The Marmoset has hit the Radar!

And with a giant SPLAT at that!

See she used to be "the good one." Orangutan and Rhino could be having a knock down drag out war and she would be sitting quietly with a toy or her blanket. The two big ones would trash the playroom and she would be sitting in a corner with some blocks.

That all changed this weekend.

I accidentally took a nap on Friday for the first time all summer. She took the opportunity to find a ball point pen (probably the only one that worked in our house) and pull a Picasso on the back of our taupe microfiber armchair. And we're not talking about a small smiley face. Nope. Full on mural stuff!

Saturday was mostly without incident. Or I haven't found any evidence yet.

Then yesterday she pulled out all the stops. Lion and I were watching some golf from the couch and she was downstairs playing with Oranugtan and Rhino. Lion got up for a drink and walked through the dining room. A certain Marmoset had slipped up the stairs with a teal marker and "repainted" the yellow dining room wall. At least the bottom four feet. Thankfully it was washable marker and we caught it as soon as it happened.

Surely she was done, right? We got through the rest of the evening without incident and I put everyone to bed. Marmie wasn't having it so she got up and was hanging out with Lion playing with dolls. I came to the office to return some e-mail and was about to call it a night when I heard, "What have you done?!?!?!?!" This was quickly followed with "Honey! Come up here!!"

I walked up the stairs looking for yet another mural but none was to be found. I worked my way down the hall until I came to our bedroom and then our bathroom. Marmie was standing in the doorway looking down. Lion was standing in the middle of the room looking down with his mouth hanging open.

A tube of open and now half empty apricot face wash. A tube of open hair gel only a quarter empty. The face wash was everywhere from the counter to the cabinet and scrubbed into the carpet. The hair gel was limited to the edge of the counter and some in the carpet. Apparently she had been busted before she could really get styling.

I have to say she has been apologetic after every event - not that that helps that much. I have managed to restore everything except the chair. But it is clear that Marmie is on the radar as Princess Destructo. This will thrill her fellow exhibits to no end. Maybe they will be able to get away with some stuff again if I'm distracted.

In the meantime, my bathroom is showing significantly reduced pores and full bodied carpet!

The Tale of Two Bunk Beds

Let me begin by saying that Lion and I have never assembled bunk beds. We have never slept in them or really had anything to do with them. And now that you know this you will probably understand that bed assembly turned into a real fiasco.


Step 1 - Bring all the pieces into the room. This went very well without any hiccups or even scuffing a wall.


Step 2 - Prep pieces. Glitch #1 - We were missing two nuts for the bolts that held the bed rails to the headboard. Lion made a run to The Mighty Home Depot. If I may interject a side note? We were in Home Depot every... single...day last week. Did I mention that they owe me stock?


Step 3 - Assembly. It went perfectly! And then we lifted the frames up to put one on top of the other and realized (Glitch #2) that both headboards needed to be on the top bunk in order for one to go on top of the other. We had them assembled as two twins instead of in the bunk bed configuration.


Step 4 - Disassemble and reassemble in proper configuration. Add slats and base board and matresses. Insert Glitch #3. When we went to put the ladder on for the top bunk we realized that we had put the side rail on the wrong level. There was a setting for bunks (upper) and one for twins (lower). We had both on the lower.


Step 5 - Take top bunk back down and completely disassemble and reassemble. Put back on top of top bunk. Double check ladder and side rail and put on base board and mattress. I discovered that I can't be in the top bunk (suspicious creakings) to make the beds and I'm too short to make them from the floor. If you are ever visiting and you need the step ladder, it's in the girls' room.


Step 6 - Bring in the dresser. Move O's clothes into the proper dresser. This got really entertaining because when he saw her stuff moving out, Rhino couldn't help fast enough! I've never seen shoes fly but they sure were yesterday.


The bunk beds took us a full 4 hours. I was so shaky and tired by the time we were done I was ready to declare that I would die in this house before I would ever move. I still may.

Who's hungry?

Here it is! Day 4 of the MomDot Blog Party! I took the weekend off to rest my fingers and get my commenting thoughts straight so you guys better bring me some good ones today! I also got out my recipe box so I can rob pillage and plunder today as I run around Bloggy Land. But more about that later.

Sponsors: Day Four Blog Party Question is Brought to you by Bottlewise and Glow Mama
VIP BLOGS to visit are Parent Reviewers , Mom Most Traveled, Mommy Zabs, MomStart, HipposToes, Run DMT

Today's question was a tough one for me.

What is your favorite Holiday recipe? Describe your Holiday table and tell us about your biggest holiday cooking disaster.

This theme takes some real pondering for me. A favorite holiday recipe. Since I cook year round as a hobby I am struggling to find something that I cook only for the holidays.

Turkey? I do roasted chickens for dinners so that is a pretty standard. Cranberries? They are seasonal but there is really no recipe there. Mashed potatoes? Baked Sweet Potatoes? Pies? Green Bean Casserole? All of those are pretty traditional. I am a person who loads up the stuffing with a lot of extras (sausage, mushrooms, celery, onion) but there is no recipe for that either because it is one of my “smell it” recipes.

I would share my Chocolate Chip recipe but a cook with a trademark product never gives away the crown jewel. But on the dessert line there is one thing that I will share - mainly in the hope that someone else will claim it and make them so that I am never called on again. Chocolate Covered Cherries! You know those wonderful Queen Anne delights that you see in the red boxes? Oh yes! I love them! But last year I made them for the first time for a Christmas Eve party and have been saddled with them since. So here they are for anyone who would like to take them off of my To Do list.

Chocolate Covered Cherries
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons cherry liqueur
2 (10-ounce) jars maraschino cherries with stems, drained
1 (8-ounce) package semisweet chocolate squares
1 tablespoon shortening

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating well. Add milk and liqueur, beating until blended. Shape sugar mixture around cherries, coating completely, and place on wax paper.

Microwave chocolate squares and shortening in a 2-cup glass measuring cup at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring twice. Dip coated cherries by stems into chocolate mixture, allowing excess to drip; place on wax paper. Let stand until firm. Store loosely covered in a cool place 1 week or until centers soften.

I have been very fortunate to have avoided disasters (unless you count the time Mom was cooking for me at my house and couldn’t figure out how to turn my oven on). On the other hand, if anyone has a good gravy system to share I could use it. The Lion is a little weary of asking for two lumps on his potatoes.

Good luck! And happy kitchen clean up!