That time when canning tomatoes resulted in the fire department in our house in the middle of the night

Yeah, about that.

Yesterday we set out to can bunches of tomatoes. It's the time of year when it seems like every spare moment is dedicated to storing away some local, in-season produce to savor during the long winter months. Last Saturday was dedicated to freezing countless peaches, and the next few weekends are busy, so tomatoes landed on a week night this year. E and I spent the better part of yesterday purchasing tomatoes, gathering canning supplies from my parents' home, buying lids, and prepping as best I could. I had the canner filled with hot water and jars washed and ready when Chou arrived home from work later than usual. Chou took one look at the pile of tomatoes and jars, and was convinced we were going to run out of jars. I had extrapolated last years' numbers when gathering jars and was convinced we had just enough with one or two to spare. Regardless, there was plenty more to do to prepare, and we didn't actually get started filling jars until 6:30pm. I really prefer to do large projects on weekends, but it's just not always possible, and a few late nights in the summer prove more than worth it when we're digging into home preserved goodness mid-winter.

Chou getting into a rhythm

Despite the late start, we made steady progress. E was content to sit and watch us for quite awhile, snacking on a tomato or two as she observed. When she got bored with the canning, she sat and read some books to herself while still on her seat in the kitchen. I had to stop and laugh and cringe at the disaster that was our house in the midst of it all, and commented to Chou that it would take a solid twenty-four hours of cleaning to get the house back in order. The contents of our counters were on the washer, dryer, and dining room table to make room for us to work, and boxes of tomatoes and jars made walking throughout the kitchen challenging. Add to that the tomato juice and general splatter than always occurs when canning, and it was a mess. I was in pajamas, and was the most presentable of the three of us. 

E helping out

Several hours in, E moved on and was playing by herself in the living room. I noticed it was too quiet and went to check on her but got distracted. When I got around to peeking into the living room, she was sprinkling dried oregano on herself and the dogs and had already emptied half a bulk container. I mentally added vacuuming to the cleaning list.

E helping herself

Eventually it was time for E to go to bed, so at a nice lull in the canning I gathered her up and headed to bed. She snuggled in with a book, and Chou and I continued on with the tomatoes.  We had a running bet all night on whether we'd run out of jars or tomatoes first so we were anxious to finish. We got down to the last little pile of tomatoes and four remaining jars, both still convinced we were right. It was 11:30 and I was more than ready for bed. As Chou was filling the last of the jars, an alarm went off in our house. We found the carbon monoxide alarm that was beeping and flipped it over to see the alarm as we reached to pull the batteries out. Rather than the "replace batteries" light we were expecting to be lit, it was the "carbon monoxide detected, move to fresh air" light flashing as the alarm continued to beep. Instead of heading to our warm beds, I ran up and grabbed E and some clothes while Chou turned off the canner that was still boiling away with tomatoes. We opened a few windows, took the dogs and E out to the car, and called the cops. Within minutes the fire department showed up, lights flashing and blocking our entire street, in full get-up. So glad the entire neighborhood could share in our excitement.

I was really hoping for a false alarm, even though I would have felt terrible for calling everyone out so late at night, but the fire department's detectors went off before they even got inside our house. They found slightly elevated concentrations throughout the entire house, but couldn't pinpoint a source, so they called the gas company. I sat in the car mortified at the number of people in my disaster-of-a-house while Chou and E got to know our wonderful firemen quite well in the forty minutes it took for the gas company to show up. Most of our neighbors made sure we were fine, and one of them even came and wrapped a blanket around E, because they thought she looked cold. A few of our neighbors popped popcorn. Well, maybe not, but they may as well have. 

By the time the gas company showed up, the levels in the house were back down to zero. They concluded our constant use of the stove for the past five hours had caused the build up and we were good to go, but they suggested keeping the windows open all night and getting out immediately should the alarm sound again (so not comforting.) The fire department also did not approve of our placement of smoke detectors, so they'll be back in the next few weeks to install them where they want them. I guess it's better safe than sorry.

It was after 1am when we were able to come back inside, and we still had several batches of jars to go into the canner. We finally got to stuff the last of the tomatoes into jars, with one and a half jars to spare (point for me!) All three of us were wide awake at that point, so it was well after two o'clock when we finally headed to bed. Needless to say we did not wake up to run this morning. There's always tomorrow for that.

