Giada De Laurentiis' Recipe:
8 ounces spaghetti
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 cup grated fontina
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss with the sun-dried tomatoes. Set aside to cool completely otherwise the hot pasta could curdle the eggs when you add them later on.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, and pepper, Parmesan, and fontina to blend. Add the cooled spaghetti mixture; toss to coat.
Preheat the broiler. Melt the butter and oil in a 9 1/2-inch-diameter nonstick skillet over medium heat. Transfer the spaghetti mixture to the skillet, pressing to form an even layer. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the broiler. Broil until the top is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool in the skillet to room temperature.
Invert the torta onto a platter. Cut into wedges and serve at room temperature.
I used leftover whole wheat spaghetti, roasted red peppers instead of sun dried tomatoes (none at the commissary) and leftover feta that I had in the fridge instead of fontina (again, none at the commissary).
It was a great way to use leftovers. The pasta gives a bit more substance than egg alone. This recipe is easily adapted to whatever is in your fridge. We had it for lunch, but it would be a great breakfast/brunch dish as well.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Big Purchases Today
We bought a vacuum and an English GPS for Korea today.
Our vacuum died in Egypt before we moved. We tried to have it repaired, but they couldn't fix it. Total motor burnout. Over the years, I have purchased many cheap vacuums ($50-100) and they have all lasted a year at best. When we were looking at what kind of vacuum to get here in Korea, it seems that Miele, Sebo, Electrolux would be good bets: expensive, but built to last. Unfortunately, the PX doesn't carry those brands. It may be possible to order them through the PX, but ordering the crib that way was such a disaster and took so long that I just don't want to hassle with it. My other choice is to order and have someone forward it to us, but with the stroller I ordered in March, still not here, I don't want to do that either. That brings me to buying a Miele on the Korean economy or buying whatever is in stock at the PX. Since we don't know how long we will be in Korea, I decided that I didn't want to buy a vacuum that is built to last that was made for foreign current. Also, what about warranty issues and then there is the fact that products are often made to different specifications for different countries. Finally, it would be difficult to ensure that I had the features I want ince I don't speak or read Korean. So, we just decided to go with the PX. We bought a Hoover Wind Tunnel II for $249.99, more than the disposable vacuum cleaners and less than the Miele, Bosch, Electrolux, Sebos (which the PX didn't have). I hope this vacuum lasts at least a couple years. It has a self-cleaning HEPA filter, wood floor brush and pet hair attachment.
After lunch, if Ian doesn't go down for a nap, Curt will have to take him out of the house somewhere so I can rescue the kitchen and try out the vacuum. I need to vacuum everyday. I sweep everyday, but not all the floors and you can't tell that I do that at all! At least I will be able to cover more ground with the vacuum on a daily basis and hope that the floors look moderately clean.
As for the GPS, they had one at the PX and one advertised at one of the vendors on Post. The one at the PX was about $70 cheaper than the other, but had 2007 maps and fewer addresses (but still a lot). After going to the vendor several times to check out the other one (that is updated every 6 months) and them not having it, we decided to buy the one at the PX. Today, there was a sticker saying that the models had been loaded with the current info as of May 18, 2008 so it was good that we waited. This was an investment, I hope we are here for awhile, but mobility means a lot so I do hope we can get it to work for us. If it works, it will totally be worth it.
I am glad we thought about these purchases. We are trying to be more aware of our purchases so that we spend less, waste less and are more satisfied with our purchases. Erie has a store called Yaple's Sewing and Vacuum and I wondered how they stay in business, but now I know. I wish I had gone there and bought a vacuum before I left Erie. Just didn't think about it in time.
