Little Swimmer

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It’s Splash Week and our YMCA so that means Kaili gets a week of free swim lessons, wahoo!

I had her model her new bathing suit before we left. Since it was just me taking her I knew I wouldn’t be able to capture any moments in the pool. Hopefully one day this week I will.

The class was a good size, about 10 moms and their babies. The water temp was perfect I could have stayed in there and swam for a long time. Kaili had a blast, she was laughing through the whole class. She had a pretty tight grip on me but other than that showed no fear at all. I think this is going to be great for her. Just might have to sign up for some more this summer.

Red Paint In The Hair

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Now that I am feeling better and Kaili is pretty close to 100 % I have been spending some time going through some of my preschool lessons. Since Kaili will be a “toddler” soon I am going to start incorporating more “learning” into our weeks. Anyhow, I came across this poem. I gave this out every year at the beginning of school to parents and I wanted to share it with you. It’s a good reminder to always send your child to school in clothes that can get dirty, even on picture day.

Red paint in the hair? Blue paint on the jeans? Sand in the shoes? Peanut butter on a favorite shirt? White socks that look brown? Sleeves a bit damp?

YOUR CHILD PROBABLY….

worked with a friend

solved a problem

created a masterpiece

negotiated a difference

learned a new skill

had a great time

developed new language skills

YOUR CHILD PROBABLY DIDN’T….

feel lonely

become bored

do a repetitive task that is babyish

do worksheets that are too easy

do sit down work that is discouraging

YOU PROBABLY….

paid good money for those clothes

will have trouble getting the red paint out

are concerned the caregiver isn’t paying enough attention to your child

YOUR CAREGIVER PROBABLY…. was aware of your child’s special needs and interests

spent time planning a challenging activity for the children

encouraged the children to try new things

was worried you might be concerned

Young children really learn when they are actively involved in play…not when someone is talking to them. There is a difference between “messy” and “lack of care.”

Your caregiver made sure your child was fed, warm, offered new skills and planned messy fun things to do because that’s how your children learn! Send your child in clothes that can get dirty! Keep extra clothes at the site for the times when the child gets really messy. But remember, your children need time to be kids. ~~~Author Unknown~~~

Battling The Stomach Bug

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It has been 2 days since Kaili started violently projectile vomiting, 2 long days. Poor thing is starving and it’s heartbreaking to watch her cry for something to eat. She takes Pedialyte just fine although she knows what she really wants.

Yesterday she unloaded what seemed like a gallon of puke onto our bed and Shane. I think she has had more baths these past few days than all month. This morning she threw up what little formula I gave her. She slept 15 plus hours and woke up with a dry diaper so I wanted to offer her something to eat. That came shooting out of her a few minutes later. She then went back to sleep for another hour. Finally after throwing up the Pedialyte I gave her after her nap we took her to see the Dr.

She has the stomach flu. That is what we thought but there is something about the piece of mind I get knowing it’s nothing more. She isn’t too dehydrated, not as hydrated as she should be but we are still in the safe zone. Kaili weighed in at only weighs 16 lbs. She weighed 15 lbs at her 9 month baby well appointment so I am sure she just lost a couple lbs.

I know she picked this up at Gymboree. I took her to a music class Thursday and then became sick on Saturday, if it wasn’t from there then I don’t know where else she would have gotten it. I am dis-enrolling for now.

All I can hope for is this to pass  and hopefully we wont get it. I imagine if it is going to hit Shane, since he got a “taste” of it yesterday then it would show up in the next day or so. Cross your fingers, I don’t need two pukers to take care of.

ABC’s of Me

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Bloggers, it’s that time of year again. I know, I know…you don’t have to read on, I won’t care.

A. Age: 35

B. Bed Size: Ca. King

C. Chore You Dislike: Cleaning the bathroom, does anyone like to do that?

D. Dogs: no dogs

E. Essential Start to Your Day: strong coffee and water

F. Favorite Color: Pink

G. Gold or Silver: Silver

H. Height: 5’5

I. Instruments You Played: Piano and Guitar for a brief second.

J. Job Title: Preschool teacher/ SAH mom

K. Kids: 1 for now, we will see about more.

L. Live: San Diego

M. Mom’s Name: Sandra

N. Nicknames: Kim, I don’t have any cool nicknames.

O. Overnight Hospital Stays: 4. Once when I was 9 {major surgery} Twice during my pregnancy for pre term labor, and after having Kaili, we were there for a week.

P. Pet Peeves: Slow walkers that that block the whole sidewalk, bad manners, closed minded people

Q. Quote From a Movie:

Brooke: Gary, you got three lemons.