Stone Harbor Tidal Pools

[The post with way too many pictures. You've been warned.]

Last week was my family's annual vacation in Stone Harbor. This year everyone (my parents, sisters with their husbands/families, and my mom's parents) was able to make it, making the time away so fun! My grandparents spent their summers in the area when they were growing up, and my mom visited as a girl. We love this small town with its open beaches, nature preserves, beautiful mansions, and amazing food.

Each year a few of us try to take a day to walk down to the end of the island. As the tide goes out, it leaves tidal pools full of warm water and wildlife. E enjoyed wading in the pools with fish swimming around her and hermit crabs scurrying along nearby.

Nineteen Months

E is 19 months. Currently she:

Is a happy, analytical kid.

Goes to sleep at 10pm and gets up around 5 (ugh). She naps anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours depending on they day. Usually once per week she'll skip the nap altogether.

Sleeps in my bed with two teddy bears. My sisters were hopelessly attached to their teddy bears growing up, and it was a huge problem if one of them got lost. I thought I'd plan ahead and make sure I had two different bears E liked so that we were covered if one got lost. Somehow that turned into needing both at night, thus creating more opportunity for drama should either one go missing. I tried.

Loves to climb.  Onto tables, benches, sofas, beds, people, and any/everything else.

Loves to walk. Serious, all over the city, walks. She can go tirelessly and rarely asks to be carried.

Likes to use the sidewalk curb, retaining walls, and steps as balance beams as she goes. This is extra special because I can remember doing this as a kid and loving it.

Loves to smell flowers. The other day she was smelling tons of lilies on our walk and had a completely orange face by the time we got to our destination.

Is completely potty trained. She still has an accident here or there, but she's doing wonderfully. She's boycotted naptime diapers and removes them as soon as a leave the room. Nine times out of ten she'll wake up and call me if she needs to go during a nap.

Loves shoes! She likes to pick which ones to wear and always pulls a matching pair out of her massive pile of shoes.

Has started wiping the dogs' paws when they come inside, and occasionally when they're innocently lounging around the house.

Has started getting upset when I try to help her out.

Picks out her own outfits, but I'm not encouraging this for my own sanity. She'll empty an entire drawer searching for just the right outfit (um... I still do that!) I can tell her to pick something out and she will go upstairs, find an outfit or two, and bring them down to me.

Would live outside if I let her.

Still loves music and dancing. She can keep a beat and notices immediately when music starts playing.

Likes to boss the dogs around. Her chatty little toddler voice gets super deep and serious. She means business! Usually the dogs comply with her demands and I try to make sure E feeds them treats proportionate to the amount of patience needed on their part.

Can say just about anything, but rarely does. I didn't talk until the age of three, so I guess she gets it honestly.

Still eats pretty much anything. Currently she's loving all berries, tomatoes, and whatever I'm eating.

Can put dishes away!!! All that time spent emptying my kitchen cabinets has paid off. I can hand her anything that belongs in the lower cabinets and she will open the correct door and put it away.

Still doesn't like milk or most beverages. She drinks water with the occasional cup of kombucha or sip of unsweetened coffee if she's lucky enough to get her hands on it.

Loves chairs that are her size. She has an Adirondack lounger on my parents' deck that she adores, and a beach chair she uses daily in my living room... in PA. This morning when she smashed her banana into the beach chair and all I had to do was hose it off, I felt slightly less silly for letting her use it daily.

Panties

E's still itty bitty, hovering around the 10th percentile for weight and the 5th for height (I'm 5' tall, and Chou is Asian, so this really isn't anything shocking.) At 19 months of age, she fits perfectly in her 6-12 month dresses, and has plenty of room to grow in 12-18 month clothes. I love that she's getting plenty of wear out of her cute outfits rather than growing out of them immediately. About once a week I still have a stranger come up and ask how old she is, amazed that she's walking "already."  

While being a peanut has plenty of advantages, I know from personal experience that it also can pose some challenges. I always hated how amusement park rides went by height and not age. I have to climb to reach to tops of my cabinets, and I will always have to hem pants. 

The AAP currently recommends that children ride in booster seats in vehicles until they are 57" tall. For me, that would have meant using a booster seat until high school.

