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Sorry Grandma’s, But The Grandfathers Have Been Choosen

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We should have seen the signs.  They were there.  First there was Teagan saying “Poppy” (aka my dad) when ever I take out my iPad because we sometimes FaceTime with my dad.  Then there was the walking by our bar and seeing a photo of MC’s parents and calling out “Grandad”.  I think MC’s mom is in the same picture but she calls out Grandad.  Then there was the fact that my mom sees Teagan regularly and until very recently she wouldn’t call her by the name she goes by (aka Grammy).  My mom hasn’t been pleased to say the least.  All of these events have had us suspicious that Teagan favored the grandfathers over the grandmothers but we weren’t sure.  True she laughed and played with all the grandparents but she just seemed to be more vocal about Grandad and Poppy.

This weekend we spend two days at MC’s parents house.  From the time we got there till we left if he wasn’t around all Teagan could do till she found him was ask “Grandad?”  Grandad, grandad, grandad, etc.  To be clear she did say Grandma, but it became obvious early on who was her priority.

I don’t get it.  Both my mom and MC’s mom are great with her and she enjoys their company, but she has made it clear they are no substitute for the grandfathers.  She just wants to be with them or know what they are doing.  I feel safe enough to write this on my blog because neither grandmother read’s blogs or uses the internet all that much, so Shhhh don’t tell them Teagan is playing favorites.  Of course I think they know already.  On the plus side there is always hope.  That hope is in the form of Amelia!

Weekend at the Grandparents

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This weekend we went to MC’s parents.  We hadn’t been up to their house in a few months so it was nice to get up there.  They aren’t too far but not having a car requires us to plan any weekend trips.  This weekend worked out great since my mom was away and we had her car.  Teagan was good for the rid up and continued her streak on being car sick free.

MC’s parents had a thing in the afternoon Saturday so we took the opportunity to hit up the local diner for lunch.  Both girls were great.  Teagan eat almost all of her pancakes.  Of course what little kid wouldn’t eat pancakes with whipped cream!

Both girls had fun with their grandparents.  We had a nice relaxing weekend.  The only challenge was Teagan and her difficulty napping.  She is able to climb out of the pack and play so she is no longer confined when you want her to nap and she doesn’t want to.  Thankfully at bed time she climbed into the pack and play on her own.  She started out on a bed next to it and we found her later on in the pack and play.  It was very cute.  What wasn’t cute was her waking up at 3AM.

Our biggest challenge was the car sickness returned on the ride home tonight.  We are not 100% sure what triggered it this ride and not others.  We think it is a combination of the heat in the car, the car seat not reclining, and the darkness so she couldn’t see the movement.  It was a painful last 40 minutes home.  i felt so bad for my little girl.  She was a great little kid like usual but she was not happy.  Thankfully I was able to contain the mess so she wasn’t more uncomfortable.

 

Teamwork Is an Individual Skill

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Over the past year and a half my team has been working on ways to improve how we work.  There are many aspects of this, and I am deliberately being vague with the high level.  One part of this improvement goal is to transform into a high performance team.  Turns out that isn’t just some buzz term.  There really is a definition for it and proven ways to get there.  Going into this process I had no idea!  Kidding aside this renewed focus at improvement has had me fascinated.

One of the trainers who I am generally friendly with recommended to me several books to read to help better my understanding beyond the training classes and coaching I have gotten.  The first one I read was “Teamwork Is an Individual Skill: Getting Your Work Done When Sharing Responsibility” by Christopher Avery.  I thought it was a fascinating read.  Much of it was common sense but still I found myself not doing much of what it suggests.  It also made several points that were counter intuitive in todays business world but after reading the book and talking to others that I trust their judgment the concepts really made sense to me.  Ever since finishing the book I have been trying to adopt the concepts for myself and in hopes that my team also adopts them.  One major point of the book is i can’t expect the team to do what I want.  I can only influence them by my own actions.

I read the book on my commute home from work.  It was a good read and as much as it wasn’t as exciting as a novel I was very pleased I read it.  So much so that I want to read more books like it to help in my quest to be a better manager and a better member of a team.

This wasn’t the first book I have read for this initiative but it is the first one I am blogging about. I am hoping to write some more posts about some additional books that i have found were extremely valuable.

The Manhattan Part 2

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Tonight was my 2nd attempt at mixing up Manhattan’s. This time around was also a success too. I didn’t drink all of it just because it was a lot to drink for a Monday night. I had enough to know that I have the recipe down to move on to my next drink.

I am not sure what I am going to try next. I made one Old Fashioned last week. According to my own standards I made up last week I want to do at least two rounds (one for MC & I each) so a total of 4 drinks to be comfortable to move on to the next one. Besides the Old Fashioned I have a total of 10 other drinks I have that I want to try mixing up. 4 of them are summery ones so I have 6 to try before I will look at variations. So far this hobby has been pretty fun, although it can cost a lot in money and calories.

The Manhattan Part 1

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Tonight I mixed up my first round of Manhattan’s. For this drink I needed to go out and purchase some Sweet Vermouth. I only had dry. I learned the difference today. I also wanted to get a Rye Whiskey. The Manhattan’s I tried at bar’s were with that and I liked it. I only had Jack Daniels at home.