Brooke:{holds up a bag with 3 lemons}

Gary-:What my baby wants my baby gets, you know that.

Brooke:But I wanted 12, baby wanted 12.

Gary-:Why would you want 12 lemons?

Brooke:Because I’m making a 12 lemon centerpiece.

Gary:So no ones actually eating them? They’re show lemons?

-The Breakup

R. Righty or Lefty? Righty!

S. Siblings: One younger brother

T. Time You Wake Up: Between 6 and 7

U. Underwear: ? Yes, I wear them

V. Vegetables You Don’t Like:  lima beans and beets

W. What Makes You Run Late: Usually I am never late  but sometimes Kaili can put a dent in our schedule.

X. X-Rays You’ve Had: Just the teeth I think..

Y. Yummy Food You Make: All on this blog and plenty more. Favorites have to be my carrot cake, secret toffee, tandoori salmon and tilapia en papillote.

Z. Zoo Animal Favorites: Giraffes and big cats

Easter Inspiration

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Feeling inspired this Easter? Is your inner Martha screaming to make, bake and create? No? Well me neither and it probably doesn’t help that I have been sick. I do have a ham in the fridge to cook up and some plastic easter eggs but that is about it. I found some things to try to help fire up my inner Martha, maybe they will do the same for you.

Having an Easter get together? How easy is this? Perfect for over the fireplace, front door or even along the table.

Pantone Easter Garland

A new twist on the table centerpiece. Bonus, you get to eat the goodies after everyone leaves.

JellyBean Centerpiece 

Tired of dying Easter eggs year after year, try these pretty no-dye eggs for a change.

Pretty Glitter Eggs

Cupcakes in an egg. I love this idea, I just need a reason to make them.

Easter Egg Cupcakes

Speaking of cupcakes…who doesn’t love a cadbury egg once in awhile? Combine that with a cupcake, heaven!

Cadbury Egg Cupcakes

No Easter is complete without the Peep. Instead of buying them this year how about making your own?

Peeps

Then you can make these with the leftovers, if there are leftovers.

Peep S’mores

If you are feeling really motivated, you can wow your guests with this adorable bunny butt cake.

Bunny Butt Cake

Happy Easter!

11 {Months}

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Wow, 11 months old. I keep thinking that each month is my new favorite age but this one truly is the best one so far. Kaili’s personality is really shining through and she is a funny little thing. She thinks the silliest things are hilarious, mama stretching on the ground and mama calling her stinky booty are sure to get her laughing. Wonder where she gets it?

She is such an easy-going, laid back child, man I sure hope this continues through her teen age years. A girl can dream right? She still loves music and lately a bread commercial that airs during the morning news will grab her attention and she will stop what she is doing to watch it. She is also budding into a fine little foodie. There isn’t much she wont eat but there are certain times when she will turn her nose at eggs and avocado. I wonder where she got that from? She just got her two top teeth that makes 4, with a few more on the way.

She is a speedy little thing when she wants to get somewhere before me, but she hasn’t shown any real interest in walking yet. Although, I am not rushing that milestone at all, baby steps.

Sensory Play ~ Cornmeal

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Sensory play activities provide babies, toddlers and preschoolers fun learning opportunities for self-directed and guided play. These activities encourage a variety of different skills to develop. Through the manipulation of different  materials ie. pouring, molding, lifting, carrying and sorting children will improve their fine and gross motor skills. Sensory play does not come with instructions, it’s just fun, open-ended activities that children can enjoy, just remember that these activities do need to be age appropriate. Through the years I have stored up endless ideas and I can’t wait to introduce them all to Kaili. That being said, Kaili has been interested in different textures lately, sand being one of her favorites. Unfortunately “taste” is also a favorite sense for babies and toddlers so I wanted something she could play with that didn’t make me cringe when it went in her mouth. That is when I decided to use cornmeal, sort of the same texture as sand but harmless if ingested.

I bought a big bag of cornmeal from the bulk bins at Sprouts. I poured some into a container and added different “tools’ for her to manipulate. Measuring cups, a strainer, pouring cups, ping-pong balls and 2 toy fish. I am not as brave as some mothers so we took this activity outside.

I think the next sensory activity we will try will have something to do with cold, cooked and colored noodles. Fun!

