The French Chef: Getting The Onion Out

I have stumbled upon a great treasure. We subscribe to Amazon Prime and one of the perks is the ability to view many old movies and tv shows. I've been able to watch Downton Abbey, All Creatures Great and Small, Antiques Road Show, Star Trek: The Next Generation (did I really just sdmit that?) and Thomas the Train for Wesley. And to my great delight I've found The French Chef, Julia Child's cooking show! Ive kearned so much from her just by watching 3 episodes! So I thought I'd share some tidbits that I learn from her from time to time. Here's the first.

Julia says that after chopping onions, rubbing your hands with salt and then washing them makes the onion smell go away.

So, I tried it and it worked! It only takes a little salt, maybe half a teaspoon or less. I didn't measure; I just sprinkled some in the palm of my hand, spread it around, especially at the finger tips where the pungency seems to be the worst. Then I gave my hands a rinse. There was no lingering onion odor. Hurray!

I can't wait to see what else I learn.

Our Dear Wesley

Finally, I have a bit of time to devote to a blog entry about Wes. I am going to start posting on this site as well - the same thing on his blog.  

Wes is growing in to quite the cute little boy. He’s already 2 yrs and 3 months old! He is still very talkative and more and more we can actually understand what he’s saying! It is so, so fun to actually be able to communicate with him now. 

Enjoying a bit of Nutella, an occasional special treat. :)

He has such a cute personality. He has a playful personality and laughs a lot. He can also be quite serious and very curious. He’s always asking, “What’s that?” He loves going on walks and adores playing outside. While outside he helps Mamma water plants and pull weeds. He also loves to pull his wagon around the neighborhood and ride his big wheel on the deck. A new thing that he enjoys is playing with a tub of water and the hose - pouring water from different sized cups to others and playing with some of his bath toys. (He loves doing this inside at the kitchen sink as well, making for up to an hour of entertainment and a big mess!)I can’t wait till it warms up a bit more so he can play in his little swimming pool. He also just enjoys watching the birds at the bird feeder, listening for the different kinds of birds, digging for worms and chasing ants. Of course, if the neighbors are out he MUST say hi to them. Wes also loves trying to find the helicopters and airplanes when he hears them flying overhead. 

Pulling his wagon around the neighborhood

We keep this little riding toy inside most of the time so that he can have something to scoot around on inside. 

He is more social than ever, never meeting a stranger, especially if he initiates the greeting. He loves to be read to and enjoys picking out the books for us to read. He likes Mamma to sing to him when he goes “night-night”. He likes to sing and pray at breakfast time too and frequently reminds us when we forget. He loves listening to music, especially classical and bluegrass. Also, though we try to limit how much tv he watches, we do let him watch a little bit most days. He loves to watch Thomas the Train, his favorite and ours (because it is so simple and slow-paced), as well as Curious George, and Bob the Builder. When he wants to watch something he points to the tv and asks, “Trains?” or “Girge? or “Bob?” 

He’s been asking to sit on the potty and will read books for quite a while on the potty. Occasionally he goes on the potty. He definitely doesn’t like wearing a diaper though. 

Just recently we purchased a zoo pass. He loved watching the gorilla, elephants and polar bear. He also loves to swing and slide. We go to a “toddle time” at the community center every now and then so he gets to ride around on a bunch of different riding toys and interact with other little people. Coloring is a new interest although he still thinks it is more fun to eat and break the crayons than to actually color with them. He’s recently acquired some train track for all of his trains and he has a great time playing with those in his room. He’s also gotten really good at building things with his blocks, especially cars. 

This is something he gets to play with from time to time. It is a mix of  dried pasta, lentils and chick peas with various kitchen utensils. I loves it but it makes a big mess! We save it for rainy days.

He is doing okay with his new little brother David. He can be so sweet with him, telling me when he’s crying, giving him kisses, but then he’ll just whack him with something out of the blue just to see what happens. He is quite concerned for him as well though. He tells us that he’s hungry or sleepy and makes sure that we don’t leave him when we go somewhere. Once we were all out for a walk with his wagon. I had David in a sling but I don’t think Wes could see him. About 3/4 of the way through the walk, Wes shouted, “Beeby?! Beeby?1” as if to say, “Wait, where is the baby? Did we leave him? We must find him!” I had to show him David and then he was okay. 

Yay! I was finally able to grab a picture with the two of them together. 

We’ve enjoyed a couple of visits from Grandpa and Grandma Taylor and from Aunt Elizabeth. He even got to stay with Grandpa and Grandpa by himself for several days. He had a blast riding on a four wheeler, going to the park and Grandpa’s building and just playing with his grandparents. 

This was taken at Grandpa and Grandmas but just not with them. :(

Though he definitely has the traits of a two year old - testing all boundaries and desperately wanting independence, he is an absolute delight! We have so much fun with him!

Popcorn has become a new favorite snack. He asked for it frequently after his nap.

He loves helping Mamma cook, especially cookies.

What I'm Reading

I always like to know what books other people are reading. I enjoy asking friends and family what they are reading and I love to spy what bloggers I follow are reading. It spurs me on to read and learn more and get ideas for more reading material (as if I really needed it!). So I thought I would share with you what I am reading now. Most of these are sitting on my nightstand. It is a bit cluttered. :) I pick one up and read it a while and then read another for a while and so on. Sometimes I read two or three different ones in a day. It's so fun!

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery. This is the 3rd book in the Anne of Green Gables series.

Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney.

The Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot

Why We Love the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

Don Quixote by Cervantes. (This is for a Facebook sort of book club thingy. Unfortunately, I'm cheating and reading a super abridged version.)

Making the Terrible Twos Terrific by John Rosemond - a frequent reference! (A must for anyone with a child between 18 and 48 months!)

So I'd love to know what you are reading.

Link to picture of girl reading