Stay Forever Young my gogo

May the good Lord be with you down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness surround you when you're far from home
And may you grow to be proud dignified and true
And do unto others As you'd have done to you
Be courageous and be brave And in my heart you'll always stay forever young,

May good fortune be with you, may your guiding light be strong
Build a stairway to heaven with a prince or a vagabond

And may you never love in vain and in my heart you will remain
Forever Young,
And when you finally fly away I'll be hoping that I served you well
For all the wisdom of a lifetime no one can ever tell

But whatever road you choose I'm right behind you, win or lose
Forever Young.

~Rod Stewart

Confetti Rice

Ingredients
2 c. Jasmine rice
3 c. Water
1/4 c. Diced red onion
1 1/2 tsp Fresh ginger root, chopped
1 tsp Fresh garlic, chopped
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Fresh lemongrass, finely chopped
1 x Kaffir lime leaf, fresh or possibly frzn
2 Tbsp. Carrot, very finely chopped
2 Tbsp. Red pepper, very finely chopped
3 Tbsp. Green onion, very finely chopped

Directions
1. To cook in a rice cooker: Rinse the rice in a strainer till the water runs clear. Drain well, then place it in the rice cooker with all the remaining rice ingredients. Stir well, cover and steam till tender, per manufacturer's directions.
2. After rice is cooked, fluff with a fork, then gently mix in the confetti ingredients.
3. To cook without a rice cooker: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the rice in a strainer till the water runs clear. Shake rice and drain well.
4. Place rice in a large, ovenproof saucepan with remaining rice ingredients. Place pan over high heat and bring to a boil, stir. Quickly cover pan with a piece of foil and a tight-fitting lid.
5. Place in a preheated oven and cook for 15 min. After rice is cooked, immediately remove the lid and foil. Fluff with a fork, then gently mix in the confetti ingredients. Serve immediately.
Chef's Notes:*Fresh lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves can be found at Southeast Asian grocers. If purchasing a package of fresh lime leaves, use what you need and store the rest in the freezer.

*This dish is a nice fat-free and vegetarian accompaniment to simply steamed vegetables, or possibly grilled fish or possibly chicken.
*Leftover jasmine rice makes a great fried rice. Simply dice up some veggies and maybe a little leftover meat or possibly chicken. Quickly saute/fry them in a frying pan or possibly wok with the leftover rice, then stir in some bamboo shoots and bean sprouts if you like. Whisk a little soy sauce with an egg or possibly two and stir-fry into the rice, cooking just till the egg coats the rice and is cooked through and the rice is warm.

14 Months

April 21, 2011
It has warmed up considerably; you’re wearing shoes less and even have several pairs of shorts. I love seeing your little chubby legs, I have missed them because they are always covered up. If you hurry and start walking, we can put you in dresses!

You absolutely love drinking out of a straw, you either pinch my cup from the bedside table or you sip sip sip away from the cute little bottle I bought you. With all your teething lately you have not been too interested in food, but if I make confetti rice – you gobble it up every time.

Advancements:
MORE TEETH! Yup…you got two more in the back on the top. You gave us two weeks straight of sleeping through the night – first time since you were 5 and a half months old. Now you are back to waking a few times a night, I just think you must be so uncomfortable with those sharp little pegs poking through. You are like me, no pain medication relieves your discomfort, and neither do the teething pills, homeopathic treatments and holistic tinctures. Just prayer, love and the occasional warm bottle

You are actually communication now. I don’t know what you are saying but I talk back to you anyway. You love telling me about stuff because you point, make facial expressions and laugh out loud. You are extremely smart. The only real word you say is dada and you try to say duck.

My favorite new things you do, is when Mr. Scruff barks you put your pointer your finger to your lips and say:”sssssssssss” you have learned about your fingers and wiggle them about. You understand the word “dance” so when I put some music on ask you to dance with me you tap your one foot and nod your head to one side. I smile just thinking about it.

Regression:
You have learned how to get your way. Tantrums. Oh my goodness, whenever we try to change your diaper or pick you up to leave the house when you are playing, you kick your little legs with all your might and scream blue murder. It seems to work well with you dad, he hates to see you upset. Me, not so much, I know you’re not really upset that is just the only way you know how to tell us you really really don’t want your “dee-dee” changed. The good thing is you get over it really quickly and move onto the next exciting adventure.

Firsts:
I introduced you to marie biscuits! These were my favorite growing up. They are a south African biscuit that are thin and have their own unique flavor. One day when you are a bit old I will show you how to dip them on milk and make a sandwich with butter between them.

Schedule:
Because you wake up at 6:30am now instead of 8am, you get tired really early. Jenni usually lays you down around 9:30 and you sleep two hours. On those days, by the time I get you at 2:30 you are ready for another little nap. I like it when you nap because you are well rested and chipper but I also dislike it because I miss you all day long, and can’t wait to see and play with you.

In my life...

There are places I remember all my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments with lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living in my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers there is no one compares with you
and these memories lose their meaning when I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection for people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them in my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection for people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them in my life I love you more
In my life I love you more

~The Beatles

Children are the best investment you'll ever make

The cost of raising a child... a different perspective.
Here is something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with R1,681,470.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But R1,681,470.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:A.. R93 414.93 a year,
B.. R7784.49 a month,
C.. R1796.34 a week.
D.. A mere R254.52 a day!
E.. Just over R10.50 an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is: don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your R1,681,470.00?A. Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
B. Glimpses of God every day.
C. Giggles under the covers every night.
D. More love than your heart can hold.
E. Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
F. Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
G. A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
H. A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
I. Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For R1,681,470.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
A. Finger-paint,
B. Carve pumpkins,
C. Play hide-and-seek,
D. Catch lightning bugs,
E. Never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:A. Keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
B. Watch Saturday morning cartoons,
C. Go to Disney movies, and
D. Wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere R254.52 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:A. Retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
B. Taking the training wheels off a bike,
C. Removing a splinter,
D. Filling a paddling pool,
E. Coaxing a wad of gum out of hair, and
F. Coaching a rugby team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream, regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
A. First step,
B. First word,
C. First bra,
D. First date,
E. First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great-grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!

April Fools Fish tricks

Apparently April Fools started in France and as tradition has it, the French celebrate by taping paper fishes to the backs of people they encounter.

There are many really cute and fun little projects to enjoy the frivolous excitement of April 1

1. Sweetie Sushi
2. Turn the milk blue using food dye.
3. Sweet little fish butter cookies