Super Hero Father's Day

I helped Penguin Girl with her Father's Day gift for Car Guy.  I downloaded a template for labels to make a super hero snack kit and we went to the market to buy the goodies for the kit.  One of the items on our list was a candy bar.  We perused the fancy chocolate bars and the two finalists were a chili-chocolate and a bacon-chocolate.  Penguin Girl reasoned that since Dad really likes bacon and also really likes chocolate, that's the one we should get.  We also got chocolate covered toffees, wasabi snack mix, a toffee popcorn mix, and a soda.  

Once I sealed the box, Penguin Girl decorated the outside.  Then on Father's Day, she snuck outside and left it on the porch and rang the doorbell.  Car Guy was surprised to find his delivery from the Super Hero Supply Company but Penguin Girl could not resist and spilled the beans that it really was from us.

Update:  The bacon-chocolate was interesting.  Car Guy is not a fan of chocolate with savory elements.  On the other hand, I really like a little salt like the flavor you get when you cover salted pretzels with chocolate.  But the meatiness of the bacon just made the whole chocolate experience sort of weird.  The kids like it, though.

Whew!

I had been talking to Penguin Girl daily about the whole process of getting fillings.  Although she was nervous, she never got broken up about it.  Until she got into the dentists chair.  Then she started wailing and sobbing.  I actually thought we were going to have to just go home but the dentist and his hygienist talked her down.  It turns out she was really just very anxious about getting the injection of anesthetic.  She bounced back quickly.  She even started snorting like a pig in jest while the dentist was still finishing the injections.  The dentist was very speedy with the whole procedure.  Luckily, he was able to fill even the really cavernous cavity and he was optimistic about being able to do the same to the crater on the opposite side of her mouth in 2 weeks when we return for the second and hopefully last round of fillings.

In other news, Car Guy took himself to the dentist for the first time in 6 years.  And he called from the dentist's chair to inform me that he has no cavities even though he only brushes once a day and rarely flosses.  Superb.

Yikes!

I took Penguin Girl to the dentist a couple of days ago.  It had been about a year since her last cleaning and exam as I had been lax about making the appointment to bring her back.  She got x-rays for the first time since her 6-year molars came in and pressed her teeth close together.  And the x-rays showed eight (EIGHT!) cavities.  Two of them are enormous.  The dentist already warned that there may not be enough tooth left to fill them in which case they would need to be extracted!  She goes back to see him on Monday to get half of them filled.  Meanwhile, we are now brushing and flossing up a storm.

Busy Fingers

A long time ago, I got some modelling beeswax for Penguin Girl.  At the time, I completely underestimated how much strength and dexterity were required to use this particular medium so the box got tucked away for a few years.  I brought it out again and showed Penguin Girl how you warm it up in your hands and then mold it.  She was very pleased with her first try.  That's me and Penguin Girl with our dog, Buddy.

The Magical Bread Machine

I have been wanting to try to make pineapple buns.  This is a Chinese bread that has no pineapple flavor but gets its name from the sort of cross-hatched crust on top.  The only place to buy these buns is a 30 minute drive and they are about $1.50 apiece.  Outrageous!  

I searched the wonderful internet and came up with a few recipes.  I chose one and made some alterations.  Using the bread machine, we made the dough.  We got this bread machine as a wedding present and it still works great although it has not been used in years.  Penguin Girl thought the machine was pretty cool.  I had to shape the buns as the dough turned out too sticky for Penguin Girl to handle.  They looked pretty good with the topping.

I should have made the buns smaller.  They got really big after rising for the final time and baking.  Also, the topping got too soft and spread too much.  The bread was good but on the second day the texture was vastly inferior.  It needed a bit more fat.  Penguin Girl enjoyed them.  No surprise there.  This girl will happily eat anything except veggies.

The New Bike

It took more stops than anticipated but we found Penguin Girl a new bike.  We steered her towards a non-girly design so that Mr. Destructo can use it later.  Luckily, the model we got for her was available in blue, her favorite color.  Then I ordered her a new helmet because her old one was way too small, could not even get it onto her big head.  Car Guy laughed when he saw it because it looks more like a football helmet than a bike helmet.  My girl is not the most coordinated child.  A sturdy helmet is good for her.

Field Trip

Last month, I helped to chaperone the last 1st grade field trip of the year.  We went to the city's farmer's market.  The kids had to do a scavenger hunt and find assorted things at the market.  They were also supposed to have the experience of shopping and spending a few dollars.  They were all encouraged to buy something for their moms because Mother's Day was two days later.  I gave Penguin Girl $5.  She bought me two irises.  Then she had $2 left.  She wanted to buy some strawberries but all the vendors were selling them for $3 or more per basket.  I suggested she ask if she could buy fewer with $2.  A kind woman took pity on her and gave her a discount for a pint basket.  Unbeknownst to her, Penguin Girl successfully negotiated a deal by herself!