Great Friday

It's finally Friday and the beginning of the weekend! I wanted tonight to be special and different from other nights, so I decided to cook something different. Actually, hubby nor I were in the mood to cook. To make matters worse, I was also not in the mood for take out. I know. I'm a pain in the touchy. I decided to look online for something fun, tasty, and easy.

Found it! It's a tasty, easy, and kid-friendly recipe from the Food Network. It literally took less than 10 minutes to make and it was delicious. My daughter loved the different flavors and texture of the meal. To make it all more special, we ate in the living room while watching Rio. Really, this was a great dinner and fun night for the whole family.

 Here is the recipe:
* 1/3 cup whipped cream cheese, at room temperature (about 3 ounces)
* 1/2 tablespoon honey 4 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas 1/2 small red apple, such as Red Delicious, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
* 1 cup shredded smoked mozzarella (I ended up using whatever I had at home)
* 1 cup shredded mild Cheddar (I ended up using whatever I had at home)
* 8 thin slices smoked Black Forest deli turkey meat (I ended up using whatever I had at home)
Directions:
* Spray a nonstick grill pan or nonstick griddle pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Place over medium-high heat.
* In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and honey until smooth. Spread evenly over 1 side of each tortilla, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge.
* Place 2 or 3 apple slices in a single row about 1 inch from the nearest edge of each tortilla.
* In a small bowl, combine the 2 cheeses. Sprinkle half the cheese mixture on top.
* Place 2 slices turkey side-by-side on top of the cheese.
* Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
* Tightly roll up each tortilla like a jelly roll. Place the tortilla rolls, seam-side down, on the grill. Cook, turning every 2 minutes, until the tortillas are brown on all sides and the cheese starts to melt.
* Cool for 10 minutes. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice each tortilla roll into 1-inch pieces. Arrange on a platter and serve.

By the way, the cream cheese and honey mixture also functions as frosting on chocolate and pumpkin cupcakes :)

Baby Boy

New baby boy

The nine month wait is finally over. My baby boy was born on Easter, April 8th, after 17 hours of labor!

Baby and mom:

Aquarela Kids Above:

Throughout the preg, I opted not to know the sex of the baby. Since knowing but not allowed to talk about it was too much pressure, hubby also decided not to know the sex of the baby.

We would have been more than happy with either sex, but the idea of having a little boy and girl, a couple, was top on our list. Needless to say, we were and are thrilled to have a little boy. He is going to learn how to dance with mom and will become a soccer-fan-cake-baking little boy with dad!

Baby and Dad:

While at the hospital, we were given the option to circumcise him. To be honest, I know little of the benefits or disadvantages associated with the procedure, but hubby felt no need to go through with it. After a little research, I discovered that C is on the decline in the U.S. Excluding cultural or religious reasons, parents and doctors see little benefits to it.

After asking around, a friend sent me this video on circumcisions. It's a little long and graphic but informative.

Bringing up Bebe

Vive la France!!

As a new parent for the second time, I often think about the successes and failures of the first run-through. I often ask, "Am I doing a good job? Should I do this differently?" The list of questions can be extensive.

Needless to say, I often look for information and strategies that will help me be a better parent (oddly enough, some of the information and strategies help me improve as a teacher. Something about classroom management and patience). Lately, I began reading Bringing up Bebe and can't put the book down. Pamela Druckerman, author of Lost in Translation, compares the parenting styles of French and American parents and notes differences in the behavior of French and American children. According to Druckerman, French parents are doing a great job, which leaves me to think that not only are the French great soccer players, make great fries, and sound sexy every time they speak, they are also great parents. Who knew?!?

I haven't finished the book, but have noticed reoccurring ideas: 1) talk to your kid as if he/she is a rational person who can understand and deal with concepts, b) be very firm with a few rules but give kids lots of freedom to explore, grow, and be kids, and c) don't let parenting get in the way of you being an adult. Parents also need their space, individuality, and entertainment.

From little princess to little diva!

"Whatcha looking at?"

Toddler and Mommy Book Selection

April Book Selection

Finding engaging, culturally diverse, and entertaining books for Camila is always a top priority. Though I have mentioned it before, I strongly believe that a love for books and literature will prep Camila for a successful academic and professional future. Thus, Camila and I regularly search the aisles of local book stores or the public library for something catchy and interesting. This month, I want to share two great books.

Priscilla and the Pink Planet by Nathaniel Hobbie:

As with many little girls, pink is the color of choice. Camila is no exception. Priscilla focuses on a little girl who lives in a pink world but eventually decides to search for other colors.

