The two cutest things in my life today

A grown man. 200 pounds. A small white scooter. A pink helmet.

A sweet boy. A little red riding hood cape transformed into a superhero costume (hood up, cowboy hat on).

Montessori soldiers

This week at work, me and another mama of a toddler were discussing how we made the preschool/daycare decision for our children. We talked about weighing the philosophies of Waldorf, Montessori, in-home care, or parochial education. How for me - - the amount of outside time was critical. For her - - the focus on arts and creativity.

And then we cracked up laughing. Let me tell you how this decision was really made:
- How much does it cost?
- Is it on my way to work?
- Has any child ever died there?

Sounds good!

All joking aside, we are at a sweet Montessori school with horses and an indoor pool. I love it, but at times I find it a little rigid. They call the activities "work" and the philosophy clearly trains children to be disciplined. When we arrive in the morning the teacher says to Truman, "Please take your shoes off and find some work." Work!? How about "find a toy"?

I have to chuckle at the little Montessori soldiers. Sitting with their "work" in a perfectly organized classroom. While it totally fits with my Type A/OCD personality, I like Truman to have his freedom. To wander around the woods. To be messy and disorganized. Since he only goes to daycare two days a week, I flow with it. I encourage him to find "work" and to not use that "work" to bonk another kid in the head.

The other night at bedtime, he was going crazy and would not lay down in his crib. It was late and his schedule was off. I had read a stack of books, refilled the water cup, sang songs, and said prayers when I threw out something I had heard his teacher say, "Truman, show me you are ready for one more book." He laid down, somewhat enthusiastically. Folded his pudgy little hands. Laid quietly. And soon fell asleep.

I guess a little discipline is not such a horrible thing. :)

Another day, another dollar

At the end of every workday, I turn to the colleague that sits next to me and say:

Another day. Another dollar.

Literally.

And then I laugh out loud at my own joke.

She smiles. Or ignores me. She has grown tired of this joke by now.

The moral of this story is that I need more and better idioms to weave into my language. I need to be able to throw "It's like inviting a dog into a meat truck" or "Even a broken clock is right twice a day" into a casual conversation with my boss.

And that is what I am focusing all my attention on right now. That, and leftover Thai food.

Spanx for toddlers

This pretty much sums things up

My boy. Smiling. Running outside to find potato bugs. Ecstatic to see ducks in the pond.

Filled to the brim with joy.


  

Lucky to have found you

 

DIY: Easter Terrarium

Truman's First Pet

Randomly last year, I kicked over a small log in our yard only to find a beautiful salamander. Since then, I continually kick over small logs in the hopes of finding a little critter to show Truman. He has been watching me, and he is now also on the hunt for critters. He moves leaf litter to look for beetles, digs in the dirt to find worms, and spots spider webs on the side of the house. He found an inch worm last week and he was ecstatic.

Two days ago when he found a larvae inside a rotting log, my first thought was, "gross." My second thought was, "Can we keep him?" We built a little habitat for him a jar, poked some holes in the lid, and we plan to watch him metamorphasize. The naturalists at my work think it is eaither a slug or a beetle. I am hoping for a beetle because that will be a more dramatic transformation.

Tortilla recipe

I really love to make different foods from scratch. Like a lot of people, I am caught up in the DIY movement. I have tried a lot of things that have been good and some have been a waste of time:

• Ketchup: Totally worth the effort
• Yogurt: I used a great recipe that didn't require any special equipment OR a thermometer, but yogurt is so cheap so I always felt like I was investing a lot of time for little savings.
• Graham crackers: Not worth the time. Make some cookies for God's sakes.
•  Fruit roll ups: An absolute favorite. I typically make them whenever I am trying to impress another mama (oh, goldfish? no thanks, we have some homemade fruit roll ups we made with strawberries from our CSA)
• Bread: Worth it, but I never mastered it and I don't really have the time.
• Enchilada sauce: Amazing. So worth it and very easy. Let me know if you want my recipe.
• Mayonnaise: I have had mixed results. But it is so much better than store-bought. It doesn’t always work for me. The temp of the ingredients and the amount of patience one has for pouring the oil make the difference between perfect lemon-garlic aioli and an oily mess.

The one recipe that has changed my life is homemade tortillas:

The recipe is very basic:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 cups of whole wheat flour

10 T Butter at room temperature

1 T Baking Powder

1.5 tsp Sugar

1.5 C water

Cut the butter into the flour. Don't be lazy and use cold butter, it won't work.

Add the remaining ingredients

I mix it with a wooden spoon for a few minutes and then just turn it over on the counter and mix it with my hands/knead it until it is well combined

Let it sit covered on the counter for an hour or two

Roll it into little balls, about the size of a satsuma

Flour the counter and roll out each ball

Add oil to coat the bottom of a pan. Turn heat to medium. Cook until bubbles appear and then flip it and brown the other side. I typically have to add oil after every two tortillas.

This recipe makes about 24 tortillas.

Add a little salt. Enjoy!

Book Review: Ice Bear by Steven Kazlowski

Ice Bear. Graaaaarrrr.

I love this book. It is mostly pictures about big bears that live on the ice. They hunt seals, wrestle in the snow, and swim in the freezing water. This is a family favorite and mom and dad are happy when I reach for it. "Stunning" my mom always says. "Let's go to Alaska" my dad always says.

My friend Leon gave me this book for Christmas. His dad, Steve is the photographer and author. If you want to hear him speak, he will be at IslandWood in a few weeks:
http://islandwood.org/events/bears-of-the-alaskan-arctic-coast

Thanks, Leon!