As I mentioned in my last post about our visit with everyone, each of us had a breaking point at some point in the week, but I can honestly say none of the meltdowns had to do with each other. Rather circumstances and events tended to lead to emotional overload. One case in point...one couple was traveling and got stuck in an airport on TWO occasions, due to flight delays, for a total of 12 hours. Not a happy time!
My meltdown came towards the end of the week. It was one of those days when I had planned some activities to do with the kids, but things hadn't gone quite to plan. First, I wanted to make garden 'stepping stones' with my grandchildren. I followed the directions on the Stepping Stone box, but all I ended up with was a watery mess. Yikes! Fortunately, I had bought an extra box of mix. That box had a chart calculating how much water to use with different amounts of mix. I was able to figure out my mistake and salvaged the first stepping stone. When I made the second one I tried to adjust the water. It too, seemed to be too watery. Thankfully my son-in-law was able to help me salvage that one. Third time was the charm so eventually 3 of the grandkids were able to make their own stepping stone.
My second project was to make Pigs in a Blanket with my grandson. We've done this many times before, so I saw it as a nice Kid/Grandma moment. But the weather was great outside, and the kid wanted to ride bikes instead! I mean really! Where is his sense of nostalgia? Doesn't he want to make memories? Apparently, 5 year-olds are more into living in the moment, than the past or the future. Go figure.
So I proceeded to make the "Pigs" myself. Just like the Little Red Hen.
I wrapped sixteen hot dogs in cheese and crescent rolls and popped them in the oven. I mixed the mac and cheese and heated up the green beans. This was to be a kid-friendly meal. I checked the dogs in the oven. The dough just didn't seem to be browning. I waited and checked again. Still very pale and soft. I bumped up the heat.
We have a convection oven so I decided if I moved the dogs below the fan level they would bake faster. I donned a mitt, opened the oven door, grasped the baking sheet and pulled it out. Then disaster hit. As I tipped it towards the lower shelf gravity took over. The partially cooked dogs began to slide. I grabbed the baking sheet with my other (oops...ungloved) hand.... and Yelped!!! I dropped the pan as 16 dogs wrapped in cheese and crescent rolls slid to a heap in the bottom of the oven.
Instantly 2 daughters, one son-in-law, one dog and one 1 year-old were at my side.
Of course the dog and the 1 year-old weren't helping the situation, so... Janice grabbed the dog, Dave grabbed the baby, Jen grabbed my Pampered Chef Pizza lifters and started scooping the heap of dogs back onto the baking sheet. And I held my hand under cold running water, eyes squeezed shut, with my mind a blank. A complete blank. When I did let thoughts in it was along the lines of .....
"Dinner is gone. ... what are we going to eat? .... I can't do this anymore..... what are we going to eat?.... mac and cheese, green beans... that's it....I don't care....someone ELSE can cook....I want to go out.... my hand hurts......I don't care...." Somewhere in the background I remember voices saying 'did you burn your hand?" (uh-huh) Are you ok? (uh-uh) ....
Finally I walked out. I went to the garage to the Beer fridge and grabbed a Miller lite. Larry was there. You know, how, in an instant, you can tell from a certain stance, things aren't good? He has seen the stance before.
"Um... I heard some commotion... everything ok?" he tentatively asks. Followed by a LOOK by me.
Sniff, sniff, "I just dropped 16 Pigs in a blanket in the bottom of the oven. (sniff, sniff,) I don't know what you are going to eat. I don't care. Mac and cheese and Green beans. That's all you have. I'm DONE," I declared.
Here is where the family pulls together and everything works out. I sat in a corner, moped, pouted, sniffed, and drank my beer. Jen cleaned up the oven as much as she could.
Larry figured out how to finish the dogs so they were edible. Janice kept the dog at bay and finished setting the table. 15 minutes later we all sat down at the table.
And as I looked around the table I saw that everyone had a plate full of mac and cheese, green beans AND a perfectly cooked Pig in a Blanket, thanks to a great family who picked me up when I melted into a complete puddle.
Oh yes, my burned hand? I never got a blister! So I will end this post with your Public Service Announcement and First Aid Tip. I ran cold water over my hand for at least 5 minutes and then wrapped a wet paper towel around my hand for about 2 hours. I kept the towel wet, and stuck ice cubes in every so often just to keep it moist. When the burning sensation ceased, I stopped using the wet paper towel. The next morning my fingers tingled when I touched the burned area, but they never blistered. 2 days later, I couldn't tell where the burn was. And 2 weeks later, my finger tips peeled where the skin had burned. But I never blistered. Amazing! (Incidentally, I've treated a sun burn the same way...by wearing a wet t-shirt until the burning feeling stops. It really diminishes the effects of the burn.)
One more tip: Jen wisely kept the oven door OPEN until the oven was cold. After dinner I was able to scrape up the cheese and bread completely, even the melted cheese that had dripped into the door hinges. A wet sponge finished the clean up. The next time we used the oven there wasn't even a smell of burned food! I would have closed the door, but my daughter's cooler head saved a big mess.
