My Toddler Is Smarter Than Me

I was singing the ABC song to Little One, and she started doing the hand gestures for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". I wondered why she kept doing her "Twinkle Twinkle" finger movements and then realized that the two songs have the same melody!

Try singing it, and you'll see!





See?



I just realized that Ba Ba Black Sheep has the same tune too! Amazing what interesting things you learn when you have a young child.

Oh, and how's this for bad parenting? Little One got up insanely early this morning, because she heard Hubby leave for work. I went down to her room, took her out of her crib, and brought her back upstairs to our room and had a cuddle with her until she fell asleep again.

I went down to the office and started to do some work (I really need to meet my deadline). All of a sudden, the dog started going nuts. He was barking up a storm, so I looked outside and saw...

A COW!!!

The cattle got loose again. I had a cow in my garden, and one pooping beside my van. Argh! Of course, this has to happen when my husband is not on the farm! I had to decide whether to leave the baby inside or take her outside with me. I didn't feel comfortable taking her with me, because the cows are pregnant and some already have calves. This means they're really protective and on edge. Who knows what they'd do if they felt threatened. Having to keep an eye on the baby and try to get that cow back where she was supposed to be would prove to be somewhat challenging.

The baby was sleeping, so I thought that if I was super fast, I'd get back before she woke up. Hubby arrived just in time, and we got the cattle back to the barnyard. When we returned, guess what we saw???
Little One was no longer in our bed! Not only had she scooted off the bed (she knows how to get down and holds onto the quilt until her feet touch the floor), but she was walking around the house, doing her own thing!!!I almost had a heart attack. She thought it was funny though!

Isn't she cheeky? :) She decided that she all of a sudden didn't like apples. I was hungry, so grabbed an apple for something quick to eat in between all the running around we were doing this afternoon. Little One saw this, and snatched the apple out of my hand! I was shocked! She stole my apple! She decided that she liked apples again. Goofy girl! :)Helping Mommy clean the house...sort of.Wearing her "I'm a Cool Farmer" shirt from Mr. and Mrs. Perfect Together :) On the back, it reads: "Welcome to the Ranch!"
Unfortunately, she has learned how to climb on top of the couch. She's a climber. She climbs on top of EVERYTHING. When I saw her doing this, I almost went into cardiac arrest. Seriously, she's a little daredevil.

Honestly, these days I don't know whether I'm coming or going sometimes. Baby, husband, house, farm, farm animals, freelance work, chores, committees, organizations, other engagements and responsibilities...there's just so much on my plate. I feel like some of those things are going to start falling off my plate if I keep piling more on it. Every day is a workday. Farmers get no vacations, no holidays, and no days off. I love our life, but every now and then I am reminded of how difficult a life it can be.

Oh! I've joined the theatre group and that's the one thing I've been able to do for myself. It's something I thoroughly enjoy and it gives me something that is my own. Not that I don't love taking care of Little One, being able to work from home (we decided that I will put teaching on hold for a bit while Little One is still very young), and being able to help my husband on the farm, but it's two hours of "me time". Then I get home, and dishes and chores await me. This also awaits me...and I am reminded how fortunate and blessed I truly am. She is so unbelievably special and amazing in so many ways. I love her.

Man's Best Friend is a...GOAT!?!?!

I married a farmer. We live on a farm. We have cattle. We also have a dog and a bunch of barn cats. As far as farm animals go, we just have cattle. No chickens (though Hubby wants me to raise some this year). No ducks (do Canada Geese count?). No sheep. Just cattle.

My Dad wanted us to go over to his place because he and my Mom brought a "pet" back for Little One. To our surprise, this is what they brought back!Billy (aka "Aca", named by my three year old nephew because the goat has "acorns" on his head!) is the sweetest thing ever! I am in love.

How funny is that though? Here! I brought you a pet. Have a goat! What's even funnier is that my Mom won't let me Dad have a dog, but she let him have a GOAT!?

Billy (aka Aca) follows Dad everywhere and bawls when he doesn't see my Dad. He is so, so, soooo cute.Little One is still a bit apprehensive. "Mehhhh...Not quite sure if I like you or not. You don't look like my dog."

She's Just Like Her Mommy!

We were at playgroup last week, and Little One was drawn to the arts and crafts table. It was almost as if there was a magnetic pull or something. Of course! Lots of bright colours, PAINT, cotton balls, paintbrushes, and a whole slew of things that can help a toddler make lots and lots of mess! The messier the better, right? Right.

