One Year Ago Today...

In Her Kitchen

When I was a kid I wanted a play kitchen sooo badly. I mean really, why play house if you weren't going to cook, right? I used to play house with my brothers and because we didn't have a play kitchen we would make made do with what we had, certain toys would become pots and pans and other toys would become food. We (pretend) cooked and ate a lot of beans back in those days because we had a game called "Don't Spill The Beans." If I remember correctly I think it even came with real beans back then. The game also came with a kettle ( maybe it was supposed to be a bean pot) and the premise of it was to take turns piling your beans onto the top of the pot without spilling any (boring). We never played with this toy the way it was meant to be played with, I mean come on, there were REAL BEANS, we used the beans for pretend cooking and beans were ALWAYS for dinner. If I remember correctly we even played out this one scenario where my brother would come home from work and ask "What's for dinner", to which I would reply "beans and (whatever else) and he would say, in a somewhat annoyed tone "Beans again?" (we were so original weren't we).

Recently, we moved the baby out of our room and set her up in her own room. One of the things I did was section off a portion of her room so that we could set up a pretend kitchen for her. I know that at almost one year old she can't possibly know that she wants a toy kitchen or even cares about one, but it’s something I really wanted her to have, and yes, I agree, that it was probably because I never had one. I agonized over toy kitchens for a few weeks, researching them and shopping around on the internet for the best price. I tortured just about everyone I knew with my uncertainty over whether I should get her one of the fancy plastic ones with all the modern appliances and realistic sounds or if I should stick with the more classic wooden kitchen without all the bells and whistles and better suited to allow for more imaginative play. I really drove everyone crazy. In addition to torturing myself and everyone I knew with what kind of kitchen to get, I also agonized over what kind of message I was sending her by purchasing this kitchen. Was I setting her up to fall into gender specific role-play because I was giving her a kitchen, should I encourage her to play with more cars and trucks? Was I limiting her career choices later in life by suggesting that women belonged in the kitchen? During all that second guessing, I was in fact leaning towards purchasing the wooden kitchen and it didn't help that the basic fridge, stove and sink set could also be added on to with all sorts of adorable additions and accessories like a wooden dishwasher, washing machine, microwave, ironing board, etc. I couldn't believe that was me, there I was, worried about what message I was sending my daughter and at the same time I was drooling over toy appliances (shiver), and trust me, cooking aside, I HATE chores.

In the end it was Ellie who decided for me, she showed real interest in a play kitchen at a friends house. After observing her for an afternoon while she opened and closed doors, turned knobs, and squealed in delight at sounds, I went home and purchased the basic wooden kitchen for her. Perhaps one day I’ll even slowly add on the dishwasher, washing machine, and microwave but for right now she’s good to go. I decided that I’m not sending her any mixed messages after all. Playing house is an important part of growing up and emulating what we see our parents do is equally important for our development, the fact that she sees me in the kitchen everyday doesn’t mean that she will grow up thinking I didn’t do anything with my life, hopefully it will encourage her to want to join me for some fun times in our kitchen.

The Little Thief

I can't believe it's been four months since I last posted to this blog, gawd I miss blogging! The last few months have been busy, I'm still working part time, I'm still trying to visit my grandmother once a week, I'm still trying to do more than I can handle, and the baby of course keeps me on my toes all the time! The baby, (heh, she's no baby anymore really) is doing very well, she just started walking and is surprisingly confident and steady on her feet, we predict that by Christmas she'll be walking way more than she'll be crawling. Life around here has been hectic, but fun, and excluding a few sad, heartbreaking personal losses of people dear to us, along with the loss of my culinary hero Julia Child and some illnesses, one illness being me trying to pass some kidney stones (can we say ouch, ouch OUCH!), things have been going well. I wish I could tell you I've been cooking up a storm and making lots of fabulous dishes but I can't. We've been eating a lot of take-away and relying on fast easy standby dinners like pasta and sauce and chicken and salad, all good, but hardly blog-worthy for someone who has a food blog, no? The break from cooking and blogging was good at first, but then I started to miss it, but I just couldn't seem to find the time I needed to do some cooking so that I could write about it. I did attempt making some homemade bread a few weeks ago, the results were not so good I'm afraid. A too salty and otherwise tasteless loaf that never achieved the light airy texture the recipe promised, and so it ended up in the trash. I guess I'm out of practice. sob! The picture above is of Miss Nosey, who was very interested in what I was doing while I was kneading the bread, to get a better view, she pulled down the dishwasher door, climbed on top, then stood up and watched me while I beat the dough into submission. At one point, I turned away to get an oiled bowl and when I turned back I saw that Ellie had started pinching off pieces of dough and eating it! What I find amazing is that she waited until I turned away before she started nipping at the dough, as if she knew she was not supposed to be doing that. I quietly backed away to get my camera, I think she thought she was being sneaky and getting away with it, but as you can see by the picture, I caught her in the act!

Hello World

Ellie arrived just 4 days before her predicted due date after a visit to the Dr. for my weekly checkup revealed that conditions for me and the baby were beginning to deteriorate despite all efforts to keep things otherwise. I was sent straight to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon and the long process of inducing labor and waiting for Ellie (who was still not quite ready) began. My hope was to have been able to have the baby naturally despite having to be induced, but after a looooong night of labor, and still no sign of my cervix dilating anytime in this century, it was decided that we go ahead and have a c-section. Ellie wasn't doing well from the strain of the long night of labor, and my reservations about having a c-section took a back seat to having her come out as quickly and as safely as possible. She's named after her two grandmothers, Ellen (Tom's mother) + Lina (My mother) = Ellina, and in loving memory of Tom's sister, her aunt, Li-Ming. We are truly in love and deeply in awe of this little being.

I apologize for not being able to individually answer everyone's lovely comments and emails but I am recovering from the surgery and trying to figure out this Mommy thing as I go. I will try to answer when I can get a break every now and again. Feeding Ellie has become the only food priority for the time being as she and I figure out this nursing thing and get used to each other. Blogging and cooking will also be slow for a bit, but I WILL be back.