Saute 2 chopped stalks of Lemongrass, 2 cloves Garlic, about an inch of Ginger and a large onion…

once the onions are translucent add a few tbsp of Curry paste and Miso and a bit Chile sauce…

Add whatever veggie (I have carrot and Cauliflower in this one) and some cut up tofu… saute for a few more minutes…

Add about 6 cups of veggie stock, 2 cans of coconut milk and a bit of sugar to even the taste out and let simmer….  then add the juice of 1 1/2 limes… simmer again and add rice noodles…

What I found funny though was the page that explained the signs of pot smoking and what to look look for… or smell for… of course, not everyone knows what Marijuana smells like…

So what is better than a Scratch & Sniff?

what was really unnerving was that the spam was in the actually message and then the message was saved and published this morning while I was still sleeping…

I changed my password but I am wondering how it happened… :-/

I am really glad I did that because for one, I really wanted to go swimming… and it felt great… and two… I missed the part of the meeting that was them talking about the conference they went to last weekend… when I came in they were just near the end and talking about concentration and how to get kids to concentrate on their work by using a physical stop sign and then having punishments if they need to use the stop sign 3 times…

omg… I was Crawling out of my skin!! and the worse part was that not only was the girl talking about it but she actually made the stop sign and bought the chart that charts the punishment and rewards… She gave the example of giving an assignment and that after doing half or more they ask to do something else so she has been using the stop sign to make them stop and concentrate on doing the rest…

so… I asked… but what if they want to move on after doing half or more because they got the concept and want to go on to the next thing…

she didn’t seem to think that it was a valid reason…

It really annoys me going to these meetings… I like the interaction with a few of the moms, especially 2 of them.. but the other 3 I just have so much trouble getting… they are always in search of the perfect curriculum, working so hard and struggling to get their kids to cooperate and concentrate… while 3 of us are often talking about whatever comes to mind, they are talking about curriculum…

Another thing that came up about the conference was about a writing club and the way they described it it was really cool and is really in line with an unschooling philosophy… letting kids write because they want to, letting them write what they want, not hovering and correcting etc… I said that it sounded really cool and that is what I plan on doing… but then of course the guns went up… it had to be said that it was only a writing club it is just for fun… but in real life learning kids can’t do that all of the time…

umm…. WHY NOT ??!!!

I just don’t get it… I don’t get them…

Why must the love of learning need to squashed by stop signs, punishments, rewards and overbearing parents?

we didn’t schedule another meeting for now… I am glad about it… I am not sure I want to go back….

Activate yeast by mixing with 1/2 cup warm water and tsp of sugar

Mix flour and salt

Add yeasty water to the flour

Add the cup of warm water… start with 1/2 cup and slowly add more until it comes together…

Put on lightly floured counter and start to knead

Knead…
push

turn

fold

Place in bowl lightly covered in olive oil

Cover and let rise

Double

separate into small balls and let rise again about 10 min (preheat oven to 450)
I made 14….

roll out the dough

let rest another 10 min…

put in oven and watch them puff up…

Enjoy!!!

but today… just a few days shy of Khéna being 17 months I got my first PPAF… (Post-partum “Aunt-Flo” for those that are not familiar with the lingo)

With the firt two boys I got my PPAF at about 9 months… when they started to walk and nurse less in the day and started eating solids… With Khéna though, he did not slow in nursing at all when he started milestones… he didn’t have those normal periods where he was more wakeful at night either…

But slowly, he has been nursing less and when I got really crampy and irritable at the begining of the week, I knew that it would not be long…

the bloating could also be a reason that the scale showed so much of a difference as today I am now 5 lbs less then I was when I weighed myself on Wednesday…

Though I do and did enjoy the time that I don’t have to go through the monthly rituals… I do have to say that being able to start charting again and knowing what my body is doing makes things a bit easier for me…

Maybe one day I would like to have another child but I don’t think it is the right time at the moment… I want the boys to grow a bit before…

So I went and bought a new scale last… and well… depressing as it is… I am 13 lbs heavier than the old scale was telling me …

I was already discouraged… when I saw that I felt a bit depressed…

However… today, looking at it…  It will be OK…
It is just a number and though I am farther from my goal than what I thought… I rather know now than if I found out after one of my mini-goals and found out that I really wasn’t there yet… at least this way I know where I really am and I know what I need to do to get where I want to be…

Honestly, I think that I need to eat a bit more… I got some great feedback and it made me realize that because I am a bit heavier than I thought and I am getting more exercise… then I might not be eating enough… and if that is the case I my body might be in  “starvation mode” and hoarding the fat instead of letting it go…

So… I will just keep on going… I really want this…

I have been journaling what I eat and I have been staying within my “limits” which isn’t that hard to do actually because there are not many habits that need changing though I have been keeping my eye out a bit more on portion sizes…

I do feel like I have more energy… which feels great…

but….

I step on the scale and there is no change.. My measurements don’t really seem like they are changing either… I do think I need a new scale though because every time I step on it I get a different number but the lowest number is not really going down…

It is hard because though I think I know that the changes I am making are great for me, I would have liked to start seeing results…

It is just hard to not get discouraged…

I have been swimming as much as I can and it is getting easier and easier… not only to swim, but to actually get up and go…

Khéna is growing and changing like crazy… at almost 17 months old he is starting to say more words and loves to make us laugh. He also loves to cuddle and is just a little sweetie…

The weather here has been really warm the last few days… in the 20’s even! and the snow is melting fast especially in the back yard. (the Front still has quite a bit though… this was taken yesterday)

We have been hanging out on the deck most days though and I have been able to clean the kitchen and some of the house with all three boys playing outside which feels so weird at times… I love when they start playing alone like this…

Colin is still a little monkey… jumping everywhere and chattering and singing constantly… he loves to please and loves to cuddle and give kisses and talk with us… His language skills are amazing and the things that he says sometimes surprise us…

Xavier… well he is my Xavier… he is getting really interested in so many things and is starting to ask more and more questions about everything and really understanding what we are explaining even if it is a bit more complicated…. also… he lost his first tooth on Saturday!! Well technically it is the second tooth that he has lost but I won’t really count the first because it was knocked out almost 3 years ago… funny how they both line up perfectly though….

A few weeks though I saw recipe and I found out that it is really easy to make… pretty much just pack the salmon in Salt and whatever else you want… So I tried it… and I can’t stop making it since then…

What I have been doing is taking the filet, brushing a bit of liquid smoke on it  (to give it a bit of a smoked Salmon taste) putting a few tbsp of salt over it plus pepper, dill, sugar and granulated onion… then I weight it down with some cans of tomatoes and stick it in the fridge…

After about 12 hours I drain it a bit and add a bit of everything if needed… and then put it back in the fridge… another 12 hours later I drain it again and put a few paper towels under it to saok up the rest of the moistur and stick it back in the fridge… A few hours later it should have a slight rubbery feel to it… then it is time to slice…

Slice at an angle as thin as you can get it…

then you can store it in the fridge… I am not sure how long it lasts, but it is cured so it should last a while…

but it also gets eaten very fast…

(on a whole wheat english muffin with a bit of butter and cream cheese)