Potty Training: 101

Potty Training has been really easy in our house. My Mom told me that when a child is ready, they will let you know.

Oldest was the Flower Girl in my Cousin's Wedding at age two and a half. Right before she was about to walk down the isle, she told me she needed to use the potty! So we rushed to the potty and Oldest took off her Pull-up.

I told her, "No!, you have your pretty dress on and your tights, you've got to put your Pull-up back on." I was all flustered and hurried about getting back to the line-up in time, and Oldest was unusually fussy about putting the Pull-up back on!

In haste, I threw the Pull-up in the trash, grabbed her arm and looked her in the eye, and said in a low voice, "Now Oldest, you only have tights on, you must remember to ask Mommy to use the Potty when you need to go, I don't want you to have an accident on your pretty clothes."

The ceremony went by, and then the reception went late into the night. Oldest never put a Pull-up on again. And really never needed one at night, but I just insisted as a safeguard.

Looking back on the moment-"when she let me know", was a VERY, split second decision for me. I'm glad I saw the time to make a decision. My Mom was right!

Potty Training 101: Watch, Converse, and Listen!

Taking Baby Steps,

Julia

August's Children's Literature Review

August

Author: Tomie dePaola

(The children behind this experiment.)

It has now been about a month. We read as many Tomie dePaola books that our attention could pay. I loved all the books we read, but Oldest and Youngest appreciated some much more than others. Let me spotlight on the books we signed out of our local library:

1.) Strega Nona: Her Story by Tomie dePaola

2.) Strega Nona's Magic Lessons by Tomie dePaola

3.)Strega Nona Meets Her Match (Paperstar) by Tomie dePaola

4.)Big Anthony: His Story by Tomie dePaolo

5.)Strega Nona's Harvest by Tomie dePaola

6.)Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

On the night we started with our new, August selection of Library Books, for some reason Youngest ended up reading with me (Usually Youngest reads with her Daddy, so this was an odd switch around). Oldest was stuck on her old favorites and wanted to read with her Daddy. So off in the Study they read what she wanted.

Youngest was ready for the new books, I read the original Strega Nona to her. She was very quiet, and listening, and then when Strega does her magic on the pot and sings the little song with three kisses, Youngest was singing the song and throwing kisses into the sky! She really got it. I worried this might be above her comprehension level. And so then the next night we read it again with Oldest present and Youngest seemed to know she had one up on Oldest since she knew the song and the Kiss part.

I'd say this was a good hit with them, but I did notice that they never say, "Mommy, this one tonight". Since favorites are the ones they do this with, I don't know if this is a true favorite, but they liked it for sure. They read it about three times.

The next week I had some time off in the middle of the week and so I read them in the afternoon, Strega Nona: Her Story. Both girls were ready to listen to the story. They seemed to get side tracked away from the story in the beginning when they saw Strega Nona as a Baby. The girls stopped listening and just wanted to look at all the pictures. So we did. Strega was a cute little baby!

Another night we attempted Strega Nona: Her Story, but again those illustrations of Baby Strega Nona took their attention off the story.

Then I read during the day again to Youngest. Oldest wasn't ready to sit down and listen to a story. I was beginning to feel that Youngest was getting these characters figured out and really enjoying Strega Nona. We read, Big Anthony: His Story. Big Anthony is the character that never listens, does things his way and always gets in lots of trouble. Youngest likes that he is naughty- so it was a hit! Oldest may have been listening, she came over to look at some pictures now and then, but really I don't think she really cared about the story.

Strega Nona Meets Her Match and Strega Nona's Magic Lessons just never held their attention. So I read they on my own. I thought they were really cute, but I think these are just a hit or a miss with 2-3 year olds.

The last book we had was, Strega Nona's Harvest. This was a hit with both girls. Mostly since we are a gardening family and they have all planted seeds before. All through the story they counted vegetables, talked about what color vegetables were, and what the names were of all the vegetables they looked at. So this book provided lots of entertainment, learning, and enjoyment to them. This was the BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH!

The girls and I seem to really be enjoying our reading. We have already started the month of September. The author is Chris Van Allsburg. He writes and illustrates.

When I was reading about his decision to go to college I laughed how he basically conned the college recruiter into letting him into art school. This persona comes out when I read his books. You always think you understand the story and then he will put in one little line, or even a word, that will change the whole story! You can read more about him at his Official Site: http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/flash.html

Again I'm worried some of these may be a little advanced for the girls. But what is life without exposure.

1.)The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg

2.)Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg

3.)Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

4.)The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

5.)Probuditi! by Chris Van Allsburg

6.)The Z Was Zapped: A Play in Twenty-Six Acts by Chris Van Allsburg

My thought for the day is: A picture is not a picture until it is exposed.

Award Winning 2009 National Festival of Breads

Tomato, Basil, and Garlic Filled Pane Bianco

~makes 2 loaves

Last week I was looking over my e-mails and had one from King Arthur about the 2011 National Festival of Breads Competition. On the main page was the 2009 Gold winner, for a Tomato, Basil, and Garlic Filled Pane Bianco. It just looked sooooo good!

The second I got off work I dropped by the grocery store and bought the ingredients I needed. Then I went home and baked it up. Yes, I picked up my two, crazy, little girls from daycare, went home to get Hubster and them dinner, and to make bread! (Very motivated I was by this bread.)

