Satchel made me a thank you note. Well, it was actually five very small notes in five very small envelopes.


"Thank you for coming mom it was fun there."

Anderton's

After brunching at the Hi-Tone on Sunday, we drove over to the old Anderton's just to check it out. There's just something cool about façades. Too bad a sea of broken glass ruined the most awesome of photo ops. Next time, I'll get Melissa or Chip to come along so the pictures will be better!

Beginnings

photo by cactusthesaint

The Bag Monster Lives

Melissa invited the Bag Monster over for a little photo shoot yesterday...I felt like I was on America's Next Top Model!

Lord of the Dance

A few weeks ago, at Warren's office Christmas Party, a fellow archaeologist/old time country musician friend of ours told us about the contra dance that his band played every first and third Friday of the month at Idlewild Presbyterian. One of the other archaeologist's wives and I perked up a bit at the mention of this and decided that we'd have to drag our husbands there asap.

I'm not sure what interested her about contra dance, but I have a good friend from Rhodes who is a big time contra dancer in Portland, Oregon. She also plays old time country music. Ever since she sent me her CD about seven years ago and told me about how much fun it is to (essentially square) dance, I have been intrigued.

Now, as you may have figured out by now, I like to kill a few birds with one stone when I can. So, naturally I pitched the contra dance story idea to the CA. They bit, and I started my research. I went to Idlewild a couple of weeks ago, solo, to check it out and take notes. I was way too shy to dance, despite many valiant efforts on the part of the regulars. I promised them I'd be back with my husband on the third Friday.

That was yesterday. I'd been looking forward to the dance all week, as had Warren. Or so I thought. Once our friends cancelled their participation due to a sick baby and I failed to convince anyone else to come with us, Warren's enthusiasm waned. Were it not for my looming deadline, I probably would have called the whole thing off.

We arrived a little late and missed most of the beginner's lesson. "Let's just watch," I said to Warren.

"Oh no," he said. "You dragged me here, and now we are going to dance."

We joined the others in the lesson and in no time we were promenading, swinging, circling round, and doing a star. And yes, we did some flailing and bumping into each other, but that was fun too.

Once the band started up, we did the first official dance--well most of it--then took a seat. My plan was to start interviewing people, but one of the instructors asked me to dance. I obliged and it was even more fun dancing with someone who knew what he was doing. (Everyone in general was very helpful.) He even twirled me!

When I got back to the chairs, I did get to interview a few people and as we were about to leave, a woman asked Warren to dance. He started making excuses, but I said, "He'd love to..." and pushed him onto the dance floor.

By this time I realized that my photographer hadn't showed up, so I snapped a few shots on the (very) off chance that I could get a printable one.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Once Warren's dance was over, it was half time. (About 8:30pm.) We planned to get some dinner and see a movie to maximize our child-free time, so we snuck out. We were both all smiles though and agreed that contra dancing was indeed lots of fun. (Even for uncoordinated folks like us.) Maybe next time we'll be able to convince some friends to join us.

Boys will be boys...

I have a column in today's Commercial Appeal, Boys test their limits and mom's reflexes.

If you have a minute, read it!

Thanks!

Speech Therapy Update

Yesterday, Satchel and I took Jiro to his first speech therapy session with the Memphis City School system. (Last year, he was accepted to the program at the U of M and we were on a waiting list for MCS. After jumping through all of the designated hoops, he was accepted for therapy this year. He'll continue at the U of M until I decide which program is working the best.)

Since he doesn't attend a public school, we were assigned a therapist at the nearest school to our house, which is the lovely new Brewster Elementary on Sam Cooper. When the therapist called to set up his classes, she was very accommodating and I was able to get him a one-on-one session on Mondays & Tuesdays from 8-8:30am. (This is way better than having to leave work early two days a week, pick Jiro up in Midtown, then drive him back downtown.)

Warren is working in the field this week, and leaves the house at 7:30am, so that's why Satchel came with us. But really, he wanted to go--he's still jealous of Jiro's game playing and snack getting from last semester. Also, he's hip to the complex reward system I have set up. (Go to therapy with no struggle, go to Exxon for a treat.)

Anyways, despite our long & crazy weekend, we somehow made it to Brewster on time. In the parking lot, Jiro stopped being excited about his new class and started saying, "I'm not going." I convinced him to get out of the car by promising him that we would just meet his teacher and then leave. "You better not be lying," he said.

We signed in in the office and then were escorted down the hall. As soon as we walked into the foyer, Ms. Kim greeted us enthusiastically and then invited us all into her office. Considering our big struggle at the U of M was having Jiro go alone (without me) up an elevator, down a hall, and into his classroom, this was a refreshing change. Then Ms. Kim asked Satchel if he wanted to stay and play games (he did), and she pointed to a nearby chair for me.

