HKG040: A Reduction in Force (Quinn's Stuffed Animal Army)

while she was torturing her brother, livie also was dressing up herself...she's such a cutie...even when she makes me want to tear my hair out.

this afternoon between lunch and nap, livie decided to play dressup. with quinn. i heard a lot of protests, and later found this...looks a little like a straight jacket, eh? that could have come in handy later in the day ;-p

quinn arranged this blanket and pillow for himself

if you click this picture, you will see two very tired kiddos curled up on the sofa.

today was crap. well, okay, it was not total crap. the morning started out nice...got to talk to a friend and to my dad on skype, and then took the kids out for some play time before heading back in for an early lunch and nap. i knew there wasn't going to be any big adventures when they were both cuddled up on the couch looking only semi-conscious at 10 in the morning. so, we took it slow.

and then the fun started. quinn actually took his nap (hoooorayyyy for nap) and was easy/pleasant to wake up. we tried to make the 3:30 shuttle into central to go to the bank, but my diva of a daughter couldn't decide on an outfit fast enough (wailing "but i won't look cute!" while i "encouraged" her to get dressed), and we missed the shuttle by a minute. we were lucky to catch a cab quickly, and we got down to central with a minimum of fuss. everything was going fine at the bank...for about 10 minutes...and then the mutiny began. see, no matter where you go here, there are always long lines and crowds and a wait. i guess this is part of the deal when you live with 7 million other people. when they just couldn't take the waiting any longer, the kids began acting up horribly in the bank, but regrouped and did great while we waited for the shuttle and on the way home. they made it through most of two more errands being little angels.

and then the horror struck...there was spitting, hitting, yelling (none of this from me, mind you), and then the clincher...an escape. as we were leaving the two-story grocery store, livie went up the stairs as i requested, but instead of waiting for me like i asked, got on the escalator to the street without me. i lost my doo-doo. this was around 5 in the afternoon...an extremely busy and crowded time of day...the escalators dump into a very busy sidewalk that is beside a very, very busy road. folks are on a mission here...if you stop, they will plow you over. i was NOT happy.

as if it wasn't bad enough, it actually went downhill from there. once we got home, there was a major issue with q that landed him in timeout in his room. what did he do while he was in timeout in his room (this was in less than 3 minutes, mind you)? climbed into his window and threw all of his stuffed animals out the window. this is the reduction in force...quinn is now being guarded by a much smaller stuffed animal army. i, on the other hand, have many more soft decorations near my side of the bed. poor josh.

if you hadn't guessed it yet, cooking is one of my favorite things to do, and it is something that relaxes me. so, once josh got home, i holed up in the kitchen with josh standing guard so that i could hear about his day and he could keep the kids out of my hair. my favorite recipe board's weekly recipe review included salisbury steaks where you make the gravy yourself. i was able to find all the ingredients i need here, so i went for it. it turned out SCRUMPTIOUS and the recipe will now go on our regular rotations.

random notes:

• the austrailian minced beef i got came with fake grass on the edge of the package...inside...i think this was supposed to symbolize the beef eating the grass...not sure.
• some of my favorite inexpensive go-to meals in texas actually cost a small fortune here. i find this kinda funny and a lot frustrating.
• i am finding it almost impossible to find some of my favorite spices here...even at the international market. my plan for my foodcase when we left texas was a big FAIL simply because we didn't have the room for the spices...i am deeply regretting that now. this evening, i will go on a hunt for ground coriander. i know i have seen it at the happy valley location of my favorite international market, but the one here in the mid-levels doesn't have it. i'm off to scour the shelves at two different wellcome locations...i want to make chicken korma, and i need the coriander!