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Audrey started school on the 8th of February. She has been talking about going to school for some time now so she was pretty excited to start. Unfortunately that excitement ran out about a week into it when she realized that it was a bit of a permanent thing and that it happened 5 days a week. She started off at a Montessori school near home that Kim stumbled across last month. It came highly recommended by another school that Kim did like but didn’t have space for Audrey.

We went to our first Parent-Teacher meeting last Friday and it was great! I was expecting to hear about what happens on a day-to-day basis and then talk about things that we could do to help Audrey catch up since she got a bit of a late start in the year. Instead we spent almost the entire 2 hours talking about all of the activities they do during the day and how Audrey is doing picking them up. I guess the other stuff comes later.

It was great to see what activities she preferred to do and how she’s interacting with other students. She has finally remembered the name of one student that she is now friends with - Repunzal I think. Anyway, they’re working on developing her hand-eye co-ordination, phonics & math. I’m excited to go to the next PT meeting to see how she’s developed.

Tags: math, montessori, phonics, PT, school

This is an email I received from Kim just a few minutes ago:

I was in the bathroom and Ethan started screaming from his locked room something like “poo poo, dirty diaper, hand!” And, OMG, when the stench hit me as I walked closer to his room I seriously considered typing up my two week notice. He had taken his diaper off in the livingroom and I guess somehow locked himself in his bedroom and then smeared shit all over his gate trying to get out. God damn, kids are nasty!

I soaked his clothes in your sink. Smootches!

K

P.S. Just kidding about the sink.

Tags: diaper, poo poo

Audrey came running out of her room where she and Ethan were supposed to be quietly reading books and proclaimed to Shahed after a shouting match was overheard…

“I’m never gonna play with him again!”

Shahed: Really? Like, for the next 3 minutes?

Audrey: No, like for the next five minutes! (emphasized by a waving five digit hand)

Audrey,

Thank you so much for sending your moose to keep me company at the hospital. Can you believe he climbed over my banana to have a bite of my bagel? Silly moose!

I love you!
Mommy

I called home today to check in on the kids and Mom. Ethan and I had our first phone conversation. This was really fun for me because it’s very, very rare that I get to talk to my kids on the phone because we’re almost ALWAYS together. It’s Shahed that usually gets the privilege. Our conversation was sweet and to the point and it warmed my heart so much to hear my baby on the other line. He basically told me, in so many words, that he went for a walk with Grandma today. That was it. It was sweet. And I already want to call him again.

We visited Clay’s this afternoon for lunch. I love going to Clay’s because we can let the kids run free and play in the sand pits or play with the farm animals while we wait for the food. It gives us an opportunity to eat in peace and let the kids come eat when they wish.

So, that’s what we did. We ate while the kids played. Eventually, they came to the table for lunch and then finished up with peppermints; one candy each. Or so I thought. Audrey had apparently gone to get more candy out of the bowl at the register without me knowing and she was kind enough to share with Ethan. Sweet sister. Anyway, I went over to the kids to play with them and found them chatting with a donkey. Suddenly, Audrey turned around to me flailing her arms and in obvious distress. I wasn’t completely sure what was wrong but I guess my instincts kicked in and I started pounding her back. She spit up a little bit of slimey saliva but not much of anything else. She turned around and her face had such a helpless, scared look on it and was screaming silently for my help. I turned her back around, bent her over at the waist and literally beat her on the back until a peppermint popped out and landed in the grass. Within seconds, a second mint landed on the ground and when I looked up, Ethan was standing there with a look of terror on his face. I have a feeling neither kid will be asking for hard candy anytime soon.

All I know is that we as humans have an incredible ability to do what is required in a life or death situation. I can say that I wasn’t as cool under that pressure as I’ve been before, but ultimately I did what I needed to do at the time and took the next few seconds after it was over to hug my baby tight and bawl.

I swear, I’m constantly amazed at how well kids remember things. Last night after Shahed got home from work, I sat down at my desk to take a much needed break and watch a show on Hulu. Specifically, it was a National Geographic show called Locked up Abroad. This particular episode was set in Bangladesh. I had earbuds in so I don’t know exactly what conversation Shahed had with Audrey, but he must have said something about the country of Bangladesh - probably about being his place of birth to four years.

