Scooby Doo Meets the Phantom of the Opera

Busy weekend. Everything revolved around the kids as usual. Saturday, M attended a birthday party for a classmate, while the Dude entertained an "old" preschool friend at home. Highlight of the evening was the Hobbled Runner preparing his now famous, "Fish in a Boat" from the Desperation Dinner cookbook. It involves preparing a tin-foil boat, placing the fish in said boat, pouring various spices over the top, and grilling for about 10 minutes, "or until fish flakes". It's a great way to get those Omega-3s, and because it's cooked outside, the house doesn't smell like fish. H & J stopped by for dinner and brought the salad.

Sunday was swimming lessons, then the Dude attended a birthday party for one of his kindergarten classmates, while Dad and M went to a "tryout" (though we didn't call it that) for a Minnesota Opera children's choir program. Due to some Mother-Daughter dynamics, it fell to the Hobbled Runner to accompany M to this event. Even I was nervous - but tried not to let on as I had to spend the entire weekend psyching her up for the event. She almost backed out several times, and even in the rehearsal room she thought about changing the song she was going to sing for the tryout. I was able to talk her into sticking with the song we were actually rehearsing - the only one we brought music for (since they had a piano accompanist).

M was richly rewarded for 6 minutes in front of "the panel". She got a trip to Cupcake after the event. Upon returning home, M was pleased to find that Henry was visiting for the afternoon, while his parents were otherwise occupied. After the Dude returned from his party, they all crashed on the couch to watch a Scooby Doo DVD. [photo above]

As an additional reward for the Opera event, the entire family went out to eat at Macaroni Grill this evening. [Steak & Arugula Salad - Tender cuts of beef cooked to order on a bed of fresh baby arugula, spinach, radicchio, apple-smoked bacon and bleu cheese. Served with Toscana dressing. Approximately 9 carbs $12.49 - - Very tasty.]