Our vacuum died in Egypt before we moved. We tried to have it repaired, but they couldn't fix it. Total motor burnout. Over the years, I have purchased many cheap vacuums ($50-100) and they have all lasted a year at best. When we were looking at what kind of vacuum to get here in Korea, it seems that Miele, Sebo, Electrolux would be good bets: expensive, but built to last. Unfortunately, the PX doesn't carry those brands. It may be possible to order them through the PX, but ordering the crib that way was such a disaster and took so long that I just don't want to hassle with it. My other choice is to order and have someone forward it to us, but with the stroller I ordered in March, still not here, I don't want to do that either. That brings me to buying a Miele on the Korean economy or buying whatever is in stock at the PX. Since we don't know how long we will be in Korea, I decided that I didn't want to buy a vacuum that is built to last that was made for foreign current. Also, what about warranty issues and then there is the fact that products are often made to different specifications for different countries. Finally, it would be difficult to ensure that I had the features I want ince I don't speak or read Korean. So, we just decided to go with the PX. We bought a Hoover Wind Tunnel II for $249.99, more than the disposable vacuum cleaners and less than the Miele, Bosch, Electrolux, Sebos (which the PX didn't have). I hope this vacuum lasts at least a couple years. It has a self-cleaning HEPA filter, wood floor brush and pet hair attachment.
After lunch, if Ian doesn't go down for a nap, Curt will have to take him out of the house somewhere so I can rescue the kitchen and try out the vacuum. I need to vacuum everyday. I sweep everyday, but not all the floors and you can't tell that I do that at all! At least I will be able to cover more ground with the vacuum on a daily basis and hope that the floors look moderately clean.
As for the GPS, they had one at the PX and one advertised at one of the vendors on Post. The one at the PX was about $70 cheaper than the other, but had 2007 maps and fewer addresses (but still a lot). After going to the vendor several times to check out the other one (that is updated every 6 months) and them not having it, we decided to buy the one at the PX. Today, there was a sticker saying that the models had been loaded with the current info as of May 18, 2008 so it was good that we waited. This was an investment, I hope we are here for awhile, but mobility means a lot so I do hope we can get it to work for us. If it works, it will totally be worth it.
I am glad we thought about these purchases. We are trying to be more aware of our purchases so that we spend less, waste less and are more satisfied with our purchases. Erie has a store called Yaple's Sewing and Vacuum and I wondered how they stay in business, but now I know. I wish I had gone there and bought a vacuum before I left Erie. Just didn't think about it in time.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Fly Lady, Take Me Away!
We've fallen off the Fly Lady wagon, but as Fly Lady says, just start back up again. I just don't know how the house seems to fall apart completely so quickly. The more I am FLYing the longer it takes, but it was a rough day today.
At Gymnastics class, Ian was totally uncooperative except for the tunnel and the balance beam. I know I need to let him do things in his time, but I am used to him being the best in the class no matter what class it is or where we are, he is the star. Gymnastics is helping him follow directions more, but he does not like going through the stations. He does not like to sit with me and sing songs, but he is starting to do the hand motions with the songs. I have to remember to strike a balance between working with him on the skills and letting him enjoy himself and come to it on his own. I got off balance today because I got frustrated and he was throwing himself around. Since he liked the beam and wanted to do more beam while the others were singing, that is what we did. He refused to do a forward roll on the ground at the forward roll station, but he did do a forward roll on the beam (I think it is about 2 feet off the ground, but I was holding him). I saw him pour water on his pants, but he also had a really wet diaper so I couldn't tell what it was so he had to do the class in his t-shirt and diaper. The class ended at 10:30 and then I had to get to the hospital for Ian's appointment. I stopped by to make sure our insurance got changed but the lady was busy and I needed to get to his appointment so we left. We sat in the waiting room until 11:30am and then everyone started to leave. I went to the recption to make sure that they knew we were still there. 10 more minutes passes and I told the medic that if everyone went to lunch I was going to lose it! Finally the doctor came out, I was almost crying. I had forgotten the cheerios and crackers in the car and Ian had been crying for the past 20 minutes,"Cer-real-eal! Cereal! Cer-real-eal!" I didn't want to run out to the car because I didn't want to miss our appointment, the receptionist is Korean and it is hard to know if they fully understand you so I didn't want to risk telling her I'd be right back and missing the appointment. At the same time, I thought, even if I do get into this appointment, the insurance people will beat lunch when I finish so I won't be able to get that done. Luckily, the doctor came out before I really lost it. I tried to calm myself quickly and he was apologetic. I appreciate that they take time with patients and things happen, I just didn't want to slip through the cracks, especially since as civilians, we have to pay to be treated at military facilities.
