Ernst Uncles in Hats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y1oGPQBMqk

Preschool

We have entered a new world, and it's the world of co-op preschool.  It's a pre-3's group, where all the kids are right around Violet's age, and it's only 2 mornings a week, and one of the mornings I stay there with her....  So, as far as preschool goes, it's pretty mild.  

But Violet and I are cut from the same cloth, and after the first week of this, we are both feeling a bit like a dump truck ran over us.  

Wednesday was the first day I dropped her off and left her there alone with the other kids, moms, and teachers.  She was fine when I left.  Gave me a kiss, and said goodbye.  But I guess (to quote the teacher), she got a little weepy a few times, and asked the teacher to give her a hug.  She didn't want to play with any of the other kids, she just wanted to shadow the teacher, and was a bit scared to leave the art table.  

It's funny how much of myself I see in her.  It's not that she loves art; she more sees it as a comfort of some kind.  --Just to sit quietly, and focus in on the paint and paper and her own little hands--  It's the doing of art that is the real joy, and it's a way to escape the pandemonium of the other kids and the world around her... 

Anyway, Fridays I am there working in the classroom (that's how co-op works).  It was my job today to supervise the play-dough table, so of course Violet decided that she wanted to play with play-dough the whole time, or at least until all the kids were sent outside to play with sidewalk chalk and push cars for a bit.  My gosh, you guys, there are 22 kids in this thing, and it gets crazy.  There, of course, is one massively huge and aggressive kid-- (is this kid actually 2?  He seems more like he's 7).  He runs around the play yard getting upset at all the other kids-- pushing them down, using his brute strength and unfair size-advantage to get what he wants;  At one point he actually stuck his arm through the window of the toy house and just started grabbing the faces of the kids inside!  This kid scares me.  I am not really a kid person, the way that some people just love every kid they ever meet;  I kind of wanted to pull my hair out by the end of the day.  It's Lord of the Flies, just a little, and I'm not sure how to help Violet feel more comfortable with it all.  

We'll see how it goes.  She loved going to school in India, and has been longing for something to do with other kids and crafts and teachers all summer..... so I guess preschool is a good option.  It's hard to tell if she's actually ready.  

When we got home, both days, she wrapped her arms around me and just wept.  Then, the next day, had [mostly] only good things to say about it.  Maybe it will just take a little more getting used to.  

        

 

Black Pepper Tofu and Green Beans

My mom and I made this recipe last night from her Sunset magazine, and it was wildly good!
Cheers to a tofu friendly kitchen!

Black Pepper Tofu and Green Beans 


1 lb green beans, trimmed and halved
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp soy-sauce
1 tsp pepper
14 oz. firm tofu, drained and patted dry
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced shallots

1) Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, add green beans, cook until bright green, about 3 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  In a small bowl, mix lime juice, soy sauce, and pepper, then set aside.

2)  Cut tofu into 1/2-inch thick rectangles.  Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium high heat.  Add tofu, sprinkle with sugar, and cook, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes.  Stir in shallots and cook until browned, about 3 minutes.  Add green beans and cook until warmed, about 3 minutes.  Pour in soy mixture and stir to coat.

A very little big person

Well, it's been a while.  Remember when I was going to do an artist update every week?  Well, I forgot that I'm a mommy of a 2.5 year old.  So maybe I'll just shoot for a good summery once a month or so.  That, hopefully, should be doable.  It's been a busy summer, so besides learning how to use my mat cutter and painting shoes, I haven't done much.
What have we been up to?  Mostly following our toddler into kid-hood.  Suddenly it feels like she's doing all of these big-people things--  using the potty was of course the big one.  On our recent road trip down to California we brought the potty with us.  And every hour there came a little urgent chirp from the backseat "I HAVE TO USE THE POTTY!"  So we would pull off the highway, either at a rest stop (if convenient), or at some little god forsaken gas pump station in the middle of nothingness Oregon -- put the potty on the curb, and stand there on the side of the road while she did her thing.  It felt very retro-parent.  But really, it worked quite well.
Anyway, this potty journey has been and exciting milestone, but there have been other ones too...

1) She grew these long labrador legs, and started trying to climb out of her crib-- oh, horror!  So Tyler built her a little sized big-person bed.  

2) She has stopped sitting in her high chair, and now is in this awesome chair from Tyler's boy-hood, and eats at the table making dinner conversation with the rest of us.  She always asks me, "mommy, did you have a good sleep last night?" no matter what time of day it is.  

3) She has learned how to write "V" and "I" and "O", and then suddenly realized that if she could do a "V" she could also do "N", and if she could do "N" then she could also do "M", and "W".

4) She is inventing up all of these make believe type games, in a way that she never has before.  She pretends that she has chicken pets, and feeds them carrots.  Also, she keeps carrying Potato Guy (Mr. Potato Head) down the hallway with a little backpack and Tyler's headphones (that he wears on his walk to the university), and tells me that she is taking him to school.  Two days in a row now he has ended up in my underwear drawer with a variety of other fun friends with him...

5) Tyler took her to the park today and she told him to go stand by a rock while she climbed up to the slide.  I think she is getting a bit bored with us.   

Next week we start a co-op preschool; we're trying to work ourselves up for that whole new exciting world.

Anyway, a few photos---

Our car trip to CA; Violet and G-raffe drawing "V's"; potty companion

Violet's new bed, made with love. 

Summer water fun in the turtle. 

watering the strawberry plants which produced exactly one strawberry this summer.  It was a very exciting moment

my pretty girl.

Violet in her new chair!