The Search for Miss Direction: Water(falls) and Wings

Woke up this morning to learn that the City of Detroit and the surrounding area were deep underwater, and not just financially. We had quite the rainy day yesterday and it seems it was even more severe than I thought. We were so wrapped up in things here (we had a marathon play-doh session that kept us occupied for most of the afternoon) that we didn't even notice how much it had rained. A lot apparently. So much so that parts of the major highways around here (including 696 which is our main way around) was shut down. Rain threatened again for most of the day today so it made me kind of rethink what we were going to be up to.

But New York waits for no one and I thought this morning was a great chance to get in a little Kid Kitchen. The kids helped me make these fun Ritz New York-Style Mini Crumb Cheesecakes. They each had their own parts to play (Noah did all the fudge on the crackers, Mikayla helped me mix up the cheesecake part) in assembling these fun desserts.

Between the baking times we pulled out the fun Noah and Mikayla road trip book from the amazing Amber to check out what adventures their flat selves had in New York. While in New York the kiddos visited Lake Placid (site of 2 winter Olympics) and Niagara Falls. Amber snagged them a bar of Stewart's chocolate which I let them taste test (they left two squares for Grant and devoured the rest. Think it's safe to say they liked it...) and a cool New York magnet which earned a place of honor on the fridge. There were also postcards from both locations so we plotted them up on our big map. There was also a pamphlet from the Falls which they are both absolutely captivated with. We had a little time before heading out so I pulled up youtube and found some fun videos people had shot on Maid of the Mist. I now have two kiddos clamoring for a trip to New York. And I thought they were going to be too taken with NYC to really 'get' any of the rest of it. Shows what I know.

I took them over to the mall for awhile to burn off some energy. The Janoch's met us there and it unfortunately ended in a stand-off between Noah and I. He is really trying my patience as of late (Hmmm, wonder wherever he could get his stubbornness from? I can't imagine!) and neither of us want to back down. It made for a rough end to an otherwise great morning which is always frustrating. We came home for lunch and I had a chance to regroup, restrategize and decide how to get that back for the afternoon.

Unfortunately, today just doesn't seem to be my day. I have been looking for a chance to get the bowling party Noah won scheduled and thought we'd head over to the alley and get that taken care of this afternoon. The website said the alley assumed normal hours at the beginning of August. The website lied. The snack bar was open and that was it. Weird, super weird. The guy at the snack bar told me even he has no idea when they will and won't be open, but usually after 5pm is safe. Well OK then... I then let them stop at the Dollar Store to spend the dollar they had earned by helping Papa over the weekend since they'd been asking since Saturday. Wrong decision. Another meltdown on the big one's part and I decided to throw in the towel and just head home for the afternoon. The rain clouds were gathering again and it looked like a good chance for a nap. Isn't it time for them to go back to school yet? Don't get me wrong, we've been having a fabulous summer, but today stretched my reserves for sure. Here's hoping tomorrow will be better!

Might have been at a loss for the day itself, but I couldn't do New York cuisine without paying tribute to the Buffalo Wing! While its origins are up for debate when it comes to who actually created them, there is no doubt to the where - Buffalo, New York! In my humble opinion my Mom makes the ultimate buffalo wings, but this recipe seemed to be about as authentic as any I could find. Unfortunately, I knew getting the kids to eat a whole bunch of wings probably wasn't in the cards, so I stuck with store bought ones for tonight. But it was the thought, right?

Really hoping we've seen the end of the rain for a few days (a warm-up would be nice, too, Mother Nature, if you're reading this) as I'd really like to get outside tomorrow for awhile. The kids were really baffled at the idea of film in a camera last night when we were discussing Kodak, and today I managed to find (after multiple stores, no joke) a disposable camera (not Kodak, but we're going to pretend) and I'd like to let them trying it out on a mini scavenger hunt tomorrow. Plus after nearly slicing my thumb off last night getting it out of the food processor, I'm hoping the dough for this NY style pizza that has to cold proof 1-3 days (no joke!) is worth it. So until then...