Excuses for Laziness

This post, well it doesn't really have much to do with my life or being a mom, but it's something I have an opinion on - and those of you that know me know that I love  to voice my opinion. :)

The other day while watching the Today Show, there was this woman - a mother - who had made a documentary about education in our country. The entire base of the documentary was that we are asking too much of the kids in the country, and putting too much stress on them. That we should go easier on them and require less. And I was shocked to see the amount of support this film got. Really?! I mean, I'll be the first to admit that there are definitely flaws in our educational system. For example, I have a younger brother called Tanner, but his first name is really Matthew. And his Spanish teacher was failing him because she didn't have any of his assignments. In truth, he'd handed in all of his assignments, but written his name Tanner on the top, instead of Matthew. This woman didn't know my brother at all! She had no idea that Tanner was really Matthew, so she clearly never spoke to him. (I'm also left wondering why she wasn't pondering why she had all these extra assignments for a student she thought she didn't have.) However, I don't think that over-work is a problem in our schools.

I went to High School at a private school in South America. I did eight hours of homework a night. I would take a nap at midnight and have my dad wake me up at 1 so I could get up and finish my homework. However, I was working to graduate a year early, so in order to get all my extra school work done I had to work eight hours a night for my normal work so that I could have eight hours on Saturday for my extra work. And it was stressful, yes. Super stressful. But it prepared me. When I went to college, the work load was so much easier that I was able to get all my work done, work 2-3 jobs at a time, and maintain a B average. In High School, I was still able to hang out with my friends at least two nights a week, I was a member of Modern Music Masters, I took Voice Lessons, I had monthly musical concerts, and I was in several High School Plays. I never felt like I was missing out on a social life. I still went on family vacations, and I still found time for leisure reading. And I never did homework on Sundays. Which leads me to ask, "If I was able to maintain a normal life with an enormous work load, why is it so impossible to believe that American teens can maintain a healthy, active, social life, with an infinitely smaller work load?"

I feel that rather than asking too much of our children, we are asking too little. Our culture is forever getting grief for being lazy - and for good reason. We have such a sense of entitlement and superiority, but we don't really deserve it! I was a nanny for a boy in Italy. Kevin was 14, multi-lingual, and went to school 6 days a week - as did all the other kids in Italy. He still had a healthy social life, he played on a competitive basketball team, and he found plenty of time to watch TV. So if these kids, in other countries, can spend more time in school, and still have a healthy social life, why is it so difficult for our children? I think it's because we've trained them to feel entitled to perfection without any work. We and they feel they should get straight A's while only dedicated a couple hours to homework a week.

In addition, our country's test scores are already awful in comparison with other countries. Do we really feel like teaching our kids less, and requiring less of them will help them in the long run? In this age of easy travel, and international communications, it could only hurt our nation's children to train them even less than we already are. They will be ill-prepared for jobs, or for interacting with their international peers. We will be further isolating them, rather than helping them to branch out and grow.

In an International Test covering Math and Science scores between millions of students in 41 different countries, the following were the results:

In short, the tests showed U.S. fourth-graders performing poorly, middle school students worse. and high school students are unable to compete. By the same criteria used to say we were "average" in elementary school, "we appear to be "near the bottom" at the high school level. People have a tendency to think this picture is  bleak but it doesn't apply to their own school. Chances are, even if your school compares well in SAT scores, it will still be a lightweight on an international scale.

1. By the time our students are ready to leave high school - ready to enter higher education and the labor force - they are doing so badly with science they are significantly weaker than their peers in other countries.
2. Our idea of "advanced" is clearly below international standards.
3. There appears to be a consistent weakness in our teaching performance in physical sciences that becomes magnified over the years. ( http://nces.ed.gov/pubs99/1999081.pdf)

One of the arguments of this documentary is a girl who committed suicide because she didn't get an A on a test. Another is kid's who get migraines because of the stress. Perhaps it's our approach? Teaching children that they're better than their international peers, expecting them to be the best, yet also telling them that they shouldn't be expected to work more than they choose. Training them that things should come easy to them. Then being surprised when they don't know how to handle to pressures of working. 

