My Little Chef

Oliver is such a joy. 
Yes, he pushes us to the edges of our sanity some of the time — I think that’s his job (and apparently it creates a lot of purple work for him to do). But most of the time he is simply a joy to be around. His imagination is incredible and fun, bringing me back to my own younger days filled with neighborhood or playground games of Spaceship, being pioneers, turning little spaces into forts or houses for our dolls.  

Naturally, we did not have this much joy, imagination and fun when we were home together last year. Too much adjusting, too many barriers. And even as we worked our way through summer, we still struggled with so much. Therefore, I am especially enjoying all of this happiness and love right now! 

This past weekend Oliver came down with a bit of a cold. Nothing serious, but enough for us to stay home and keep the germs contained. We had wanted to spend Saturday “doing something fun,” so I tried to improvise at home. One of the solutions: making pizza! We’ve done this before (and I’ve blogged about it before) — lightly toast an english muffin, then let him spread the sauce, add the toppings and cheese. I help out a tiny bit (cut the toppings up; extended his sauce and cheese to the edges some to prevent burning), but he did a terrific job on his own. He’s a natural chef! I mean, just check out this cutie pie posing for a photo before he gets to work.

Last night I was baking a cake for tonight’s book club meeting. Oliver sweetly told me that I am good at making cakes. And cookies. Wait, what?! A 100% unprompted compliment?! I don’t know if that’s a first, but it sure was lovely to hear. What a sweetie! As for the cake, I opted for a non-chocolate item that is said to be a “good keeper”. It’s a Swedish Visiting Cake from Dorie Greenspan’s book. Simple yet (hopefully) delicious. 

On Friday, Oliver and I will be participating on a panel for families thinking of adopting (we did this in October as well, and Tony was able to be there). These classes are tough, lots of “Debbie downer” information, and the day ends with a panel discussion. I enjoy talking about our experiences, even the challenging parts, and remember the panels being the most engaging part of the day. Tony was with us last time, so I am very much hoping that Oliver is on his best behavior this time around!