The EntertainingMom goes to the Playground
First, I want to preface this post by letting you know that I want a Gimlet. Yes, at 9:02 am I want a Gimlet. I'm sipping my cappuccino and I'm not going to do anything funny to it for goodnessakes, but still I want a Gimlet. Truth be told I didn't know what one was until a few days ago. I read about it in Julie & Julia, but never bothered to find out what one was. So I did. And now I want one.I simply Googled "How to make a Gimlet." And then I learned that the Gimlet Martini (which sounds both more sophisticated and elegant than plain ol' Gimlet) could not be any easier to make.
You need three things. 3. That's it.
1. A very good quality vodka like Grey Goose -- 1.5 oz per serving
2. A really good Lime Juice, Rose's Lime Juice is perfection -- 1 oz per serving
3. A lime.
According the Bar Project blog, this should not, however, be done in haste... check out this blog if you, like me, have a sudden urge to drink one!
Now to the Playground...
Poor Alexander doesn't get to the playground much anymore. His older brother and sister seem to have outgrown the magic and allure of these active play spaces. Christopher will have fun but only with a friend. I feel like Alexander's missed out on a vital part of childhood. So after school, yesterday, we went to one of the fabulous local playgrounds in our old 'hood.
We brought the scooter and the sand toys.
And Alexander headed right over to the slides and climby things.
So I parked my toosh on a picnic table and watched him run and climb and have fun. I had my phone and keys next to me. Note how I say next to me.
Ladies, there is such a thing as Playground Etiquette. It's not a written thing, but an understood silent thing. And yet after 10 years of bringing my children to these places, there are some people who either just don't get it, or flat out refuse to accept these rules.
If you bring your child(ren) to the play ground put the cell phone down. Your date is with your children and your attention should be fully on them, not with the small metal hand-held device.
Perhaps a short call is a must. That's fine. Kindly explain that you cannot talk at the moment and offer to call back.
So this was my experience yesterday:
It was a gorgeous September day with temperatures in the upper 70's. It felt more like June than June did. Preschoolers and toddlers and babies dotted the scene. A young mother at another picnic table was on the phone. SHE WAS NOT TALKING QUIETLY, OHMIGOD AND LIKE YOU SHOULD, YOU KNOW LIKE... She was shouting into her phone, across the playground. Nothing, nothing bothers me more than grown women talking like teenagers. It is like so totally Grodie to the Max. Gag, me with a spoon!
And while I didn't want to eavesdrop there was no avoiding any of her end of the phone conversation. LoudYoungMother must have hailed from the BBQ area. (Brooklyn, Bronx or Queens.) Not only was she loud, but she was New York Loud. And she was telling her friend (from Brooklyn?) how small she was... that No One could believe that she was due in 3 weeks... she spins every morning... Yadda Yadda Yadda. So I look over and come on, she's not that little. I could totally guess that she was due in three weeks. LoudYoungMother is sitting alone. I cannot tell which is her kid. There is a mother, or nanny, pushing 3 little ones on the swings. Perhaps the LoudYoungMother brought her nanny with her while she sat on her ass on the phone. This pisses me off to no end.
At this point I get up to watch Alexander on the slide, receive a lemonade made out of sand and help him on the monkey bars. LoudYoungMother is still talking on the phone. We have easily been at the play ground for 20 minutes so far. A little boy wanders over and asks me to help him onto a piece of equipment. I am a bit reluctant but no one else has claimed him. Mothers, do not have other mothers babysit your children. This too pisses me off to no end. What if the little boy had gotten hurt? I would have had to run to his rescue, but I also had Alexander on the monkey bars.
And the mother is still on the phone. After a while I make my way back over to my picnic table. I start to look at her in disbelief. She is now giving mothering advice on spacing out her children, bottle feeding, etc. Why is it that young new mothers always feel the need to offer unsolicited advice? Finally she hangs up. Alexander is happily climbing and sliding away. I look back at the mother. She's on the goddamned phone again. Texting!!!
Then her Little boy starts to whip out his little Acorn in the middle of the playground. He looks to be about 3. I chuckle. The LoudYoungMother hurries over and looks around in a panic. There is no restroom at this small playground. I tell her to go to the Fire Station. The firemen are wonderful about letting the kids use the facilities there. She thanks me profusely. Little Boy is still unsure and would much rather whip out his little Acorn on the playground, but she urges him off. She turns around and shouts over her shoulder "You think my stuff's safe here?" I told her I would be around for a while. I never did say I would watch it. Or that I would not rifle through to see what goodies were in there. Amazing. She walked out without her cell phone.
She thanked me upon return and started up a conversation. Great, now this LoudYoungMother wants me to be her friend. Her accent is in no way fake. I ask her where she is from. Westchester. AHA!!! I knew it!!! Larchmont, to be precise. AHA AHA AHA!!!!
As she is talking her son wanders off to mooch food off of some other kid. My eyes are still on Alexander. Hers are... somewhere... she goes on to tell me how un-shy he is and he'll wander up to anyone who will talk to him. I want to shake her and say "Geeze, wonder why lady?" Pay him some attention, and he won't talk to strangers. I want to say this but I don't. And then, as though she is sensing my thought she went on to explain that even though she was on the phone she was watching him (with eyes on the back of her head!) and that she always pays attention to him. Yeah! I was polite and listened. But I knew we would never be friends. I was so turned off. It annoys me to no end that parents will take their children to the playground and then completely ignore them. It annoys me more when parents bring their children to the playground, spend the entire time on the phone and speak loudly enough for you to hear the entire conversation. And what really annoys me is when these said mothers pretend like it's really OK or that it never happened. Because it isn't. Not at all. It takes one second for an accident to happen. Keep your eyes on your kids. Then, if you have emerged from the playground (relatively) unscathed and uninjured then you can pour yourself a ... Gimlet Martini!