Camila loves the book because Priscilla and the butterfly happily walk away after achieving their goal. I love the book because of the book's allusion to Alice in Wonderland.

Noddy and the Sunny Day by Enid Blyton:

On Camila's first birthday, a friend gave her the book. Since it is a pop-up book, Camila, at the time, destroyed many of the ages, but it still remained one of her top choices.

Camila loves the story line...a little boy who unsuccessfully tries to entertain himself only to realize that the best activities are those shared with friends. I, on the other hand, love the book for its diversity. Noddy, at the end of the story, leaves his toys behind and decides to join his friends for a game of soccer. Yes, soccer! On Sundays, Camila and hubby watches Globo Esporte, a Brazilian version of ESPN Sports News. Consequently, Camila is very familiar with soccer but has no clue of football or baseball. When we reach the last page, she often yells football (Portuguese accent) or Vasco, hubby's favorite soccer team.

From a Baby to a Little Girl

Camila's Right of Passage

Yes, gymnastics is really paying off. Two nights ago, Camila somersaulted out of her crib for the first time. She got so good at it that she did it twice in one night!
Camila's crib-crawling incident got me thinking. She didn't simply crawl out of the crib, she underwent a right of passage! Like Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, Camila managed to escape from her barred crib and was determined never to return.
Just to make sure, the next night hubby asked if she wanted to sleep in her crib or in the big-girl bed (her cousin stayed with us for a few months and slept in a twin bed, which we never got around to putting away). Without blinking, she opted for the bed. Hubby lowered the bed to the ground, grabbed her dolls and tucked her in. Ironically, my little girl slept like a baby! She never got up, called for mommy, or complained. The transition was smooth and successful.

Here is the catch. Camila's right of passage affected my hubby more than Camila. Once she went to bed, he moped around the house and repeatedly complained that his baby was now a little girl. The idea that Camila entered a new phase in her life completely caught him off guard. Imagine how he is going to act when Camila goes on her first date. I just hope her date cheers for Vasco da Gama, his favorite soccer team.

Personalized Story Book

Personalized Story Book

I strongly believe that by exposing Camila to a variety of texts she will grow to be an avid reader, good student, and successful individual. Well, to maintain my goal and add a little extra oomph to the reading materials we read, I composed a story book for my little girl. I combined my love for reading with a project--can't get better than that!Using Kodak Projects, I composed a fairy tale that blends text and photos. In the story, relatives and friends are transformed into magical characters who help Princess Camila along her journey. The end result is fabulous and we are having fun reading it.The photo book cost less than $30 and we love reading it :)

Baby Shower

Festival Du Bebe

Countdown begins! I now have less than one weeks before maternity leave begins--can you tell I'm excited? I'm looking forward to the relaxing and alone time I will have until the birth of the baby and then all hell breaks loose and I will have numerous sleepless night :)

To kick off the last few weeks of pregnancy and to celebrate the baby to come, my friends hosted a great baby shower in my honor. Since the shower had a French circus theme, we had face paint, clown performances, and a beautiful cake. The party was great and I'm happy to have such wonderful friends!

A quick video of the event.

Here are some of the pictures:

Face Paint by Tammy Artis--she did a great job!
Clown Show. I asked for strippers but got samba dancers. I can live with that :)Games: This was so beyond embarrassing but I did get the pen inside the bottle :)

Art Projects for a 2-Year Old

Art Projects

With the birth of the baby fast approaching, hubby and I are trying to get Camila ready for the new addition to the family. As the only child, she now gets ALL the attention and we worry that she may have a difficult time accepting the baby. To combat this, we try to include the baby in our conversations and, when possible, activities.

We recently completed a few tasks that I must share :)

Belly Art:

Materials needed:
* Paint: We like Crayola but I'm sure any washable paint works.
* A pregnant belly: You can probably find one on eBay. They have everything!


Camila's bedroom wreath:
The purpose for this project was to keep Camila away from the television on a rainy day. It was such an easy and fun project.

Materials:

• Cardboard 12" round wreath
• Cupcake baking cups
• Elmer's glue
• Heart ornament
• 2 flower pins
• Ribbon
  

Together, Camila and I glued cupcake baking cups to a cardboard wreath. Later, I secured the heart and ribbon with flower pins. We had a great time and Camila was very proud of her work :)

Imaginative Play and the Behavior of Kids

Call me old fashion but should babies have an iPad case? Hell! Should they have an iPad?

