Cup o' Joy

Many people say, "Food is just for fun before 1."  You are often encouraged to nurse exclusively until 6mo minimum. Of course, some go much longer and some stop sooner. We're rapidly approaching 6 months. And I just can't BELIEVE it!!!!  I just can't BELIEVE that its been almost half a year that this little man has been with us. 

We're still exclusively breastfeeding. We're doing a modified version of "Baby Lead Weaning" at the moment... basically we're waiting for him to initiate interest in food before starting to replace breast milk with it. 

While food seems to hold basically zero appeal for my little chunk, he is totally entranced with the idea of cups and spoons. When he sees a cup or a spoon come out of the cabinet he goes nuts!  So we thought it was time to get him his own.

After a brief demonstration, he seemed to know exactly what to do with it.

Ah HA! Gimme!

Wait... what did I do?

Ok, ok, Oshkosh... we'll do it. We'll be your official corporate sponsors... twist our arms!  *wink

In all honesty, I am completely dreading the switch from nursing to food... but that's a whole nother topic!


Cheers,
TheKawaMama

Hair Haze

Gotta brag on the little man.... his balding issues are finally (slowly) starting to resolve.

Today I finally looked at his head and thought, "Well would you look at that! A solid haze."

With the arrival of hair, I have to finally admit.... this child looks like me.  Dad's head shape, eye spacing, and lips... but this little buddy looks like mama.

Also, I went to a business meeting this morning.  It ended up taking upwards of three hours.  I was missing baby boy so badly by the end of it that I was reminded how thankful I am that I get to work from home and stay with him all day.  Thank you, David! 

Cheers,

TheKawaMama

He Prefers "Big Boned"

Remember this?  3 months... still had hair... modestly portioned...

Whuuuuuudda you lookin' at?!  I LIKE MILK!!

Somebody is about to outgrow his baby tub.

Gooodie!!!!

Cheers,
The KawaMama

Ahh, Ambezza

It's the little things.

It's the teensy weensy punctuation marks that slip into the regular fabric of our lives.  That's why Starbucks has been such a success story, right?  It's just a cup of coffee... but its at the next level.

I'm not really in a position to be buying Starbucks at the moment, but I LOVE fine teas.  There's no point in buying crap tea.  It's so dang cheap at the end of the day.  Harney & Sons are my go-to.  They just came out with a new line...

Packaging? Branding? Obsessed!!!!

I spent about 4 months in Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda... so I was really excited about these flavors.  

It is expensive at first blush... $6.99 a box.  But you get twenty satchets and because it is a metal tin, the tea keeps longer. The flavor profile is light years better than a Publix brand or Twinnings.

Just add water...

Just the right thing to treat yourself to during a quiet hour in the afternoon... wherever you may be.

PS - Ambezza means Lion in Swahili  I love how the African languages are so round and warm. It's not Ah-bezza or Uh-bezza.... It's AAAMMM-bezza.  Just a side note. 

Cheers,

The KawaMama

Frustration Is Ok

It's ok to be frustrated.

(This a frustrated Eames face.... usually I'm not snapping pictures when he's hopping mad, so this is just "mildly annoyed.")

Some mothers go to great lengths to make sure their babies never experiences frustration.  I, myself, have made a personal policy (yes, even at this young age) of allowing frustration to work itself out with my son.

I don't jump up to solve his problems. I let him find a solution that can he can settle with.  My hope is that if my baby can learn by experience that problems take time, patience, and thought to achieve resolution, then he will carry this ever-present truth into the rest of his life.

When he is yelling at a toy that won't go in his mouth, I will tell him with a gentle smile and compassionate eyes, "It's ok to be frustrated. You can do it. I love you."

I know he doesn't understand these words. I know we're not actually having a direct teachable moment... but he does respond to my demeanor & my facial expressions.  He receives assurance that nothing is actually WRONG in this situation.  Nothing is BAD that he needs to be saved from.  Mommy doesn't need to swoop in and FIX it.  Plus, I am practicing responding to screeches and screams with calm equanimity and confidence-building-patience of my own.... so when he's 4 years old and we experience the same thing, hopefully I'll respond the same way.

