Eek! A Bug!

I'm not a fan of bugs, particularly the kind that bite, destroy things or spread germs. But I try very hard to not let my personal preferences influence my kids. In particular, I don't want to do anything that might turn Maureen off from math or science.

I harbored a serious spider fear for years, following a traumatic experience with a murderous Daddy Longlegs as a child, but have gotten mostly past that, provided I'm not expected to touch them. And we've been photographing and touching butterflies, which are technically insects, all summer in our yard.

So when the children's librarian told me about the Bug Program and said it was cool, I said to myself, "It's just bugs. I can handle it." And we went.

Maureen was the youngest child there, but she was also one of the most interested in learning about and holding the bugs. Upon learning that she was only three, the big lady seemed a little uncertain about handing over her bugs, but Maureen did great and was a lot calmer and gentler than some of the other older kids.

Here she holds a hornworm caterpillar, which had been fed on a specific diet to give it the blue color.

Neither kid wanted to hold this large grasshopper, but Maureen was tickled to find out that it has pink wings. And she did opt to "pet" it.

Johnny finally decided to hold something and he chose this millipede.

And of course Maureen had to hold it too.

After viewing some other bugs, including Malaysian stick bugs, a scorpion, a tarantula and Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, the kids had a chance to further inspect the bugs with magnifying glasses and also some bug fossils.





The whole presentation was very interesting and the bugs didn't bother me either, with the exception of the cockroach. I was very frankly relieved when neither kid wanted to hold one. I don't care if they are vegetarians, it was a cockroach and it was humongous.

We had a great time and I'm very proud of my budding scientists!

Don't Eat These Mushrooms

These hilarious mushrooms showed up in our yard last year and I was amused. So this year, when I found the shriveled remnants of one in the garden, I waited for a better specimen to appear so I could share it with you.

If you haven't seen one, this is a stinkhorn. Stinkhorns are a type of mushroom that ooze a sticky liquid that smells of eau de roadkill to attract flies and other insects. When the flies land in the ooze, they get it on their feet and in their digestive tract and in this manner, the stinkhorn spreads it's spores.

My patience was finally rewarded yesterday, when this stinkhorn popped up next to my Celosia. You'll notice the flies anxiously awaiting to get back to it. I'm also pleased with how well the Celosia has flourished.

Anyway, stinkhorns are pretty effective too, because this morning there were a lot more in the yard. And once I was done laughing at them, I realized there were an awful lot of flies buzzing around and it was time for some eradication methods.

Last year, I dug up the stinkhorns, being sure to get the egg-like sac that the mushrooms grow from and as much of the mildew-like white stuff in the mulch as possible, bagged it, and tossed it. Then I soaked the area with white vinegar. It seemed to work okay, each morning there were less and less stinkhorns until there were none at all. Since more appeared this year, clearly there are still spores in the area, but whether those are leftover or new ones spread by flies will probably never be determined.

While searching for other ways to get rid of stinkhorns, I found a website that said that stinkhorns are not poisonous mushrooms and are dried and eaten in China. But, poisonous or not, you can definitely count these on my "I will never eat these ever ever ever" list.

Menu Plan: Harvest Bounty

It's getting to be that time of year. Carefully tended vegetable gardens are producing, and that means cooks need to either hurry up and cook the food or freeze it for winter.

Since we container garden, our harvest is smaller. But this week, friends on vacation offered us their weekly share of veggies from the local CSA, so I have a pile of squash and corn to use up too.

Luckily, locally grown veggies, such as those from my backyard, have a longer shelf life than those purchased at the grocery store, giving me time to figure out what to make with summer squash and if it's possible to freeze green onions (sort of).

