Pieces of Maisie

On and off over the past couple of weeks Eammon, Maisie and I have been working on a puzzle of the New York skyline.  I say all of us but truth be told, I have an intense dislike for doing puzzles so I do my best to avoid them.  Then this afternoon, Eammon wasn’t around and Maisie wanted to work on the puzzle, yeah great… so out it came and I sucked it up and helped some but Maisie worked and worked and worked as she really wanted to do the puzzle.

All those pieces look the same and it just stresses me out but Maisie worked and tried and got the pieces to work.

An end in sight, the final piece!

Maisie placing the final piece!

750 pieces ~ Completed!!

A few things from this past week with Maisie.  When I picked Maisie up from school on Wednesday she told me that she had a new way of remembering North, East, South and West by the saying “Never Eat Soggy Waffles.”  I told her that was a really cool memory trick and that using a saying like “Never Eat Soggy Waffles” was called a mnemonic.  To which Maisie relied, “Mummy it’s easier to say and remember Never Eat Soggy Waffles than mnemonic.”  Guess she told me!! 

Thursday at school the children were working on two point expository paragraphs and I have to say that I’m dead impressed with the work that Maisie is doing.

On Fridays Maisie’s gymnastics practice is all about conditioning.  This Friday they played a game where they had to run and pick up a card then depending on the card they had to do a particular exercise for a certain count.  Well Maisie decided that she wanted to do it all over again and have me participate (yeah right!) so she put together her own little card game exercise chart.  She’s one very smart and funny little girl and even though I won’t do her exercise chart I still love her to bits.

Well Maisie’s already tucked into bed and very soon I’ll be climbing in next to her and making it a very early night.  I’ve been really rundown and dragging lately and haven’t been feeling great and today nothing is staying in me so I’m hoping that some extra rest and hopefully sleep will help.  Today thankfully it’s a Sunday and Maisie and I had nothing on our calendar and no where to go.  We enjoyed a very laid back and easy day and in fact we spent the entire day in our pajamas.  Hopefully this coming week I’ll be feeling better and have more energy and we’ll have a great, busy and fun filled week.

Cooking class and friends

This morning Maisie and I participated in our third kids cooking class at a local restaurant.  Just like the first and second times we did the class it began with Maisie decorating her chef’s hat.

After three kids cooking classes and her recent dumpling making day with the big sisters Maisie has quite a collection of decorated chef hats.

Maisie watching Chef Leo Walsh prepare dough for calzones.

Maisie and I met Kelley, Kevin and Mom Jenny at our last cooking class and were surprised and delighted when they arrived for class today.

Maisie working on sealing the edge of her calzone.

Maisie and Mama with Maisie’s ready for the oven calzone.

After the calzones were off being baked we realized that one of Maisie’s new gymnastics teammates was also at the cooking class.  Once Maisie and Alyssa realized that they were both there, they were pretty much inseparable.

Maisie with our finished calzones.  Hers is the beautiful, full one in the back and mine is the less gorgeous bumpy one up front.  Maisie’s is filled with ricotta, mozzarella, fontina, parmesan, roasted garlic, spinach, roasted mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, zucchini, sausage, pepperoni and meatball slices.  Mine on the other hand contains ricotta, mozzarella, fontina, parmesan, roasted garlic and spinach.   Maisie and I actually made mine for the two of us to eat and the one Maisie made with all the meats was to bring home for Eammon.  In addition to the full calzone that we brought home for Eammon we also brought home 3/4 of the other one along with some sauce and 90% of our dessert.  There was so much food and everything was huge.

After everyone enjoyed salads and their calzones the children were called to the chef’s table again to see how to make dessert pizza cookies.  

Alyssa & Maisie are paying close attention.

Dessert was a huge sugar cookie spread with strawberry jam “red sauce” and then topped with a choice of sliced strawberries, jimmies, chocolate bits and slices of white chocolate.  Maisie took about two bites and then wanted her cookie packaged up to bring home.  She then asked for and feasted on a plate full of the thinly sliced white chocolate.  We again had a blast at the class and are looking forward to attending more.

After our busy morning and early afternoon our late afternoon and evening was a play date and dinner with April and her parents Ilene & Michael.  I brought home two extra chef hats from the cooking class so the girls had fun decorating them.

April and Maisie always enjoy being together and are both very spunky.

The girls enjoyed a dinner of pan fried dumplings, homemade Yaki Onigiri and roasted broccoli.  The adults enjoyed all that along with coriander roasted salmon with cilantro yogurt sauce. 

Considering that I’ve been very run-down lately and most nights this past week I ended up crawling into bed with Maisie and going to sleep at the same time as she did, I just didn’t have the time or energy to make a dessert.  So I totally cheated and picked up a caramel apple pie from The Pie Hole but no one minded that I didn’t bake as the pie was delish!

No play date is complete without princess wear and fairy wings.

Fairy girls at play.  Maisie and April had a fun afternoon and evening together and played until well after Maisie’s bedtime.  After lots of hugs goodbye the girls finally let go of one another and are both looking forward to their next time together.  It was a fun filled and busy day and I’m looking forward to a hopefully very quiet and nothing on the schedule Sunday.

Hand in Hand with big sisters

Saturday I took Maisie and her classmate Maya out to participate in a tea party & Chinese cooking day with the Chinese big sisters & brothers group.  Maisie and I haven’t done an activity with this group since a swim party forever ago (my gosh I hadn’t realized that it’s been so long) and we really need to do more because they are a fabulous group of young people and do a fantastic job with all their programs

The girls started the afternoon by making chef hats.  They each decorated the headband and then the poof was added. 

Maisie with her finished hat.  

Maisie, Maya & friend modeling their chef hats. 

