After my post today I decided to make a Passover apple cake from a mix for Nate to take to school tomorrow. When I pulled it off the shelf I noted only that it needed 2 eggs and figured "I'll just use flax seed and water, no problem,"
Well, on closer inspection, the recipe actually calls for two egg yolks and two egg whites "beaten until stiff". (That clever leavening again.) I'm sure you've never seen flax seed and water as an egg replacer, so I'll describe. Ground flax seed + warm water + time = slimy mixture resembling raw egg whites = great emulsifier but does not beat or rise.
I have a box of Ener-G egg replacer (potato starch plus baking powder basically) and it says on the box you can mix it with water and beat it into stiff peaks. So I did.
I used the flax seed for the yolks and the Ener-G for the whites (folded them in even) and lo and behold, out came a matzah cake. A real, tasty, moist, vaguely fluffy matzah cake.
I am astounded.
Wish me luck with the Kosher for Passover potato starch pasta I am making him for school lunch tomorrow.
Showing posts with label culture shock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture shock. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Times Two
Nathan is 2. Really, really 2. Frustratingly, charmingly, limit testingly 2. "What's that?, Right Now, and no" are his favorite words. Dave and I deal with it the best way we can. Team work, sharing the exhaustion, and the well placed time-out. Luckily he makes up for all of it with his charming smile and his hilarious statements.
Yesterday, when Dave picked him up from day care, his teacher lamented that he had not been very obedient all day. When asked to do or to stop doing something he said "No" and occasionally required physical relocation to get him to pay attention to what he was supposed to be doing.
Dave asked the (to me) obvious question "What did you do? Did you put him in time out?"
"No," was the answer "we aren't allowed to do that. We just redirect them."
Soooooo, you have a 2 year old being willfully disobedient and disrespectful and you plop them down in their favorite couch with their favorite book to "redirect" them? That sounds suspiciously like rewarding bad behavior.
Am I crazy?
Maybe.
I'll admit that I am terribly naive. I never asked about discipline. He was 5 months old when he started day care. I was worried about what they would do with the two swallows of breast milk he left behind in a bottle, not what they would do when he started chucking Legos at other kids. I mean, I knew they wouldn't beat him. I just sort of assumed there'd be some form of age appropriate consequence. Time out, brief loss of a favorite privilege, unplanned toenail trimming. Something to make it clear he'd crossed the line and it was not OK.
But no. It seems they are not allowed to do that unless parents specifically OK it. And I guess you have to independently volunteer your approval because I certainly never got any sort of time out permission form. I would have signed that in a heart beat.
It seems, after an informal survey of the folks I know with kids, this lack of consequence is the norm for day care.
It really, really bothers me that this is the policy.
More, it bothers me the response I got from another mom. "Well of course" she said, as if I was some sort of nut case "I don't want someone else disciplining my kid."
I don't think it is the day care's responsibility to teach my baby right from wrong. Our job as parents is to teach them values and to flog them with wet newspaper until they internalize the rules. I know that. I spent a lot of time and energy and waistline in search of the privilege of doing just that. But the unavoidable fact is that my child, and all the others in his class, spend more time with the day care providers than with us, the parents. They spend all day with this peer group, these adults, and it does seem reasonable to expect or to at least empower them to set limits and dole out consequences. It's not a wolf pack. It's supposedly an environment where children are learning social skills.
The developmental job of a 2 year old is to test limits. He's learning the rules of the world. Someone has to teach him those rules. The worst thing that can happen is for him to grow up thinking the rules don't apply to him (sociopath) or only apply in certain situations when certain people are looking. No wonder bullying is becoming such a problem in our schools. Children are coming to schools from day care where when they knocked a kid over to take their cookie the teacher pulled them aside and made them play on the computer to stop them from being mean.
Yesterday, when Dave picked him up from day care, his teacher lamented that he had not been very obedient all day. When asked to do or to stop doing something he said "No" and occasionally required physical relocation to get him to pay attention to what he was supposed to be doing.
Dave asked the (to me) obvious question "What did you do? Did you put him in time out?"
"No," was the answer "we aren't allowed to do that. We just redirect them."
Soooooo, you have a 2 year old being willfully disobedient and disrespectful and you plop them down in their favorite couch with their favorite book to "redirect" them? That sounds suspiciously like rewarding bad behavior.
Am I crazy?
Maybe.
I'll admit that I am terribly naive. I never asked about discipline. He was 5 months old when he started day care. I was worried about what they would do with the two swallows of breast milk he left behind in a bottle, not what they would do when he started chucking Legos at other kids. I mean, I knew they wouldn't beat him. I just sort of assumed there'd be some form of age appropriate consequence. Time out, brief loss of a favorite privilege, unplanned toenail trimming. Something to make it clear he'd crossed the line and it was not OK.
But no. It seems they are not allowed to do that unless parents specifically OK it. And I guess you have to independently volunteer your approval because I certainly never got any sort of time out permission form. I would have signed that in a heart beat.
It seems, after an informal survey of the folks I know with kids, this lack of consequence is the norm for day care.