This is what Little One created. This blue, yellow, and green one is her very first painting! This is her second painting. I just love kid art. There's something so refreshing about kid art. It's just so natural, innocent, pure, creative, and fun!

Maybe Little One will draw and paint like her Mommy when she gets older.

Psssssssst! I'm hosting a contest/giveaway over here!!! Come by and enter for a copy of Rosemary Wells' "Read to Your Bunny"!

The Frugal Farmer's Kitchen

I was too lazy tired uninspired busy to cook supper last night. I think I may have even been moaning about having to cook 99.9% of our meals.

Don't get me wrong. I love cooking. I really do. It's just that sometimes I don't feel like it. Ever have one of those days when you wish someone else would do the cooking? That's how I felt yesterday. If only I had a personal cook. If only I could just get take-out. If only we could go to a restaurant. If only. Ha! It's not busy season on the Island yet and the closest restaurants that are open are about 15-20 minutes away by car! Plus, we're trying to be wise with our money.

I hadn't done groceries. I was waiting for next week to do our big groceries, since we have to be in "the city" for Little One's Neonatal Follow-Up. Plus, Hubby wanted me to work on a project which we're entitling "Project Live Out of Your Fridge". Basically, we are to use up everything in our fridge and pantry before we buy more groceries. Gah!

Armed with next to nothing in the way of ingredients, I grabbed some whole wheat Farfalle.
While I cooked the bow-tie shaped pasta, I tried to think of what else I could use. Making use of my meager supplies, I took some butter, flour, cheese, garlic, coarse black pepper, and milk. I made a quick and easy roux (the same one I use to make my homemade Alfredo sauce or cheese sauce for homemade macaroni and cheese).I also sauteed some garlic and spinach and added a can of flaked tuna to the creamy cheese sauce. I drained the pasta and in a pan, I gently coated the pasta with the cheese sauce, tuna, and spinach. I garnished the dish with garlic bread crumbs, chopped parsley and green onion. I served the dish with salad.

Little One and Hubby thoroughly enjoyed their meal. Not bad for something I just threw together from the top of my head. Super cheap and super easy too.

Farfalle - $1.99 (on sale and I used less than 1/2 the package) $0.50 for this dish
Tuna - $1.29 $1.29
Cheese - $4.99 (on sale and I only used 1/6 of the block of cheese)$0.70
Milk - $4.99 (used less than 1/2 a cup) $0.10
Green onion - from my freezer and originally from a friend's garden
Garlic - $0.69 (only used 3 cloves) $0.06
Bread crumbs - made from leftover bread crusts $0.02
Flour $0.01
Butter $0.02
Parsley - from my kitchen herb garden

I'm estimating that this meal cost me around $2.70 to make. Considering we had all the ingredients and I used only a fraction of each ingredient, it would be a fairly cheap dish to make.

**Hmmph. I guess Hubby is right. It is possible to live frugally and make due with what one has in the fridge and pantry.**

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

- Robert Frost

I never knew what people meant when they said, "Enjoy them while they're little. They grow up too quickly".

Now, I know.

Choco-Latte Fest 2010

Last night, I went out with the girls and attended a chocolate and coffee tasting session. Click here to check it out! :)

It was sooooo much fun!!!

Earth Day

April 22 is Earth Day. What actions will you take to do your part in fostering a greener tomorrow?

On a day that was created to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment, it's fitting for us to do our part. Even if it's something like planting a tree every year or doing something we don't already do (like take our kids to the beach to pick up trash). Many of us are already environmentally conscious and recycle as much as we can, compost, use cloth/reusable bags, reusable water bottles, etc.

I want to teach Little One how important a role we play, how significant our actions are and how everything we do has an impact on our planet.

Aside from treading lightly on the Earth, practicing the 3 Rs (reduce-reuse-recycle), not living in excess (when it comes to energy, we neither keep our house too hot in the winter nor too cold in the summer), and using passive solar energy from our greenhouse, I wanted a new ritual for Little One. We will plant a tree every year on Earth Day.

We have also switched our brand of toilet paper to a more Earth-friendly one. Majesta's toilet paper breaks down quickly, is septic-friendly, is made with natural wood fibre, and the company practices responsible forest management (using new wood fibre and planting new trees).