Having both of us in the room immediately put Jiro at ease. (Satchel started running his mouth non-stop, thus taking some of the pressure off of Jiro.) Soon the three of them were playing Kerplunk, Go Fish, and all the while, practicing Jiro's letters. I enjoyed watching and I think it will definitely help me to know what he's learning and how he's learning it.

At the U of M they were very secretive and also very serious about the parents not coming into the classroom. They had the attitude that the children would not do work with their parents in the room. Jiro totally disproved that. He worked really hard and barely even looked my way during the entire session.

At the end, Ms. Kim gave Jiro a sticker for his shirt (which he put on his hand) and he gave her a high five. We left and both boys were in a really good mood, and busily talked about how much fun they had.

Ms. Kim said I could bring Satchel back whenever I wanted, and of course he wanted to come again this morning. Again, they started off with Kerplunk and then moved on to Alligator Golf (which the boys requested yesterday). Again, Jiro worked really hard and I was impressed with Ms. Kim's ability to mix play and work. I also really felt like she knew what she was doing and most importantly, that she was doing it well.

I'm just so thrilled; I hardly know what to say.

A Case of the Mondays

What a weekend! Friday night was spent at the Alleys with cocktails, sandwiches, and screaming banshees. Saturday, thanks to the rain, there was some semblance of sleeping in (rather than going to clean up Overton Park), before doing weekend chores and running errands. Saturday night I helped Natalie ring in her 30s at Sekisui Pacific Rim, the infamous Bobcat, and, of course, the Cove.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

This would have been more fun had I not scheduled an 8:30am photo shoot/interview at Gibson's Donuts for an upcoming Memphis Parent story. Luckily the sugar and coffee procured there got me through the rest of the day which was spent preparing for our quarterly Sunday dinner with the Smiths. Warren went all out, per usual, and we had a great time eating, talking, playing Mario Cart, shooting bows and arrows, and watching ourselves on WKNO.

Monday morning came just a little too soon.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Southern (Monkey) Routes

Last month, Warren & I took the monkeys to eat at Tsunami...with a camera man! (Luckily he seemed to be looking the other way when the monkeys got a little, uh, antsy.) The resulting video is being aired as a part of this month's Southern Routes on WKNO. I haven't seen it yet, but apparently it aired earlier this evening. If you missed it too set your DVR for one of the following dates:

Saturday, January 10 at 3:00pm
Sunday, January 11 at 9:00am

Thanks to our neighbor, Kevin, for alerting us to the fact that it aired! He assured us it was cool...I hope he's right!

Private Cooking Class

On Monday evening, Warren and I cashed in the private cooking class at Tsunami that we won at our sons' school's auction in the fall. The class was for six people, so we invited some childless friends who we were sure could party on a school night--my brother and his wife, Courtney, and Mary and her new beau, Bo.

Ben, chef/owner of Tsunami, asked what I wanted to learn how to make. I told him to surprise me. Much to everyone's delight, he chose to teach us how to prepare the following dishes:

Tuna Tataki (Ben knows how much I love tuna)

Shrimp Rolls with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce

Lambsicles (Frenched Rack of Lamb) with Szechwan Marinade

Sweet potato faux risotto

Creme Brulee

I have one word: YUM!

Everything was so yummy and so simple. (Except maybe the lamb and the creme brulee.) I definitely think I can at least do the tuna and shrimp. (Mary claims she's making the faux risotto this evening.) Ben, who normally has an assistant, let me do a few hands-on things--like torch the creme brulee--but the class was more about having fun, drinking a few glasses of wine, and eating a delicious meal.

(We might have overindulged a bit with the wine.)


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Ben is teaching classes open to the public every Tuesday this month. They usually last from 7pm-10pm (or later) and include dinner and wine from the Grateful Palate. To sign up, call Tsunami.

Craig's List

Much to my delight Warren has been spending his newly acquired, between semester, spare time organizing the garage.

I help out when I can.

Last weekend, I photographed a few things we had stored in there and listed them on Craig's List. (Warren wouldn't let me drag them to the curb.)

I fully expected to have the phone start ringing off the hook as soon as I listed these fine items, but it didn't. Having never really used Craig's List, it seems I didn't put the items in the prime location to have them seen by the people who might want to purchase them. That was easily solved and soon my phone actually was ringing off the hook.

Oh, if only all the people who called and emailed actually showed up!

Anyways, I was most interested in selling our old sink/vanity, and I finally had a woman show up on Saturday afternoon with a wad of cash in her hand. The first thing she said to me when I answered the door was, "Do you feel safe living here?"