Here's what I came up with:

**Chicken Gyros with Greek Cucumber Sauce--This tangy sauce is also great on beef or burgers. This will use up two cucumbers, but I'll probably end up making pickles eventually anyway. Melon on the side.
**Pork Chops with Herb Pesto and Champ--I planted basil in a small pot and stuck it in the front window, out of the reach of the cat. AND I remembered to water it frequently and it has really flourished. So this recipe will use up some of the basil as the base for the pesto. The Champ will use up some of the green onions and the head of cabbage. Champ usually uses green cabbage and mine is purple, so we'll see if there is a big difference in taste.
**Spinach Cheese Triangles with Corn on the Cob--These appetizer like triangles are a finger food version of my mom's Greek Spinach Pie. I have some feta in the fridge to use up. The corn is CSA bounty and will round out a nice meatless meal.
**Tropical Chicken Packets--Originally intended to be cooked on the grill, these pan-free foil packets can be done in the oven or broiler as well. Which one we do will depend on how the week goes. This will use up green and yellow peppers, as well as onion. I'll serve it with a salad made from homegrown leaf lettuce and CSA tomatoes.
**Grilled Veggie Pizza--Once again, this recipe may or may not end up on the grill. But it will serve nicely to hide the summer squash that I don't like, and also some of the peppers.
**Vegetable Pad Thai--The original version of this recipe uses tofu. Which I don't like. The kids learned about tofu from watching Sesame Street, and I haven't decided yet if I should make it with the tofu to see what they think, or if I should substitute beef strips. We'll see. In either case, this dish should use the rest of the squash and tomatoes.

Is your garden producing yet? And what are you eating?

First Monarch Of The Summer

The great thing about summer is that the hectic pace of spring has slowed down and we're not doing much else other than running (me) and playing in the wading pool (the kids). But that also means I don't have much to blog about except my garden!

Speaking of my garden, I'm extraordinarily pleased with how it is growing. Our container vegetable plants are starting to produce, the butterfly bush is enormous, and I transplanted some moss onto the flagstone patio last week and am anxiously waiting to see if it takes. Our once dull city yard has become a tranquil place, and I intend to talk more about that, but not quite yet.

I've also been drying my laundry outside because an ongoing heatwave means using the dryer makes the house unbearably hot. And I intend to blog about that too, but I'm waiting for our next BGE bill to get here so I can see if it's made a difference in a monetary sense.

So until then, please enjoy these pictures of the first monarch butterfly of the summer, and this fun (but blurry) little dude who showed up on Saturday. Hopefully he'll hang around for awhile.

Biggest One Yet

I was out hanging laundry to dry in the yard, when this male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail flew into me and I thought I was being attacked by a bat. According to the Internet, these honkers have a wingspan of anywhere from 9.2 to 16.5cm, which is about 3 1/2 to 6 1/2 inches.

This one seemed to be about in the middle. This is a BIG butterfly.

Anyway, all my flapping and screaming didn't seem to bother him too much, because he hung around on the butterfly bush to be photographed.

Related Posts:
Spotted On The Butterfly Bush
First Visitor
The Monarchs Are Migrating

Sinking Heart

I was feeling pretty good about kicking my 15 year nail biting habit a few months ago.

But then last week, my son asked me to get him the nail clippers so he could trim his nails, and when he was finished, he gave the clippers to me so I could check his sister's nails.

Except hers were already really short. In fact, I couldn't remember the last time I had cut her nails.

And then it dawned on me.

She's always got her fingers in her mouth. As a former nail biter, I can recognize the signs.

My three-year-old is chewing her nails.

Ohmigod.

Are bad habits hereditary?

I've been watching her since then and it seems like she's doing what I used to do. She has her fingers in her mouth and is seemingly completely distracted from what she's doing. She has little idea that she's chewing her nails down. And when I remind her to get her hands out of her mouth, she usually listens.

Any ideas? Does anyone have a preschooler with a nail biting habit?

Kawasaki 12 Inch Girls Bike Review

As I alluded to a couple of weeks ago, my 3 year old daughter had outgrown her trike and was asking to ride a "big girl bike" with training wheels. Her older brother has been riding on two wheels for some time now and she's been looking on enviously at his speed. (And also his, "Look Mom, no hands!", but that's another story.)

Luckily, the kind folks at CSN Stores came to the rescue and sent us this great bike.

If you haven't already checked them out, CSNStores.com is a great source for online shopping. With over 200 stores and an easy to use search function, this is a great place to buy everything from dining room tables to baby gear to sporting goods.