Earth Day is just a special reminder to me of how truly wonderful our planet is and how fortunate we are to be able to see this...
and experience this... Photo of the Lyrids Meteor Shower from Google Images, but brought me to this site. Check it out for more info on the Lyrids. We caught a glimpse of them last night, but were too tired to stay up late! We only saw two "falling stars"/"shooting stars". Apparently, if the sky is really clear enough and dark enough, one can see up to ten to twenty meteors per hour! The best nights to view this are April 21 and April 22.

If you get a chance tonight, look up in the sky.

Because We Love Man's Best Friend...

Just wanted to tell you that I'm over here today...AND I'm hosting a giveaway!!!

Dirtgirlworld

One of Little One's favourite TV shows is dirtgirlworld. I have to admit, that when we first started watching the show a few months ago, Dirtgirl really annoyed me. However, the music and lessons in each episode have kind of grown on me. My 17 month old really loves the show.



In one episode (entitled "SLUGS"), Dirt Girl teaches kids how to discourage slugs from eating the lettuce in her garden...naturally. She calls upon all the "green thumbs"/viewers to practice using crushed egg shells, onion water, hay, Nasturtiums, or a sandpaper doughnut (sandpaper cut into a circle and to be put around the plants) to ward off slugs. She also says, if all else fails, give the slugs their own lettuce patch to feast on so that they leave your lettuce alone!

What a great way to teach young children about gardening, the environment, animals, and even insects!

At first, the graphics/animation kind of freaked me out. To my surprise, my toddler was instantly drawn to the half lifelike-half animated characters! They're pretty trippy looking and if I were a baby, I'd probably be scared of them! Nope. My 17 month old just loves, loves, loves them. How odd!

We don't let her watch tooooooo much TV, but she does get to watch dirtgirlworld. I suppose there are far worse things on TV. At least I feel okay letting her watch this show. It's fun, she loves the music, and it's educational. I think it's fantastic that there's a TV show that teaches kids about environmentally friendly solutions to everyday problems. I love that kids can learn about composting and gardening...and the importance of the balance of nature.

"My best worst bug is still the slug."

New Beginnings

I've been thinking about this for a while now. Since I started blogging in 2006, I never knew my little space in the blogosphere would bring me new friendships, some work opportunities, and a very full life online.

My offline life is a very busy one, but the blog has somehow intertwined with my online life and they've sort of become a whole. They co-exist. That sounds kind of odd, now that I think of it.

Now, instead of just posting random thoughts and musings from the Island, I find myself trying to meet deadlines for online work. It's been great, since it has allowed me to spend time raising my our daughter until I start teaching full time again.

I've decided to create a new blog just for reviews. I'll still be posting here regularly, but you can also check me out at Random Thoughts and Musings on the Island Reviews. Come on over for a visit.

Meatless Monday #2

A friend of mine recently gave me a few packages of "meatless meat". When I was vegetarian, I used to use soy ground "beef" in lasagnas, Shepherd's Pie, spaghetti, etc. After a while, I realized that I'd rather be using more natural and unprocessed ingredients in my vegetarian dishes. Though meatless meat is made from soy protein, pressed tofu, rice, gluten, and legumes, I wanted something not as processed. Au lieu of meatless ground beef, I used an assortment of veggies and spices. I also ate A LOT of beans and legumes. Chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, lentils...You name it, I ate it.

I found that a lot of my favourite cuisine didn't even have much meat in all their dishes anyway. Japanese, Lebanese, Thai, Vietnamese...There are so many dishes from different countries that don't include meat.

Middle Eastern cuisine with its falafel, tabouleh salad, Babaganouj, and hummus was always one of my favourite options. Indonesian food was also a go-to choice for me. A little bit of spicy kick and many recipes that don't include meat = the perfect dinner for me! A trip to Bali almost a decade ago, only reinforced what a vegetarian paradise Bali is!

Today's Meatless Monday dish (much to my beef farmer husband's chagrin) has meatless ground beef in it. I made my version of Vegetarian Black Bean Chili.
I sauteed some meatless ground beef with diced onions and minced garlic. I added diced tomatoes and homemade tomato sauce, black beans, corn kernels, and chickpeas. To add a bit of colour, I chopped up some spinach (I don't usually put spinach in chili, but I wanted to clean out our veggie compartment in our fridge) and let everything cook in a large pot.

I hadn't cooked with meatless meat in YEARS, so I was praying that the recipe would turn out. Hubby kind of cringed at the mere thought of "meatless meat". He really enjoyed the chili and said it was "very good". I know that secretly, he'd prefer it to have real ground beef in it, or just no meatless meat.

