October 18, 2011

Basic Smoothie Recipe and More

It’s Korean mum time!

After work on Friday, Kris and I took Sophie and Jake to Lofty Pursuits, this awesome little ice cream and toy store. Kris and I got grapefruit sorbets, Jake got a cone, and Sophie got a Make-Your-Own Sundae.

Jake was so funny. He was very at home at Lofty Pursuits (I guess he goes there all the time with Hum); he showed me around. “I know what I’m getting,” he said as we peered into the freezer. “I want a scoop of Sweet Cream and a scoop of Cotton Candy. Can I get a large? Mommy, can I get a large?”

Kris said he could.

“Sophie,” Jake bragged, “I’m getting a large.”

There’s a little car in the store that kids can ride on. Jake claimed the car and he didn’t get out of it the entire time we were there. He rode around the store, eating his large ice cream cone and dripping it on the floor. He made stops at the fun house mirror and the store’s stuffed animal section. Periodically, he’d come by our table and say, “Look at me. Hey, Leslie, look at me.”

“Awesome,” I’d say. “That’s an awesome little car.”

“Hum’s getting me one,” Jake informed me.

“She’s getting me one too,” Sophie said. “She’s going to give it to me for Christmas or my birthday.”

“Do they sell them here?” I asked. “The little cars?”

“Yeah,” Sophie said, “but they don’t have any right now. I think because Hum bought them all.”

Sophie wanted me to admire her sundae. It really was a sight to behold. It featured scoops of cookies-and-cream and cotton-candy ice cream, and it was sprinkled with gummy worms and topped with a mound of whipped cream. I didn’t have a lot of time to look or comment, however, because Jake wanted me to visit the toy section with him. He wanted me to quit chatting with Kris and Sophie and follow him as he drove the little car across the store perilously close to other people’s tables.

“Stop talking, Leslie,” he said. “Leslie, stop talking. Stop being such a chatterbox. Mommy, don’t talk to her. Don’t answer her, okay?”

I kept talking to Kris. Kris had showed me the wart Jake has on his elbow, so I was talking about the wart I used to have when I was a little girl; it was on my left pinky finger. I went on and on as Jake sat in his little car groaning and rolling his eyes. “Leslie, stop talking about your stupid wart!” he said. “Mommy, I told you not to say anything to her!”

“I’m not,” Kris said, laughing. “She’s doing this all on her own.”

“Gosh, I can’t believe you don’t want to hear about my wart,” I said to Jake.

“I want you to look at the toys with me!” he said.

So we looked at the toys and tested many of them out. We attempted to juggle with some juggling balls. Kris was cringing as Jake tossed a ball high in the air and it fell onto a display of puppets.

We stopped man-handling the toys and watched a candy-making demonstration. The awesome candy makers were making those neat old-fashioned hard candies that have pictures in the middle. They were making pumpkin-pie-flavored candies with a picture of a pumpkin. Sophie was absolutely fascinated. We each got a free sample.

“Is it magic?” a little girl asked as she watched the candy take shape.

“No, it’s science,” the jolly candy maker said. “I don’t know any magic tricks. I only know science tricks.”

But he really did seem like a magician.

It was time to go too soon; Kris needed to go to the grocery store. Jake was hilarious all the way through; he was hilarious right to the end. On the way to the car he was dumbass-ing around, walking really, really close behind Sophie just to bug her. He loves bugging her. “I’m stalking you, Sophie,” he said with his goofy smile. “Sophie, I’m stalking you.”

“Stop it!” Sophie cried. “Mommy, make him stop!”

But Kris couldn’t; she was laughing too hard. Just the dumb expression on Jake’s face was making her crack up. He really is awesome.

As we said goodbye, Jake was wrestling Sophie and his wart fell off. There was blood flowing in the back seat, so Kris ran back into Lofty Pursuits for a napkin and I took off by myself for Quincy with an amused expression. Ahead of me were two happy days of fern-planting, raking, mulching, weeding, house-cleaning, and smoothie-making. I’m including my basic smoothie recipe below. It never fails; it’s always good.

Cute!