Fisher Price recently released an iPad case for toddlers. The case, which costs less than $40, protects the iPad against biting and drooling. They actually market it that way...crazy!

I'm pro entertainment and using educational resources to motivate, guide, distract, and teach kids, but what has happened to letting kids use their imagination to build, discover, create, learn, and self-monitor? What is wrong with imaginative play? What is wrong with letting kids be bored? What is wrong with Fisher Price?

I'm sorry, but the Fisher Price case has really gotten me fired up!

A few years ago, I heard a great report on NPR about imaginative play, which I'm sharing with you. It provides a hypothesis to why some believe kids are less mature today them they were in prior years. I found the report very informative and it helped shed light on the disruptive and immature behavior of some of my students. As a parent, the report reminded me that kids need time, space, and opportunities to be creative and free-thinkers.

Please read the article. You may be surprised to learn that it began with toys.

Here is another great article:

Imaginative play for Toddlers

Once a Week

Blogging Once a Week

I sure am tired. I don't know if it's a result of the pregnancy, or the demanding college courses, or the stack of essays that I must grade, or a culmination of all three. All I know is that I sure am tired.

My week plays out in the following way: Mondays and Tuesdays are fine. I am productive at work, school, and home. By Wednesday, I feel like a dementor is slowly sucking the energy out of me and only Harry Potter can save me. Thursdays are difficult; it's the white-flag-I-surrender day. Come Friday, energy slowly creeps back into my body. On Saturdays and Sundays, I recharge my batteries and am whole again--right now, I love the weekend and nap time :)

I 'm not in my pajamas. I really look this good when I'm studying.

With my not so active disposition, something has to give. Consequently, I have reduced my blogging time :( to once a week, and I hate it. I truly enjoy sitting with my laptop thinking of nothing better to do but write a blog entry about things I have no business writing about. I like adding photos, sharing my thoughts, looking at my followers, and reading my fav blogs. I really do! Oh well, I need to accept that I can't blog as often as I did, and that a once a week entry is better than nothing.

The show must go on!

Valentine Gifts

Business Card:

I'm a strong believer that we MUST celebrate special days. It makes others feel special and adds interest to our days. But with my busy life, I, at times, let special days go by without giving it much attention :(

Last year for Valentine's Day, I got my hubby a shitty last-minute gift. I was feeling overwhelmed by the demands of life and did not put much thought into the gift. I felt awful and the fact that I can't even remember what I got him makes it worse.

This year, I'm going to redeem myself. Though I'm not sure what I will give him, I do have a few ideas in mind.

Popcorn maker and Pay Per View
In the past, I have given friends and family an old school looking popcorn maker. Later, they tell me of fun movie nights and popcorn binges.
For my hubby, I'm hoping to add umph to the gift by purchasing a Pay Per View event. He can make popcorn, serve home-made beer and have friends over to watch a fight or special event.

Watch with glitz
As a Brazilian man, my hubby loves watches. To make it better, he loves large, glitzy watches. It's this ghetto fab side that I love so much!

Business Cards
As of now, this is my top choice. Now that my hubby is engrossed in his beer-making projects, I'm thinking of making simple business cards with his name and hobby written on it. He can then give cards away to friends and fellow brewers. Who knows?! Brahma, Brazil's number one beer, may end up asking him to become a professional testers.

Carnivore and Herbivore

Cooking Class:
Attentive Student:
The flambe was obviously way over my head!
My father is from Rio Grande do Sul, beef capital of Brazil, so logically meat dishes have always been present in my life. In fact, like the aunt in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, my dad would make chicken as a substitute for beef. Only recently, did he begin appreciating vegetarian dishes.

Like my father, I am clueless when it comes to meatless dishes. I have enjoyed vegetarian meals but I must say I'm a little ignorant when it comes to preparing them. How do you cook without meat? Better yet, how do you live?

After explaining my dilemma to a friend, she gave me Vegan Planet, a vegan cookbook. Let me start by saying that going from being a carnivore to an herbivore is beyond difficult! No wonder the T-Rex is extinct. He couldn't handle a broccoli and brown rice diet. Everything becomes a steak and the fact that I can't have one drives me insane.

I realized that though I wanted to adopt a healthier eating style, going cold turkey (meat references are all over) was not the answer. Like a crackfiend, I need an occasional fix, a piece of bacon, a fried egg, a BBQ. I finally reached a compromise. I opted for a few meatless dishes once a week...OK, once in a while. I have to start somewhere.

