Bluegrass Part II

 Today was the Bluegrass Concert at Wornall Road. John Mark organizes this amazing event every year and this year he got Flatt Lonesome, the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year winners. The concert was inside the church at 6:30pm, but at 4:30pm there were Bluegrass acts that performed (for free) on the front lawn of the church.

 

 

 There was a petting zoo (also free) for the kids and Allison loved that after weeks of chasing rabbits around our yard she got her hands on a bunny.  I was glad I had my ticket for the show, but even our Wornall friends that weren't coming to the show came to visit and play with the animals.

 

 

 

 

  Before I knew it, it was time to head into the church and see the main event! Nathan took Allison home (like he did last year) so that I could enjoy the show. The Chamber family, who opened for the band last year, opened again this year. These kids are 20, 17, and 15 and they are so talented. I love the voice of the girl. She mentioned that she's leaving for Tennessee for college so I don't know if I'll get to hear them play again but I hope so!

 Flatt Lonesome also has some family ties. The two women and the lead singer (pictured center) are a sibling group and the girl in the light dress is married to the banjo player.  The entire group is under 22, except for the banjo player who is 25. It was a different vibe from last years guests who were 40-80 years old. This group had the talent but not the stage presence of the last group - but they're young and they'll get there because they have so much talent.

 

 After the concert, I stuck around to take a photo of the band and then JM with the band. The looked so different in their street clothes. I think one of the reasons I like the bluegrass concerts I've been to is that they always dress up.

 While we were outside waiting for the concert to start, Allison found her friends and wanted to play with them. They are all just a little older than her so she was left out. Nathan was watching her and he told me the story. He said it broke his heart that while playing hide and seek, the kids ran away and Allison got really sad. He was going to intervene until Emma, the pastor's daughter came over, took her by the hand, and asked if she wanted to come count with her. Allison didn't know what that meant but this is just another example of the kindness of the Mitchell kids. Both Emma and her sister Corrine are so gentle and understanding with younger kids. They are the oldest in the church and that can be so isolating but they are becoming amazing mentor's and leaders among the children. I have no idea how to raise a girl who will hold a baby when the mother needs a free hand, stop her play so that another kid can be included, or bend down to listen to what a little kid has to say. Even when we go to the Mitchell's house and Allison starts to mess up the girls' stuff, they don't throw tantrums or get upset and when I try to apologize or clean up, they tell me it's ok, then simple direct her or include her in doing something else.

So while Allison has an example of Emma and her sister, I know I can learn a lot from their mom, our pastor's wife, April on how to raise a wonderful daughter.

Garage Sales

Allison and I have been on the go all week long. I thought that by the time Friday rolled around I'd be excited to stay home and rest but by 9am we were both restless. I didn't want to make plans with anyone so I thought we'd drive around our neighborhood and look for some garage sales. My mom and I tried to take Allison garage sale shopping last year but she was really fussy. She hates having to get in her carseat - so doing it over and over again is not a pleasant experience.

Our first stop was on the street next to ours. There wasn't much there but Allison found this old time with Amish scenes on all sides. It was only 25 cents but she loved it. I bought it and it was the golden item of the day- she played with it in her carseat the entire morning and responded to my bribe of, "Allison, if you get back in your seat you can play on your drum!"

 You know when you find that sale that is meant for you? I found a sale that was run by two friends who each had a daughter a little older than Allison. Allison was thrilled to play with the toys (and try on EVERY PAIR OF SHOES) while I looked around. I got this Duplo table and a large ziploc bag full of Duplo for $5, and this red wagon for $3. I'm going to go to JoAnn's next week and get a cushion for her to sit on. I also found a bunch of leggings and tops for her for 25 cents each.

When we got home, Allison insisted on having me pull her around the driveway in the 35 degree heat.

As any parent knows, having a child around makes everything take ten times as long. If I want to grab an item out of the pantry (out the kitchen door and on the staircase leading to the basement), she will slip by me and start playing with the canned food - knowing I don't trust her to play so close to the stairs. I have to either force her back to the kitchen or let her bring her "favourite can" back to the kitchen.

Or when I need to take of the garbage and then refuses to come back in the house - even though I'm cooking, or the bathwater is running, or the phone is ringing.

This morning I decided to pain my nails and she decided that she wanted bright nails too. So after kicking me each time a grabbed a piggy and then crying when I stopped because she was moving too much, we both got a pedicure.

Tricks

I wanted to share this cooking tip because it changed my whole world - if my whole world was stuffed skinless chicken breasts.

I'm always looking for a new way to cook chicken since we are boring eaters. I wanted to make stuffed chicken (mainly to use up scraps in our fridge). Anyway, my stuffed chicken is always a gamble because of all the toothpicks I use to hold it together. Online they show the chicken smooshes to a perfectly flat, even, roll-able piece but mine just looks mangled - this could also be because I use a tin can that lost it's label a few months ago so now I use it as a mallet.


Ok, so the tip is this. Flatten. Layer stuffing. Roll. Then wrap tightly in tin foil and put in the fridge for at least an hour.

When you take the tin foil off, the chicken will keep it's shape while it cooks/fries or in our case - both.

Splash Pad

Nathan usually leaves very early in the morning but today he was meeting his attending at her clinic in Warrensberg (an hour an a half east of KC) so he woke up at 6:30. He needed to sleep in because yesterday was the due date for fellowship applications. Nathan has been working on his personal statement, obtaining recommendation letters, and organizing transcripts for months. He's been stressed (for good reason) and settled on 25 programs to apply for pulmonary critical care.

Allison woke up before Nathan and was excited that he was home - but it made for a busy morning. By the time Nathan left, I had just enough time to run to the grocery store before I met with some friends at Loose Park. I desperately needed groceries but I've had errands and plans every day for over a week and Allison can only handle errands in the morning. when we were driving home from Aldi, Allison suddenly said, "strawberry!" I was her first 3 syllable word. She been talking so much lately, not stringing words together yet but she's becoming easier to understand.

I was only 10 minutes late to the park but arrived just as others were arriving too - I guess we were all on Mom Time today.

April brought old bread so that Allison, Camille, and Griffin could feed the ducks. Allison couldn't understand that she needed to rip the bread first, but she loved watching the ducks.

 

 

After the ducks, we headed to the splash pad. I didn't know how Allison would do since she doesn't care much for the splash pad at the pool we usually go to, but she loved this one. I sat at a picnic table and chatted while she ran around the (gated) splash pad. She was so independent and while she came over a few times to make sure I was still there, she spent most of the 2 hours we were there on her own (or playing with other kids).