It really, really bothers me that this is the policy.
More, it bothers me the response I got from another mom. "Well of course" she said, as if I was some sort of nut case "I don't want someone else disciplining my kid."
I don't think it is the day care's responsibility to teach my baby right from wrong. Our job as parents is to teach them values and to flog them with wet newspaper until they internalize the rules. I know that. I spent a lot of time and energy and waistline in search of the privilege of doing just that. But the unavoidable fact is that my child, and all the others in his class, spend more time with the day care providers than with us, the parents. They spend all day with this peer group, these adults, and it does seem reasonable to expect or to at least empower them to set limits and dole out consequences. It's not a wolf pack. It's supposedly an environment where children are learning social skills.
The developmental job of a 2 year old is to test limits. He's learning the rules of the world. Someone has to teach him those rules. The worst thing that can happen is for him to grow up thinking the rules don't apply to him (sociopath) or only apply in certain situations when certain people are looking. No wonder bullying is becoming such a problem in our schools. Children are coming to schools from day care where when they knocked a kid over to take their cookie the teacher pulled them aside and made them play on the computer to stop them from being mean.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Number 7
When I was growing up my only interaction with football was watching the Super Bowl with my dad. I went to 1 high school football game and my college didn't even have a team (to my father's great chagrin). I moved to Pittsburgh in 2001 knowing practically nothing about the sport apart from the shape of the ball.
Living in Pittsburgh, however, you can't miss the Steelers. Football is the city's religion. Pittsburghers are on a first name basis with their players. The proscription against idolatry does not apply to Troy and Hines and Ben.
The team's defense has led Ben Rothlisberger to 2 Super Bowls while I have lived here, and in a town of this size, it is impossible not to get caught up in that excitement. So yes, Dave and I are Steeler fans. Not the type to get our hair buzzed into the Super Bowl logo. Not the type to stand in freezing rain to watch the parade, but the type that put our 2 day old in too big Steeler gear on Super Bowl Sunday and had a little party.
So now our quarterback, "Big Ben", has gotten caught being stupid.
Again.
It wasn't enough that he drove his motor cycle into some unsuspecting motorist while taking full advantage of the inexplicable repealing of the helmet law.
Then, he was involved in an "incident" with an unwilling girl but nothing stuck.
Now, for a second time, allegations have been made by a young woman that he made an unsolicited effort to introduce her to "Little Ben". And while in America one is innocent until proven guilty, a virtual herd has come forward to report on inappropriate things they witnessed on the night in question.
What embarrasses me, however, is not Ben. It's the response of the city.
A few days after this hit the news, I was listening to my morning radio show discuss the fact that Ben had as yet said nothing in his defense. "He doesn't have to," the guy said smugly, "once they announced there was no DNA, there's nothing to say."
OK. So no proof of intercourse but maybe an apology for the rest of the evening's behavior and for again embarrassing the team would be in order? Maybe if Steeler Nation weren't all rushing to his defense he might take a little responsibility for himself.
Many of the team's fans are more outraged by the sanctions (a 4-6 game suspension) being imposed by the NFL than by anything Ben may have done. Some, including a few I previously respected, refuse to hear anything bad said about their hero, and can muster up a lot of vitriol about "that girl".
I just don't get it. This guy is hero and role model to a lot of kids. And their parents don't care that he's running around acting like an irresponsible, unethical frat boy?
I care. I am glad he is being publicly punished. I hope he doesn't hurt anyone else before the city comes to their senses.
Living in Pittsburgh, however, you can't miss the Steelers. Football is the city's religion. Pittsburghers are on a first name basis with their players. The proscription against idolatry does not apply to Troy and Hines and Ben.
The team's defense has led Ben Rothlisberger to 2 Super Bowls while I have lived here, and in a town of this size, it is impossible not to get caught up in that excitement. So yes, Dave and I are Steeler fans. Not the type to get our hair buzzed into the Super Bowl logo. Not the type to stand in freezing rain to watch the parade, but the type that put our 2 day old in too big Steeler gear on Super Bowl Sunday and had a little party.
So now our quarterback, "Big Ben", has gotten caught being stupid.
Again.
It wasn't enough that he drove his motor cycle into some unsuspecting motorist while taking full advantage of the inexplicable repealing of the helmet law.
Then, he was involved in an "incident" with an unwilling girl but nothing stuck.
Now, for a second time, allegations have been made by a young woman that he made an unsolicited effort to introduce her to "Little Ben". And while in America one is innocent until proven guilty, a virtual herd has come forward to report on inappropriate things they witnessed on the night in question.
What embarrasses me, however, is not Ben. It's the response of the city.
A few days after this hit the news, I was listening to my morning radio show discuss the fact that Ben had as yet said nothing in his defense. "He doesn't have to," the guy said smugly, "once they announced there was no DNA, there's nothing to say."
OK. So no proof of intercourse but maybe an apology for the rest of the evening's behavior and for again embarrassing the team would be in order? Maybe if Steeler Nation weren't all rushing to his defense he might take a little responsibility for himself.