Maisie & Maya were then paired up with their big sisters Brooke & Julie.

Brooke & Julie took the girls up to the playground to play. 

When the girls got tired of the playground, their big sisters took them for a walk.

Maisie then tried bubble tea and loved it.  (She’s actually had bubble tea before but it’s been quite a while and she didn’t remember it)

Maya wasn’t too sure about those bubbles in her tea and in the end chose not to try the drink.

The children then gathered to watch Natalie Keng teach them how to make dumplings. 

Working on making their dumplings.

While the dumplings were being cooked the girls played a few rounds of bingo learning to count in Mandarin.

The dumplings and all the food was a big hit with the girls, they thought it all delicious.

Julie, Karen, Brooke, Maya & Maisie

After more time on the playground and a few more walks it was time to say goodbye and thank you to the big sisters.  Maisie & Maya had a great day with all the big sisters but especially Julie & Brooke who hung with them the entire time.   A big thank you to all the big sisters and we’re looking forward to our next event…and hopefully our time between events won’t be as long as last time.

Fairies Maisie & Maya

Today Maisie’s classmate Maya came for a play date. 

Maisie was beyond excited and waited patiently, or as patiently as a five year old can, at the front door for Maya’s arrival.

As soon as Maya arrived they retreated to Maisie’s bedroom and the hugging began. 

They looked at books together.

And like little teenagers played up on the bed and checked themselves out in the mirror.

They then transformed into fairies and they flitted around playing and having fun. 

Even fairies get hungry and shrimp and dumplings at the Chinese buffet was what they desired.  The girls were so cute in the restaurant wearing their wings, they received lots of smiles and sweet comments.

The fairy girls were great eaters, very well behaved and of course a bit silly too.

After lunch the fairies hit the candy store and they were so excited picking out their favorites.

Once back at the house the wings came off as the girls “camped” out in a closet.

Then they sprinkled themselves with fairy dust and flew through the house giggling all the way.

Much to the girl’s chagrin the play date had to end as Maisie had to go to her gymnastics practice.   It was a fun day and both girls are excited and looking forward to their next play date.  Thankfully they don’t have long to wait as they’re getting together tomorrow for a some more fun time and activities together.

Wearing of the green

Happy little Maisie decked out in green and ready to head off to school this morning. 

Thinking that Baba’s hat might be a bit too large!

Maisie had a fun day at school especially as the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  At the end of their school day Maisie and her classmates got some extra playtime out on the playground where they also enjoyed a picnic of the cookies that Maisie and I made. 

Once home and after homework Maisie helped to make our dinner, Guinness Shepherd's Pie.   Overall, a pretty good day!

Awesome quarter!

Thursday afternoon Maisie brought home her mid-semester report card and Miss. Lisa’s comments sum it up, Maisie had an awesome quarter!!

I am pleased beyond words that Maisie is doing so well in school but what really makes me happy is that she absolutely LOVES school, her classmates, Miss. Lisa and learning.  It’s crazy that at home she’d rather play school or do a workbook than play with toys.  I’m thrilled that Maisie is so happy, well adjusted, finds it all easy and is excelling.  But then again, she is the A’Maisie’ng Maisie Miao Miao, gotta love her!

What she is NOT amazing at though is sleeping!  Last week Maisie was go-go-go and busy all week and then Friday afternoon she did three hours of conditioning at the gym so she should have been one tired little girl.  Friday night she went to bed at normal time but then awoke at 3am and had no intentions of going back to sleep.  Since I had promised to make dinner for one of her coaches who broke her leg, I figured it was a good way to get an early start.  At 4am Maisie took her bath and at 5am we went out grocery shopping.  Before 11am I had made Caribbean clam chowder, hearty beef curry, oven roasted broccoli, apple cake and no-added sugar cranberry almond biscotti.  All I had remaining to make was the Jasmine rice and I’d be ready to deliver after we returned home in the afternoon. 

At 11am Maisie and I headed out to see best pal K perform in The Music Man.  The children did a wonderful job but about half way through the performance the lack of sleep caught up with little Maisie and she was stick-a-fork-in-her-done!!  She did make it through to the end of the musical but there was no hanging around to congratulate or wait on K as all Maisie wanted to do was to get in bed.  Maisie was complaining that her stomach hurt and she wanted the heat bag so once home I quickly heated it and within minutes of walking in the door she was wrapped around the heat bag and  O.U.T!!!  She slept for a few hours and I worried that it would be another rough night but thankfully she awoke for just over 1.5 hours and then since I was exhausted and in bed early, she crawled in with me and was fast asleep before 8PM.  We both actually had a good nights rest and with setting the clock ahead we awoke this morning at a more “normal” hour of 8am.

This morning Maisie and I met up with Judy at The Cheesecake Factory for brunch which was fun and filling.  Even though Eammon didn’t join us he still benefitted as he got lots of leftovers from the “portions for giants” along with a piece of cheese cake which I brought home just for him.   

This afternoon Maisie and I had planned to make Leprechaun hat cookies for her class.  We were going to do them similar to the Pilgrim hats that we made for Thanksgiving but this time with giant marshmallows, chocolate chip cookies and white chocolate which we tinted green. 

Maisie did a great job of tinting the white chocolate green.

She taste tested the marshmallows to make sure that they passed her high standards.

But then it just didn’t work.  We made two hats and they just looked…well…wonky.  So I grabbed some green decorating sugar, we frosted the cookies with the tinted white chocolate and made them as pretty as we could and called it a day.  Maybe next year for St. Patrick’s day I’ll be more motivated and/or less tired and do something more creative for her class.  I know that the children will still enjoy the decorated cookies…hey chocolate and sugar is chocolate and sugar!