"Uh yeah, I do," I said as nicely as possible. "I've lived in Midtown for over 15 years."

She explained that she was a country girl from Atoka and smiled real nice so I didn't take offense. I had her & her husband follow me around the side of the house into the backyard, since the sink/vanity was still in the garage. As soon as she saw it, she was thrilled and handed over the money. Then her phone rang and I heard her say, "Yes, mom, I'm fine!"

When she hung up she explained that her parents were worried about her coming to this part of town, which was one of the reasons she hadn't come the night before.

Money in hand, I continued to smile.

Next, as she and her husband hefted the sink out to the sidewalk, something fell out of her husband's pocket.

"Oh, that's just his gun," she said, once again explaining how scary it was for them to venture into Midtown!

I had my second Craig's List encounter yesterday when a nice woman from Harbor Town came to pick up Satchel & Jiro's old trike. Had Jiro not greeted her with a "Hey there old lady!" before slamming the door in her face, I'd say it would have been pretty uneventful. (It's times like these that I am glad people have a hard time understanding what he's saying!)

My third encounter was the best. One of the derby girls (unknowingly) answered my ad for a baby gate. I told her I'd bring it to practice tomorrow night.

Oh, by the way...did I mention I'm back in the derby? Only this time I'm a ref.

Friday with the Monkeys

Warren had to work on Friday, so I spent the day with the monkeys. By noon they were driving me crazy with their Nintendo DS wars, so I asked if they wanted to go to the Blue Playground. We hardly ever go to the Blue Playground anymore, so they excitedly said yes.

There were a lot of kids enjoying the warm weather, but no one that we knew. That didn't stop the monkeys from making friends. This kid, Jesse (not his real name), quickly joined in their game of tag. As I was lapping the playground (I thought I'd get a modicum of exercise while we were there), I eavesdropped on the conversation they were having. Jesse, who was clearly missing several teeth, opened with, "How many teeth have you lost?"


From there they moved on to bigger and better topics. Yes, you guessed it. "What did you get for Christmas?" Jesse must have been a really good boy because Santa brought him a PlayStation 3, an XBOX 360, and a Wii. I think Satchel caught on that Jesse was exaggerating, but he played along. I followed them up the hill to check out the train, then we went back down to climb on a tree that was inexplicably hacked down. Jesse was very impressed with the monkeys' climbing skills. "You're a real dare devil!" he said as Satchel easily scaled the full length of trunk.

Finally, I heard Satchel ask Jesse if he knew his phone number. He did. Then Satchel said, "Give it to my mom so she can put it in her phone. Then we'll call you for a playdate."

After Jesse left, we decided to head over to Burke's. Liz & Vanessa gave the kids a gift certificate that they were hot to cash in. We spent about an hour investigating all of the kids' books, then the monkeys discovered the small stash of toys. While they played, I browsed around a bit.

As we were driving home, Satchel reminded me that I said we could go to the coffee shop. (I was trying to convince them to walk to Otherlands from the Blue Playground.) Really wanting a caffeine fix, I agreed to pull over. Since we hardly ever go to the Blue Playground, we hardly ever make it to Otherlands either. I ordered an iced latte and Jiro quickly decided on a Clementine Izze (he loves him some Izze!) and a bag of Barbara's Cheese Puffs. Satchel was torn between the cheese puffs and some Groovy Granola, so he opted not to get a drink. I warned him that he would be thirsty, but he waved off my concerns.


The monkeys grabbed a table while I waited on my latte. By the time I joined them Satchel was grousing about his thirst. After a pointless round of "I told you so's" he agreed to drink some water. Then his adoring brother gave him half an Izze.

All in all it was a lovely afternoon.

New Year's Eve House Party 08

Wow, I am getting fancy! NYE House Party Pics via Flickr Toys and a video, thanks to my awesome new camera!

The food (Spring Rolls by Saigon Le, Bahn Mi sandwiches by Lobster King, Gyoza by Warren, Baked Brie, Apples & Honey by Shannon.)





Warren & Richard each got a new bag. Yes, Brian is jealous.



I was being mischievous, apparently. Or maybe, sarcastic.


(And yes, I wear my coat and favorite hat ALL of the time!)

Here's some random shots from the evening.



And, wow, I think I might have actually uploaded a video of Andria & GK dancing! I could have sworn there was music playing...

Happy New Year!

We rang in 2009 with good friends, good food, fireworks, and just a little too much Ghost River beer (just the adults!).

I haven't decided on my resolutions yet, but the monkeys got a head start. Read about them in my column today, New Year's resolutions start small with kids.