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Mmm, toilet paper!

P1: I finally feel like this course is under control. I've submitted my first 10 page paper and have completed a first draft of the second. I've got two more weekly quizzes and I now have to start wrapping my head around the 20 page paper. But I actually feel like it's all going to get done somehow. Yay!

P2: Big A has been pretty good lately and we've been having fun. Yesterday, she told me her best friend Grace had her nails painted and she wanted hers done. OMG, she's not even 4 yet! I told her I would paint her nails for her birthday (and clean them off the next day!!!). I can't believe how early this stuff starts.

Little A is still driving me crazy with her inconsistent food intake. One day she eats well, the next she simply throws everything on the floor. This morning's breakfast was a bad one. She only wanted to eat banana and blueberries. In fact, fish and fruit are really the only thing she will consistently eat. Sounds healthy, but a baby needs more calories and fat. I'm so worried that I'll get admonished at her 12 month appointment by the nurse, like I did at her 9 month appointment, because she hasn't gained enough weight. Meanwhile, as we speak, she is eating a small piece of toilet paper she ripped off the role in the bathroom (this is her new favorite activity) and sprinkling little bits of it all over the carpet in our bedroom that was just vacuumed by Maria, our cleaning person. Sigh! Since paper comes from trees, which are plants, can't I count this as part of Little A's vegetable intake?

F1: No cooking tonight because I'm going out for dinner with 2 girlfriends. Yay! This will be the first time Adam has ever had to do bedtime by himself. I'm not worried about Big A, who will probably be completely undisturbed by my absence. But Little A will have to get her evening breastfeeding at 7pm, before her bath, instead of at 7:30pm, after her bath. She can sometimes be a little needy of mommy at this time of day, so hopefully Adam will not have to deal with a screaming baby. I will pump some milk, but she is very inconsistent with her attitude towards the bottle these days.

Here is a recipe I plan to make this weekend. It is probably one of my favorite noodle recipes of all time. It calls for sesame butter, which is different than tahini, because it is made from roasted sesame seeds. I get it at health food stores. If you can't find it, you can use peanut butter instead. If you don't want to make it spicy, just eliminate the chili flakes. It will still be flavourful and delicious. Use whatever combo of veggies you want, if you don't like my choices. I don't add an extra protein source because there is protein AND calcium in the sesame butter. But you can easily jazz this up with the addition of tofu, chicken, beef or shrimp.


Spicy Sesame Noodles

1 lb whole wheat spaghetti, broken in half

1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 cups snow peas, trimmed
2 dozen mushrooms, cut in half
2 yellow/red or orange bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

Sauce

2/3 cup sesame butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 knob fresh ginger, grated
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbls ketchup
Juice of 1 lime
Chili flakes, to taste (optional)

Cook pasta according to directions. Pour oil into frying pan or wok over medium high heat. Immediately add snow peas, mushrooms and peppers and stir-fry about 5-6 minutes. Stir together all the ingredients for the sauce until smooth. Just before draining pasta, add about 1/4 cup of cooking water to sauce to thin out a bit. Put drained pasta back in pot and pour in veggies and sauce. Mix until pasta and veggies are coated in sauce. Enjoy!

F2: The latest research has found that it is necessary to partake in at least 60 minutes of vigorous activity each day to stave off age-related weight gain. This weight gain can have a significant negative impact on health and risk of disease. Get moving everybody!!

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