Who's a Little Chicken?

April 20th brought a day of sunshine- finally! Off we went to the much anticipated "Farm Baby's" exhibit at the Minnesota Zoo.

This zoo isn't as great as Brookfield Zoo https://www.brookfieldzoo.org/(which I grew-up living only 5 minutes from but it does have some nice 'natural' exhibits.

One of our favorite things to do while at the zoo during "Farm Baby" time is feed the goats.

http://www.mnzoo.com/

Pizza Via Grill

Grilled Pizza is where it's at! On of our favorite menu nights is BYOP (Build Your Own Pizza). Sometimes people stare blankly at me when I tell them this. I think once you try pizza on the grill, there is no turning back! The dry heat makes it a perfect condition to cook in. You don't get all the grease that delivery pizza has. I've made my pizza crust from store bought and homemade. Each to their own, ability and more importantly- time factor.

We had our good friend's the D's over for a luncheon grill. It was fun to see the different combinations and the kids joining in. You can cook them directly on the grill- or as we prefer (easier clean up), we use a base. Pictured are two pizzas that our 2 year olds made.

The Boys are Vegetarian, and I only eat chicken and turkey so we use lots of veggies. Try grilling your veggies first and then adding them onto the pizza as a topping. Think outside the box when you think of toppings and sauce. Who said pizza has to consist of red sauce and cheese? Why not a spicy black bean pizza? I am looking forward to using toppings from my very own garden!

Crust Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Preparation:Combine water, oil, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes or until it bubbles. Mix flours and salt together thoroughly in a food processor or mixer. Add water mixture while blending. Let mix for 2 minutes. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Place in a large oiled bowl and let stand in a warm place for 2-3 hours. It should double in size. Once the dough has raised, lightly flour two cooking sheets. On a floured surface roll out 1/4 of the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Place on cooking sheet. Repeat process until you have four rounds. Place one pizza on a clean, oiled and preheated grill. Grill pizza crusts for about 1 minute on until the bottom is brown. With tongs, gently flip it over and grill for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from grill and repeat with remaining pizzas. Let cool. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and return to a preheated grill for about 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning. It's best to grill one pizza at a time.

http://bbq.about.com/

He Danced into my Heart

Long before his first shuffle, hop, toe- Nishad danced his way into my heart. While I was pregnant with him, I would glide across the living room with my hands wrapped around my tummy doing a duet with him. For the first month of his life, he only heard our voices, and classical music. The combination of having dancing in his blood and an early exposure to classical music (pre-natal) is why I think he is so musical.

I enrolled him in a dance class for two sessions. He wasn't as excited about it as he was dancing in the basement with Mom- little does he know Mom's connection to dance.

I had to laugh though, as he knew more than he let on while in class... I have videos that would have made his teachers head spin. haha... Now, that is the bias, proud Mamma in me! :)

Stop & Smell the Flowers

April 4th. A Day at Como Zoo and Conservatory in Saint Paul. The the flowers are blooming despite the conditions outside. It started to rain mid-way through the zoo, so we 'escaped' in the conservatory...along with everyone else from the zoo! Como Zoo and Conservatory remind me of a downsized Gateway Park in San Francisco. The zoo and conservatory are free- though donations are accepted and appreciated. At fist I was worried to let Nishad freely walk among all the beautiful flowers- I was worried what would happen if he picked a flower... Then I quickly came to the realization that I'm sure that he wouldn't be the first child to do so if he did. Part of learning is exploring... So, I let him explore. He leaned over and smelled many flowers. Even gently touched a few- he didn't pick even one petal.

We were also there in time to view the Corpse Flower. This rare tropical plant is native to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Due to over-harvesting and habitat loss the corpse flower is vulnerable to extinction. When it blooms it smells like rotting flesh for two days. Lovely, eh? I can see why over-harvesting was a problem!

http://www.comozooconservatory.org/

Jackson Street Roundhouse

Full steam ahead to the Jackson Street Roundhouse and Museum. Nishad loves trains, hence his 2nd birthday was a train theme. We thought this would be a fun destination on yet another cold Minnesota day. Where else can you ride a caboose for $2 a ticket? http://www.mtmuseum.org/jsrh.shtml

We don't want our kids to be slaves to commercial products and marketing, so we take special delight in showing him 'real' trains. He really has no idea what Thomas the Train even is- and we like it that way. Occasionally, we encounter something 'Thomas' and I just make a silly face and say, "That's so silly. Trains don't have faces." And he laughs and says, "That's not a real train. We don't like that." Woo-hoo. Or should I say, "woo-choo!"

Our kids don't watch TV programs either. Occasionally, we do let him see 'real' animals...or if he is sick, an episode of this or that, but that just started a few months ago. Nishad does have a "Curious George" stuffed animal that he knows as "Bunder" (which means monkey in Hindi). People will come up to him and refer to "George" and he's often quiet as he isn't quite sure why they are naming his monkey.

An inspirational article that Ashish first read at Oak Hill Montessori was exactly about how children 3 and under shouldn't watch TV. TV takes away from their sensory skills. It also allows marketing directly to your child- watching 'shows' cuts out the middle man. This makes marketing so much easier as they manipulate your child and tell them what their needs and wants are. Here is a great article on this topic: http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/blog/2007/10/television-and-montessori-child-part-1.html

All in all, I think Ashish and I have done pretty well so far at sheltering our kids from the Batman's, Thomas', etc. I don't think we are alone in our beliefs either. Ashish made me feel so good when he commented, "I'm glad that our son learned how to count from you teaching him- not a DVD."

MN Children's Museum

Fun for ages 0-100! We all piled into the suv and headed to the Minnesota Children's Museum today with Krista, Jaxson and Vada! Bugs and animals were Nishad's thing, while bubbles and water were Jaxson's cup of tea. Baby Vada and Baby Arun pretty much slept the entire time despite the noise from a ton of field trips. The museum does post "quieter times" on their web site. http://www.mtmuseum.org/jsrh.shtml

Nishad enjoyed dressing up like a fireman as well. He thinks his Daddy is a fireman because he 'puts out fires' at work. I think he'll be a little disappointed when he visits Daddy to find he doesn't have a pole you can slide down, nor a firetruck to ride...just a desk and a computer!

We ate lunch and headed back home around 2PM. Before we knew it, the giggles stopped and our precious angels napped their way back...of course! Only to be up and ready with more energy by the time they arrived home! This Momma was pooped! I think after Arun turns 1, we'll get a membership. It's a neat place to spend the day!

Baby Arun

Sometimes I feel so undeserving of the life that God has blessed me with. In specific, Ashish and two of the most incredible blessings; our boys. Sometimes I think that all the pain that I endured with my mother's passing, and hurt I encountered with my 'out-laws' was God's way of showing me that hope prevails and love conquers...

It's because of my love for Ashish that I was capable to love more than I ever anticipated. That's when Nishad entered our life. It was because of Nishad that I was able to allow my heart to over-flow with even more love...then Baby Arun arrived.

I recall a friend of mine asking me while I was pregnant with Nishad, "With the world in such turmoil, why have a baby now?" I replied, "A baby brings hope- hope is exactly what our world needs." Little did I know Obama would coin my phrase of 'hope'! ha,ha! :)

I can't imagine our lives without Baby Arun. Nishad made us a family and Arun completed the picture. Oh, I do so love our family!