Little One thoroughly enjoyed her meal. Then again, our 17 month old will eat anything and everything right now. We couldn't get over how much she LOVED the meatless ground beef! Crazy girl! TWO bowls of vegetarian chili...and then she wanted mango for dessert!

Do The Potty Dance!

You know you wanna! Little One loves the music video. Check it out here.

This is why Mommies are not allowed to get sick

The other day, I wasn't feeling too well. I'm not sure if it was allergies, since it is Spring and everything has sprung! I wasn't sure if it was the pollen that was bothering me or if I was coming down with something.

To my dismay, the congestion and stuffy nose were followed by the sore and scratchy throat. Apparently, quite a few people around here have been experiencing the same symptoms, so I'm guessing it's probably that. Yuck. A Spring cold.

In any case, after running errands, pruning the trees and raspberry canes and completing a few writing gigs, I crashed on the couch for five minutes. FIVE! I must have been sick, because I'm not one for taking naps. What should happen in those brief five minutes that I was passed out practically in a coma taking a little rest?

THIS...Not only did she manage to turn the house upside down and inside out in less than five minutes, but she also managed to get into her jar of Vaseline and put Vaseline in her hair!
These pics are for Canine, since Little One looks like she just stepped out of an '80s music video!
Finally, all cleaned up!

Note to self: Never fall asleep if toddler is not in playpen or crib.

And, I Love Her So

I was at rehearsal tonight. I always feel so full of life and energy at rehearsals. Every Wednesday night, I come home feeling like I'm on a natural high. This is the first thing I've done for myself since I gave birth to my daughter. I missed the creative part in me. I missed the camaraderie and the fellowship from working with others to create something amazing for people to enjoy. This year, the theatre group I've joined is putting on a Gilbert and Sullivan production (Iolanthe). It happens to be my all time favourite G & S operetta (followed closely by HMS Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado).

The women were in one of the classrooms going over some of our parts for the musical, while the men were in the gym going over their parts.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her. My little Cindy Loo Who! She walked into the classroom, sought me out, and walked right up to me! The way her eyes lit up and the way she smiled when our eyes met was like pure magic! It was so sweet and so precious. At that moment, my heart melted.

I'm not used to being far away from my little girl. She's now seventeen months old and we've never really been apart for too long. To be honest, I cannot bear being away from her.

Tonight, I had rehearsal for the play and Hubby had to chair a meeting. With no babysitter available, Hubby took her to his meeting with him and they picked me up after rehearsal. They arrived a little bit before rehearsal ended, and my baby girl quietly wandered into the classroom as we rehearsed.

I remember feeling all warm and fuzzy when I saw her smiling and walking up to me. Her white fuzzy coat (which makes her look like a little lamb), her hair in Cindy Loo Who pigtails, and the sound of her shoes tap, tap, tapping on the floor as she wobbled towards me just melted my heart. Just the way she looked at me and smiled really got me so mushy inside!

I had to quickly scoop her up and hand her to her Dad so I could continue our rehearsal though!

Is this what it feels like being a mom? Taking in all the little, seemingly insignificant moments and savouring them? Why didn't anyone ever tell me that being a mom would feel this way? Actually, I don't think anyone could have ever told me anything that would prepare me for just how amazing, emotional, and profound the feelings of being a mom would be. It seems like every little thing she does is magic.

And, I love her so.

Meatless Monday #1

...on a Tuesday, and posted on Wednesday!

It's been another crazy busy week and my posting skills leave a lot to be desired.

My lovely (and stunningly gorgeous!) friend, Maria has been posting Meatless Monday posts every week. She's inspired me to do this too. The intention and desire to participate in Meatless Mondays are there, but I haven't totally been 'with it' lately. I've got a lot on my plate these days and for the most part, I go around my days running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I know. Gross visual, but that's how I've been feeling these days.

Anyway...

Many of you know that I spent seven years as a vegetarian (part of which, I was vegan). I ended up marrying a beef farmer, but we don't eat much meat. The truth is, meat actually grosses me out. Well, the thought of meat grosses me out. I can appreciate a good salmon, chicken, beef or pork dish, but raw meat makes me gag. I see visions of Bambi and Lisa Simpson's lamb whenever I handle meat (Incidentally, that just happens to be my favourite Simpson's episode ever!). I just have to *not* think about the animals who gave their lives for us in order for me to cook or eat meat. Psychologically twisted? Perhaps.

