Potty Diaries Act III - By Jove, I think she's got it!

We have had a month of success with no accidents with regards to potty training, and now I am so very happy to report that Isabella is fully POTTY TRAINED!!! (picture this me doing a victory dance in my pj's -- OK, that's a little scary, but you get the idea ;) )

Matt and I are over the moon that she figured it out and is actually really good at all the bits and pieces that go along with the business of going to the bathroom by yourself -- well, except for the part about taking off her clothes and running around naked the first chance she gets. Not surprisingly, her new word is "nudist" :-)

We rewarded her good behavior with a toy of her choice, and of course once we got to Target, she said that she would like a lollypop!! Matt and I told her that she could pick out a toy and after much persuading by us she did; I think we wanted her to have a reward more than she did, so for now we can check the box on that challenging part of parenthood.

Maddie McCann and other sad turns of events

I have taken a couple of days off from blogging because I was feeling a little lazy to sit down and type, but I have had all these thoughts bouncing about my head and needed an outlet.

I feel for the parents of sweet little Madeline, but let's get back to the facts here, people! These are two highly-educated, reasonably well-off people who made the decision to leave their 3 children alone, asleep, with the door open, while they went off and had dinner with friends; not only that, but from what eye witnesses have said, it did not sound like the first time that they did that on their vacation.

Did it not occur to these people to hire a babysitter? They were in a resort area, and I am betting that babysitting help could have been found. Secondly, takeout dinners - does that concept ring a bell?

I hope that Madeline is found alive, but I have serious doubts about her parents; I even have doubts about whether the other children should be allowed to stay with them. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about this -- we too know people who have left their children alone while they have gone over to neighbor's houses, and have used thier baby monitors to listen for their children. This whole ugly, sad tale should be a cautionary tale to everyone: no one knows if Maddie wandered off to find her parents, or if someone came in and kidnapped her (which leads to the question of why not take the younger kids as well?)? In the end, it's Maddie and probably her siblings who ended up paying the highest price in this whole unfortunate series of events.


I am by no means the best parent out there -- after all, I did mention on a couple of occasions wanting to list my kids on Ebay when they were more than a handful, and my daughter did lock me out off the house and the car -- but I am terrified of what the kids would do if I was gone even for a little while; it's not a chance that I am willing to take. If anyone out there knows whether it is a crime to leave your kids alone while you go over to the neigbors for awhile, will you let me know? Is that child abuse? I can't imagine that this is something that the law would allow you to do.

OK, now here's the other part that I don't get -- why have people like J.K. Rowling, David Beckham and Richard Branson chosen to make this their cause? Yes, I understand that all of these people are parents, but the cynical part of me is wishing that missing children all over the world would warrant such attention as well!

(Hey, like I said, this is the cynical part of me talking and sometimes it's hard to shut her up)

This by no means is an attack at Maddie and her parents, but I am curious as to why people have forgotten how this whole sorry tale came about in the first place.

Stewed Tomato recipe found! :)

This weekend we went apple picking right outside of Charlottesville, and on our way we stopped at Michie (pronounced "Micky", btw) Tavern, which happens to have God's own recipe for stewed tomatoes.

By some combination of wits, charm and outright desperation, I somehow managed to get their recipe for stewed tomatoes; actually, it was a very nice woman working in the gift shop, after hearing me recount my numerous attempts at replicating their recipe, who brought me aside and graciously shared their secret ingredient, which was....leftover biscuits! That actually makes sense if you think for a moment that back in Jefferson's day they wouldn't want to waste anything, especially all of those biscuits that went stale without plastic bags or refridgeration.



For those of you who would like to try this out, it's actually a great recipe to have, especially with the holidays coming up. It's something different, tastes delicious, and uses up all those stale biscuits you've got lying around the kitchen. ;) Please let me know if you try it and we can compare notes.

Jefferson Stewed Tomatoes

• 4 cups of tomatoes quartered (can be fresh or canned)


• 1/2 cup of sugar (I tend to use a little less of the sugar)


• Salt and pepper to taste


• 6 stale biscuits (or scones for my friends in SA and the UK); they have to be stale so they don't become dumplings
  

1. Put the tomatoes and sugar into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, slowly simmer until tomatoes are mushy.


2. The biscuits need to be broken into small pieces so that they can thicken the sauce later on.


3. Add the biscuits and stir constantly until its well blended.


4. Add salt and pepper to taste and there you have it.

One more funny anecdote -- when I got back into the car, Isabella was a little upset at me because she thought that I was leaving Aunt Lubsley (Aunt Lesley) behind; she remembered that we went there with her godmother the last time we were in Charlottesville and was upset because she thought we were leaving without her. We explained that Aunt Lesley did not make this trip with us and was safe at home :).