So in short, I don't think we're asking too much of our youth. If they're stressed, let's teach them the value of time-management, stress-management, and hard work. If the educational system is failing, let's re-organize it. Let's require a higher standard of lesson planning and teaching. But if we continue to teach our children that their problems are the fault of others, that it's not fair, and they're just being worked too hard, we're just setting them up to fail. Over and over. 

Craft #1: Hairbows - SO EASY

So we've all seen these. (INSERT PICTURE). They're adorable. And my daughter hardly ever goes without one in her hair. I love playing dress up, and putting pretty flowers in her hair. Luckily, my mom and sister made a lot and gave them to me before E was born. But recently I've realized that she's missing a few colors, which makes it difficult to dress her in those colors, because if you don't have a hair-bow to match, what's the point, really? And while her hair is long enough at 4 months to do a pony on her head, bows are easier. So I made a few. Here's my first tutorial.

You will need: (INSERT PICTURES)
Fake Flowers of your choice
Hot Glue Gun

Rhinestones or buttons for your flower center

 Hairbow Clips

1: Buy a fake flower of your choice at Micheal's, Hobby Lobby, or your craft store of choice. I prefer the ones with lots of layers, and that are wider, instead of the tiny ones for hair-bows. They usually range from about 50 cents to 5 dollars for one. Depends on your flower.

2. Pull/cut off the stem, and pull apart the flower layers. Then stack your layers. Make sure they are askew, so all the petals aren't exactly lined up. I don't use all the layers, but it's up to you. It's your flower!

3. Put a dab of glue between each layer, and glue together.

4. Hot glue your rhinestone or button in the center.

5. On the back of your flower, put a dab of hot glue, and place your metal clip on the glue.

6. Congratulations! You're done! Wasn't that ridiculously easy?! And people sell these things for over $5 each! Clip onto a headband or directly into hair, and enjoy!

Tilapia

How do you cook it?

One day my hubby came home, and said, "I like Tilapia! I had it tonight and it was so good!"

So my ears pricked up, because I'm constantly trying to figure out what to make for dinner. And I bought some Tilapia. And cooked it. And then I cooked it another way. And another way. And another way. And each time, he was polite, said it was good, but he clearly wasn't enamored with it like he had been when he'd eaten it elsewhere. Now, finally tonight, I had a mild success. He was happy with the way it was cooked, and enjoyed it, which I count especially as a victory, because he wasn't feeling well tonight. And things never taste as good when you're feeling sick. So here's how I cooked it tonight, but I want to know your recipes for Tilapia too, because I'm still looking for the recipe that will WOW him.

Place Tilapia fillets on hot skillet (heat on medium-high to high). Fillets may be either frozen or fresh. Let it sear for a couple minutes, then pour some orange juice over the fillets. This un-sticks them from the pan. Add some soy sauce, a small bit of mustard, and a tiny bit of pepper. Stir. (All ingredients are to taste. So just add them until you like the way it tastes.) Cover and continue to cook fillets in this sauce until they're cooked through. Flip them once or twice. They'll be done in a matter of minutes. You may add some corn starch mixed in water to thicken the sauce. Serve over rice. The sauce is great to pour over the rice too. SO easy. And ingredients that almost everyone already has. Awesome right?! So what's your favorite recipe?

Christmas Songs: Yay or Nay?

Now I realize this is a bit controversial, and probably frowned upon, but I do not like Christmas Music in general. People seem to assume that this means I don't love Christmas. But that's not so. I ADORE Christmas. Especially now that I have a child, and get to see Christmas through the new, excited eyes of a child. It's probably my favorite holiday. I love turning on the lights on our tree, and just staring at it. I love looking at the presents under the tree, even though I know that none of them are for me. But I can't wait for my hubby and daughter to open their presents. I'm just so darn excited!!!! But I don't like most Christmas music. I'm sorry people, but new songs are written every day. New number one hits come out once a week. So why tell me why are Christmas songs always the same?!?!?! The only thing that changes are the people who sing them!!! I'm sorry, but after hearing "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" four different times, but 4 different singers, in a two hour period, on the same radio station, I want to shoot myself in the head! However, there is one Christmas song that I will always love. Well, no, that's not true. Some artists can slaughter this song. But this song almost always touches me, and overwhelms me with the Spirit of Christmas, and the sanctity of this holiday.

