Monday, April 26, 2010

Dumplings!

Saturday was our annual dumpling day!  It has become a tradition for us to make homemade Korean dumplings (mandu) that we freeze and then serve at Poppy's birthday party.  I can't imagine having to make them by myself, but it's so much fun when Poppy's aunts and grandma's come over to help...



Because this is our 2nd year making them, we all felt like seasoned pro's and we cranked out over a hundred dumplings in an hour or so.  If you're interested in the recipe, you can find it here.


Poppy is getting so excited about her birthday.  We're having her party at the zoo and so far she is requesting to have pizza (but she makes sure you know that she does not want pepperoni on her pizza), rice, tacos, pink strawberry cake and ice cream.



In other news, Poppy is going through a new phase where I think she is developing a sense of fear.  All of a sudden she is scared of bugs (including ants and ladybugs) and reminds us all day long that she doesn't like them, she's suddenly petrified of the blender that I have always used to make her smoothies, and now she is also scared to go to bed.  I can deal with the bugs and blenders, but this going to bed business is not cool.  She asks about bedtime all day and then says "I don't want to go to bed anymore.  I'll miss mommy and daddy so much.  I'm scared to go to bed."  Nothing has changed around here - we still do our same bedtime routine, at the same time every night, but all of a sudden it has turned into a battle.  Last night involved about an hour of trying to put her to bed and then a bit of crying and screaming once we finally left her room.  Today I pulled out the trusty Mickey Mouse pez dispenser for bribery.  We of course have been re-assuring her that there is nothing to be scared of and that we sleep in the room right next to hers, etc. but I also added some Mickey pez to sweeten the deal for her if she goes to bed like a big girl and sleeps all night.  She told me she would go for it, but we'll see.  Wish us luck tonight!


**update**  I just put her to bed after the Mickey pez dispenser had a lengthy talk with her about fears and being a big girl and reminding her where mommy and daddy sleep etc.  We had a few wobbly chins once she was in bed, but after negotiating to get "a couple" pez from both the mickey and minnie pez dispenser, she went to sleep without a peep!  Yay for bribery!


11 comments:

Christine said...

YUM... I love dumplings! Smart lady, making it a "group affair"! I also love Poppy's invite... can't wait to see pics from the party!

And, NOT COOL about the scared to go to bed business... I fear I will never get another full night of sleep again, so I feel for you. Fingers crossed!

saintlouisfricks said...

Oooh, I LOVE the invitation - so cute! Little animals... sigh.
Yum, now I want some mandu!
Glad the bribing worked to get her in bed! Hope it keeps working. Or better yet, that she gets over her fear.

dana said...

awww, such a sweet party invite!! i cannot believe she is turning three!! hope tonight is a restful night for all of you!! smart girl w/the dbl pez negotiation!!!!

lookingforlulu said...

cute, cute. i love that her party is at the zoo. best idea ever.
xx

Natalie said...

Ok, you are not to talk about food (especially dumplings) and not share some with me. I am in no way joking about this.

How nice to have everyone together to make them, I love it!

PS Marc was SUPER cute at dancing yesterday! It was so adorable!!!!

jenna said...

oh, bedtime here has been a mess the past few days too...she's not scared, but just finds 47 things she needs before she actually lays down (bathroom, tiger, water, lotion, a bandaid...get the point?). UGH. Bribery is definitely a good thing once and a while...go for it! Hope it's a short lived fear!

BTW...she looks so sweet cookingn those dumplings!

Christa said...

So sad I missed dumpling day :-(
But looking forward to sampling some on the big bday!I know we talked about when the baby comes and Poppy waking up to crying etc...have you tried anything that would create "white noise"?? Brendan has lately been crying when we put him to bed (not wanting us to leave the room) so I now wind up his mickey musical water globe and leave and that did the trick (last night). We'll see what happens tonight.

Tammy said...

Love the invite...tres chic.

Take care and enjoy those dumplings!

Michelle Oryl said...

It seems Poppy and Colin are from the same mold; he does not like pepperoni, recently started fearing bugs and runs around telling everyone, is afraid of the vacuum and the train and saying "noise no", and is obsessed with tacos (fish) lately and constantly asks for them saying "tacos mama".

Love the invites and cannot wait to hear all about the bday blow-out.

Enjoy those dumplings, yum!

mostlymorgan said...

Three! I cannot believe it! The dumplings sound incredible--I will be visiting the link for the recipe.

Morgan is going through a fearful phase as well--bugs, "ghosts" and bedtime. Wonder what makes it happen?

Krista said...

1. Dumplings! What a domestic!
2. Those invitations are GORGEOUS! Well done!
3. The Zoo - great idea!
4. Fear of bugs - here too - especially after the Butterfly Conservatory
5. Bribery - whatever works!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...