MicroblogMondays: Kids Are Four Years Old

I know all parents say this.  It is true though.  I blink, and my kids have turned four.

This year I wanted to make it up to the kids for not having a party last year.  The theme for first year was Elmo because the kids didn’t know better.  Second year it was Thomas the Tank Engine.  Last year it was Thomas again for Okra and Excavator for Bunny.  This year guess what Okra wanted?  Trains again.  And interestingly, Bunny wanted trains too. Well that did make it easier for me as I didn’t have to incorporate two different themes like last year.

The kids had school on their actual birthday.  We went in their room to sing them Happy Birthday song when they woke up.  The kids were so excited!  Bunny said, “I am so excited! I can’t wait to see the birthday decorations in the living room!”  Oops… I didn’t decorate the living room this year because we were going to have a birthday party that weekend.  I wasn’t going to do decorations two times in a week.  When Bunny realized that was the case, her face dropped and she almost broke into tears.  The disappointment was so real, and I can understand that.  Last year we had a big photo backdrop on the living room wall with balloons of their names and huge gigantic number 3 and other balloons and tons of presents.  This year there weren’t even presents yet because I didn’t want them to delay going to school.  Poor kids…

That afternoon we brought sugar-free popsicles to school to celebrate with the kids’ friends at school.  They got to wear a birthday hat (which Okra promptly refused) and get a birthday balloon and hear the kids and teachers sing them a birthday song.  It was nice to chat with their teachers and get to see the faces of the kids that Okra and Bunny mention about all the time.  That evening we invited my brother’s family over for the kids’ favorite dinner (ramen for Bunny and unagi donburi for Okra) and had a very yummy birthday cake.  We stuck two number 4 candles on the cake.  Bob joked that he is all set for his 44th birthday next year with candles.

On Saturday that same week, we had a birthday party at a nearby park.  I had booked that picnic area two months prior hoping that the air quality would be good for their party.  I was so relieved on Saturday morning to see that the weather and air were good.  We wanted to keep the party small so we had invited two other sets of twins for a total of 6 kids.  These are kids that we have regular playdates with.  There were more adults because my brother’s family was there as well.  Everyone was masked.  The kids had such a blast!  We rented a bounce house for the party and the kids had the interest and energy to jump almost the whole entire time!  We catered from the kids’ favorite taqueria and had cupcakes.  It was so much fun.  The kids didn’t want to leave.  Bunny was so sad when the jumper company came to pack up the bounce house.  The rest of the day she repeatedly told me that she missed her jumper.  She still says that even to this day, a whole week and some more after her party. Haha.

I am so thankful that we feel safe enough to give them a party.  I hope that next year we can invite more people.  That means that the pandemic will be more under control.

Every year is challenging, but it is also so rewarding to see the kids learn, grow, and develop into their own individual person.  I can’t wait to see what this year brings.

MicroblogMondays: First Day of Preschool

After a long time in the making, the kids started preschool today.

They were a little reluctant to go.  Last week they went to school for a half an hour play date.  My usually chatty and social kids at the playground were reserved and resistant.  It took them a little while to even touch the toys.  I was a little bit concerned about them refusing to walk into school, especially Okra. To my surprise, Bunny walked in  right away.  Okra at first was reluctant, but entered the school after he saw that sister already took out a box of train toys.  This was the first time I met their teacher as she was out sick on the day of the play date.  She has a great energy with a voice that is kind but has authority.  I like her and am glad that she is their teacher.  When I was driving away from the school, I started missing them a lot. This is the first time they are away from the both of us or family members for more than a couple of hours.  It felt so weird driving away without them in their car seats in the back.  Bob had taken the day off so the two of us dropped them off at school.  We went on a date day and had brunch leisurely.  We enjoyed the adult time that we got to spend together, eating a meal without stopping to serve or attend to anyone.  We got a phone call at 1:45pm, which was half way through nap time.  I was told that Okra was crying to a point that his crying was disturbing other kids’ sleep, so I was asked to go pick him up.  The teachers and I discussed strategies at the door.  Okra usually chews a cloth at home during sleep.  I deliberately didn’t give him one because of how disgusting it gets after his use (all wet with his saliva) and didn’t want the teacher to have to handle it if she didn’t have to.  But I think without the cloth, something that he has been using since 6 months, it would be hard for him to fall asleep.  So the solution for now is to bring three fresh ones on Monday.  I will pack a couple of ziploc bags labeled “Clean” and “Used”.  After Okra uses one, the teacher can help him place it in the “Used” bag.  These will come home to us with the beddings on Friday so we can wash them all.  The teacher did say that they did really well for all the activities.  They listened and participated during circle time.  They played well outdoors except for when Okra was playing in the sand box and kept complaining about sand getting in his shoes. So the teacher told him to play elsewhere.  They each ate a big bowl of vegetable fried rice provided by school, which was surprising to me because the kids do not eat fried rice at home.  They also ate some of the lunch that I prepared for them.  Despite having to come home early, I think it was a great start.  I was a little hesitant sending them to preschool at this time given how bad the Delta Variant is out there right now.  The preschool is very good at enforcing masks for everyone, and they are very careful with who could enter the building.  With the teachers following the Department of Public Health’s guidelines, I am hopeful that the kids will remain healthy.  This is why we are still sending them to preschool.  I hope that as time goes on, the kids will get used to going, and they will be running to the door in the future without any convincing from us.