We've already had some challenges with E being so petite. She was born in December and had some adorable dresses, but all the tights came in size 0-9 months. They were longer than she was tall. Most standard walking shoes didn't come small enough to fit her feet when she started walking at 15 months. 

Now that she's potty trained, I've searched high and low, by store and internet, and haven't been able to find any underwear smaller than a 2T, which probably won't fit her for at least a year. She generally just goes commando at home because she prefers it and it just makes things easier. When we're out and about, we've stuck with bloomers from all of her dresses, but it's about time she actually has some panties that fit. Left with the options of buying them too big and needing to alter or making my own, I went with the cheaper route. 

I have a pile of old clothes, sweaters, and blankets just waiting to be put to good use. The softest, thinnest article in the pile was an old vintage fit American Eagle t-shirt of Chou's that had a few small holes. Using E's bloomers as a rough pattern, I was able to get four pairs of underwear for her, for free. I love that kind of project! I didn't have a lot of time, light, or patience, so they're significantly less than perfect, but I actually love how they turned out. Chou's only complaint is that they're lacking a tag to differentiate the front from the back, so I need to add a tag or marker of some sort to make them daddy friendly.

T-Shirt turned toddler underwear

So now we can add to the list of phrases I never thought would come out of my mouth, "E, come here. I need you to model some underwear for me."

Cooking Dinner

I feel like I just accomplished a huge feat. I feel a little like super mom at the moment because I just cooked a delicious and nutritious dinner.

Once upon a time, I cooked frequently and could pull a pretty decent meal together. In middle and high school I cooked somewhat regularly, and in college we had homemade meals most nights.

Then I started dating a cute Asian who liked to cook. Cooking together was one of the first ways I really learned to trust Chou. He did things completely opposite of how I thought they needed to be accomplished and it drove me absolutely crazy until I realized that the end result was fabulous. Well, most of the time. We won't talk about the time he mistook salt for sugar. We learned to embrace our differences and create together. In one of Chou's college classes he was asked to define diversity. His answer was "I cook the rice and Megan cooks the pasta."

My sister lamented that it wasn't fair I snagged a guy who could cook, because I was more than capable of feeding myself. Gradually my boyfriend turned fiance turned husband cooked more and more as I cooked less and less. He eventually even took over the pasta. We still enjoy spending time in the kitchen together, but more often than not I'm doing dishes while he's preparing the food. One of the many things I love about my husband is that he truly loves people. One of his favorite ways to express love is by preparing and sharing great home-cooked meals or desserts. He loves experimenting and creating and perfecting amazingly good eats. E and I benefit from this every night. Chou (mostly) loves the challenge of cooking healthy and delicious meals because he knows how much it means to me. We both love how much E loves healthy, real food and will often choose the healthy food over the junk, simply because it's what she's used to eating. We ordered a plain pizza the other night and topped it with basil from the back yard and sliced local tomatoes. E ate the basil and tomato off the top and refused the touch the rest. We ended up searching the fridge and found some raw peas and green beans that she quickly devoured.

Tonight was one of the very few nights in recent history that I've had to cook without everything carefully thought out and prepared by Chou. He normally leaves us prepared food if he's not going to be around for dinner, or at the very least he has a meal plan and everything put together for me. This time he had some stuff come up last minute and didn't have time to plan for us. He left me with the ingredients for chili (but it's 80 degrees and humid here) and some take out menus to our favorite places.

I was planning on ordering sandwiches but I really wanted something healthy so I had no choice but to open my fridge, turn on my stove, and actually cook. E helped by snatching a tomato before I had the chance to even slice it.

She tried to steal a second one and got strapped down wrapped on my back instead. She had already eaten my entire lunch, I had to protect dinner :) Can you say growth spurt?!

Anyway, here's to all you amazing moms (and dads) who put dinner on the table every night, or most nights, or occasionally... Your family appreciates it!