Prompted by my husband, I decided to see if I could cook by emptying the contents of our fridge. You see, farmers are pretty frugal and practical folk. We're conducting an experiment. Can I prepare meals for a week without going to the store to buy anything? We shall see.

Today's meal just happened to be a meatless dish. In a non-stick pan, I cooked up some firm tofu and chopped up green onions. I sauteed them with a bit of oyster sauce and sesame oil. I then added some rice noodles and cooked down some spinach at the end.
It was a surprisingly yummy dish for something that was just thrown together. Since I just made this recipe off the top of my head, I think I'll call it "C's Super Easy Tofu and Rice Noodle" dish. Our 17 month old daughter just loved it! She couldn't get enough of the tofu or rice noodles! She ended up eating her bowlful AND part of mine!
*Note: Not only is tofu a super healthy and good for you food, but it's also a frugal chef's best friend. A bit of tofu can go a long way AND it is super cheap and very versatile.

Earth Day is Almost Here

...are you being Tree-sponsible?

You Know You're a Parent of a Toddler When...

...You forgo the esthetics of your Norwegian Teak table and put these on it!
That's right, folks. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of something to put on the corners of our dining table, because they're the perfect height for Little One to smack her head on. I speak from experience. Little One has almost taken out an eye on more than one occasion and it just drives me crazy. Every time I see her running around the house and inching closer to the table, I cringe. She's smacked her head several times and still never seems to learn her lesson.

She's been walking for almost three weeks, and there's no stopping her now!

I had several foam pool noodles kicking around. Our students use them when we go to the beach. I cut one noodle into eight segments and cut a slit down the middle of each segment. I then fastened two segments to each of the corners.

Goodbye, beautiful table. Hello, silly foam covered corners. It looks kind of goofy, but my daughter's safety is far more important than a beautiful dining table.

Here's Little One in her monthaversary pic with Moo. She turned 17 months old today (14 months corrected).
Remember her first pic with Moo in February 2009? She was 3 months old here (newly born if we use her corrected age). I can't get over how much she's grown!

Because I'm a little bit crazy...

One thing you should know about me is that I LOVE throwing showers. Love it! Baby showers, bridal showers...whatever kind of shower. I just love hosting parties. I'm one of those weird people who loves coming up with a menu, trying out new and creative ways to decorate and dress up a table, organize games, get neat prizes for the games, and make homemade thank you presents for guests to take home.My good friend, Maddy's Mom is expecting baby #2 in four weeks. I jumped at the opportunity to throw her a shower.
The very first THREE LAYER cake I have ever made! It's actually a diaper cake. So much fun to make!
I quickly learned that there's a reason I'm not a cake decorator by profession. I'm just not good at decorating cakes! The above photo is the baby shower cake I made for the event. Below are the cupcakes I made.

One of MM's friends helped me with the party. It was so much fun! She made a stunning money tree (where guests could pin money to the tree to contribute to getting a stroller for MM). She also helped me with putting together the guest giveaways and made a fruit tray and veggie platter.

The baby shower spread also included pumpernickel bread with spinach dip, fruit punch, bite sized cream cheese rolls (three flavours: smoked salmon, roasted red pepper, and garlic-herb), cake (lemon with vanilla icing), cupcakes (chocolate and vanilla with cream cheese frosting), and Chinese wontons (wontons courtesy of my Mom and Dad). One of our friends brought a layered dip and tortilla chips too. We were certainly not lacking in the food department.
We played some fun baby shower games. This morning, I made homemade baby food (strawberry and blueberry) for my "Feed the baby" game. All the guests were paired into Mommies and babies. The Mommies had to feed the babies, and the first team to finish the baby food won a prize.

Another game we played was the "Change the baby" game. Each Mom was given a Cabbage Patch Kid to strip, diaper, and change. The person who finished the fastest was the winner.

Throughout the afternoon, we played the clothes peg game. Each guest had a clothes peg to wear and if anyone said the word "Baby", their clothes peg was taken from them. The person with the most clothes pegs at the end won a prize.

I also had a station where guests could decorate onesies for the baby and sign the pages I made for the baby's scrapbook.
I got Maddy and the baby matching big sister and little sister summer dresses. I thought it would be nice to get Maddy a big sister present.
We had some good laughs, good talks, good food, and good fun. What a great afternoon it was!