stylin'
I asked the children's librarian at our local branch to keep an eye out for picture books where a character has glasses but the glasses aren't the point of the book. She has picked out a few things, but one big hit has been the series by Mo Willems, Elephant & Piggie.
These are actually intended for early readers, so the text is very simple, but they actually work very well as read aloud books for toddlers too. The plots are simple and amusing, and the dialogue lends itself very well to animated reading. The Husband in particular is good at this.
Anyway, this has become the series that she requests to read the most ("Piggie! Piggie!"). If this still holds, I would like to get her the the plush toys for her birthday.
I'm also thinking about her Easter basket. Last year we didn't bother doing anything. This year I want to make her one. I already have a basket.
Easter basket ideas:
Beach ball
Dyed eggs
Chocolate bunny
Bunny shaped crackers
Easter bonnet/hat
Easter themed board or cloth book
Socks (...because she needs socks.)
The problem is gonna be finding time to do the shopping for the clothing. I took a peek into one store and they didn't have ANY dress hats for toddlers. Her outfit is a white shirt and pink jumper/pinafore, which because it will probably still be cold I will probably pair with tights. I want something that will go with many different outfits and that will also be provide practical sun protection for the summer. I think I'm going to try Gymboree first; their online store has a bunch of cute hats.
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It wasn't very long ago that paneer was being sold in 454g (1 lb) blocks. Then the manufacturer's shrink ray (the method to mask price increases) hit, and all the brands switched to 400g. Which I could deal with. But now some of the brands have started going even smaller, to 340g. This upsets me because 340g is not enough for one meal. So I have to either buy two packages, or skimp on paneer.
Anyway, an Indian market nears me sells huge 1.6kg packages of paneer for $16. So I use about between a four and a third of the package for one meal, and freeze the rest. If I fry the paneer before freezing it, then I just have to thaw the chunks and pop them in sauce for an instant meal. Or put them on pizza.
McDonald's in India has apparently done a "paneer burger" which is just a square, burger sized piece of paneer, coated in a spicy crumb coating and fried, with a spicy mayo and lettuce on top. I'd be interested to try making something similar.
I think I'm rebounding off the tofu disaster into the comforting arms of paneer lol. I'm all "PANEER PANEER IT WAS A MISTAKE FORGIVE ME NEVER LEAVE ME" and paneer is like "Shhh, shh, baby, you know I would never do that to you."
Anyway. I made muttar paneer tonight for dinner and it was excellent. It's probably the easiest paneer dish to make, assuming you have the spices and shortcuts like chili paste and minced ginger in your fridge. I'll use the rest of the can of crushed tomatoes to make cabbage rolls or cabbage casserole tomorrow.
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Oh! I almost forgot. I trimmed Pippa's hair today. She had one lock in the bangs that was going into her eyes, so I cut that back, and I trimmed the back up to chin height. I want it to grow into a chin-length bob to start with. Then maybe start letting it get longer. Her hair is still that very fine baby texture mostly, and I can't seem to get any answers about when it will change to a more adult texture. I really wish it would grow faster. Seems like all the other toddlers her age can have pigtails etc and I'm jealous. Of course, I have to listen to their mothers complain about brushing it, keeping it cut, putting it up, etc, and I'm sure if I had a kid with hair like that the novelty would wear off soon enough... but I really really want to be able to put bows and stuff in her hair. She would never even keep headbands on as a little baby so it's something I haven't gotten to do yet.
These are actually intended for early readers, so the text is very simple, but they actually work very well as read aloud books for toddlers too. The plots are simple and amusing, and the dialogue lends itself very well to animated reading. The Husband in particular is good at this.
Anyway, this has become the series that she requests to read the most ("Piggie! Piggie!"). If this still holds, I would like to get her the the plush toys for her birthday.
I'm also thinking about her Easter basket. Last year we didn't bother doing anything. This year I want to make her one. I already have a basket.
Easter basket ideas:
Beach ball
Dyed eggs
Chocolate bunny
Bunny shaped crackers
Easter bonnet/hat
Easter themed board or cloth book
Socks (...because she needs socks.)
The problem is gonna be finding time to do the shopping for the clothing. I took a peek into one store and they didn't have ANY dress hats for toddlers. Her outfit is a white shirt and pink jumper/pinafore, which because it will probably still be cold I will probably pair with tights. I want something that will go with many different outfits and that will also be provide practical sun protection for the summer. I think I'm going to try Gymboree first; their online store has a bunch of cute hats.
---
It wasn't very long ago that paneer was being sold in 454g (1 lb) blocks. Then the manufacturer's shrink ray (the method to mask price increases) hit, and all the brands switched to 400g. Which I could deal with. But now some of the brands have started going even smaller, to 340g. This upsets me because 340g is not enough for one meal. So I have to either buy two packages, or skimp on paneer.
Anyway, an Indian market nears me sells huge 1.6kg packages of paneer for $16. So I use about between a four and a third of the package for one meal, and freeze the rest. If I fry the paneer before freezing it, then I just have to thaw the chunks and pop them in sauce for an instant meal. Or put them on pizza.
McDonald's in India has apparently done a "paneer burger" which is just a square, burger sized piece of paneer, coated in a spicy crumb coating and fried, with a spicy mayo and lettuce on top. I'd be interested to try making something similar.
I think I'm rebounding off the tofu disaster into the comforting arms of paneer lol. I'm all "PANEER PANEER IT WAS A MISTAKE FORGIVE ME NEVER LEAVE ME" and paneer is like "Shhh, shh, baby, you know I would never do that to you."
Anyway. I made muttar paneer tonight for dinner and it was excellent. It's probably the easiest paneer dish to make, assuming you have the spices and shortcuts like chili paste and minced ginger in your fridge. I'll use the rest of the can of crushed tomatoes to make cabbage rolls or cabbage casserole tomorrow.
---
Oh! I almost forgot. I trimmed Pippa's hair today. She had one lock in the bangs that was going into her eyes, so I cut that back, and I trimmed the back up to chin height. I want it to grow into a chin-length bob to start with. Then maybe start letting it get longer. Her hair is still that very fine baby texture mostly, and I can't seem to get any answers about when it will change to a more adult texture. I really wish it would grow faster. Seems like all the other toddlers her age can have pigtails etc and I'm jealous. Of course, I have to listen to their mothers complain about brushing it, keeping it cut, putting it up, etc, and I'm sure if I had a kid with hair like that the novelty would wear off soon enough... but I really really want to be able to put bows and stuff in her hair. She would never even keep headbands on as a little baby so it's something I haven't gotten to do yet.