The Small Family   

August 23, 2009: Zucchini Weenie

Well, I was at a loss for a blog title this week, so I decided to name it in honor of this year’s State Fair delicacy, which we tried this afternoon: the Zucchini Weenie! Because even though the Zucchini Weenie wasn’t really that exciting or particularly tasty (Chris liked it more than I did), it is fun to say! C’mon, if you haven’t done it already, do it now—say it out loud! Zucchini Weenie! Is there a food with a more fun name to say? I think not! Zucchini Weenie... In case you’re wondering, the Zucchini Weenie is a large zucchini hollowed out and stuffed with a hot dog. That is then put on a stick (as all good fair foods are), dipped in corndog cornmeal batter, and deep-fried. And thus you have the Zucchini Weenie....

The other new fried food at this year’s State Fair was the deep-fried S’more, which wasn’t bad. Would’ve been better fresh out of the fryer, I think. But still, what’s not to like about deep-fried chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker?!

But that’s about all I’m going to say about the fair because, well, Theo was a real Zucchini Weenie, throwing tantrum after tantrum and whining through much of our two hours there...so much that we finally threw up our hands and said, “Forget it—let’s just go home.” So of that we shall speak no more. We thought he’d enjoy seeing the animals, but not so much... Sigh....

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet on the blog (or maybe I have), but Theo has entered a new stage of toddler attitude, and all we can think is that the “Terrible Twos” may be arriving early. (Chris is reading a toddler book that says some kids start them as early as 15 months, so maybe??) For the most part (say, 90% of the time), Theo is still a sweet, happy, delightful little creature who I adore spending time with. But for the last two weeks or so, he has started hitting and spitting when he gets angry (which often corresponds to when he’s tired...or when he’s frustrated that he can’t do something as he thinks he ought to). This is getting really old—getting slapped in the face by a 16-month-old is NOT amusing to us, to say the least. Nor is getting spit at. (Though I have to admit, sometimes it’s hard not to laugh. He looks like such a little cherub, and then he suddenly spits in your face. It’s frustrating and at the same time sometimes amusing.) So, we’re working on how to deal with this. I’m torn. On the one hand, I think I should correct the behavior. On the other hand, my gut tells me that what he really wants is a reaction from me—in which case the best reaction would be to completely ignore the behavior. But oh, is it ever hard to ignore someone slapping your face! (And what really bugs me about the whole thing is, WHERE did he learn this? We don’t spank him, nor do we hit each other. And we don’t spit at each other. He’s not in daycare or preschool, so he couldn’t learn it there. And he doesn’t watch any TV programs that show anything like that—the only thing he watches are Baby Einstein shows that we’ve screened or whatever Food Network program we’re watching. So where on earth did he pick this up? Is it just an innate behavior, to hit and spit when you’re mad? I don’t get it!) So, I think after our trip to Buffalo/Philly, we’re going to use the Pack-n-Play as a time-out location, and when he hits one of us, he’ll get a time-out in there. Not sure whether it’ll work, but it’s worth a try. (As for why we’re waiting until after our trip, it’s because we need him to sleep in the Pack-n-Play on our trip, so we don’t want him to associate it with punishment until we’re finished using it for sleep.)

On a brighter note and moving on from discussions of unpleasant toddler behavior, we had some fun times this week. Theo had float lessons every day, and he is a champ! He can now float on his own (as long as someone is close by to help him resurface if he goes under and panics) when in a normal situation. He hasn’t yet reached the point where he could fall in and right himself, but being able to float is a major milestone, so YAY THEO!!! Deborah is actually extending classes a couple more days this week for a little boy who is inches away from graduating, so Theo is going to go a few more times, too. Might as well get him floating as well as we can before the season ends! The little turkey even likes it sometimes now...he’ll put a sweet little smile on his face while he floats. That is, until he goes under—then he gets mad and all bets are off. (When they first begin floating on their own, they float very low in the water because their breathing is shallow—and that means their face tends to sink underwater for a couple seconds here and there. Theo holds his breath every time, as he is supposed to, but oh, does he get mad! When they get more comfortable floating, they naturally take deeper breaths, and that brings more of their face out of the water so they don’t sink under anymore. It’s just a matter of time and practice, apparently.)