You need three things. 3. That's it.
1. A very good quality vodka like Grey Goose -- 1.5 oz per serving
2. A really good Lime Juice, Rose's Lime Juice is perfection -- 1 oz per serving
3. A lime.
According the Bar Project blog, this should not, however, be done in haste... check out this blog if you, like me, have a sudden urge to drink one!
Now to the Playground...
Poor Alexander doesn't get to the playground much anymore. His older brother and sister seem to have outgrown the magic and allure of these active play spaces. Christopher will have fun but only with a friend. I feel like Alexander's missed out on a vital part of childhood. So after school, yesterday, we went to one of the fabulous local playgrounds in our old 'hood.
We brought the scooter and the sand toys.
And Alexander headed right over to the slides and climby things.
So I parked my toosh on a picnic table and watched him run and climb and have fun. I had my phone and keys next to me. Note how I say next to me.
Ladies, there is such a thing as Playground Etiquette. It's not a written thing, but an understood silent thing. And yet after 10 years of bringing my children to these places, there are some people who either just don't get it, or flat out refuse to accept these rules.
If you bring your child(ren) to the play ground put the cell phone down. Your date is with your children and your attention should be fully on them, not with the small metal hand-held device.
Perhaps a short call is a must. That's fine. Kindly explain that you cannot talk at the moment and offer to call back.
So this was my experience yesterday:
It was a gorgeous September day with temperatures in the upper 70's. It felt more like June than June did. Preschoolers and toddlers and babies dotted the scene. A young mother at another picnic table was on the phone. SHE WAS NOT TALKING QUIETLY, OHMIGOD AND LIKE YOU SHOULD, YOU KNOW LIKE... She was shouting into her phone, across the playground. Nothing, nothing bothers me more than grown women talking like teenagers. It is like so totally Grodie to the Max. Gag, me with a spoon!
And while I didn't want to eavesdrop there was no avoiding any of her end of the phone conversation. LoudYoungMother must have hailed from the BBQ area. (Brooklyn, Bronx or Queens.) Not only was she loud, but she was New York Loud. And she was telling her friend (from Brooklyn?) how small she was... that No One could believe that she was due in 3 weeks... she spins every morning... Yadda Yadda Yadda. So I look over and come on, she's not that little. I could totally guess that she was due in three weeks. LoudYoungMother is sitting alone. I cannot tell which is her kid. There is a mother, or nanny, pushing 3 little ones on the swings. Perhaps the LoudYoungMother brought her nanny with her while she sat on her ass on the phone. This pisses me off to no end.
At this point I get up to watch Alexander on the slide, receive a lemonade made out of sand and help him on the monkey bars. LoudYoungMother is still talking on the phone. We have easily been at the play ground for 20 minutes so far. A little boy wanders over and asks me to help him onto a piece of equipment. I am a bit reluctant but no one else has claimed him. Mothers, do not have other mothers babysit your children. This too pisses me off to no end. What if the little boy had gotten hurt? I would have had to run to his rescue, but I also had Alexander on the monkey bars.
And the mother is still on the phone. After a while I make my way back over to my picnic table. I start to look at her in disbelief. She is now giving mothering advice on spacing out her children, bottle feeding, etc. Why is it that young new mothers always feel the need to offer unsolicited advice? Finally she hangs up. Alexander is happily climbing and sliding away. I look back at the mother. She's on the goddamned phone again. Texting!!!
Then her Little boy starts to whip out his little Acorn in the middle of the playground. He looks to be about 3. I chuckle. The LoudYoungMother hurries over and looks around in a panic. There is no restroom at this small playground. I tell her to go to the Fire Station. The firemen are wonderful about letting the kids use the facilities there. She thanks me profusely. Little Boy is still unsure and would much rather whip out his little Acorn on the playground, but she urges him off. She turns around and shouts over her shoulder "You think my stuff's safe here?" I told her I would be around for a while. I never did say I would watch it. Or that I would not rifle through to see what goodies were in there. Amazing. She walked out without her cell phone.
She thanked me upon return and started up a conversation. Great, now this LoudYoungMother wants me to be her friend. Her accent is in no way fake. I ask her where she is from. Westchester. AHA!!! I knew it!!! Larchmont, to be precise. AHA AHA AHA!!!!
As she is talking her son wanders off to mooch food off of some other kid. My eyes are still on Alexander. Hers are... somewhere... she goes on to tell me how un-shy he is and he'll wander up to anyone who will talk to him. I want to shake her and say "Geeze, wonder why lady?" Pay him some attention, and he won't talk to strangers. I want to say this but I don't. And then, as though she is sensing my thought she went on to explain that even though she was on the phone she was watching him (with eyes on the back of her head!) and that she always pays attention to him. Yeah! I was polite and listened. But I knew we would never be friends. I was so turned off. It annoys me to no end that parents will take their children to the playground and then completely ignore them. It annoys me more when parents bring their children to the playground, spend the entire time on the phone and speak loudly enough for you to hear the entire conversation. And what really annoys me is when these said mothers pretend like it's really OK or that it never happened. Because it isn't. Not at all. It takes one second for an accident to happen. Keep your eyes on your kids. Then, if you have emerged from the playground (relatively) unscathed and uninjured then you can pour yourself a ... Gimlet Martini!