Meow Mix

I was talking to my Grandma the other day, talking about our many adventures as a family.  She asked if I was writing any of them down.  Um, does posting a picture and a sentence or two on Instagram count?  I'm by no means a great photographer, but between Instagram and Chatbooks, I figure the highlights are being recorded and printed.  But she's right.  It's not the same thing.  The funny thing is, the girls LOVE reading the old blog books that I've had printed.  They love the pictures, the funny stories about themselves, and it really does help keep those stories and memories alive.  

So, I am going to try to write on my blog again.  We'll see how long I can keep it going.  Writing has been a good outlet for me in the past.  It's good to articulate these thoughts and feelings I have rumbling around in my brain. 

Today I volunteered in Maddie's class.  It's Dr. Suess week, and her class of 3rd graders combined with a class of 1st graders for a Reader's Cafe for roughly a half hour.  I was supposed to be at Maddie's class around 10 am, and at 8:59 am I got a text from Maddie's teacher asking me to pick up some last minute supplies.  Namely, 3 boxes of Capri Suns and a bag of large plastic cups.  I had an idea that might be the case, as this is not the first time I've been sent on supplies errands, so I was dressed before I dropped Annie and Maddie off for school.  

I made it to Walmart at about 9:40, figuring I could pick up a couple of extra things like shampoo and more hair rubber bands while I was there.  I made a beeline for the drinks and cups, and then ran into a friend.  I am often tongue tied around people and try to run away after the initial "How are you" pleasantries have been exchanged.  But Chantel is a good enough friend that I feel like I can converse.  Until I checked my phone and realized I had 7 minutes to check out and drive myself over to the school.  I had better run.  Hopefully there are no long check out lines.

I made it over to the school, got signed in, and was waylaid by the secretaries.  "Are you working tomorrow and would you be willing to help with our school Book Swap tomorrow?  Which of these 5 times would be good for you?  How about these three times?  Yes?"  I had my standard Thursday answer of I can only be there until 2:30 because it's piano lesson day.  I have been around volunteering and substituting long enough for the secretaries to be able to write both my first and last name without asking for help.  This both pleases and scares me.  There's the part of me that likes to be noticed, and then there's the other more vocal part of me that is anxious that someone will put me on the spot making me feel awkward and I will later mentally kick myself for not sounding like an intellegent adult.  Sometimes hiding in the corner is the safest, if rather lonely, place to be.

I finally make it to Maddie's classroom, with really no idea what my job will be.  Mrs. S wants me to make a Pinterest recipe she found for Meow Mix.  It's to go with the Splat the Cat books the kids would be reading to their 1st grade partners.  I was given a large mug for melting marshmallows in the microwave, and bags of pretzels, popcorn, Lucky Charms, Chex mix, and M&Ms to mix all together.  That didn't sound too bad.  I've made rice crispy treats before.  This could be awkward (yay, my speciality!) but doable.  I have one giant bowl, two large bowls and a large plastic stirring spoon.  So I dump in a whole lot of stuff in the bowl and blob my microwaved marshmallows in after.  Good heavens, what a sticky mess.  In the process of stirring, food is falling out of my bowl.  It's too full.  So I try to dump some in one of the large bowls so I have more room for stirring.  I've got marshmallow goo in giant globs and it isn't spreading all over the Meow Mix  Mess very evenly.  So I try to jam the plastic spoon in the middle of the globs, and by this time I have melted marshmallow on my hands.  This just keeps getting better and better.  If not for my height, I could be mistaken for a messy 3rd grader at this point.  More melted marshmallow is just what this situation calls for because darn it, I am going to make Meow Mix.  This time I make dollops of the sticky substance around the bowl, which does work better.  But I still have pretzels in the bottom of the bowl that are not getting stuck to its counterparts.  I grab my sticky Meow mix with my sticky hands and transfer it to another bowl.  I added more popcorn, etc. to the bowl (only going halfway full this time, see I can learn from experience) and then more blobs of goo spaced around the mix.  It's going a little better now, and I'm really hoping the two teachers in the room are not conversing about the weird mom in the back of the room who can't handle herself like a competent adult.  Like when she came in on Valentine's Day to make lumpy pudding for the class.  In my defense, I was given the same plastic stirring spoon and big bowl, and surely everyone knows pudding doesn't get smooth without the use of powered kitchen tools.  Right?  Or is this just another one of those things I personally need to work on because it's never worked for me or my kids?  (Cue music, "Whip It, Whip It Good.")

I made Maddie up her own special cup of Meow Mix when I was done serving the rest of the class, with no popcorn or marshmallows.  Her palate expander is making her 3rd grade snack life hard.