Susan Senator

Saddest sight I’ve ever seen: The Beast sobbing because his cousin Kimmie left. Never, ever saw that before! He actually sat on my lap to be comforted. (I must admit I enjoyed the comforting. With these children, I don’t get to be that kind of Mommy enough!!!) The only thing I could do was stroke his silky hair and let his tears fall on my arms. And then I offered to take him to the video store, so off we went, also with Nat. Ben rented GoodBurger, which is stupid but funny, and Nat got Mickey Mouse Fancy Free (don’t ask, it is pure Disney Drivel, although, really, thank God for Disney; they somehow manage to capture a good deal of the autistic child population’s interest, and it is nice to find something we can all watch together, even if it puts me in a diabetic coma).

The Food.
Anyway, we all had such a good time. Of course, the food was wonderful. John, Laura’s husband, makes a sweet potato-squash-carmelized onion soup that tastes like baby oatmeal, which to me is a wondrous thing. Gerber baby oatmeal is one of the best tasting things in the world. I had two bowls, and then, I was full! Oh jeez, I was going to eat and eat and there I was, full before the turkey even came out of the oven! Still, I managed. I ate Mom’s chunky cranberry sauce (real cranberries, strawberries, pineapple, and walnuts) and sweet potatoes, and Nat’s cornbread, turkey, and some wild rice stuffing which was not my favorite. I have a stuffing recipe from Silver Palate Good Times which is made of cornbread, white bread, and French bread, and apples, and breakfast sausage!!! I should have made that. But then, I would have wanted to eat it today, which is a no-no. I already ate pie [recipes in this cookbook] with Ned, and leftover chocolate turkey, (see Dad ogling very same) so I was bad today.

The Company.
My cousins came by for hors d’oeuvres, with their kids, and it was really fun seeing all of them. This picture is of us with our cousin Karyn. My aunt and uncle from Mom’s side of the family came the next day (today) with my cousin Jessica and her twin babies. Oh God, they are cute. They are 18 months old. They run around and are like plump candy on legs. They laugh at water splashing. They are so sweet I can’t believe it! Made me want a baby. Of course. I told Ned and he just laughed.

But the most fun part was Laura. I really enjoyed gabbing with her, as always. She was making jokes that were even making Max laugh, and that is tough.

It has been great hanging with Mom and Dad. I went upstairs at one point to do some belly dancing in my old bedroom, and so first Mom came in and she watched me do my choreographed Misirlou. She was very taken with it, the music and my technique. I was thrilled to perform for someone new who actually enjoyed watching! And then Laura came in and I repeated it. I felt very confident because I knew they would like it, so I did better than usual when Ned is watching. I guess I feel a little insecure that he won’t like it, even though that’s probably not fair. Mom and Laura are just easier to read.

The Date.
Going out with Ned tonight to some groovy restaurant around here, probably Thai. I’m sure that will be great; as much as I love being here, I also need my connecting time with N.S. Isn’t he the cutest thing?