O Holy Night

Also, I recently discovered (as in yesterday) a new Christmas song. I realize the song isn't new compared to most songs, but in comparison to other Christmas Songs, this one may as well have come out yesterday. And I appreciated this song. I appreciated that it's a new Christmas song, but still reverent, and focuses on the Christ child, who is the reason we celebrate this beautiful time.

A Baby Changes Everything

And lastly, to end this rant against Christmas music, with more Christmas music (I know. Even I don't understand how my mind works) is a beautiful song by Amy Grant. I have always admired Mary, Mother of Jesus. My favorite scripture is Luke 1:37, when the angel comes to tell her that she will be the Mother of hte Son of God, and she asks how this can be, and the angel tells her, "For with God, nothing shall be impossible." I cannot wait to ask Mary one day how she felt, and I often wonder what life was like for her. I would love to hear the Christmas story from her point of view, and I think this song probably accurately describes how Mary was feeling.

Breath of Heaven

A Poor Man's Pacifier

 

E used to be a Binky Baby. She loved her pacifier. From day one she would just suck on that thing, and it made for instant happiness. She required her binky to go to sleep, and it helped her stay calm in the car and grocery store. However, about a month ago, she just stopped taking it. For no apparent reason. She just started spitting it out. We had no idea how to calm her anymore. We had to find completely new strategies, because now, the binky just aggravated her. So we've had to improvise to find new things to entertain her. We've tried toys, books, teething rings, but the most successful things have been the most random of household junk:

Aluminum Foil: While my sister in law was highlighting my hair, E was getting quite fussy, and after she'd refused her doll and a rattle, my sister in law, Emily, handed her a piece of tin foil. INSTANT satisfaction. And a good 15 minutes of peace and quiet until she dropped it. So yes, now, when E is being stinky, I hand her a ball of tin foil. She loves to chew on it. Sounds like it would hurt her tooth, but she loves it. Does this make me a bad mom? Maybe. But it makes my baby a happy baby.

Plastic cups: She loves these red plastic cups that we have. Loves them. If ever I'm eating a meal, and she's getting fussy, and I want to finish eating before she explodes, I hand her an empty, plastic cup. This buys me a minimum of 10 minutes.

TV Remotes: They make great chew toys, and interesting things happen when you bite the buttons! This lasts as long as she can go before she changes the channel on me, and I have to take it away to get back to my show.

Plastic Bags: These are, of course, a no-no. But she sometimes snaps them up for a few seconds before I can stop her, while we're unloading the groceries.

Jewelry: Particularly necklaces. They're like rattles that can't get away! Plus they make delectable chew toys! My necklace often means a minimum of 15 minutes of "reverent" play time during Sacrament Meeting.

Tags: On most of her toys and dolls, E's favorite accessory is the tag. It's so smooth and fun to chew on. Tags equal at least 7 minutes of quiet, happy, play time.

Ribbons: Tags at their very best! Today my mom and I were wrapping Christmas presents, and Elena was sitting on the floor, frantically grabbing every spare bit of paper, trash, and tape. Naturally we kept snatching them away, until, finally she happened upon a long bit of ribbon! Bliss. Pure bliss. Believe it or not, this made for more than an hour's worth of productive mommy time, and happy baby play time. SCORE!

Lastly, Anything Mommy Has at the Moment: this is almost always her favorite toy and greatest need. Notebooks, pens, phones, anything mommy is holding.

Have a Little Laugh

"Oh THAT'S what you meant!"

Before I became a mom, I got all sorts of advice and warnings:
"You're going to be more tired than you've ever been in your life."
"Get used to wearing grungy clothes, because you're always going to be getting messy."
"She's going to get into everything!"

And at first, I thought to myself, "Ha! Joke's on you suckas! My baby rocks! NONE of those things are true!" However, I recently realized, they just weren't true, yet! As a newborn, E slept soundly, and I was well rested. She typically only woke up once a night. I woke up way more than that to go potty when I was pregnant, so waking up only once made for some great sleep!

Getting clothes dirty? Not really. I frequently would hang up her clothes and mine at the end of the day to use again later. She wasn't a spit-uppy baby, so she hardly ever spit up on her clothes. And what with just eating milk, she hardly ever got her clothes dirty. And since she hardly ever spit up, my clothes hardly ever got dirty either.

And she didn't get into anything, obviously, because she couldn't move herself around. So I didn't have to worry about hiding sharp objects, or putting away the computer cord....