MicroblogMondays: Life Recently

Want to document what I have been struggling with lately.

One word: sleep.  The kids’ sleep affects my sleep.

Since they switched to toddler beds, their nap has been different.  Okra still falls asleep but he doesn’t sleep for three hours anymore.  Bunny is the one who creates a lot of trouble for me.  She doesn’t need the nap most of the days.  (Or maybe she needs it but she just fights it.) When she is asked to lie down for quiet time, she often hangs her legs out of the bed.  She’d start singing loudly or dance around the room.  I am constantly on the monitor watching her and going over there to tell her to lie down.  It is tiring.  If Okra is not asleep already, Bunny gets him all riled up and nobody naps.  When Okra doesn’t nap, he gets very cranky in the afternoon.  If Okra is asleep, he is deep asleep and usually Bunny’s singing doesn’t bother him or wake him up.   Occasionally her noises wake him up and he starts crying and throwing a tantrum because of not getting enough rest.  I want to avoid that as much as possible.  A few days ago, I offered her something that may be the solution to our problem.  I started letting Bunny listen to story podcasts, audio books, or songs on my iPad.  The headphones we bought them for the trip to Hong Kong and India come in handy.  When she uses them, she is more tied down to the bed so she won’t get up and dance around too often.  This activity seems to keep her in bed and quiet for at least an hour.  That is enough for Okra to quiet down and fall asleep.  She occasionally calls out to me to help her adjust something.  Other than that, it largely keeps her occupied quietly and allows me some time to lie down and rest, and allows Okra to nap for at least 1.5 hours.  Because I am still watching her, I lie down and rest but don’t usually fall asleep. She calls me over to help her with choosing a different song or book so I don’t quite get the rest that I need.  It’s better than not having some rest though.

If both kids nap, they don’t fall asleep until 9ish to 10pm.  They would call me in their room over and over again asking for everything under the sun.  These days Bunny doesn’t nap, it is easier to get them down at a reasonable hour (around 8:15pm) and Bunny would fall asleep right away.  Okra, since he has napped for over an hour, doesn’t fall asleep as easily.  Some days he lies there and blinks until he is tired.  Some other days he keeps on calling me until I tell him that his sister would leave and go sleep with us if he continues making noise.  He would comply and eventually fall asleep at around 8:45 to 9pm.  A couple of weeks ago, both kids would wake up in the middle of the night calling for me.  Some nights it was just one time.  Other nights it was three to four times.  They would call for me to cover them with their blankets, for a drink of water, or just for the heck of it.  After 4 times, I would get very frustrated and just want to go back to sleep.  They did it for about a week and needless to say, those few days I felt like a zombie.  No personal time in the morning because I hadn’t slept well the night before so I couldn’t get up early.  No personal time in the afternoon when one of them wouldn’t nap.  In the evening after they went down I was so tired that I couldn’t do anything.  It was like we had gone back to the newborn stage of waking up multiple times a night.  After a week of that, I found myself being frustrated a lot more easily and yelling at them much more frequently.  It was not a good situation. Things have improved after that one week of very little sleep.  I leave a leakproof water bottle at each of their bedside so they can access it in the middle of the night.  Some nights they sleep through, some other nights they call me in once or twice.  At least it hasn’t been every single night so it’s been okay.  But boy, without adequate sleep, life is so much harder.  Hopefully now that they are used to the toddler beds, they will continue to adjust their sleep so I can hopefully go back to sleeping 8 hours a night.

