Unplugged

Gotcha! Did you think for 4.5 nanoseconds that this was going to be a post about how allofasudden we were going to be one of those no-TV-no-computer families? Hah! I would die, literally, I think, if I couldn't plop the munchkins down in front of the TV while I got dinner ready, did laundry, cleaned up, etc. etc. ad infinitum ad nauseaum. And if I didn't die? For sure I might kill something. Especially on a real rat's ass difficult day like today where Boy Wonder (the artist formerly known as A, my 21-month-old son) refused to nap, refused to play, refused to act anything like human. We had a wonderful morning playing at the park with a friend, had an almost civilized lunch, and then WHAMO as soon as we got home he was clingy, needy, whiny, etc. in other words thoroughly 21 months old and I am, right now, taking a well-deserved, well-earned break by allowing them (yep, D too) to watch Hi-5 until dinner time. Now, lest you think the kiddos are just watching any old thing, I do have rules. They are only allowed to watch what I record for them on TiVo or on PBS or other commercial-free channels. I draw the line, as faint as it may be, at Disney, Nick and the Cartoon Network.

Oh did I mention how D is currently exhibiting behavior that, if she weren't only 5-1/2, I'd be tempted to call P.M.S.? Moody, oversensitive, crying, grumpy, it's all there folks, except for that fun bloated feeling. I know the signs. Unfortunately, she's not old enough to be offered any of my go-to home remedies: shopping trip, new shoes, chocolate, or a cold beer, not necessarily in that order. So I am trying to talk her through it. While cooking dinner. A dinner that will be almost wholly unappreciated by the kids, but that I will thoroughly enjoy much later with M.

Oh, yeah, ok, back to unplugged. So. Basically, I'm making ice-cream manually. Because while as much as I love my KitchenAid and also it's ice-cream accessory bowl, it's a bitch really difficult to use when your ice cream base is really chunky or thick, as was the case with my latest batch of coconut-cherry ice cream. So, I'm freezing it old-school with a bowl of ice, sea salt and lotsandlots of stirring. I may have to invest in a free-standing ice-cream maker (since I pretty much make all my own now) and save the KitchenAid for plain flavors or thinner custards. But in the meantime, I've got semi-frozen coconut-cherry ice-cream all over the kitchen because the darn dasher splattered it everywhere. Everywhere including into a bowl which I happen to be eating RIGHT NOW (yep, kids, it's a prerogative of mommy-hood. So sorry! Now go watch TV.). After which I'll get back to cleaning, and cooking dinner, consoling D and keeping half an ear on Boy Wonder as he watches his third episode of Hi-5. Just as soon as I finish this post. There.