And then came the Fifth Month... 

She isn't sleeping! Why won't she sleep people?! I have done everything humanly possible! Seriously, if you leave a comment with a suggestion on how to get her to sleep better, I will cry. And then find you. And make you cry. We do baths every night before bed. We use the lavender bedtime soap.... ugh, for more info, see the previous post on her sleeping. I have never been so tired. Oh my gosh. I almost have to prop my eyelids open with toothpicks. And when she wakes up in the morning, is it terrible that I just lay her next to me in the bed and let her wiggle quietly for 15 minutes until I can muster up the energy to get up?

Messy! I've recently started giving her rice cereal before her bedtime bath. Now, one of her favorite things to do is blow raspberries, and she thinks it's even MORE fun to blow raspberries right after I've put a spoonful of rice cereal in her mouth. Which equals rice cereal all over my face and her clothes. She also wants to be big and independent, and insists on holding the spoon herself. So I have a spoon, and she has a spoon, and we're both trying to get them in her mouth... mess. And she likes to bang her spoon. Oh, and put her hands in the bowl. And hold the bowl. So goodbye to the days of recycling clothes, and hello to bigger, more frequent loads of laundry.

And she now, does get into everything. She is learning to scoot and crawl, and while she's still moving mostly in a backward motion, she can also turn in circles and pivot while on her tummy, so she can get almost anywhere now. She just had to turn around and scoot backwards. I find her chewing on the computer cord, books, anything that's been left on the floor, that is not meant for babies - that's what she goes for. She'll scoot right past her ball, her doll, and her links, and head straight for my shoes, mouth open wide, eagerly anticipating the taste of rubber and dirt in her mouth. (I suppose when all you eat is milk, any variety in taste is welcome.)So now on to learning to baby proof the house.

I understand now. This is what they all meant. The advice and warnings just came too soon. I celebrated too soon.....

Don't let this fool you. This picture was taken, pre-mess

Baby Toys For Mom

Do you ever look at baby clothes or baby toys and think, "Oh my gosh, I have to buy that!!!" I do. All the time. Here's the thing though. I could easily dress Baby E in Boys pajamas all the time, and she'd be just as happy. As far as toys are concerned, some of her favorite things to play with are the red plastic cups we have, spoons, and (though I've tried to stop this) the balls of plastic wrap my husband sometimes lets her play with ("I'm watching her! I'm watching her" he always promises). So I know that when I spend exorbitant amounts of money on beautiful, frilly, and fun things for E, I'm really buying them for myself. Today, I found the cutest rocking horse. And after a phone call to hubby, and multiple texts back and forth while he was at work, I did it. I bought this:

Don't you love it?! It's a Rocakabye Toys product. I subscribe to a site called HauteLook. Every day they email me with new deals of everything from kitchen appliances to clothes to makeup to baby products. I love it. And this was one of their deals today! Instead of the usual $129.99 for this product, I got it for a SAWEET $74. Merry Christmas E. I'm done shopping now!

P.S. If you want to sign up for HauteLook deals (it's free) leave your e-mail address and I'll send you an invite!