Anyway, the reason for the appointment is that Ian's head is mis-shapen and has been since the womb (he was a c-section, but stuck in the same breech position for the last 3 months). I thought someone would have said something before but he has always had a lot of hair so maybe the doctors hadn't noticed. He had his hips evaluated at Shriner's so they should have noticed, but no one ever said anything. I keep hearing things about head shape so I wanted someone to look at his head. The doctor said it will probably always be like that, but it won't hurt him and that if they were going to do something, it would have had to have been done when he was much younger. Oh well. Hope he doesn't go bald like Curt!
Anyway. Stopped by to deal with the insurance. Gave the new card. We couldn't check the claim status because the rest of the people were at lunch, but at least I think I got that task done. Again, some communication difficulties because the employee was Korean. Bureaucracy compounded by different languages is tough. I guess I will know if the interaction was successful if I get another notice on the bill.
When we got home to the trashed house, I decided to tackle the most unappealing tasks first: the food trash. There was some in a pot by the new composter that was very disgusting (failed interpretation of the directions so we had to start over). Bugs were breeding in it. Gross. Got it out. Then had to make a second trip for the can and bowl in the kitchen. Ian was not very cooperative on these excursions in the rain, but I needed to get them done. Afterwards, we had lunch and I tried to put Ian down for a nap. It took awhile, but he is finally out. Now, I am soaking the food collection can. Need to clean up the kitchen so we can start fresh now that the composter is working.
Another thing we are working on is tracking our expenditures and making a budget. It will take time, but my goal is to start June 1. I have to do lots of prep work to set things up between now and then. Plan to Fly lady it and do it in 15 minute chunks. Gather the info slowly and get more and more detailed.
So today, I need to clean the food collection can, clean the kitchen, make dinner and clean up afterwards. 15 minutes on the treadmill. 15 minutes of working on the finances. If I have time, clean the Master Bathroom sink, toliet and tub.
Blog post done. Time to work!
At Gymnastics class, Ian was totally uncooperative except for the tunnel and the balance beam. I know I need to let him do things in his time, but I am used to him being the best in the class no matter what class it is or where we are, he is the star. Gymnastics is helping him follow directions more, but he does not like going through the stations. He does not like to sit with me and sing songs, but he is starting to do the hand motions with the songs. I have to remember to strike a balance between working with him on the skills and letting him enjoy himself and come to it on his own. I got off balance today because I got frustrated and he was throwing himself around. Since he liked the beam and wanted to do more beam while the others were singing, that is what we did. He refused to do a forward roll on the ground at the forward roll station, but he did do a forward roll on the beam (I think it is about 2 feet off the ground, but I was holding him). I saw him pour water on his pants, but he also had a really wet diaper so I couldn't tell what it was so he had to do the class in his t-shirt and diaper. The class ended at 10:30 and then I had to get to the hospital for Ian's appointment. I stopped by to make sure our insurance got changed but the lady was busy and I needed to get to his appointment so we left. We sat in the waiting room until 11:30am and then everyone started to leave. I went to the recption to make sure that they knew we were still there. 10 more minutes passes and I told the medic that if everyone went to lunch I was going to lose it! Finally the doctor came out, I was almost crying. I had forgotten the cheerios and crackers in the car and Ian had been crying for the past 20 minutes,"Cer-real-eal! Cereal! Cer-real-eal!" I didn't want to run out to the car because I didn't want to miss our appointment, the receptionist is Korean and it is hard to know if they fully understand you so I didn't want to risk telling her I'd be right back and missing the appointment. At the same time, I thought, even if I do get into this appointment, the insurance people will beat lunch when I finish so I won't be able to get that done. Luckily, the doctor came out before I really lost it. I tried to calm myself quickly and he was apologetic. I appreciate that they take time with patients and things happen, I just didn't want to slip through the cracks, especially since as civilians, we have to pay to be treated at military facilities.
