We made it to Singapore

After a 26 hour flight including two lay overs we made it to Singapore with a teeny tiny bit of sanity still intact.

Things We Pulled OUT of Our Baby's Mouth

Just one of the items we pulled out of Max's mouth this past month. Past items include:

screws
piece of a popped balloon(at a neighbor's house) yikes
penny(he is like a puppy he can sniff them out from anywhere)
spinach leaves(before he had teeth)
live beetle(on my birthday I pulled a live beetle the size of my palm from his mouth which crawled up my arm)
chalk
markers
cords-all time favorite
dirt-another favorite
rocks
string-no idea
dog food-at this point I just let him eat it
buttons
and I am sure there are more items that I am not posting.
Thank You Max for keeping us on our toes. xoxo

A Day of Gratitude{Veterans Day}

Today in the lobby at the JCC there was a card table decorated with a blue table cloth with red,white and blue balloons and next to the table an American Flag. As Max was exploring the room I glanced at the two sheet cakes on the table one said "Happy Veterans Day" and the other "Thank You". I contemplated giving Max a piece of the cake but then quickly dismissed  the idea. Next week he will have his first cupcake. I also had a flash back to this time last year. I was very pregnant and sleep deprived, I could have induced but chose to wait it out a little mostly because I was recovering from a nasty flu. I remember being disappointed that Max wasnt going to be born on veteran's day because I wanted his newborn pic with an American flag. As I was daydreaming, an elderly man and woman walked into the lobby(I have a weakness for the elderly. I just love to listen to their stories, joys, regrets, honesty, ect) When the man's eyes met with the table of gratitude, they lit up and a huge smile followed. "Hey, would you look over here" he said to his wife" Now, isnt this a nice surprise" the wife proudly led him over to a board  on the wall with all the JCC veterans listed and what war they fought and said "Look, here is your name". His chuckle made my day and forever changed my perspective on Veterans day.

 Sadly, before today I just looked at it as a holiday that the banks and post offices were closed. A holiday that sometimes produce a decent parade. A holiday that is easily forgotten because its just a few weeks before Thanksgiving which is struggling to survive over the "holiday" hype. I felt guilty because when I initially saw the gratitude table instead of thinking" bright colors for Max to notice, no cake for max, I can't have any because its probably not gluten free" I should have been thinking" what can I do for a veteran today, these men and women have risked their lives for what so many of us take for granted" Thank you, to all the veterans that served our country, I promise to honor you moving forward.

Brainwashing?{Mom Blog}

So tonight as Chris(goodtimes daddy) was trying to lay down the law and get Captain America to go to bed. He felt the need review the basic command of control. Here is how it went down:

Before the review, I showed Chris a rustic bench on the computer. Didnt think anybody was paying any attention to me...


Chris:  "okay Jacob, time for bed"
Jacob:" no daddy, I want to do yoga"
Chris" no its bedtime, lets read your book"
Jacob" no"
Chris" Who's the boss"
Jacob" You"
Me"Who?"
Jacob"You are mommy and daddy, you are the pretend boss" " mama, show me the bench you want to buy for the living room"
me: swoon...

A Day Of Chasing Max {Baby Blog}

Max rarely naps. Yesterday,  as I cleaning for our guest-he was messing it up. Instead of getting frustrated, I decided to join his party and take some pictures. This is what a day with Max looks like in Riemerville.
 
Picture 1: We started the day with a walk to Pacha and then played in the front yard, he is now walking 90% of the time.

Picture #2: I pulled the dump truck out from the backyard, he loved it.

Remember this picture almost a year ago:

Picture # 5: Lunch time:

Lunch time translates into "lets get crazy in the kitchen" time to Max.

 #6 one of his favorite spots in the house-the filthy trash bin:

#7 As Jacob was showing me how he posed today for school pictures, Max is always taking notes:

#8 Max demanded to ride on the dresser as we moved it:

#9,#10, & #11 Discovery of the Loot:

For the record, we did not let Max eat the candy. We did what most people would do after they realized their baby sucked on most of the tootsie rolls-put them back in the bowl and hand them out to the teenagers.

#12 Dinner time:


Clark Kent and Captain America eat pizza, pirate bootie and celery for Halloween.