Sleep: A distant memory

Why don't babies just sleep? Why do they insist on screaming their eyes out instead of just taking a nap, when you and they both know that all they need is some sleep? Now, my little gal may not have screamed much today, but she certainly didn't sleep. Unless you count one 10 minute nap. I don't. I don't count that. Now adults, when they're sleepy, they just fall asleep! On the couch, at their desk, standing up, curled up on the floor - we're not picky. We just want sleep. Sleep. SLEEP!!!! What is it about being young that makes you feel so determined to stay awake? Perhaps it's that their lives have been so short that they naively believe that by sleeping they'll miss something? While we adults understand truly and completely that sleep is way more important than anything that could possibly happen while we're sleeping. We also understand that if we do miss anything, chances are, it will probably happen again later, hopefully while we're awake. To babies, however, everything is new, and they haven't yet grasped that life is repetitive, and things don't just happen once. It's a sweet kind of naivete. But when combined with my wisdom and exhaustion... it's just, well... exhausting. Especially when you factor in that my little ones' love of being awake does not only pertain to daylight hours. For the past few nights little E has gone to bed at 8:30, and then woken up at 11:30, 1, 3, 4,5,6, and then again at 7 - finally for good. Do you know the physical toll it takes on a person to get up every hour during the night? My body has started getting E out of bed without my knowing. I wake up standing in E's bedroom, pulling her out of her crib, not knowing how I got there! After laying her down, the smallest sigh or whimper through the monitor can turn my blood cold and make my heart stop beating. The fear that she is waking up runs so deep, I feel almost sick. So today, sleep deprivation took over. Fatigue turned to panic. And I pulled out all the stops. I once heard that giving baby a bath with Johnson's Baby bath for Bedtime helps baby sleep better. So I went and bought some of that. With the matching lotion. I gave E a bath, and lathered, rinsed, repeated, lathered, rinsed, repeated.... each scrub-a-dub was the echo of a prayer that this child would sleep tonight. In The Happiest Baby on the Block he speaks repeatedly about swaddling and it's magical abilities to help baby calm and sleep. So swaddle-dwaddle went baby E. White noise. Everyone talks about white noise and helping baby sleep. "White noise imitates the sound of the womb and helps baby sleep! Bla bla bla bla bla bla" So to I-tunes I went. I searched and searched and searched until I found a nice recording of Ocean Waves. Set to repeat over and over, aaaaaannd, PLAY. Then I, turned on the monitor ahead of time so I wouldn't wake her up when I reached over to turn it on after laying her down. Then I grabbed some Dr. Seuss ("You should read to your baby! Establish a routine for bedtime! This will help baby learn when it's time to sleep") dimmed the lights ("dimming lights helps baby settle down and realize that it's time to sleep") sat in the rocking chair ("rocking mimics the motion of the womb and helps baby settle down and fall asleep") pulled out my baby-feeder (c'mon, let's face it, that's all their good for lately. ("Feeding baby just before bed helps baby fall asleep and stay asleep longer")), and rocked and fed my baby while reading to her. I eventually gave up the reading because it was too distracting for her. So as far as I can tell, my desperation for some true sleep forced me to follow every single piece of "getting baby to sleep" that my mind could remember. She is asleep now.... I really hope this works. I can't even remember sleep. I only have vague ideas of what it was like to sleep through the night. I haven't done that in over a year. Sleep.... Is it wonderful?!?!?!

Sweet and Sour Pork Chops

Sorry for the extended sabbatical!  What with traveling to Med School interviews, babysitting my hubby's siblings, and... oh yeah, having a 5 month old who hates sleeping, it's been difficult to find time to update my blog. And what precious free time I have had, I have spent.... well... just sitting. Sitting... what a luxury....

So here's a sweet recipe for you:

Ingredients List:

½ cup sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
6 tablespoons canned pineapple juice
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 lean boneless pork chops
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice, corn starch, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook until clear and thickened, 2 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, season with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes total. Pour sauce over chops, cover, and cook over low heat for 50 minutes, turning frequently.

Sleep Experiment: Day 2

Sometimes it's tough being a mom. There is nothing in the world that can unravel me as profoundly or as quickly as my baby screaming. Ever fiber of my soul just aches to hold her and comfort her. I just want to make everything instantly better. This, however, is not always the best thing for her in the long run. For instance, hubby and I are trying to teach our little gal to go to sleep on her own. Previously, I have been very adamant that we hold her and rock her to sleep, and pick her up again if she starts crying when we lay her down. I felt it was incredibly important for the first few months to make her feel secure, and help her understand that her needs will always be met. Now, however, I feel she's smart enough and old enough to start going to bed on her own.

Previous to yesterday: Putting E to bed consisted of swaddling her, feeding her, and some extremely long turns bouncing her and holding her. And then after she fell asleep we would continue to hold her for a minimum of 5 minutes - because we learned that she's tricky, and likes to make us think she's asleep when she's really not.

Starting yesterday: Feed her, rock her, read her a story, give her a binkie, and put her in bed. The end. Ignore that her eyes are still half open, and brace myself for the screams.

Yesterday she screamed [I do not use this term loosely. She screamed] for thirty minutes. I would go in about every 10 minutes to check on her and make sure she hadn't rolled over, and try to give her her binkie. Finally after a half hour I couldn't take it any more. I was on the brink of tears myself, and she was still so upset. So I picked her up, fed her for about five minutes, and though she was still slightly awake, I put her back down. And that was it! Success!