MicroblogMondays: Preschool…

Recently we are considering sending the kids to preschool.  They were supposed to go last September but the pandemic hit and we opted for staying on the waitlist for another year.  The school contacted us and I was still reluctant to make a commitment, partly because of COVID but also because it is hard for me to let go of the routines that we have established.  Watching the kids interact with friends and with others at the playground, I think Okra can really benefit from socializing regularly with someone other than his parents, grandma, and sister.  Bunny on the other hand does well socially and will definitely thrive in group situations.  I finally contacted the school and learned that we would still be able to enroll them three days a week starting in August if we turn in the enrollment packets by the end of the month.  I have been reading the packets and am feeling quite confident that the school knows exactly what it is doing.  After having the last year to figure things out, their COVID protocol is solid.  There are processes for what to do about everything health and safety related.  The night I received the packets, I had a dream about the kids having a really hard time at school.  I woke up feeling anxious about it.  I guess it is part of the life as a parent who has been with the kids every single day since they were born 3.5 years ago.  It is hard to let go and to entrust them in the hands of those who are not part of our family.  But I do feel that it is time.  I know that it is going to be a big adjustment for us and the kids.  I asked the kids the other day what if they get to go to school like their friends.  They asked me, “What about you mama?  Are you going to be there?”  When they realized that I wouldn’t be going with them, they said they didn’t want to go to school.  I think the next few months we will have some convincing to do.

MicroblogMondays: 3 1/2 Years Old

Bunny and Okra turned 3 1/2 today.

I remember a year ago when they turned 2 1/2, shelter-in-place was about to begin, and social distancing was a new term.  Mask wearing wasn’t recommended yet.  The week prior we were at the library, bible study, mom’s group, supermarket, restaurants, and church service.  How one week changed everything. And a year later, my kids have yet been inside a library, restaurant, or church.

Life goes on, and we do our best to celebrate another milestone.  Bob took the day off and we headed to the zoo.  Today was the windiest day ever.  The zoo is right next to Pacific Ocean.  It was even windier there than where we live, which is only 7 minutes away.  Despite the wind, and taking the kids to the bathroom several times, and eating outdoors while trying to guard the food containers from the wind and the seagulls (who stole my hamburger a month ago when we went there for Bob’s birthday), we had a blast.  The fact that the zoo was open and we got to go there is a blessing.  The kids also got to play at the zoo playground. The last time they did that was in February 2020.  The kids’ climbing skills have grown exponentially.  It was a joy to watch them do all sorts of things that they weren’t able to do before.  The interesting thing I have observed lately is that Okra loves to follow Bunny.  He goes where she goes at the playground.  He even freaked out when he couldn’t see her and insisted on looking for her.  He never used to do that before.  I wonder when we send them to school in the future if he will continue to want to stick with her.

Although we are still in the middle of a pandemic, I am glad that at 3.5 the kids mostly listen well.  They keep their masks on, refrain from touching anything in a public bathroom, allow me to wash their hands thoroughly, and keep a distance from people when they need to.  Kids adapt really well, and us adults too.  I hope that when I write a post to celebrate their half birthday in a year, the pandemic will be completely under control and we can go back to hugging and getting together with friends and family whenever and wherever we want.

MicroblogMondays: End of Naps?

My kids have been in their bedroom for about an hour.  I am sitting in the dining room doing my own things.  After about 30 minutes of silence, Bunny calls Okra’s name.  He does not respond.  She then begins to sing a song loudly.  He starts talking to her. She responds.  And then she continues to sing a song.  He talks some more.  And now there is a full blown conversation going on.

I have been guarding their nap time carefully.  These hours are necessary to break up the day and for me to recuperate from the chaos of the morning.  This time also serves as my exercise time, or time to make a phone call, or time to read a few pages of my own books (not a pictured children’s book).  I have such fear that these kiddos will give up their nap time and this is the end of my sanity.  I know that compared to some other parents with three year olds, we are blessed in a sense that my kids still nap majority of the time.  But as the number of times they don’t nap is increasing, I get increasingly nervous.  I can’t imagine not having down time, but I also have to acknowledge that my kids are not babies, they are growing, and I can’t stop them from becoming bigger kids, not that I want to.  Maybe I get to be the lucky one whose kids nap until 4 or 5 years old?  Only time will tell.

