Birthday birthday birthday awesoooooooome

So I know that I'm totally one of those moms now, but I made a ridiculous cake for Lily's birthday party.  I actually bought a special dome pan, gel dyes, and a cake decorating kit for the occasion. Last year I made the cake and frosting from scratch.  This year I used a boxed cake and Aldi frosting.  I might do the boxed cake again but I definitely won't be using industrial frosting anymore.  Our kitchen still smells frosting-y.

I'm not the first to do this sort of cake (this is actually the first one that inspired me).  If you're not expected to watch at least two episodes every single day of your life like we are, you might not be aware that in the opening sequence DJ Lance Rock's head pops up out of a field of white. 

Everyone was like, "Yo Gabba what now?"  Lily was like, "Babba!  Babba!  Babba!"

That was a lot of colors to mix up.

Decided to keep the base minimalist. Also, the crumb coat did nothing.

This, in my opinion, is the only acceptable use for a star tip.

I was paranoid from the moment I finished to the moment it found its final resting place in Burnsville.  We managed to hit every pothole on Chicago Avenue and my heart stopped every time.

Lily waiting patiently for cake time.  I made the headbands because I am insane.

Surprise!  DJ Lance's head is full of rainbows!

He's a magic maaaaaaaaan, mAAAAAAAaaaaan.

Future technicolor cake balls.

 

She's totally worth it.

Seriously, parents, get it together.

Let's talk about vaccination.

Point: vaccination does not cause autism.  This is a fact.  It has been scienced to within an inch of anyone's life, proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Correlation does not equal causation.  Jenny McCarthy was misled and you have been lied to.

Point: the risks of adverse reactions, the worst being (incredibly rare) anaphylaxis, are so small as to be almost negligible.  Here, have some science. 

I repeat: correlation does not equal causation.  It's easy to blame your kid's autism/behavior problems/ADD/allergies on what, to you the layman, is an unknown injectable.  Correlation does not equal causation.

It would be just fine and dandy if people wanted to be as idiotic as they wanted and chose not to immunize their kids because of some harebrained religio-pseudoscientific bullshit.  But by doing so these morons are endangering my child (see: herd immunity).  Diseases that shouldn't even be on anyone's radar anymore are making a comeback and KILLING CHILDREN.

Health officials cite an increase in the incidence of pertussis, particularly among infants and teenagers. In 1976, there were just over 1,000 reported cases of pertussis in the United States; by 2004, it had climbed to nearly 26,000 cases; and between 2000 and 2005, there were 140 deaths resulting from pertussis in the U.S. (NPR)

Now let's take emotion out and look at this rationally. 

• You get your child vaccinated and they might run a fever or have some sore joints for a day.  If they're really, incredibly unlucky they might have a slight to severe allergic reaction.  Chances of death are very, very, very, very, very small.
• You don't get your child vaccinated and they catch whooping cough.  They're miserable but after two weeks of exhausting coughing, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting they pull through.  Problem is that your kid infected your neighbor's newborn who suffered terribly before finally succumbing to death.  And your kid also infected a classmate who infected their kid brother who suffered bleeding in the brain, seizures, and ultimately mental retardation. 

The risks simply do not outweigh the benefits.

Listen.  I understand that everyone wants to do the best they can do with their kids.  If you allow yourself to be misled by junk science and fearmongering, you're being stupid.

Luckily, stupidity has a cure.

So that's how she's going to be.

I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

This morning I was juggling two lunch bags and Lily's backpack on the way to the truck.  Lily asked me to pick her up to go down the stairs, which is odd, because this child loooooves her some stairs.  But she was tired this morning.  So I dropped the backpack on the top step where Husband could pick it up on his way down.  As I headed downstairs with Lily she pointed at the bag and -- I swear this is what I heard -- said, "Is that my bag, Mama?"

So we're onto complete sentences now, I guess.

Our daycare lady said that she wasn't surprised, as her sister has been having conversations with Lily.  Well, huh.

Wildlife rescue wasn't on the agenda today

Usually when we let Bindi out in the morning during the winter she wants to do her thing and come back in almost immediately.  For being half husky this dog is a baby in the cold.

 Nanny-boo

I opened the door and called for her.  I couldn't see her at first but she walked toward the door from the far corner of the yard by the garage.  She hesitated, then ran back and started tugging at something in the fence.  It was pitch black and even with the neighbor's light I couldn't see what she was doing.  I had to call her three or four times before she came inside, and when she did she had fur sticking out of her mouth.  I pulled it out, expecting to have a limb come with it, but it was just a chunk of fur.  Looked like rabbit fur.  Crap.

She was whining at me to go back outside.  When she whines like that it can only mean one thing: there is an animal to chase or a carcass that she wants to roll in.  Crap.  I'm sick and I don't need to be giving any funky carcass-smelling dogs any baths this weekend.  So I kept her inside and went out to investigate.

