Hikca -MOMMY!

My

Tunie B.

gotta LOVE that kid.

decided to potty train herself… yes you heard me..

decided that she had just about enough with that old diaper thing!

It’s ONLY Hello Kittty underwear…if you please.

My days are now filled with cries of…

MOMMY!..MOMMY! Come See…

and as I race from kitchen to bathroom

to behold what wondrous “surprise” is waiting of me.

I know…

that this is what it means to love unconditionally.

Because why else would I be

(happily & willingly)  doing  my 100th  version of it’s a Poo Poo Potty Dance. (thank u elmo)

waving & jumping ..singing with unabashed glee

It is a Potty Party..every-time!

for me and Tunie B. are the only guests

and each time..is as if we won the mega million lottery!

But with all this.. there is just a little hiccup in my joy.

where is my baby? please I need her to stop growing up -so fast.

and am I being selfish?

if I wish my Tunie B. will just wait a month or two more..

so mommy can get things settled in the new home

get organized in the chaos that happens with change?

just a few more day of relief…to not have to ask every five minutes…”do you need to go potty?” in every store we go.

But NO..it is not to be.

my Tunie B. is a mini me

and when she wants things done..

well… she does them herself.

I should have guessed

If you happen to be one of those mothers who want to potty train your child  - and personally I really believe on letting things happen organically with no pressure from me or anyone else, I think this elmo video started it all. I happen to have downloaded on one of our flights to Israel..well lets just say..by the end of the plane ride Tunie B. had seen it about 10 times and I kid you not…the guy siting next to us..was singing the lets go potty song by the end of the ride.

I actually had a college professor who I loved, Mr. Rosenfeld, who in our advance interpersonal communication class, did an exercise with us that made us recall our first memory of when we used the toilet.

The point being..that out of the 20 of us in the classroom, ALL 20 of us had some type of horror memory about going potty. According to Mr. Rosenfeld, it is the start of anxiety and fear development in children, and the less pressure we put on them, the more we are likely to have a child with a little less neurosis than, we, sitting in that room had. Sorta makes sense and rings true no?

Jicama Salad

And because everything is ultimately about food for me.. well its JICAMA (hik-kama) season..and I ADORE this vegetable. It is a cross between an apple and a potato and has just light sweetness that is so delicious. They are really the perfect crunchy, refreshing light vegetable to add to any salad I am making, and I particularly LOVE them grilled on the BBQ.

Here is a Salad that I make as often as I can in the summer.

Ingredients:

l lb bag Fresh baby Spinach leaves (or any of your fav lettuce)

2 cups sliced Jicama

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes, sliced

Dressing:

1/2 cup favorite strawberry preserve

3 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Assemble your salad ingredients. In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients  - plate and dress salad. Serve immediately.