Anyway, the reason for the appointment is that Ian's head is mis-shapen and has been since the womb (he was a c-section, but stuck in the same breech position for the last 3 months). I thought someone would have said something before but he has always had a lot of hair so maybe the doctors hadn't noticed. He had his hips evaluated at Shriner's so they should have noticed, but no one ever said anything. I keep hearing things about head shape so I wanted someone to look at his head. The doctor said it will probably always be like that, but it won't hurt him and that if they were going to do something, it would have had to have been done when he was much younger. Oh well. Hope he doesn't go bald like Curt!
Anyway. Stopped by to deal with the insurance. Gave the new card. We couldn't check the claim status because the rest of the people were at lunch, but at least I think I got that task done. Again, some communication difficulties because the employee was Korean. Bureaucracy compounded by different languages is tough. I guess I will know if the interaction was successful if I get another notice on the bill.
When we got home to the trashed house, I decided to tackle the most unappealing tasks first: the food trash. There was some in a pot by the new composter that was very disgusting (failed interpretation of the directions so we had to start over). Bugs were breeding in it. Gross. Got it out. Then had to make a second trip for the can and bowl in the kitchen. Ian was not very cooperative on these excursions in the rain, but I needed to get them done. Afterwards, we had lunch and I tried to put Ian down for a nap. It took awhile, but he is finally out. Now, I am soaking the food collection can. Need to clean up the kitchen so we can start fresh now that the composter is working.
Another thing we are working on is tracking our expenditures and making a budget. It will take time, but my goal is to start June 1. I have to do lots of prep work to set things up between now and then. Plan to Fly lady it and do it in 15 minute chunks. Gather the info slowly and get more and more detailed.
So today, I need to clean the food collection can, clean the kitchen, make dinner and clean up afterwards. 15 minutes on the treadmill. 15 minutes of working on the finances. If I have time, clean the Master Bathroom sink, toliet and tub.
Blog post done. Time to work!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Cheers to Soy!
I'm on a role! Inspired by Ian's drinking of half a juice box size box o' soy milk yesterday and my need to reduce the amount of diet soda I drink, I decided to give us both soy milk with dinner. I call it "soy" because "milk" to him is breastmilk and any association of milk with non-breastmilk has caused a complete refusal in the past. As I was getting dinner ready, he was watching me in his Learning Tower. I poured myself a glass of soy and drank from it. He took notice immediately and wanted to try so I gave it to him and just said,"Two hands," for him to use two hands on the glass when he drinks. He drank it!
Then, at dinner, I put some in his cup and some in mine and clinked our cups together and said,"Cheers," and took a drink. He loved this game and drank as well. He even said,"Cheers."
I am going to start giving us soy at lunch and dinner. He has been drinking some orange juice at breakfast.
Then, at dinner, I put some in his cup and some in mine and clinked our cups together and said,"Cheers," and took a drink. He loved this game and drank as well. He even said,"Cheers."
I am going to start giving us soy at lunch and dinner. He has been drinking some orange juice at breakfast.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Naptime!
Ian was fussing and started saying,"Nap! Nap! Nap!". I didn't understand him at first, but then I asked,"Do you need a nap?" , and he ran towards the bed. He didn't get a proper lunch, but he had a big breakfast at daycare and then a few fries and bites of burger (Meat! Meat!) that we dropped off to Curt before we came home so hopefully he won't wake up too hungry. He is very angry when he is hungry.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Transitioning from Co-sleeping
*********Updated on August 15, 2008: Ian has been sleeping in the crib since the date of this original post. It is amazing how quickly he falls asleep. People will say that if you co-sleep they will never learn to sleep on their own and never go to sleep in their own beds. It is just not true! The key is a gradual transition with only one change at a time. In other words, don't bring your new baby home from the hospital and try to put kid #1 in his own bed or own room. Too many big changes! I am now pregnant with my second child and by the time #2 is born, Ian will have slept in his own bed for longer than my entire pregnancy.
