Sushi Chef

Last year, I made Bailey's class sushi in celebration of the Chinese New Year. I know, I know, sushi isn't exactly Chinese, but hey, it's not like preschoolers know that, right? So, I made them sushi, and just to make you Chinese enthusiasts happy, I gave them fortune cookies and chopsticks too. But this year, I wanted to be different, I wanted to push the envelope, be original, widen horizons, change their worlds, so I made them, you guessed it. Sushi.

Hey! I honestly tried to be different! But the idea of mixing chocolate and chow mein noodles together had me gagging (and still does for that matter) and I wasn't sure about some of those Chinese cake options or that I would even be able to find the ingredients in a real store. An Asian Market, sure, but trust me, I've been down that road before and spent way too much money on items I sadly, barely used.

So I took on the role of Sushi Chef again. And I bought fortune cookies again and chopsticks. Again. But I did go a bit further. We found these rice crackers in the Asian foods section at Target (and they smelled so gross when I smelled them at her school this morning) and we also brought some crafty items and Bailey's favorite, a pinata (not very Chinese, I know). I think I miss doing these types of things like I did when I had my own class, and yeah, I know that was a long time ago, get over it, but hey, that's my idea of a good time! I'm a party girl, just not the kind of party girl frat boys expect when you say you like to party. Disappointing, definitely. Unless you're a four year old.

Last year, making sushi happen out of rice krispies and Fruit by the Foot was almost daunting. I remember wrestling with that stuff and getting in a violent brawl. It was almost loud enough to be considered a domestic disturbance. But this morning, it was quick and painless and even serene. I didn't fight with the cereal. I'm not even sure I raised my voice. I don't even think we glared at one another or gossiped about the other behind the other's back. We were friendly and content and got a long like soul mates. It was an impressive improvement. Like a toxic relationship with a counselor or a high strung personality on valium.

As for class time, I hung with the kids out of fear of pressing my luck a third time with icy traffic. They poked faux sushi rolls, had some rather interesting fortunes, put some tissue paper on paper dragons, and beat the life out of a dragon. They even seemed genuinely interested in the Chinese New Year. But hey, who doesn't like a holiday? Or sushi? (Okay, so forget the latter.)