Tonight it only took 20 minutes. I did not have to feed her a second time. After about 20 minutes, husband went in to check on her and make sure she wasn't hurt, gave her the binkie, and she whimpered a couple more times (I'm sure just to tell us she still wasn't pleased) and then fell asleep. Thank goodness.

It's agonizing to listen to her screaming, but I also know that it's important for her to learn to self-calm. Plus, I simply can't rock her for an hour every night for the rest of her life. I hope it keeps getting better each night. We took cookies to all of our neighbors in our apartments as an apology and thank you for putting up with the screams.

Thank Goodness

If this is a preview of what my life would be like with twins, I am so grateful I only have one baby.

Milestones

This morning my daughter woke up at an unearthly hour. Fortunately I'm blessed with an angel of a husband, and he got up with her. When I finally did wake up, I played with my daughter for a little bit, then set her down to go get ready for the gym. I laid her on her back. I went and put in my contacts, and when I came back, she was on her tummy! Hooray! We've been working on this skill for awhile, and she's been rolling over with slight assistance, but this is the first time she's ever done it by herself! Now she won't stop! I'm realizing that life, as we know it, has ended. Goodbye to laying her on the couch while I readjust my clothing after feeding her. So long to leaving her on her changing table for just a quick second while I grab an outfit to put on her (I know. I'm not supposed to do that anyway, so stop judging me.) And farewell to putting her in her swing or bouncer unbuckled. So long. Farewell. And hello to buckling, holding, and careful careful watching. But it's worth it. One of the most wonderful things as a mother is watching your baby grow, and learn new things. Even something as small and simple as rolling over becomes a monumental event, and you can't help but yell and cheer and clap and maybe even choke back a few tears. I have loved watching little E. grow. It truly is miraculous, life. How easy it would have been for God to set us on this Earth, already knowing everything we need to; but it's so beautiful to watch life unfold instead. I love watching every little thing she learns, and her excitement at learning it. Isn't being a mom fun?!

Mommy Lesson #3: Babies are not unlike Puppies....

I realized recently, that aside from how you get a puppy, babies are not that different from canines.

1)  Drool. Puppies and babies love to drool. They don't care who's watching, or how wet they get. They just love to drool. Why are puppies and babies always unable to swallow?!

2)  No matter how long or loud they make noise, nothing they say is intelligible. They can say it any way they want, and as earnestly as they want, you're not going to understand them so stop trying.

3) Chewing. They chew on absolutely everything! You take one thing out of their mouth, and they instantly replace it with something else. Fingers. Cloth. Shoes. Toys. They're not picky. They just want to chew.

4) They poop whenever and wherever they please. Again. Not picky. They don't care who's watching. They don't mind an audience. If they need to poop, they poop. Luckily you can put a diaper on a baby. With a puppy, you just have to get your hands dirty.

5) All they need to be happy is a little attention. They just want to be loved.

So essentially, if you can take care of a puppy, you can easily take care of a baby.... so what if every puppy I had met a not-so-good end?

 

Mommy Lesson #2: Alone Time

So yesterday I had an epiphane. I'd gone to the gym, and my husband had taken our little girl out for awhile. When I got home they still hadn't gotten back. And that's when I realized. "This is the FIRST time I've been home alone in over three months. Because while I may often feel alone. While I may get so deprived of adult conversation that I resort to talking to my three-month old like an adult, and I may often keep the TV running all day, even when I'm not watching just to hear the sound of words instead of babble in my home, I am never really alone. I always have a little, smiling, babbling, wiggling dwarf attached to my hip, arm, breast, something. So to be alone. Actually alone - not pseudo-alone - was pure bliss. It only lasted five minutes. And I'd like to say in those five minutes I just vegged on the couch, or at least that I took a shower that wasn't rushed by a crying baby. But I didn't. I tried to veg on the couch, but I kept seeing things that needed to be picked up. So when this happens again, you know, another three and a half months from now, I'll take advantage of it. I will eat bon bons and watch TV with no worries. Next time....

Lies My Mother Told Me

When I was younger, I used to come straight home from school and change right into my pajamas. It was a mix of two theories. 1) Why put off the inevitable? I'll be putting them on to go to bed anyways. and 2) I am all about comfort, and pajamas are just more comfortable. My mother used to tell me, "Natalia. You can't wear your pajamas all day." I would ask her why not, and the answer was always, "Because when you're older, married, and have kids, you can't just stay in your pajamas all day every day." Guess what, Mom. You can!