#13 Trick or Treat w/ Jacob & friends:

Facebook Step 1

Nobody in my family reads my blog. That being said, I want to share a bit of my phone conversation with my sister and her husband from tonight.

me: hey, I noticed that R. was on facebook now. so I friended him. Did you know he was on fb?
my sister: no? I didnt...hum.. r, are you on fb?
me: I friended him and he just needs to accept my friend request.
r: huh? I don't know what J(a friend of his&my sis is not a fan) did. She said something about fb and the next thing you know I am getting emails that say so and so wants to be my friend.
my sis: yes, you are suppose to accept the friend request?
r: but where do I go to do it?
my sis: you go to facebook,
r: I am not on facebook
my sis: yes, you are now.
r: did you know that jason b. is on facebook, remember my buddy from the station he is on facebook,too
my sis: yes, everybody in the world is on facebook.

r:  I am not, I dont have time for it.
me: I gotta go. I am dizzy from this conversation

Sweet Words

On our way home from the store we had a sweet conversation about love,kindness and good behavior. I told Jacob I loved him to the moon. He said he loved me too because I play with him and then he said he loved Jake's mama. Jake is a little boy in his class. I asked him why he loved Jake's mama and he said because she is good to Jake and she always has good behavior...just made me smile..I had no idea he kept track.

Easy Thai Red Curry Dish

After two full helpings, Max decided he wanted to lick the actual plate!

Here is the recipe for Thai Red Curry w/ Eggplant& Chicken

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 jar red Curry paste (Thai Kitchen or Williams Sonoma Brand)

1 can coconut milk (14oz)

3 cups eggplant cubed (1/2" cubes)

1.5lbs chicken (diced -or- cut cross-grain strips)

1 cup, frozen peas

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup fresh basil (slivered)

3 kaffir lime leaves (torn in half)   *Note:  These are difficult to find--consider as optional

1 jalapeno de-seeded and de-veined (we used 1/2 of a jalapeno last night b/c of the kids)

Jasmine rice for serving

Cooking Instructions

1.    Cook the chicken w/ tsp of olive oil until about half done…outside should be white.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
2.    Add Tsp olive oil to pan over medium heat. 
3.    Add onions and cook until soft (5-7min)
4.    Add red curry base and coconut milk and stir well until combined.
5.    Add eggplant, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until almost tender (6-8min)
6.    Add chicken, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until meat is cooked through and the eggplant is tender (5-8min)
7.    Add peas, tomatoes, basil, Kaffir lime leaves, and jalapeno…stir until hot.

Remove from heat and serve over steamed rice.

Packing Lunch for a Preschooler{What Do You Pack?}

I just finished my weekly menu planning which is something I should always do but only do when I am completely overwhelmed with my schedule and our usual peanut butter and jelly,pasta,quesadillas, and cheese pizza usually accompanied with an apple,banana or granola bar is getting boring. Since Jacob goes to a Jewish School it has to be Kosher and vegetarian which requires a little more creativity in planning than we would at home.What do you pack? I need some inspiration.

So Called Sleep Training{baby blog}

I am not completely calling it quits but I am changing up my game. For whatever reason fueled by my deep down attachment,abandonment type issues-I just cant walk out of a room while a baby is crying for comfort. period. I tried it briefly once with Jacob and I couldn't do it and he turned out just fine. I tried it for a week with Max and it was a week too long. When going to war one must identify the cause and the ideal result. For this war, I want Max to like his crib. Thats it. I don't necessarily want him to be on a strict schedule because that would mean that for the next few years we would strict schedule and strict schedules and our lifestyles just dont mesh. I don't mind nursing him until he is drowsy and then putting him into a crib with a milk drunk half smile. I do mind putting a wide awake baby into his bed that looks at me and screams.
We have had advise from everybody and as much as I appreciate all of it, I am going to do what I feel comfortable doing and that is nursing until drowsy and then putting him in the crib. If he wakes up and tries to stand up(which a few nights ago he did eighty eight times), I gently put him on his pillow and tell him its night night time. Tonight I stood next to his crib for about 45 minutes and the only time he screamed was when I left the room to get Jacob ready for bed. Which was tough but better than a constant scream for 45 minutes.
This week is better than last because he willingly went into his crib and only got upset when I had  to leave the room. At this stage with Jacob,I remember standing by his crib and then slowly backing out of the room until he was comfortable which only took two weeks. Wish me luck.