Original post:
For the third or fourth night in a row, Ian has nursed but not fallen asleep and then slept in the crib. We set the crib up about a month ago and I have been pointing it out to him saying,"Ian's bed. Look at Ian's bed." If he was interested, I put him in the crib to play and check it out during the day, not at sleeping time to get used to it.
For the transition, I have either let him play in his crib with his trains or sung him mostly to sleep. He has stayed in the crib all night. Last night, he woke up and start to cry. He stood up, looked around and then laid back down and went to sleep. The crib is right by our bed, so he isn't far. We like co-sleeping, but lately he has had major movements in his sleep so we decided to try the crib. He still naps on our bed, but he doesn't seem to move as much during naps as he does as night. Before I attempted this transition, I stopped nursing him until he fell asleep for a few weeks. I nursed until he stopped actively sucking and then I sang to him or rocked him the rest of the way. Sometimes just rolling over is enough. He will fuss a bit but settle down. If he doesn't settle then I do the singing or rocking. I've found that the key with singing to sleep is that you should not try to sing over crying. Sing softly, directly in the ear and they will calm down and surrender.
Gentle works. Gradual works.
When we transition him to his own room (which we aren't in a hurry to do), we will do it the same way. We already call the room where his clothes are,"Ian's room". We will buy a bed and new linens and set it up and talk about it for awhile before there is an attempt to have him sleep in it. I think when we are ready, he will be too!
Original post:
For the third or fourth night in a row, Ian has nursed but not fallen asleep and then slept in the crib. We set the crib up about a month ago and I have been pointing it out to him saying,"Ian's bed. Look at Ian's bed." If he was interested, I put him in the crib to play and check it out during the day, not at sleeping time to get used to it.
For the transition, I have either let him play in his crib with his trains or sung him mostly to sleep. He has stayed in the crib all night. Last night, he woke up and start to cry. He stood up, looked around and then laid back down and went to sleep. The crib is right by our bed, so he isn't far. We like co-sleeping, but lately he has had major movements in his sleep so we decided to try the crib. He still naps on our bed, but he doesn't seem to move as much during naps as he does as night. Before I attempted this transition, I stopped nursing him until he fell asleep for a few weeks. I nursed until he stopped actively sucking and then I sang to him or rocked him the rest of the way. Sometimes just rolling over is enough. He will fuss a bit but settle down. If he doesn't settle then I do the singing or rocking. I've found that the key with singing to sleep is that you should not try to sing over crying. Sing softly, directly in the ear and they will calm down and surrender.
Gentle works. Gradual works.
When we transition him to his own room (which we aren't in a hurry to do), we will do it the same way. We already call the room where his clothes are,"Ian's room". We will buy a bed and new linens and set it up and talk about it for awhile before there is an attempt to have him sleep in it. I think when we are ready, he will be too!
The Learning Tower
We got a Learning Tower for Ian. It is a height-adjustable platform that is designed to bring your child (18 months and older) up to counter height to interact with you in the kitchen. It is pricey and large, but it received such rave reviews from people with the same parenting style that we went ahead and bought it. Why not just use a chair or step stool? The main reason is stability and safety. It is designed not to tip. It has rails on 4 sides to help keep a child from failing. Also, it has a platform where he can play with toys and it is easy to clean, unlike the fabric on the chairs.
After he helped put it together, he sat in it for an hour straight. It is great because it keeps him occupied and out of trouble while Curt and I are working in the kitchen. It engages him because he can see what I am doing and the possibilities for helping with cooking projects will increase as he gets older. It is encouraging us to try more kitchen activities with him. Even washing his hands is much easier with it. He can do it himself and that is what he wants to do.
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