We also met our friends Janeane and Emma (and Jamie in utero, due to arrive anytime in the next few weeks), Kim, and Carrie and Cooper (and Carrie’s Mom, Tess) at Loomis Basin Park, which has a nice, shady playground. It was a hot day, but the shade helped quite a bit, and the kiddos had fun playing. Theo was a little slower than usual by his standards, and he was pretty flushed. I was worried about the heat, but it turns out he broke another molar later that day, so I think he was just running a slight fever. (Emma and Cooper weren’t flushed, which is why I wasn’t TOO worried about heat...but poor Theo had a rather red face and looked like he felt hot!) We resolved to meet for another play date soon—it was so good to get out! Carrie and Kim are both freelance editors, too, and Janeane is a stay-at-home mom...so all of us can definitely use some “get out of the house” time now and then!

Friday, Theo got to play with Grandma Diane while Chris and I went to an appointment and picked up our car (in the shop for an oil change), and he loved that, as he always does. He charmed Grandma into reading him books and playing with his toys, so he was a happy camper.

On Saturday, we drove down to the Bay Area (after Theo’s float lesson) to spend the afternoon with Chris’s family and then go to Chris’s high-school reunion in the evening. (15 years—wow!) This was Theo’s first time being put to bed by someone other than Chris or I in a house not his own, so we were a little worried that he might give Grandma and Grandpa a run for their money, but they reported that he was a little angel. I suspect the fact that he had lots of fun people to play with on Saturday helped wear him out so he was an agreeable chap at bedtime. Chris and I usually find that if we manage to wear Mr. Theo out during the day, he goes to bed without a fuss. And he did have quite a fun day! He got to play with cousin Nik for a while in the afternoon, and then when Theo started getting a little fussy in the mid-afternoon, we decided to take him to the park at the end of the Smalls’ street for a change of scenery. He LOVED the playground...so much so that he threw quite a fit when it was time to leave. Yikes! After dinner, Grandma Kathy took Theo for another walk, which is a surefire way to make him happy, so all in all it was a great day for him.

And, Chris and I had a good time at the reunion. I don’t know many of the people Chris went to school with, but we sat at a table with Jason and Maria, who I do know, so that was nice! And the only other person I sort of knew was Chris’s friend Eric, who we also got to talk to for a bit, so that was fun, too. The majority of the people were really friendly, so even though I didn’t know more than three people there, it was still an enjoyable evening for me. And Chris had a great time catching up with all his old friends and classmates. Theo was very well-known—Chris often posts pictures of him on his Facebook account, so several people came up to talk to us about him. And I restrained myself and didn’t even poke the girl’s eyes out who had a crush on Chris in high school and made a beeline for him the second she came in the door. (I’m actually not the jealous type, and for the record, she seemed very nice. But my hackles went up just a teeny bit when she headed straight for Chris!)

We left San Jose mid-morning on Sunday, after Tom and Kathy made us a yummy breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and fruit salad. (Theo the Bacon Fiend quite enjoyed the meat portion of the meal and then proceeded to harass Chris mercilessly for strawberries.)  Our original intent was to go home via San Francisco, maybe stopping at the zoo and the Ferry Building. But it was actually forecast to be pretty chilly there and a relatively nice day in Sac, so we instead drove back to Sac and went to the State Fair. Which did not end well, but I promised to say nothing more of that, so I will keep my mouth shut!

I’ll end this by saying that Theo is a drool monster today, and I think I may see yet ANOTHER tooth poking through (I swear he’s getting them all at once—none until a year old, and then suddenly they’re all coming in), so this may well account for his crummy mood at the Fair. If that’s the case, I say yay for Theo...because as soon as the rest of those chompers come in, he can eat his very own Zucchini Weenie. ;-)