Many of the team's fans are more outraged by the sanctions (a 4-6 game suspension) being imposed by the NFL than by anything Ben may have done. Some, including a few I previously respected, refuse to hear anything bad said about their hero, and can muster up a lot of vitriol about "that girl".
I just don't get it. This guy is hero and role model to a lot of kids. And their parents don't care that he's running around acting like an irresponsible, unethical frat boy?
I care. I am glad he is being publicly punished. I hope he doesn't hurt anyone else before the city comes to their senses.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Bravery
Cold weather has come early to Pittsburgh, as, I suppose, it is to the rest of the country.
I was driving home from work, cold rain on the windshield, thinking about whether I would make it to day care on time and petulantly contemplating the failure of my car heater to adequately warm my toes in the completely non-sensible shoes I was wearing.
That's when I saw her.
A determined mom pushing a stroller full of groceries with one hand, holding an umbrella with the other, and carrying on her chest a blanket covered baby carrier with a little pair of pink fleece feet swinging as she walked.
I was struck by how much strength it took this woman to decide to go out in the weather, shield her child from the elements, in the pursuit of getting food for her family. I could feel the agony of needing things and yet worrying with every step about keeping her fragile baby safe. I wondered how she would be able to get everything on and off the bus. I wondered if she had anyone to help her out at home.
There are things in my life that are hard, but my day to day activities are so blessed. I go to the market in a car that affords me the luxury of wearing strappy shoes in freezing rain. My baby is always warm and dry unless I screw up. My husband carries the groceries.
I was driving home from work, cold rain on the windshield, thinking about whether I would make it to day care on time and petulantly contemplating the failure of my car heater to adequately warm my toes in the completely non-sensible shoes I was wearing.
That's when I saw her.
A determined mom pushing a stroller full of groceries with one hand, holding an umbrella with the other, and carrying on her chest a blanket covered baby carrier with a little pair of pink fleece feet swinging as she walked.
I was struck by how much strength it took this woman to decide to go out in the weather, shield her child from the elements, in the pursuit of getting food for her family. I could feel the agony of needing things and yet worrying with every step about keeping her fragile baby safe. I wondered how she would be able to get everything on and off the bus. I wondered if she had anyone to help her out at home.
There are things in my life that are hard, but my day to day activities are so blessed. I go to the market in a car that affords me the luxury of wearing strappy shoes in freezing rain. My baby is always warm and dry unless I screw up. My husband carries the groceries.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
California Boy
Carnegie Science Center Story #2
Nathan was fascinated by the trains, but he smiled the broadest at natural disaster.
There is, at the Science Center, an earthquake simulator as part of the "Natural Forces" exhibit. It's a little cafe booth that you sit down in and choose your own earthquake (San Francisco, Chile, Australia). It then shakes and rumbles and rocks. The lighting fixture rocks back and forth, but nothing falls on you. Dave and I got in with Nathan and fired up a 7.8 quake. Though choruses of "Never, never, never shake your baby" were running through my mind, Nathan was smiling ear to ear and enjoying the ride.
I guess even though he was conceived and born in the Keystone State, there is Californian in him, nonetheless.
Nathan was fascinated by the trains, but he smiled the broadest at natural disaster.
There is, at the Science Center, an earthquake simulator as part of the "Natural Forces" exhibit. It's a little cafe booth that you sit down in and choose your own earthquake (San Francisco, Chile, Australia). It then shakes and rumbles and rocks. The lighting fixture rocks back and forth, but nothing falls on you. Dave and I got in with Nathan and fired up a 7.8 quake. Though choruses of "Never, never, never shake your baby" were running through my mind, Nathan was smiling ear to ear and enjoying the ride.
I guess even though he was conceived and born in the Keystone State, there is Californian in him, nonetheless.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Southern Comfort
They do things different 'round these parts. Even Nathan knows they're funny, He was cracking up (pun definitely intended) at a mini mart listening to Dave say pork cracklin's over and over. Funny words those, and he doesn't even know what they mean. Also desperately entertaining? Piggly Wiggly. I mean, come on. That's funny even to a grown up. Try it. Wait for a quiet moment and just say "Piggly Wiggly". It'll make you giggly.
Go ahead. Groan. I'll wait.
The one that got me, though, was an anecdote I heard over lunch at Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room, a family style comfort food restaurant. A 5 million pound behemoth of a man was trying to convince Dave and I to give Nathan a bite of potato or a bean. Anything. Couldn't we see that the poor boy was wasting away. Shoveling in fried chicken and collard greens, he brushed off my objections that Nathan was a little young to try the mac and cheese. "My wife's daddy gave her little sister a french fry on the way home from the hospital after she was born." Pregnant pause (there go those puns again) while Dave and I stared, dripping sweet tea from gaping jaws. "Just to gnaw on, ya know."
Um, no. We didn't know.
I guess Nate was on his side though, because he managed, with Spidey-speed, to get a handful of blueberry cobbler. Sadly for him, Mommy reflexes caught up and intervened before he made it to his mouth.
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