Father's Day Weekend

We packed up our car with the tent, plenty of food, a toddler, and a dog and headed out for a mini camping adventure to kick off Father's Day weekend. I'm pretty sure E and Cali could live on a campsite; there's nothing about the experience they don't absolutely enjoy. E loved the dirt, the small treasures she found scattered throughout the site, the tent, and the freedom. She was the perfect age (18 months) for toddling around, often finding uneven terrain to practice walking, going back and forth over the same spots countless times as she mastered her balance and coordination. She's a tough little cookie and didn't mind taking occasional tumbles in the name of exploration. We didn't realize just how many tumbles until we were back home and looked at her scraped and scabbed knees, but she was unfazed. We got to try out our newest baby carrier, and E fell asleep in it before we even walked to the trail to begin our hike. She slept on daddy's back for the entire two hour hike, so it appears to be as comfortable for her as it is for us. We enjoyed spending time outside and relaxing with friends, but were really happy to be home, unpacked, and showered by dinner on Saturday :)

Sunday was filled with church and celebrating E's dad, grandpa, and great grandpa. It's always fun to sit back and enjoy some family time.

All Set!

Napping

Potty Training, Part 3

This morning I thought to myself, "I should write an update on our potty training." 

That was before E had three accidents today. It was the worst day we've had yet.

It's been two weeks since we started the process, and one week since she really grasped the concept and consistently used the potty.

Other than today, she's been doing really well. She still averages one accident per day, but considering she turned 18 months this week, I'm really pleased with her progress. I went into this with zero expectations, knowing that she's still really young and I'm really impatient but feeling she was ready if I was willing to teach. After way too much research, I was reassured that before the invention of disposable diapers many children were trained by E's age. Even now, many other countries potty train much younger than the US. Not saying this is good or bad, just that it's possible. One thing I knew for sure was that I was never changing a three year old's diaper if I didn't have to (barring physical/mental delays, of course). I was reassured by Bonni's video, that it's best to start before they "know too much" and then it can become a battle of wills. My little girl has a big personality and I didn't want to wait too long.

E's still mostly non-verbal but she has great communication skills. I credit our communication success with attachment parenting (*eye roll*) and being really in tune with her needs since birth, but I have zero proof for my theory and my parenting likely has nothing to do with it ;) I didn't talk until I was three, and was happy to let my older sister tell the world what I needed. 

Today we were in a parking lot and E arched her back and protested when I tried to buckle her into her car seat. I asked her what was wrong and she pointed to the flower beds, rubbed her fingertips with her thumb as she sniffed them letting me know she wanted to smell the shrubbery in the berm next to my car. She got out, sniffed, and then happily climbed into her seat to go home. Sign language at its best! But I digress. E can absolutely tell me when she has to use the potty. However, we're still about 50/50 for her telling me on her own versus me asking and her replying with a yes. Maybe once a day I still have to force her to sit and try when she doesn't want to because I know she needs to go, and then she will. (Side note, singing and playing games really have helped when she doesn't want to sit.) I'd love to get her telling me 100% of the time, because I think it would lead to less accidents in the long run.

She still has free access to a mini potty while we're home and she'll go use it by herself. This makes me nervous when we're out and about and she needs to tell me in time to make it to a restroom. I'm going to work on keeping training pants on her at home so she can learn that they're not a diaper and not to be used as such, but to hopefully help catch any accidents while we're out and about. We'll see how that goes.

She's been out with us a lot recently, and has done amazing when we're on the go. She had her first real accident away from home tonight, but luckily we were at the home of our close friends, and they were very gracious! I'm still a little afraid to leave the house with her, but she's proven herself [mostly] capable.

She still hasn't used an actual toilet, just her potty chair. Yes, it comes with us and she sits on it in the parked car. No, she's never actually done anything in the car, but it makes me feel more secure heading into a store when she's at least tried. Today I bought her a seat that sits on the toilet so she can get used to the real thing. So far she really likes it (it's the first time she didn't freak out when I put her on the toilet) but hasn't actually used it. This is a little challenging because we're usually downstairs and our only bathroom is upstairs. I plan to work with her on this over the next few days, though, in hopes of making outings a little easier.

So overall we've been doing really well. We've had some tears and some chuckles along the way, and we've learned a lot.

This morning while I was upstairs, E peed in her potty downstairs and then tried to carry it up to me so I could flush it. She made it halfway up our stairs before spilling the contents all down the bottom half of the stairs. Thanks, sweetie :) She really is adorable, and is digging the whole process. We're having so much fun watching her grow up!