That part by the garage is hard to navigate in the middle of summer and almost impossible in the winter.  I went out with my camera because it was 5:45 AM and I didn't think to bring a flashlight.  But if I took a picture with the flash I would be able to see the whole area clearly.  This is what I saw:

Keep in mind that I'm looking at this on a 3"x2" camera screen.  I could sort of make out a pile of fur in the corner.  A little closer now...

I still can't tell what that is.  Something is hanging from the fence.  I could see it when Bindi was trying to drag it back through.  I have to walk around to the neighbor's driveway.

Poor bunny!  I thought it was dead but when I got close enough to pull it out of the fence it moved.

I ran inside and got a towel.  I don't need any bunny bites at 5:45 AM.  Its back end was bloody and furless but I didn't see any gore.  Its legs didn't look broken, or if they were they weren't twisted in any kind of unnatural position.  I tried maneuvering it through the fence from both sides.  It was stuck inside a single hole in the chain link and I don't have the slightest idea how it managed to get its entire front half through in the first place.  Evidently bunnies are stretchy.

We just bought a pair of heavy-duty tree pruning nippers.  Turns out they work almost as well as bolt cutters on a chain-link fence.  I finally managed to get it free without too much damage to the fence or the animal.  It didn't appear to be actively bleeding.  I put it in a dog crate in the garage where it won't get attacked by cats, dogs, or large birds.  I saw a great horned owl on my way to work this morning and I'm feeling pretty good about this.  I left the poor bunny with some veggies and some water.  It was absolutely exhausted and didn't fight at all while I was handling it.  When I came back with the food and water it showed a little more life by moving to the very back corner of the crate.  I'm not super optimistic about its chances, but at least it's safe for now.

So how was your morning?

UPDATE: RIP, bunny friend.  Sorry about my dog.

Foodblogging: Suprise! More Korean food -- Kimchi Jigae

I used side pork, overripe napa kimchi, and overripe daikon kimchi.  It was fantastic over rice.  We also had a side of sauteed green beans and a little bit of chicken breast.

Random Wednesday

• We saw Story of the Sea at the Entry last weekend.  The floors were as sticky as always.  It was an 18+ show so it was packed with kids.  Us oldies stood at the front and ran away as soon as we could so we could retreat to our South Minneapolis bubble and finish the evening at the Town Hall Tap.
• We began our evening at Memory Lanes.  I didn't roll a single spare or strike but I did eat some delicious tots.
• I love beer.  I love that Husband is making beer every weekend now.
• I wish people would just be upfront with their IT department.  If you dropped your laptop or broke the screen by closing it on a Lego or spilled something on it or your kid threw it down the stairs, please just let us know.  A) We don't care, B) It's not like you're going to get charged for the damage on a corporate laptop, and C) It seriously cuts down on the troubleshooting, and D) We think it's funny (but we're laughing with you).
• I'm so excited about the chicken I have marinating in buttermilk for fried chicken that I could pee.
• A big envelope of seeds has arrived from Gardens Alive.  I'm itching so hard to get my hands in the dirt.  I'm going to pick up potting soil next week.
• I'm splitting my seeds with three other people.  You know these envelopes?  The ones that are just the perfect size for seeds?  They don't exist in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.  I'm going to go all crafty with sticky notes and scotch tape.  Or this.
• Oh boy, time to half pay attention to a webconference.  :/

Foodblogging: A quick and delicious, if monochromatic, dinner

After stumbling upon this recipe for ddukbokki I knew I had to get this into the menu somewhere.  I've had a big ol' bag of dduk (rice cakes) in the freezer since New Year's and no ideas on how to use them up other than yet more dduk guk (soup).

Silly Mama forgot to put in the Coborns Delivers order on Sunday night so it was slim pickings in the fridge and pantry.  And shame of shames, I only had 1 tablespoon of soy sauce left in the house.  Note: this never happens. 

I've got two pots of green onions growing in the front window and those suckers grow fast.  I rotate between the two pots, snipping off what I need (I usually just use the green part so I don't have to pull out the whole root and replant), and I've got a quart bag full of more chopped green onions in the freezer.  So I've really got to start using them more.  You do know that you can take the ends of green onions you get from the store and stick them in dirt and they will grow, right?

I've also got a gallon bag full of various chopped veggies (carrots, broccoli, bell pepper, parsnips, zucchini, yellow squash) that originally went into a pot pie or something, I forget what, but are handy to have around to throw into soup or whatever.  That's how I cook.  A lot of "something like thats" and "some of that stuff" and "whatevers."

Behold my freezer creation: vegetarian ddukbokki with mixed veggies and garlic, kimchi mandu, and kimchi (a bit overripe and ready to be made into kimchi jigae).

 I'm the only one who really liked the ddukbokki.  Husband is weirded out by the dduk texture and Lily was a mandu-eating machine.  But I really liked the ddukbokki.  It's sweet, salty, and spicy.  Perfect street food.  Perfect cold weather food.  Incredibly satisfying.