Well, I guess it is a winner. For such an advanced bread making recipe, it was very easy to do. Plus the recipe makes enough for two loaves! I was very happy to add this to my recipe box. It's a keeper. If I was to complain about anything, it would be that the dough could rest longer to develop a little more flavor. But I put this together exactly as the recipe said and was pleased with first time results.

I'm thinking of entering the 2011 National Festival of Breads Competition this year. (For some reason it appears that 2010 was skipped). But they are taking entries now if you would like to participate: http://www.nationalfestivalofbreads.com/enter/default.aspx

Oh, and one thing, I forgot on my first loaf was to tent it after 10 minutes with foil- so my picture shows a more browned bread.

And as Sam-I-Am says in Green Eggs and Ham, "Just try it, you might like it!" And I say, "I do. I do like this." It is extra good with Laughing Cow Cheese spread on top.

See Link to Recipe: http://www.nationalfestivalofbreads.com/recipes/detail.aspx?id=8

Waiting 11 years to try Canh Chua Ca again..... (My 1st Entry to Delicious Vietnam)

Canh Chua Ca (Sweet and Sour Soup with Mahi-mahi)

Eleven years ago, Hubster and I moved in together. We come from very different backgrounds. He emigrated to the the U.S. from Vietnam as a teenager and was raised half of his adolescent years in foster care and I'm a small town, Vermonter, that was raised with the Earth as our Mother, snow, and knowing almost everyone in the area since I was born (this being a fact of life since my Birth Mother, was a school teacher and knows almost everyone!).

After a few weeks of living together I was very excited to try out some Vietnamese Recipes. I had three Vietnamese Cookbooks, had read then cover to cover, and was sure I was armed with all the literature I needed to make a great Vietnamese meal. So, all on my own I decided to make Canh Chua Ca.

I went to the Asian market and got everything I thought I needed. Well I didn't get the Rice Paddy Herb. In the recipes I had reviewed, it described Rice Paddy Herb as being strong tasting like Cilantro, and some said it could be substituted. Everything went together nicely and I was so excited for Hubster to eat my new creation!

And this is what he said, "Where is the ngo om? YOU can't make Canh Chua Ca without ngo om. It's like making peanut butter and jelly and leaving out the JELLY!! Why would you even attempt to make a dish if you didn't have all the necessary ingredients?!"

I was crushed and hurt, but understood his feelings even though I thought it was still good. Since that time I've made many different Vietnamese Dishes, but I had NEVER made Canh Chua again until.........LAST WEEKEND.

Hubster was looking at my lovely Gigantic Elephant Ear plant (from the Taro family) growing beside our front porch. He commented on wondering if we could eat them and that looking at them made his mouth water for Canh Chua Ca. He even suggested we harvest some and make a small pot. But I knew better and told him I wasn't eating any plant I wasn't definite about the genus and species.

So we spent about an hour reading all these horror stories of people thinking they were eating Taro stalk (bạc hà) and having it not be the right species! Stories about a half an hour after finishing their dinner their mouths were burning with pin prickling sensations that lasted for up to an hour!!! Not FUN!!

The moral of this is: buy your Taro stalk from a reputable grocery store, and to never eat it raw because all Taro contain raphides, or needle shaped crystal that are calcium oxalate. Basically poisonous! The cooking process minimizes these toxins so we can eat them.

Hopefully now I haven't scared you, but educated you for great success in making Canh Chua Ca.

~Canh Chua Ca~

(Sweet and Sour Soup with Mahi-mahi)

Ingredients:
2 pounds Mahi-mahi fillets
water to cover fish
3 cups Taro stalks, sliced bite size
12 fresh Okra, cut bite size
3 tomatoes, wedged
1 large pineapple, cut bite size
1/4 c. tamarind paste
Nice handful of cut up Rice Paddy Herb
sugar
fish sauce
caramelized scallions, and bean sprouts (optional)

Serve on serving of rice in bowl.


Directions:
Place fish in large pot and cover with water until the fish is submerged one inch underwater.
Boil fish in water for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Spoon off the foam that appears on the top surface to keep broth very clear. Remove the cooked fish from pot. Add Taro Stalks, Okra, and Pineapple. Cook for 15 minutes. Then put in the tomatoes and cook until desired texture (firm, but not mushy). Add the tamarind paste and taste for flavor. Then add about 3 Tablespoons of sugar and taste again. Now salt the broth with fish sauce, about 1/2 cup, and taste to see if adjustments are needed. Add the fish back to the pot and then drop in the Rice Paddy Herb -right before serving on top of a large spoonful of Jasmine Rice. Add caramelized scallions and bean sprouts when serving if desired. The Rice Paddy Herb will soften up by the time the dish reaches the table and will enhance the aroma and color of the dish. Enjoy!


Now eleven years have passed and I have defeated all my hurt feelings of trying to make Canh Chua Ca. And Hubster's words were,"Man this is really good honey, you nailed this one, and the Mahi-mahi is great in this dish! Nice Job!"


I would also like to say I am very excited to be taking part in the Delicious Vietnam Blog Event for the first time. I have enjoyed reading all the past entries and getting wonderful and inspirational ideas. Many thanks to the very talented creators, blogs: Host Anh from A Food Lover's Journey , and Ravenous Couple

Summer's End

It's been a very busy summer. The weather has been extremely HOT! The peppers did the best this summer. Yes, there is one poor, little tomato in the picture. I think this was #3. All were stunted by the heat this year. Wishes for better gardening next year!