Our Week in Photos

Joey spilled a cup of Cheerios he was eating.  When he walked away from them, I was about to yell at them when I realized that he was just heading off to get the broom and dustpan.  His coordination wasn't too effective, but I loved the intent!

He also loads the washing machine.  With empty yogurt containers. Or anything else he can find.

Clara's valentine-making factory.  She made a valentine for everyone we were to see on Valentine's Day weekend!

I found it interesting the differences between her valentine and mine.  Glad to see that she likes herself.  A lot, apparently.   ;)

Joe's fascinated with underwear.  But he doesn't have any yet, so he has to steal Clara's out of the wash basket.  He is coordinated enough to get them on all by himself!

He's also becoming more and more interested in babies.  Here, he's giving Clara's baby a drink of milk.

And the calla lily bloomed again!  Welcome, spring!

For Love of Acelgas

Since this is the page where I get to brag about my kids, today I'm demonstrating not only what exceptionally awesome eaters my kids are, but passing on the love in the form of one of my favorite, easy recipes, incorporating one of everyone's late winter/early spring vegetables--acelgas!  (Acelgas are either kale or chard, I believe.  If someone would like to clarify in the comment section, I'd appreciate that.)

Didn't know that acelgas were one of your favorite vegetables? 

I didn't, either, until about 2 years ago.  A friend of mine steamed some for me and I was hooked.  It's so simple.  Clean as much chard/kale as you want (clean more than you think you want, as it will lose considerable size after being steamed), put a tiny amount of water in a pot, put that to boiling, throw in the chard/kale, shake some salt on top, cover it, steam it for just a few minutes (not too long, or all the nutrients get steamed right out) and voila--delicious vegetable!    Or use a steamer basket. 

It's even better if you poach an egg or two on top of the chard/kale while it's steaming.  Instant lunch!

But the acelgas are just one ingredient from today's vegetarian, toddler-friendly feast.  Step two is even more exciting! 

Background:  one of the things I miss most about the US is the abundance of Asian restaurants that serve peanut sauce over noodles.  I've taken measures into my own hands and make my own. 

Beware if you do try to follow the instructions:  I rarely measure my ingredients (cooking is so much more fun when things are just tossed together in the skillet), but years and years ago I did get the base of this sauce from a cookbook, and I think this is how it goes: 

     Peanut Noodles
     1/2 cup onions
     2 cloves garlic
     1/4 cup peanut butter
     1/4 cup soy sauce (or less . . . I'm thinking less might be better, but when my unmeasured sauces turn out bland, it's usually because I wasn't generous enough with the soy sauce). 
      1 cup milk
      1 block tofu
      2 packages ramen noodles (without the seasoning packets)
      Valentina hot sauce (or Schirracha, but I live in Mexico and Valentina is a lot easier to come by)

      Sautee the onions and then the garlic in a large skillet.  Once transparent, add the peanut butter.  Let that bubble up and then add the soy sauce and then the milk.  Let that reduce until it's a nice, saucy consistency.  I also always add a block of tofu, cut into cubes and then smushed (to look edible) once it's added to the skillet (either before or after adding the milk). 

     While that's thickening, cook and then drain the ramen noodles.  Once the sauce it thick, add the noodles to the sauce, and simmer a little longer so the noodles and sauce get to know one another. 

       To serve:  layer a healthy serving of steamed chard/kale on the bottom of a bowl and top it off with an even healthier serving of peanut noodles.  Splash on some hot sauce (if you're so inclined), and enjoy! 

       My 18-month old ate three servings of this today.  The four-year-old raved about how the noodles were delicious and after being prompted to try the leafy greens, declared them to be equally delicious.  However, truth be told, it did take her the better part of an hour to finish a 1/3 of a cup of those delicious noodles (with plenty of coaxing toward the end of said hour) and, apart from that initial taste, the greens went uneaten. 

       I think steamed acelgas are fantastic on their own and I think these noodles are great on their own.  But put them together and both the noodles and the acelgas are even more delicious.  It's a match made in heaven. 

       And we'll be eating it for the rest of the week, it looks like.  No complaints from me. 

We Didn't Really Fall Off the Planet

While I mentioned briefly giving up the blogs, that wasn't my intention.  And it still isn't. 