We applied this theory to helping him learn to sleep also.  It's been very successful.

The key here is "Helping Him Learn."  Life is full of lessons.  We don't need to teach them all.  We DO need to let the learnings sink in.  So... it's ok to be frustrated.

Cheers,
The KawaMama

A Mustard Seed

I'm baby sitting.

My friend is starting over 100 different little bitty baby herbs.

They're sitting on my kitchen table by the window where they can get the most sun.
She made these sweet little sticks with the names of each plant.  Here is some mustard...

Interesting thing about mustard... if you were a Sunday School attendee as a youth, you've probably heard the little bit about, "Faith like a mustard seed will move mountains."  The point being, mustard seeds are very very veeeeeery small... even a speck of faith can be powerful...

While these plants have been growing, we've learned something else about mustard seeds.... they grow quickly and they are the heartiest of all.  Mustard was the first to show its head out of the ground, and it is the largest and most vital of all the little sprouts to this day.

Let's have faith that begins small, grows quickly, and stays vital.

Sage is nice too.

Cheers,
The KawaMama

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

This is a Thai inspired soup that is very light but also very "comfort foody" at the same time.  It is one of the things I make that I seriously think tastes better than any restaurant dish.

In the middle of making this soup I thought, Oh! Duh! this needs to go on the blog!  I started snapping photos half way through, so I missed a few steps (like shredding the chicken, which isn't pretty anyway.)

To begin.... let's assume there is already about two breasts worth of kitchen in there. I don't like the texture of stringy shredded chicken, so I usually chop and then smush rather than shred.  (Smush is a very technical kitchen term, as I'm sure you're aware. *wink*)

We like to make our own stock in large quantities and then freeze it in plastic containers.  When we make soup, we just have to pull out a frozen block of homemade stock and plunk it in.  That's the giant ice cube floating in there.

Add a can of coconut milk to the broth and simmer it on low.  (I made a large quantity here, so I used two cans.) You really can't use too much coconut milk. Sooooo gooooood.

Unfortunately, last time David made stock something went awry and it is almost completely flavorless... more like colored water... So to bolster the flavor, I relied on a pantry essential for me... "Better Than Boullion"

A tablespoon or two of this semi-liquid substance, and it tastes like the best broth ever!  Highly recommend you buy this little jar for your own kitchen.  We also have "Better Than Bouillon Beef."  Great for french onion soups.

Basil & Lemongrass... roughly chopped.  I put these in early on so all their flavor can be extracted and they can get tender.  (PS - You don't actually eat the lemongrass.  It just sort of soaks in there.)

Squeeze a big lemon or a couple of limes in there too.  This is an essential step.

As you can see, one of the lovely things about this dish is the colors!  It is bright yellow in the end... much owing to the amount of curry you put in...

I never measure anything when I cook, so unfortunately I can't tell you how much to use.  All I can tell you is, "Add a lot of curry!!"

If you're cooking in a large quantity, you should always add a bit more than you expect to need because the flavor will cook out.  (I have this on good authority from NPR's American Test Kitchen.)

You remember that there's already chicken in there, right?  Well there is.

Next add mushrooms.  It's really great with portobello mushrooms or with a blend of shittake and all those unusual things. But all I had on hand were white mushrooms.  That's works wonderfully too!

Cook them up lightly in coconut oil.... partly because it adds a lovely, bright coconut flavor, and partly because it's more healthy for you anyway.

Doesn't that look tasty?

Just let it simmer and fill your house with the most delicious aromas.  Eat it when you feel like it.  It keeps beautifully for left-overs.

I know I'm supposed to take "presentation" photos... wouldn't that be nice?... but I didn't.

I like to cook black rice and put a spoonful in the bottom of the bowl and then serve the soup over the top.  The color contrast is beautiful.  The texture is fantastic.  But if you're doing Paleo, just skip the rice and you've got a top notch grain free meal.

Cheers!
The KawaMama
(I forgot to photograph the lemongrass myself... so I borrowed this from Tish Boyle.)