MicroblogMondays: One Pound

Almost two months ago, I wrote about my son Okra’s gastrointestinal issues.  This is the latest.  He and I had an in-person follow up visit with his GI specialist almost three weeks ago.  His weight gain was stagnant.  Upon palpation, he still had a lot of gas, which meant that his constipation issues were still there.  She didn’t think that he had any wheat or lactose sensitivities.  His lab work showed that he is a healthy toddler on the skinnier side who is maintaining a good gain on height.  Since there is a weight gain issue with constipation issues, she reintroduced Mirala.x to help with his bowel movement and a medication to increase his appetite.  She said to start the appetite meds first for two weeks, initially with it 30 minutes prior to dinner for one week, and then adding a dose 30 minutes prior to breakfast.  Then after two weeks of that, start Miralax.  The kids’ three year check up was the week after the GI visit.  Our pediatrician read Okra’s x-report and recommended us to start Mirala.x right away instead of waiting for another week.  He said that the moderate severity of his constipation could really cause Okra to feel unwell and be moody, which was what we had been experiencing.  At that visit, Bunny’s weight exceeded Okra’s weight by 11oz.  Historically, she was often two pounds lighter.  He hadn’t had a weight gain in six months, and she gained over 4 pounds in the past year.  Okra is not exactly diagnosed with “failure to thrive” but he is closer to the low end of normal for his age.  So this has been the situation with Okra medication-wise, water-intake wise, and food-wise.  In the morning, he takes a dose of the appetite medication upon wake up time.  I try to delay his breakfast so he has about 20 to 30 minutes before he eats.  After food, I give him Miralax.  Thirty minutes prior to dinner, he has another dose of the appetite medication.  Good news is, he somehow likes the appetite meds because of its taste?  But he fights drinking water with it as water intake has become a power struggle.  Mirala.x is a powder that has to be mixed with 4 to 8 oz of water.  He fought that with all his might in the beginning.  I have tried my best to tempt him to drink water.  I tried different cups and different straws.  I even bought another Funtainer bottle that has Thomas on it.  Eventually I discovered that the best method to encourage water intake is to put frozen fruit (blueberries, strawberries, mangos, or pineapple, or a combination of any of them) in the water.  This has been a saving grace.  He (and actually Bunny too) somehow loves frozen fruit and is willing to drink the water so that he can eat the frozen fruit at the end.  Because of the frozen fruit lure, Okra has been drinking the required amount of water each day to help with hydration hence his constipation issues.  In terms of food, I have been adding high calorie food and healthy fats whenever I can.  I add butter to his toast, muffin, and rice.  I make smoothies with coconut milk, flax seed, avocado, and full fat yogurt.  I use the same for making popsicles which he loves.  I add half and half to his milk.  He does not eat eggs, avocado (by itself), yogurt, or cheese.  Recently I made cream cheese with peanut butter and a little bit of honey into frozen balls.  I call them ice cream balls.  Okra totally bought into it and ate a ton.  I add a lot of stuff in these “cookies” and he likes them.  I have introduced adding cocoa powder, crushed peanuts, and a little bit of honey to oat meal and now he eats it.  I have even gotten chocolate sprinkles for whole milk yogurt with apple sauce but Okra refuses to touch it.   His appetite seems to wax and wane but I can see that he has been eating and drinking more than before.  I decided to weigh the both of them a couple of days ago.  I weighed myself first and then weighed myself while carrying the kids.  I subtract my weight from the total weight.  To my huge surprise, Okra seems to have gained one pound.  ONE WHOLE POUND.  He and Bunny actually weighed the same, which means he gained more than Bunny in the past week. I can’t begin to tell you how huge it is.  He had been stuck at this one weight for months.  Sometimes his weight even went down.  So for him to gain a pound in a bit over a week of adding higher calorie foods and fat, I am so encouraged that the diligence will be paid off.   Maybe my scale is off.  Maybe he didn’t gain one whole pound, but he definitely has gained some weight as I can feel it when I lift him.  I really hope that we are off to a good start with his weight gain and he will gain more consistently from now on.  Who would have known that my own child’s weight gain would be a source of stress and concern?

MicroblogMondays: Three!

Bunny and Okra are now three years old.  I can hardly believe it.

The last three years seemed to have gone by very fast.  People say that the days are long but the years are short.  I look back and find that to be true.  Sometimes old photos or old posts pop up on my phone or on FB.  I see how tiny the kids were back then and how big they already are and often wonder how they are already three years old.  The last six months were especially a blur.  The days all blended in because of sheltering in place.  That doesn’t stop the kids from growing.  You blink and they are little human beings with a lot of opinions.