The bike is the Kawasaki KX12G Girl's 12inch Bike in Periwinkle Blue. It comes with a pad set, backpack and water bottle, as well as the training wheels. It retails for $120.00, although it's currently on sale for $74.99 with free shipping. We received the bike at no cost.

First of all, it got to us quickly. It was shipped the same day I placed my order. The bike did require some assembly, which my husband did. The instructions that came with the bike were not for this one, they were for a mountain bike, but he was able to figure it out on his own.

My daughter loves her new bike. Even with the training wheels in a higher position, she is able to get on and off with the bike easily. She loves the backpack and water bottle that came with it. I love the padding, that will keep the frame in nice shape once the training wheels come off and she starts to drop it on the sidewalk. I love that while the bike is called a "girls" bike, it's blue and green and not pink and purple and can eventually be passed down to a cousin or friend regardless of gender. The seat is easily adjustable, the pedals turn easily, and the coaster brakes work with minimal effort.

Also, the frame is sturdy, but not so heavy that it's difficult for me to pick up.

Thanks to CSNStores.com for this opportunity!

**disclaimer--CSN Stores sent me the above bike for free in exchange for my honest opinion. I am not being paid for a positive review and all opinions are my own.

Spotted On The Butterfly Bush

Our butterfly bush continues to be a source of entertainment.

This week's visitors:

I'm pretty sure this is a Zabulon Skipper. At first, I thought it was a moth, but it's not. We've seen many of these, and they move so fast, it was hard to get a picture.

This is a Silver Spotted Skipper. Lots of these around too.

I think this might be a Checkered White, but I didn't get a really good look at the top of it's wings. And when it flies, it just looks like a blur of white.


Related Posts:
First Visitor
The Monarchs Are Migrating
Who Says All TV Is Bad?

Pearly Whites

Maureen's first visit to the dentist was today. She was a little nervous and sat on my lap for the exam and cleaning, but some sugarless gum and a new pink and green toothbrush (her favorite colors) were enough to entice her into the chair for a photo.

And, no cavities!

Both kids have been on my case about the soda. Maureen keeps telling me, "Mom, don't drink that stuff, you'll get broken teeth!" Quitting for good is on the horizon.

Raising Bilingual Kids...When The Only Foreign Language You Know Are The Curse Words

When my husband and I got married, we went to Italy on our honeymoon. Neither of us spoke Italian. We were able to pick up the basics of please, thank you, excuse me and where is the toilet, but that was about it. Luckily, most of the people we met also spoke English, except for one dinner where the waiter spoke none and it took about a million years to translate the Italian-only menu using our English-Italian dictionary and ordering with much pointing and gesturing.

Anyway, not being able to speak a second language made me feel inadequate. Especially after we sat next to a couple at another restaurant who spoke to each other in French but switched to English to order.

When we went to Mexico a couple of years later, we fared better because my husband recalled much of his high school Spanish and as long as the person spoke slowly enough, he was able to understand. But it bugged me that in both countries, so many people automatically spoke to us in English and didn't expect us to at least make an effort to figure out the native language.

I took two years of Latin in high school, which is helpful when it comes to vocabulary categories on Jeopardy and that's about it. I took three semesters of German in college, but my professor was pretty easy, I carried a full load of more important classes, and I did the minimum needed to get my A and fulfill the foreign language requirement so I could graduate. Not much sunk in, I can say about 4 phrases and I know all the curse words, which is helpful if someone cuts you off in traffic and you want to call them an ass without the kids knowing what you said.

Oh yeah, and I can say ass in Polish too.

These days, the experts recognize that the earlier kids are exposed to a foreign language, the easier it is for them to learn it. Schools start teaching foreign language a lot earlier than middle or high school, and depending on where you live, it's not unusual for kids to grow up bilingual. Which, in my opinion, is a good thing. But it puts those of us whose foreign language skills are limited to muttering the word dupa under your breath at a distinct disadvantage. How do you help with homework that you may not grasp yourself?