Fast forward to today. We were in the car this afternoon and Audrey, out of the blue, said “Remember, Mom about the country you were watching on your computer?” I was totally confused; had no earthly idea what she was talking about. Then I realized that she was talking about that show. To help jog my memory, she said, “Remember Mom? Think really hard. Trust me on this. I know what I’m talking about. About the country. You know, the country Bang-a-desk.” OMG - It was really hard to not die laughing. It was the cutest thing ever. I still can’t believe how well they remember things. And then I had to take a deep breath not to laugh and answer her question, of course taking the opportunity to emphasize the correct pronunciation of Dad’s birthplace.

We found a new pediatric practice yesterday. Audrey had to stay for a while to do a breathing treatment. While the nurse was out getting the equipment ready, Audrey and Ethan put on some gloves, grabbed some tounge depressers and started playing doctor/patient. Of course poor Ethan was forced to be the patient while demanding Dr. Audrey forced him to lay down, open his mouth and say “aaaahhhhh”. When the nurse arrived with the nebulizer she saw the kids playing and asked Audrey if she was a doctor. Audrey said “I’m pretending” which actually sounded like “I’m attending.” The nurse was completely shocked that Audrey knew what an attending was. Audrey realized that she misunderstood her so she repeated “I’m pretending” over and over while the nurse just couldn’t grasp the fact that she was so “smart.” It was really pretty funny. I let it go on for longer than I really needed to, but it was just so funny to watch. She also didn’t forget to let the staff know that her pee pee finally came out into the cup after a long time because she told it that it HAD to come out because people were waiting for their turn on the potty. Nor did she forget to inform them that you shouldn’t say “vagina” unless you are at home with your Mom, Dad or Grandma.

I think Audrey will be a doctor or nurse and Ethan, with his love of putting things in the trash will be a garbalogist. Ha!

Yes, you read that correctly. 2008! I’m a year late, but it’s just a few recipes. C’mon!

During Earth Camp last year, Audrey participated in preparing a vegan food every day. She had a blast doing it and all of the recipes were actually very good. Enjoy!

Vegan Carrot Cake

• 1 1/2 C. flour
• 3/4 C. dry sweetener
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 C. soy milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 C. oil
• Egg replacer (equal to 1 egg)
• 1/2 C. carrot, finely shredded
• 1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sweetner, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the milk, vanilla, oil, egg replacer, carrot and ginger and mix together until “just mixed”. Pour into a lightly oiled cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Check with a knife to see if done.

Applesauce Muffins

• 2 C. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 C. soy milk
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1/3 C. maple syrup
• 1 C. applesauce
• 3/4 C. raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the milk, vinegar, oil, maple syrup, applesauce and raisins. Mix together gently until “just mixed.” Spoon batter into lightly oiled muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes. Test with a knife to see if done. Makes 6 muffins.

Zucchini Bread

• 1 1/2 C. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• Egg replacer (equal to 1 egg)
• 1/2 C. sweetner
• 1/3 C. oil
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 C. zucchini, grated
• 1/2 C. raisins
• 1/4 C. water (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the egg replacer, sweetner, oil, vinegar and vanilla and mix. Stir in the zucchini and raisins and mix together gently until “just mixed”. Add a little water if the dough seems too dry. Spoon the batter into a lightly oiled loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. Test with a knife to see if done. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Makes 1 loaf.

Tags: baking, bread, muffins, snacks, vegan

We decided to renovate our investment property in Dallas and sell it so that we could move our interests closer to us in Houston. We figured two weeks was enough to do the updates we had in mind. We’re now half way through week 2 and here’s what we’ve achieved:

• Replace floors: 75% complete. The loft, living space, bedroom, 1 closet & kitchen are done. We also have to replace the floor in the bathroom with some crazy stickie tiles from Home Depot. The pantry, 1 closet, stairs to the loft & bathroom remain. That’s a lot of doorway jambs And then there’s the 1/4 round installation & caulking
• Replace kitchen appliances: 100% complete
• Paint walls, cabinets, trim: 95% complete. A bunch of touch up is required and we still need to cut & paint the stair risers.
• Replace the bathroom vanity top (it’s a solid 28 years old!): 0% complete

Kim’s mom has been taking care of the kids while we’ve been working on the condo. This would not have been possible without her help. They’ve been great sports about it all.