We couldn’t (and wouldn’t) have a real party but I still wanted to make that day special for the kids.  I picked up the kids’ favorite buns from a bakery two days prior for their birthday breakfast and picked up food from the kids’ favorite taqueria the day before for their birthday lunch.  Way ahead of time, Bunny selected a birthday shirt that has excavator on it.  Okra chose one with Thomas.  Because of their different preferences, I decided to buy decorations that had construction and Thomas themes.  The day before their birthday, a chain party supply store delivered Thomas balloons, a huge number 3 balloon, letter balloons, and some wrapping papers to us.  I ordered a construction birthday photo backdrop online.  After the kids went to bed the night before their birthday, I couldn’t get started with decorations until after 9:30 because of a prior Zo.om meeting.  Bob was already at work putting the kids’ new balance bikes together.  I put the construction backdrop on the living room wall above the couch, placed the giant number 3 next to the picture, and placed the Thomas balloons on the other side.  I blew up the letter balloons and spelled out Bunny’s name on one side of the wall and Okra’s name on the other side of the wall.  I wrapped all the presents and put bows on the bikes.  After all that was done, it was already 11pm, way past my bed time.  It was worth it for the kids though and I couldn’t wait to see their faces the next morning.

The air quality in the 7 days prior to the kids’ birthday was at the Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy level.  I said to my friends the day before that it would take a miracle for the AQI to get down to an acceptable level for us to take the kids to the zoo and for cake cutting in the backyard with my brother’s family to take place.  I opened my eyes on the kids’ birthday and the first thing I checked was AQI.  It was down to the unhealthy for sensitive group level (instead of very unhealthy).  I wasn’t sure if it would go further down but there was a glimmer of hope that a zoo visit could be possible.  The kids woke up and were very excited about putting their birthday T-shirts on.  Where they sat for breakfast they couldn’t see the decorations and the presents in the living room.  After their teeth were brushed, we opened the gate and led them into the living room. Their facial expressions were priceless!  They looked so genuinely surprised and happy about the decorations.  It was worth all the time and energy.  I checked and rechecked the AQI.  It was down to the low end of the Unhealthy for Sensitive Group level.  I was confident that it would get down to the Moderate level.  So it was truly a miracle that we got to pack up the kids and go to the zoo.  We all had a blast!  It had been a long time since Bob made it back to the zoo.  He especially took a day off, and it was a delight to have him around to celebrate the kids’ birthday on a weekday (as their first two birthdays were on the weekend).  The air quality was getting progressively better.  By the time it was the kids’ nap time, I was certain that we could have a birthday cake cutting time in the backyard with family.

I had gotten a local mom from one of my mom clubs to make a cake for us.  It was an awesome cake with Thomas on top and a track that ran under him, and an excavator and traffic cones on the side of the cake.  This just matched my kids’ strong individual preferences.  I was pleased with the final product.

The kids didn’t know that their uncle, auntie, and cousins were going to show up.  Although Okra woke up being cranky and threw a tantrum, he recovered fast and was very excited about the cake and our family showing up.  The sky was bright and the air was good.  We had a wonderful time celebrating with family.  The kids are so grown that they actually could blow the candles all by themselves this year and nobody ate the candle (unlike last year when Bunny took a bite out of her number 2 candle).

The day finished with dinner from the kids’ favorite restaurant.  But even with their favorite food, Okra was done with dinner after a couple of bites because he couldn’t wait to go play with his new toys.  Bunny followed him.  We ended up having plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.

We were supposed to have a picnic to celebrate the kids’ birthday the previous Saturday. It didn’t happen because of the air quality. This past Saturday we finally made it as the air was/is good.  We had dim sum at a park!

It was wonderful to see the kids interact with their aunt, uncle, and cousins.  Life is so much better when you can spend time with family.  This year the kids really understand the meaning behind a birthday and it was a bummer that they couldn’t celebrate it the way we normally could.  And I am really missing my dad. He was here the last two years for the kids’ birthdays and I really feel the void of not having him here this year.  The pandemic has made it so hard for many to make in person connections.  One can only hope that next year we will be all back to normal and the kids can spend quality time with everyone on their 4th birthday.

