Weekend recap

Rachel and I had a delightful Friday night after a ghastly two weeks. I was too tired to cook, and Drew reassured me that the bank account had enough money for Rachel and I to eat out, which we did -- at Kenny & Zuke's. She really is a wonderful dinner companion and I told her that when she got older we'd have Mommy and Rachel weekends in Seattle and leave Daddy at home. We could visit Auntie Amanda and Auntie Jenn, and Anne and Jean...

"And Uncle Airplane!" she exclaimed.

When I tried to explain that Uncle Airplane was a guy and couldn't be part of Girls Weekend, she got very upset and insist David be included. So, David Lednicer, I guess that means you're an honorary girl!

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On Saturday I spent much of the day re-writing and editing parts of the magazine. (This weekend should be the last one where I'll have to work Saturday for quite a while). Rachel and Drew spent the day together and then brought home pizza for our regular Saturday Family Movie Night. Drew had bought Barbie Swan Lake after spying the DVD for sale in Seattle, and we surprised Rachel with it. The only reason I put up with these movies is a) they all have a classical music background, so in effect it's Barbie With Some Class, and b) the storylines are pretty interesting, and Swan Lake generally followed the ballet -- right down the choreography of the dance sequences. Rachel actually recognizes music from Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and the Pastorale Symphony and she claims her favorite music is classical, so that's all that really matters.

It's also a favorite thing to watch Rachel and Drew dance the ballet as the music plays over the closing credits. Rachel has decided that she and I need to perform "Swan Lake" for Drew, in the living room, but we have to rehearse beforehand. I was informed this morning before I left for work that the dress rehearsal will be sometime next weekend and the show will be at 8. Hopefully I will know my part perfectly because Daddy is a very demanding audience!

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On Sunday Rachel and I got together with Amy and her son, Jake, who is older than Rachel but was remarkably friendly and patient as they played hide-and-go-seek, did coloring (Rachel) and played in Jake's room. Amy and I dubbed the playdate "Bakefest" because she claims she has trouble with cakes (which I don't really believe:)) and we had a good time catching up on our lives and mixing ingredients. I baked a pumpkin cocoa cake and gave Amy half; she baked a batch of brownies and gave half to me. We had so much fun that we vowed to make this a tradition, perhaps monthly, and I told her that in March we're tackling babka. (I have a complicated recipe from a fabulous cookbook that Uncle Jack and Aunt Kay gave me for Hanukkah called, "Jerusalem," and it has a babka recipe I'm dying to try but it requires preparing the dough overnight, spreading chocolate and rolling it up, then braiding it and THEN baking it. Not much fun to do alone, but I figure Amy and I can help each other through the experience.