Needless to say, I will never be a vegetarian or vegan, but I like to think that a meatless diet, once in a while, will help improve my health, my family's health, and the health of the planet.

I'm please to say that it has been working. On meatless nights, I make fish (not really a meat) OR use meat substitutes. Again, I gotta start somewhere.



Below is my favorite vegan dish:
Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili

• Olive Oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 minced garlic clove
• One 14.5 oz of chopped and drained tomatoes
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of apple juice
• 1/4 cup of tomato paste
• 2 tb of chili powder (I omit the chili powder)
• Salt
• 1 diced butternut squash
• 3 cups or two 15 oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:

• Saute the onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, except the black beans. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add the beans, simmer it for 15 minutes, and adjust the seasoning, if needed. Serve hot.
  

Like a true carnivore, I'm also including my favorite Brazilian meat dish--yum!
Brazilian Strognonoff

• 2 tablespoons butter shopping list
• 1 white onion minced shopping list
• 1 clove garlic minced shopping list
• 1 teaspoon salt shopping list
• 1 pound white cultivated mushrooms shopping list
• 1 pound beef cut into small cubes shopping list
• 2 tablespoons ketchup shopping list
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

• Lightly fry the beef with the butter, onion, garlic and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 cup of water to make a thick sauce then add remaining ingredients except sour cream and ketchup. Cook for 5 minutes and check meat for doneness. When done add sour cream and ketchup. Mix briefly and serve with potato sticks and white rice.

Since I like meat, I'm including a second meat dish, Lomo Saltado. This is such a tasty Peruvian dish!
LOMO SALTADO (PERUVIAN STIRFRY)

• 1 lb sirloin or tenderloin, cut into bite size pieces--You can replace the sirloin with chicken, shrimp, or tofu.
  
• 1 small onion, cut into strips
• 1 large tomato, cut into strips
• 1 large hot pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• salt
• pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 2 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• French fries

Directions:

• Place the cut meat in a bowl or dish, and season it with salt, pepper, a little bit of olive oil, lime juice, and chopped garlic. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.
• Sauté meat over high heat for a few minutes until meat is no longer pink. Lower temperature to medium and add first the onion. Cook, stirring for 1 minute and then stir in the tomatoes and peppers. Cook until the onions are tender.
  
• Add the red wine and the cilantro. Cook for one more minute. Toss in the French fries and serve with white rice.

You must watch Food Inc. It changed many of my eating habits.

Growing Belly

Rutabaga

Each week, I receive an email letting me know how my baby is developing. The size of the baby is always compared to a fruit or vegetable. This week, my 13" developing baby is a rutabaga (It's a beet-looking vegetable--I had to look it up).

What the email fails to say is that my rutabaga baby is made out of lead! Really, all of a sudden, my belly and size are overwhelmingly noticeable to me. I feel huge, clumsy, and exhausted. I can no longer see my feet, which are now in a constant 45 degree angle so to accommodate my waddle. When practicing my Warrior pose, I feel like a sumo wrestler getting ready for battle. I am big and getting bigger!

To make matters worst, my loving hubby said, as I walked passed him, "Being pregnant must really be uncomfortable." No, shit! I don't want to over react or make assumptions, but he only came to this eye-opening conclusion after seeing me struggle to get up from the sofa and waddle my way past him.

Now a bigger question comes to mind--was he trying to say something or am I reading too much into it? Since I'm a loving wife with raging hormones, I'm going to assume the latter. Simply, it's like the time he asked, "Does it really hurt?" This after I gave birth to my daughter. I replied by saying that "I wished I could leave my body."

To ease my mind and since I am a loving wife, I'm going to say that my loving husband had no clue of what he was saying. He was overwhelmed by the miracle of childbirth and my overwhelmingly large tummy, right?

Baby-Free Day

Years ago, pre-parenthood, I asked a good friend what he and his wife did on date night (a concept I did not understand until I had kids of my own). He replied that he and his wife liked going to Macy's to look at furniture. Furniture! What happened to dancing, dinner, movies, drinks at an awesome lounge? Needless to say, I did not understand his choice of entertainment.

I'm now a parent and fully understand the trials and tribulations of parenthood. My parents kidnapped my daughter for 3 days and 2 nights. According to my childless friends, I now should be living it up, going out, enjoying life! The truth, however, is that my husband and I really miss our little Camilusca. In fact, her departure was bitter-sweet. As my father drove off with her, tears filled our eyes but the prospect of waking up at anytime and going to Macy's to look at furniture gave us a feeling of excitement.