Once I had my ingredients (and the kids were sleeping) I got to my mixing. As drinks go this was not challenging to make compared to some of the other ones I have tried. The end result was delicious. MC and I both liked the first batch. They were very strong however. 3oz of alcohol in a single drink will do that too you.

Whiskey Smash Take 3

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Tonight was my 3rd attempt at the Whiskey Smash. It was delicious. That makes two successful attempts in a row. I think one more and I will call it a mastering of the drink. At least a mastery for home use. I am not quitting my day job. This last round of drinks I plan for tomorrow in now has anything to do with the fact that the mint I bought is likely going bad and may not last past tomorrow.

The Whiskey Smash Take Two

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After my failed attempt at the Whiskey Smash last night I was determined to get the correct ingredients and try again. I searched around the internet and got several different recipies but settled on one that seemed to be one of the classic versions. I was missing simple syrup but learned how easy it was to make it. I also needed fresh lemon. A quick trip to the grocery store on our walk this afternoon got me everything i needed to try again.

With all the right ingredients and a video on Youtube I was ready to go. The preperation of this drink required a bit more effort than just mixing stuff up for the sidecar or the martini. I wouldn’t say it was hard but it was the most challanging drink i have had to make so far. Once done the first taste proved the effort was worth it. With the new recipe I got it right on the first attempt. MC confirmed it was good. She is fighting a cold so opted to pass on her own drink. I should have not even been making drinks yesterday or today because I was sick with a cold but I was feeling much better than I was feeling yesterday morning so I drank my creation. It was good. It wasn’t alot of drink. To make it the size of a drink in a bar I need to double the recipe but that would be alot of alcohol. I am pretty buzzed writting this post now so I don’t think I could have handled a double portion.

I wanted to take a picture of my creation but even with the mint for garnish it didn’t look as nice as the sidecar so no picture. I am still trying to figure out why they say to slap the mint on my arm before putting it in the drink. Either way the verdict is delicious.

I need to make this a few more times in the next week or so (I have a ton of mind I need to use) to be sure I mastered the recipe and then it is on to my next challange. I still need to figure out what that will be. I want to make Manhattan’s but I am not sure if that is going to be next or something else.

The Whiskey Smash

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Tonight I moved on from the Sidecar to my 3rd drink in my quest to have a new hobby.  I tried to make the Whiskey Smash. Over the past year and a half we have had it several times and loved it each time we drank it. I thought it was appropriate for it to be my follow on drink after mastering the Sidecar. It took a while for me to get ready for this one since I needed to remember to order fresh mint. Today we had a Freshdirect delivery and i remembered to order mint. The preperation was a bit more complex than the Sidecar. There was one failed attempt that i threw out, but the 2nd drink made it to completion. The problem was it didn’t taste right so I made another one. That one still didn’t taste right either. I had to confer with the internet. My research told me that the Mixology app had one recipe but it wasn’t the classic one that I likely had drank previously. WIth Mixology failing me I had to call it a night since I didn’t have fresh Lemon’s to try a different recipe. One the plus side I learned what muddleing means and what simple syrup is so I am growing as a want to be Mixologist. Is that what people call themselfs these days?

I reverted back to making two Sidecar’s as our evening cocktails. I got very worried when I ran out of Triple Sec in the middle of the 2nd drink. I was only short a bit and the drink still turned out ok. That will need to get restocked tomorrow.

Daddy Daughter Day

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Our babysitter was sick for a 2nd day in a row today. Yesterday MC took off so today was my turn. I thought i had it easy and that our oldest would be going to a school program in the morning but we found out at the last minute that there wasn’t school today.

Instead i took both of them to the park for a bit. It was really nice out. Next up was lunch and now both of them are in for their naps. I would say “down” but Teagan is just sitting there looking at a book not interested in sleeping just yet.

My New Hobby

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A few weeks ago I decided to pick a hobby. I liked that MC has been enjoying cooking and baking and I wanted something i could do. After going to one of MC’s friends houses while on vacation and seeing their awesome bar and his ability to mix up drinks I settled on learning to make more cocktails. My first drink was something i tried before but hadn’t perfected. It was the Chocolate Martini. I wanted to do a Manhattan but I didn’t have all the ingredients. Initial results over the several days I was making them for MC & I were very positive.

This weekend I worked on my second drink. This time i selected the Side Car. It is one of my favorite cocktails. Many places MC and I goto do not get it right or have no idea what we are talking about when we ask for it. I figured I would be complex so I said challenge accepted. After my research on it I realized it is a classic drink that is not as popular as it was in the 1940’s. That explained why most bartenders don’t know it off the top of their head. The good ones look at us funny when we tell them that others don’t know how to make it.

For the Sidecar I needed to buy Cognac and more lemon juice. The first prototype was good but MC thought it was too lemony. I made some adjustments with more Cognac and less lemon and that was ok but not perfect. It wasn’t until Saturday night were I tweaked the recipe with less lemon juice and more triple sec that we were happy. I was surprised at how easy it was to do with very little practice. Now we can have our favorite cocktail anytime.

I now have to figure out what will my next drink challenge be.