MicroblogMondays: Back to the Zoo

The zoo reopened some time in July.  At first I was hesitant to return there with the kids.  Pre-COVID, the zoo was our stomping ground as it is only 7 minutes away.  We went almost once a week.  It was closed for a few months.  Finally they got the OKAY to reopen with COVID precautions in place.  I wanted to learn about first hand experiences from people I know before I even considered going back.  Plus I needed time to drill in the kids’ mind that their masks and the stroller are a must when we go to the zoo.  Everybody who went said that their experience was good and they felt safe.  Indoor exhibits, playgrounds, and family farm are all closed.  The train and carousels are not running. There are red lines and orange circles for visitors to stand behind or inside to maintain social distance.  It sounded doable to me.  My twins’ third birthday is coming up.  As I started to plan their birthday, and knowing that a birthday party with friends and family is not going to happen, a trip to the zoo seems special enough.  Okra was the one who resisted wearing a mask, but has since converted to a mask wearer as we started going to the park.  With the confidence that he’d keep the mask on, I booked tickets for last week to the zoo as a trial run for their birthday zoo visit.  Oh yes.  You now cannot just show up at the zoo with your membership card.  To control the flow of visitors, both members and nonmembers have to book tickets ahead of time.  You are allowed to enter into the zoo within the half hour of your reservation time.  The tickets are open two weeks prior to the reservation dates.  The morning times are popular for members and you will need to make a reservation two weeks ahead of time.  The day prior to our visit last week, I spoke with the kids about the rules (i.e. staying in the stroller until I let them out and masks on at all times) and told them what we would get to see and what we wouldn’t.  It had been almost six months since our last zoo visit.  We went on March 10th, just a week before the shut down.  We had so much fun then.  I am looking at the pictures right now as I am writing this post.  I didn’t always ride the Little Puffer Train with them since we had made it a special thing to do when daddy comes with us.  But on that day, somehow, I wanted to ride the train with them and decided to do so.  The kids weren’t even 2.5 yet back then.  Looking at the videos and photos, they were looking much smaller and babylike.  They had so much fun riding the train.  I am so glad we did on that day as it is not an option anymore until COVID is under control.  Fast forward to the day of the visit, it felt kind of funny to get ready the night before as I hadn’t had to get ready for anything in a long time.  I was also worried about the smoke in the air because of the wild fires and the air quality hadn’t been good.  The day of the visit, I decided to still go because if air quality got worse, we could always come home.  Because the zoo is by the coast, the air on that day wasn’t bad at all.  With a mask on, I didn’t quite smell the smoke.  The kids and I had a blast! Since we got there at the first time slot, many animals were still inside.  We waited for a long time for the gorillas and had to return later to see them when they were out.  It was the male lion’s birthday that day so many people were there at that exhibit.  The kids were really good at staying in the orange circles and behind the red line.  They hardly touched any hard surfaces.  They asked about the sloth, the spider, the goats, or other indoor animals.  I had to tell them sadly that these were temporarily not available.  Okra of course asked about the train and I told him that it wasn’t running.  He asked, Can I see it? innocently.  I felt bad that I had to say no to him.  But it didn’t dampen the fun he had.

Everybody had fun and no one threw one single tantrum during that visit.  On the way back to the car, Bunny said, “The zoo is so much fun! Let’s come back again.”  Even though it was weird that they had to wear a mask and many of the things they wanted to do and see were not available, kids adapt fast and they still think it was cool and fun.  I felt safe.  All the adults wore masks.  It was easily to social distance as the zoo keeps it at 50% capacity.  So that’s the plan. On their 3rd birthday in 1.5 weeks, Bob and I will be taking the kids to the zoo and do a cake in the back yard with my brother’s family after the kids’ nap.  That will still be a memorable birthday I am sure.

MicroblogMondays: Dosa and Daal

Last week, I borrowed a couple of books from the library with representation of characters that look like my kids.  One of them is called Queen of the Hanukkah Dosas and the other is called Bilal Cooks Daal.  They are such fun books to read.  A bonus is that they talk about things that my kids are familiar with.  The first one talks about dosas, which is a thin crepe like pancake that is a staple in South Indian cuisine often eaten with sambar, a lentil stew.  Since Bob is South Indian, the kids are familiar with dosa.  It is definitely fun for them to see a food item they are familiar with as the central theme of the book.  In Bilal Cooks Daal, the main character cooks daal with his dad and his friends.  When we got to the part when the book’s characters chose which lentils to use and what spices to add, both my kids exclaimed in delight.  The book mentioned about turmeric, cumin, chili.  These are all spices that we frequently use in our dishes.  Since the kids help me cook every single day, and get to add these spices and other seasoning such as salt, pepper, and garlic powder to our dishes, they were so pleased to see all these things they have hands on experience with get mentioned in a book they read.  Both books include recipes at the end of the book for making the dishes that are mentioned in the book.  My daughter has been asking me daily to try these recipes. One weekend we are going to do that!  I feel so grateful that these books exist so that my kids get to see someone that looks like them being represented in books they read.  Diversity and representation in children’s literature are so important.  I highly recommend these books!