Johnny and Maureen like to watch Dragon Tales on PBS, and Sesame Street often translates words into Spanish as well. And we have several books written in both English and Spanish that I can't read to them because my accent sucks and I don't know the proper pronunciation. Yesterday at dinner, Johnny asked me what ninos means and I had to look it up because I thought it means children, but I wasn't entirely sure. Then he insisted that I had to call him by his Spanish name, Juan, and made me look up the translation for his sister's name. Once I did that, I was informed that for the rest of dinner, they wanted me to call them Juan and Marina instead of Johnny and Maureen.

Very interesting and entertaining, but darn if it doesn't make me feel like I'm back in Italy again.

When Johnny starts kindergarten in the fall and needs help with his homework, I'm totally there for spelling and math. But foreign language? Hopefully it'll be Spanish and I can pass that duty along to dad.

Parents--do you speak a second language and if not, how do you help your child with homework?

Weathering The Picky Eater Stage

Johnny and Maureen enjoy a dinner of Asian Pork Linguine, broccoli and cantaloupe.

The other day, I made lunch for myself and my two kids. Chicken sandwiches on wheat bread all around, apple sauce for them and a pickle for me. I was putting dirty utensils into the sink when I turned around to see that my 5 year old son had snatched the pickle off my plate, taken a bite, handed it to his sister, who also took a bite and handed it back to him. When he looked up and saw me watching him, he said, "I like it! I like pickles!" He took another bite, then placed what was left back on my plate.

Germ sharing aside, I couldn't help but marvel at how far this once super picky child of mine has come. And within the confines of my brain, I heaved a giant sigh of relief and thought, "Yes! It finally paid off."

Picky eating is common among 1 to 3 year olds, and part of the reason is because it's developmentally normal. As growth slows down, children eat less because they need less. But it's also incredibly common for a child for a child who once ate everything with gusto to suddenly slam on the brakes and refuse to eat once favorite foods, certain textures, or any type of vegetable. It can be alarming.

As they get older, most picky kids will expand their palates and begin to eat more, but the key for you as a parent is getting through those picky years with your sanity intact. Some picky kids will indeed grow into picky adults (my brother does most of the cooking in the house because his wife found it impossible to cook for him when there are so many foods he won't touch), but if you teach good habits now, even those picky adults with limited diets can be healthy and happy.

Some tips that have worked for me:

• Acknowledge your child's right to not like certain foods--Chances are there are foods you don't like, foods that are quite good for you. I'm not crazy about most kinds of seafood, pearl onions, or pancakes, and I won't touch zucchini, beets or eggplant with a ten foot pole. Sure, presenting a food ten or twenty times might convince your child to eat it in the end, but then again, maybe not. Don't be surprised if your child won't eat foods that you don't like either. Food preferences are partially genetic.
• Keep your expectations realistic--Sure, you know that avocado mashed with pepper and some lemon juice makes a scrumptious swap for mayo on a sandwich, but to your toddler, it's a funny color and a strange texture. Go ahead and introduce foods that you drool over, but don't blow a gasket if your two-year-old balks at kale.
• Model healthy eating--Take a look at your own eating habits. Do you skip meals, guzzle coffee or munch on junk all day? If your own food habits are less than stellar, try to clean them up a little. Kids notice things, and they'll be quick to call you on what they perceive as hypocrisy.
• Try peer pressure--At my children's preschool, the only food allowed for snack is fresh fruit. So my kids take a lot of bananas and apple slices, which are fruits they both eat well, but seeing other kids eat other fruits meant they each added one or two fruits to their "approved" list. It doesn't have to be another child too. Seeing mom chow down on sweet potatoes is powerful. Eat as a family or invite an adventurous eater over and see what happens.
• Take advantage of distraction--If you're truly worried about the volume or variety that your child eats, try getting them to eat when they are otherwise distracted. Many kids will mindlessly polish off a bowl of baby carrots while watching TV. I got my own son to eat melon a few weeks ago at the beach by following him around asking him to take a bite here and there while he was playing with his friends.
• Reconsider cooking separate meals--Do you make separate food for your picky eater? Be careful, because your child might start to treat you like a short order cook. My first child had a milk allergy when he was younger, and in the interest of getting calories into him, I did make him special meals, food I knew he would almost always eat. But when he got demanding, I quit. For the most part, the kids eat what my husband and I eat. I do try to keep their preferences in mind, making sure there is at least one thing on the menu that they like. The transitional period was rough, but both kids now know that they are expected to sit down with the family and eat what I cooked. They don't have to eat something if they don't want to, but I also won't be making something else in it's place.
• Make "kid food" healthy--Chicken is a good source of protein and potatoes are loaded with potassium. Homemade versions of kid friendly food will set your mind at ease when it comes to the nutritional profile.
• Watch your portion sizes--Think back to when you were pregnant, suffering from morning sickness, and a full plate of food had the power to turn your stomach and not want to eat at all. For a picky eater, being presented with too much food can be overwhelming. Keep portions kid sized and if you're cooking a food on the "non-approved" list, make the portion even smaller.
• Look at the big picture--Some days, both my kids eat well, other days one eats well while the other picks, and some days neither seems to eat much of anything. If you're worried, take a look at what your child eats over the course of a week or two and you'll probably see that he or she eats more than you think.

