I took Scooter ice skating yesterday. The morning started out fairly promising, with coffee brewing, chili cooking, kids eating breakfast...it went downhill from there. We thought we'd take a drive to see Lake Oswego, where Ben would take a few photographs and then we'd do a little hiking. But...the coffee I had purchased on Saturday was sub-par at best, and Bubba had a cold, so we decided to stay home and relax in front of the football screen.
I spent the morning finishing the laundry I had started on Saturday and cooking. Generally, Ben does the major cooking in the house. I prepare dinner most nights (for the kids and I as Ben is usually busy with other pursuits), but it's always leftover this or that which Ben made on the weekend or during the day. Needless to say, this is a difficult task. Many home makers spend a lot of time thinking about and preparing food. It's no small feat to plan, prepare and budget for a family's meals each day. Something had to give, so I was put in charge of food.
Luckily, the CSA delivery from last week served as inspiration. We got a pumpkin, leeks, carrots, parsnips, squash, and chicory. So...I made pumpkin chili (pretty good, but I probably won't ever make it again, since I'm the only one who liked it), sausage and lentil soup (very good, but I probably won't ever make it again, since it took 3 hours to make, even though I cheated and used store-bought soup stock), and salmon with potatoes and broccoli. Ben said the salmon was old and gross. I'm beginning to see why he was put in charge of meals. Clearly, I have no clue how to pick out - or make - good food. Not to mention, food is not in my budget, which consists of rent, utilities, internet, daycare, retirement, insurance, and lawyer.
Happily for me, the morning didn't last all day. After lunch, Scooter and I went to the mall for a spin around the ice rink there. We rented our skates, locked up our shoes, and hit the ice (literally, with our bottoms). I didn't actually fall down, but Scooter did. After 2 laps, I was worried that I had just blown $20 for nothing, and we'd leave crying. But she got the hang of it and by the end of the first hour, we were zipping along. A bit later, the zamboni cleared the ice. It was almost as exciting as when they do it at a hockey game. Except this time, one of the "lifeguards" that drags kids who fall down off the ice, moonlighted as the zamboni driver. He was excellent. Speedy, thorough, everything you'd want in the man who clears the ice. While he was polishing the rink, Scooter and I negotiated how many more laps we'd do. I said 3. Scooter said 10, we compromised at 5.
But once we were on the ice, the first 4 flew by. So I conceded that we could do a full 10. On lap 7, Scooter admitted that she needed a break. I suggested that we just leave. But no, we could do 3 more. And we did. Quickly and efficiently, Scooter finished up her laps, and we headed home. Immediately upon leaving the ice, her mood soured. She was tired. Grumpy. Blah. I knew we should have stopped at 3. But at least she had something to write about in her weekend update for school.
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