So little, but already such a teenager

So I got a credit card in the mail (actually a rebate card) and as soon as I opened it, my daughter snagged it. I can already hear her saying, "Mommy, I'm taking your credit card. I need some new jeans." This does not bode well....

I'll tell you what I want what I really really want...

I really really want this. But I could never spend that much on a coat. I also desperately want this. It's more reasonably priced, but probably still out of my range....

Fast & Easy

No, the title of this post is not my old High School Nickname. It is referring to my requirements for recipes and cooking. With a three month old who loves to be held, and does not love to sleep, it's difficult to spend too much time in the kitchen without some serious tantruming (can it be called a tantrum if she's only 3 months? Probably not...) So here's a recipe I discovered that was so super easy, and very tasty. It's similar to a curry. I was able to get all the ingredients at Walmart, except the fish sauce I had to get at the local Smith's. (My experience looking for fish sauce at Walmart went something like this: "Do you know where the fish sauce is?" "Fish sauce? You mean soy sauce?" "No, I mean fish sauce. Fish. Sauce." "Oooh! Fish sauce! Yeah! You want Tartar Sauce?" "No. Fish sauce. Saucey. Fishy. Not soy, not tartar. Fish. Sauce." "Is it like a fish rub to rub on the fish?" "No. It's a fish sauce, you put it in things to cook with." Yeah for Walmart workers and their "no education required" job descriptions.)   

Honey Garlic Lemon-Chicken 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 7 minutes

Yield: SERVES 2-4 as a Main Entree

Ingredients:

·         6 to 10 chicken drumsticks, skin left on (I just used chicken breasts, no skin, and still tasty)

·         juice of 1 lemon

·         7-8 cloves garlic, minced

·         2/3 cup liquid honey

·         1/4 cup fish sauce

·         1/2 cup coconut milk

·         1-2 fresh red chilies, minced, OR 1/3 to 1/2 Tbsp. dried crushed chili (from the spice aisle)

Preparation:

For my original Thai Lemon Chicken recipe (with lemongrass), see: Thai Baked Lemon Chicken.

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a flat-bottomed baking dish (I use a glass lasagna dish). Make sure chicken pieces are not piled on top of one another.

2.    Place remaining ingredients together in a bowl or measuring cup, stirring well to combine. Pour this sauce over the chicken. Turn chicken pieces several times to coat. This chicken can be baked immediately OR left to marinate for 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours).

3.    Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, turning pieces once halfway through. When done, chicken will turn a dark reddish-brown and be very tender. If still pale in color after an hour, continue baking another 10 to 15 minutes, or until desired coloring and tenderness is achieved.

4.    Serve immediately together with plenty of plain steamed rice. Fresh coriander/cilantro and thin lemon slices can be added as a garnish. The sauce from the baking dish is excellent spooned over both chicken and rice. ENJOY! I'm inherently lazy, so I didn't do any of the extra garnishing or marinating. And it was still THUPER DUPER good!

Mommy Lesson #1

One of the first things I learned after having E... you know, after I'd been home for a few days, and my Mom had gone back home, was that being a stay-at-home mom is a full time job. A simple To-Do list that previously would have taken me a few hours to complete, now takes me an entire week, and I still don't usually finish it. For example, yesterday my list consisted of going to Walmart and Costco, and doing laundry. What did I actually accomplish? Well, I went to Walmart. And the laundry? I got all the laundry through the wash.... though I forgot to add soap to one of the loads. I won't tell you that it was the load full of our underwear, and I had too many other things to do to run it back through when I realized, so yes, my husband and I will be spending this week in questionably cleaned underwear. Deal with it folks. And I didn't fold the laundry. Yeah, my husband folded it when he got home. Thank goodness for husbands. So today my list consists of putting the laundry away, unpacking all our gear from visiting my parents this weekend, and going to Costco. I'd like to vacuum too, but that seems a little too ambitious. Oh, and I should probably add getting dressed to the list... because sometimes that doesn't get done either. Ask me how much of that I've accomplished today (it's 2 pm). Go ahead, ask me. Nothing. That's right. Not one darn thing.