And finally, hang in there. It gets better. It really does. My pickle snatching, watermelon eating, edamame snarfing 5-year-old is living proof.

*crossposted at API Speaks

Square Bowls From Noodles and Company

Summer is finally here, and I can promise you I've been looking forward to sun and fun more than usual this year, following a long, snowy winter than dumped way too much snow on us.

The kids are out of school and we've been busy visiting friends, riding bikes, and going to the pool. Summer has been great so far, except for it's effect on dinner! We've been out and about so much, or it's been so hot that the last thing I feel like doing is cooking over a hot stove.

That means we've been eating a lot of pizza, or cereal or, in my case, skipping meals altogether. And while my family was still eating, I felt like we weren't eating very healthy food.

Recently, my family had the chance to try Square Bowls from Noodles and Company. Square Bowls are family sized bowls that make it easy to feed a family of four, or a larger group. We chose the Wisconsin Mac and Cheese for the kids, and the Mushroom Stroganoff with Braised Beef for my husband and I.

What I Liked

• the generous serving-each square bowl is supposed to feed 4 people. The dishes were so filling, that we had plenty of leftovers, and that was without adding side dishes like salad or soup.
• both dishes were tasty and fresh, made with real ingredients.
• the website--the Noodles and Company website lists allergy information, as well as nutritional info in an easy to read format

What I Didn't Like

• Holy Calories, Batman!--the Square Bowls we chose were fresh and tasty, but I was astounded when I checked the nutritional information after our meal. All those calories in real cheese and real cream really add up. The company has lots of options for 400 calories or less, so if you're watching calories and fat, stay away from the two dishes we tried.

We enjoyed our tasty meal, and I enjoyed serving a hot meal to my family that I didn't have to cook.

**disclaimer--I received a coupon to try Square Bowls for free, a value of about 45 dollars. My opinions are my own, and I am not being paid for a positive review.

Sticky Fingers

Geography Lesson

Learning something when you've been told you need to know it is pretty boring sometimes. Following your child's lead and letting natural interests develop is a lot more interesting.

Johnny is having a lot of fun with this large map, provided by Great Uncle John, finding the places he has heard about, comparing how far they are from Baltimore, and finding the corresponding flag for that country (pictured at the bottom of the map).

Today's geography lesson came about after Maureen, while eating a banana, announced that monkeys like to eat bananas, but why do we never see monkeys in Baltimore (not counting at the zoo)? Johnny answered that monkeys live in jungles, like in Africa. In this photo, he shows Maureen the distance between the US and Africa.

While we had the map out, we also talked about how many continents and oceans there are, the difference between countries and states, and how an island that is nowhere near the country it belongs to can still be a part of that country. And we added a new place to our list--Indonesia, where a neighbor is currently visiting relatives. Both kids listened with rapt attention, something I can say I never displayed during geography lessons in school.

Where have your children's interests taken you?