Wine Tasting with a Cold in Sonoma

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We are back from our weekend trip in Sonoma,well Kaili and I are back and Shane is in Ventura. It was a fun time but a few things were stacked against us. I caught Kaili’s cold a few days before we left and I just felt worse and worse each day. I really didn’t take any pictures or blog at all the whole time we were there, I just wasn’t feeling well enough to do anything that took much thought or energy. Secondly, the weather was cold, rainy and gloomy. Good ol’ northern Cali weather. As beautiful as it is up there I could never live there again, and the wind..man it’s cold!

We stayed at a great little B&B called  Cinnamon Bear Creekside Inn. Everyone there was super sweet, the breakfasts were yummy and they gave us a wine tasting card that allowed for free tasting at certain wineries, you can’t beat that.

Kaili did awesome the whole entire trip. She just went with the flow happy about everything. She ate what we ate, didn’t complain about the long car ride, and enjoyed meeting new people and playing on the tasting room floors.

asleep in the car
Chateau St. Jean
Rapazzini winery in Gilroy
Getting some outside time before the rain
crawling around the winery

Once I am feeling a little better I will get her 11 month pictures uploaded. Can you believe that Kaili will be 1 in a few short weeks? I can’t wrap my head around it.

Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps with Jalapenos

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I took advantage of Shane being home when I made this recipe. It’s not a difficult recipe but there are a lot of components and I wouldn’t have gotten much done on my own with a sick baby. I saw this recipe on {where else} Pinterest and it’s from Good Housekeeping. If you know me and my husband, we like things spicy so when I saw that these were topped off with cooked jalapenos I thought that these would be a nice twist to the classic beef lettuce wraps. Now I don’t know about you but it seems like every time I buy jalapenos for salsa or guacamole they are never hot, never. So when I was at the store I stood in front of the peppers for what seemed like forever trying to decide if I should buy a Serrano too but I opted to stick with the jalapenos and told myself that I would also use Sambal {an asian chili paste} to kick up the heat. Well it turns there is a such thing as a hot jalapeno and I was the lucky winner who picked  the two spiciest. Lets just say this turned out to be a “hot” dinner.

I also made this Korean cucumber salad to serve alongside the wraps. It went really well and it was perfect for cooling the palate.

       Beef

10 cloves garlic

2  jalapeño chiles

1 1/4 pounds beef top round steak or beef tenderloin

1/4 cups sugar

1/2  low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup

sesame oil

Coarsely ground black pepper

Wrap Ingredients

1 head Boston lettuce, separated into leaves

1 1/2 cup cooked rice noodles

1/2 cup Sambal Oelek

Prepare  Beef:

 Cut 6 cloves garlic into thin slices and mince remaining 4 cloves. Thinly slice jalapeños crosswise. Place the jalapenos and sliced garlic aside. Holding knife almost parallel to cutting surface, slice beef, against the grain, into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

In large bowl, place minced garlic and sugar; mash together with back of wooden spoon. Stir in soy sauce, sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add beef to marinade; cover and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile prepare the dipping Sauce

Dipping Sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbs sugar

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup water

Coarsely ground black pepper

In small bowl, place minced garlic and sugar; mash together with back of wooden spoon. Stir in soy sauce, water, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover and set aside.

When Beef is done marinating prepare outdoor grill for direct grilling over high heat. Place lightly greased grilling grid on grill rack to preheat. In 2 to 3 batches, remove beef from marinade and place on grilling grid; cook 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side for medium doneness. Transfer cooked beef to serving bowl.

Heat saute pan over medium hight heat, when hot spray pan with cooking spray and add sliced jalapenos and garlic. Cook, stirring often until lightly browned, transfer to small bowl.

To serve, arrange all ingredients in small bowls on a large tray.

To assemble spread a little Sambal on a lettuce leaf, then top with some rice noodles, grilled beef, garlic, jalapeño, . Fold sides of lettuce leaf over to make a package to eat by hand. Dip wrap in dipping sauce.

Serve Korean cucumber salad on the side as a delicious cooling side dish.

Being Sick

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I have saline sprayed & suctioned her nose, rubbed her down with Vicks, gave her baby Advil and teething tablets, I have the humidifier running and we finished with a warm bath. Fingers crossed she sleeps tonight. Kaili is sick…again. Oh and teething which has made for a sleepless and grouchy household. My otherwise happy baby has a bad cough, runny nose and I think a sore throat. As soon as she lays her head down the cough kicks in full force and she can’t get herself to sleep. I think I am sleeping less these past few nights then I did the first few weeks of her life, actually I am sure of it.

Gymboree has to be the culprit and it is really making me rethink our enrollment. Kaili does enjoy herself when she is there and she has a few boyfriends but is it worth all these colds? I am not so sure.