But with having one child that rarely takes naps and a husband who no longer works at night, finding time to blog without neglecting my most important relationships has been tricky.  I'm going to make time, though, because I've missed this! 

So what's happened with us in the last three months? 

• Joey walks!  Really this development is a little over a week old.  He was getting closer and closer for a few months, but I think peer pressure finally pushed him to bust out on his own.  Last Thursday, we were visiting his little buddy who just turned a year old (6 months younger than Joe) and also just learned to walk.  Joe--being the smart guy he is--must have thought, "well, shoot--if he can do it, I can do it."  And he did.  This afternoon before his nap, he and I walked around the block together.  This baby is officially a toddler now!

• His vocabulary is still minimal.  He does say "mama" (usually "mamamama") and I think he's usually referring to me.  He has said Clara a number of times, once clearly pronouncing the CL blend.  On Christmas Day, he said "more" but we haven't heard that since.  Last week he was consistently saying "pfffft" for poop, but he's lost interest in that now.  His only real consistency is that he barks at dogs. 
•  
• Despite the lack of words, he can communicate quite well. The other day I let him be completely naked, running around the house--no diaper.  After awhile, he toddled up to me, quite concerned, grunting and pointing.  It was quickly clear that he had peed on the floor and wanted it cleaned up.  Not bad for a guy with 3-word vocabulary! 
•  
• He's also following commands well.  The other day he was playing with his dirty diaper after I had it all folded up.  I asked him to go throw it in the trash can, not thinking that he really would.  However, he scooted himself down the hall, diaper in hand, all the way to the laundry room, and put that diaper right into the garbage can.  That, and a number of other instances in the last couple weeks have left me pretty impressed with the kiddo.  

Clara

• Just turned 4 last week. 
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• She's always been very protective of her purple sippy cup, even though, for the last year, I haven't let her drink from it very often.  However, after her birthday party, Joey got sick and that purple sippy cup was the only clean one I had on hand.  She readily handed it over to him and announced that she was too big for sippy cups now that she's four.  We have been prodding her in this direction, but not too heavily, so I was proud of her to come up with that (mostly) on her own.  
•  
• After listening to her Spanish when her abuelos and Tia Lili came to spend Christmas with us, Mario and I were both a bit concerned with how she'll fare at school when she starts in September.  We had been toying with the idea of sending her to a dance class for awhile.  With the additional incentive of helping her learn Spanish better, and the fact that she finally sounded interested in dance class, we went to try one out a month ago.  It was a mixed-age class, and while the registration lady said that it was for kids 3 and up, the next youngest girl had to be about 8.  The class was an hour and a half long, and Clara kept up surprisingly well with the older girls.  Despite not being prepared to have an almost-four-year-old in the class, the teacher accommodated her pretty well.  When the class was over, I asked her if she wanted to keep coming to dance class three times a week (she was allowed one demonstration class before we signed up).  She responded with a very enthusiastic "yes!"  But Joey was getting fussy, so my plan was to return the next day to sign her up.  

          That night, she decided that no, she really didn't want to go back to dance class after all.  I'm still not    sure what caused such a change of mind in just a few hours.  Maybe I had too much fun relaying how adorable she was to Mario that evening.  Or maybe, as she says, it was just "too much exercise."  Either way, Clara is no longer a dance student.

While initially disappointed, I was a bit relieved.  She wouldn't have really had much of a chance to speak in Spanish, and three days a week for nearly 2 hours at a stretch is really a lot for a four-year-old.  And quite likely way too much for the little brother. 

Finally it dawned on me that she attends Sunday school at the International Church, which is mostly in Spanish (as all the kids but Clara and her best friend speak only Spanish).  Then on Wednesdays when we're there for Bible study, Naty (her friend's babysitter) teaches art to the school kids, and she always includes Clara.  So she is getting about 2 hours of mostly solid Spanish every week.  I was hoping to also send her to catechism at our church on Saturdays, not that she's four and old enough for it, but I was just advised that it would be better to wait until the school year starts.  Nuts. 




However, since we've been stressing that she learn Spanish, she has improved by leaps and bounds in the last month.  I hope we haven't been pushing too hard.  But whatever is it, it's working!  She seems pretty  proud of herself, too.  

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I'll leave you with Clara and one of her stranger Carly Rae Jepsen impressions, with Joey dancing along.  Yep, he not only walks, he can dance!