Unwelcome Guests

 

School Play: "Wolf's Chicken Stew"

 

Somewhere on that cute little head rest survivors of lice treatment #1.  That’s right.  Fisher ended up with lice as well as Jaden.  Over the weekend I discovered that a few of the rebel forces had survived the first round of poisoning on both of their heads.  [collective sigh]  Thus I busted out some tea tree oil.  That’s right little lice, shake in fear.  No really, shake.  Thankfully I added just enough to the kid’s shampoo to eradicate the few remaining lice while leaving Jaden and Fisher’s hair silky smooth.

…However Jordan did not.

I needed a pool of death to which I could exile lice refugees.  Thus I got Jordan to fix me up a bowl of what I thought was diluted tea tree oil and water.  Well, he went with equal parts of water and tea tree oil instead.  Let’s just say that tea tree oil that is not properly diluted is a great way to melt a lice comb.  Dudes…that comb disintegrated!  Which was awesome in a creepy way until I fully grasped the implications.  I am so glad I did my homework before beginning that particular treatment on the kid’s heads.  They could be bald right now.  No hair.  No skin.  Just nice, shiny white skulls.  And today is picture day at school too.  Think of all the funny looks they would have gotten!  [wink]

So uh, is your head itching yet?  ;]

On snap! More sports, yo.

Apparently years of bragging about being allergic to sports has come back to bite me in the butt.  And oh what a lovely little bite it is.  As you all know the kids have taken to playing softball in the back yard.  They’re great at it, especially running around the imaginary bases they’ve created in their minds.  Then this week one of the mom’s of Fisher’s friends e-mailed me about a informally soccer team she was putting together.  Nothing serious, just a couple of boys playing soccer for fun and exercise.  Thus yesterday I stopped by our local sports retailer to pick up some shin guards and other soccer-y things.  Fisher was super excited…until he remember that it was 90 degrees outside.

Thankfully the heat didn’t slow him down.  The wind was blowing hard as usual and after a quick pep talk he was deep in the thick of things.

After thirty minutes of practice the kid split into teams to play.  It wasn’t long before the constant running and heat made them beg to play goalie, if only for a few minutes.  Thus the goalie position was held by all throughout the course of the evening.

They took a quick break fifteen minutes in and I pounced on the opportunity to document Fisher’s awesomeness.  Gosh-darnit, his shin guards and cleats make him look so grown.  [tear]  My little man is not so little anymore.  (Although he has retained the childhood ability to whip out a fake smile when a camera is presented.  What’s up with kids and cameras?)

They last half of the game was fierce but thankfully passed without incident.  I could not have been more proud of Fisher last night.  For someone who is so shy and reserved he really put himself out there and gave his best.  (Dudes, I know. I’m getting a bit emotional here.)

Once the game was over he spent the rest of the night drinking everything in sight.  Juice.  Water.  Watered down soda from earlier in the day.  Heck, I’m pretty sure he would have hit up the dog bowl if he’d thought of it.

All that said, we’ve got five more weeks of Thursday night soccer games and Fishman couldn’t be more excited.  And neither could I.  For a short while I’ll get to refer to myself as a soccer mom even if I don’t meet all the requirements.  Anyone got a mini-van covered in soccer ball decals I can borrow?

Super Cao Nguyen

Like I mentioned earlier in the week, I visited a local Asian food market Monday night.  It’s called Super Cao Nguyen and it is now officially my favorite store this side of Saturn.  What isn’t to love about a plethora of Jelly Fish next to the produce?  Exactly.  Thus, I thought I’d share with you the nuggets of awesomeness I took home with me:

Of course I bought some black tea and green tea.  I’m sure that it’s a rule that you can’t go to an Asian market without buying tea leaves.  Am I right or am I right?  I’m totally right.  Next I got some Boba and Boba Straws because there’s no way you can suck those pearls through a regular straw.  (FYI:  Boba = Tapioca Pearls)  Boba is my current obsession.  I gots to have my boba.  Jordan picked up a box of Pocky which is pretty much cookies in stick form that have been dipped in chocolate or strawberry flavored chocolate.  The kids are in love with these.  Jordan also picked up some dried banana chips which are thinner and crisper than the ones you can find at your average American market. 

Then came the unfamiliar.  Sesame cookies?  Good and not as sweet as you’d think.  Tamarind candy?  Just plain weird.  It’s one of those things that you keep eating in hopes that you’ll figure out what the heck it is and that maybe, just maybe it will start to taste normal near the end.  It never does, though.  I wouldn’t say that it was bad.  It was definitely different in a good way. 

Our favorite purchase?  Green tea hard candies.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I am going back this weekend to buy a case of those green goddesses. 

Then we bought these.  Taro balls.  What are they?  Who the hell knows?  All I know is that I do like the flavor of Taro…so that’s a plus, right?  And have I had one?  Not yet, but I think I’m going to try one tonight.  Fingers are most certainly crossed.

And finally the weirdest acquisition of all.  Strawberry Snowballs.  Again, I really don’t know what these things are or even what purpose they serve.  All I do know is that they are a mixture of Red Dye #40, Glutenous Rice and Red Beans.  Yeah.  That takes “odd” to a whole new level.  The strange thing is that they’re not too bad.  They’re actually somewhat sweet instead of savory like I thought they would be.  (I know, the package clearly states that they’re strawberry flavored, but it also says that they contain red beans.  What would you expect?)  Over all they are pretty bland.  However I find myself nibbling on them again and again just because they have the weirdest mouth-feel of any food I’ve ever eaten.  I’m confident that this is what it would feel like to eat a jellyfish….a live jellyfish. 

So, what will I be doing this weekend?  Making a return trip to Super Cao Nguyen, of course.  I am hooked.  :]