What's Cookin'?

I don't even like tomatoes.  Raw tomatoes, anyways. I'm just not a huge fan. So, when we were home on the farm in August and pulled in several days of tomato harvests like this (see picture):

1 day's harvest of tomatoes from my dad's garden arranged from ripest to least ripe.  I counted 58 tomatoes on this day.  There were several days when we brought in similar piles of lycopene-rich healthiness.

I wasn't quite sure what to do with such abundance. We ended up giving many of them away because the deep freezer is still at the old house and the goal is to empty it so it will be easier to move. See, filling it up with tomato sauce wouldn't help accomplish that goal. Plus, there was no time to can or freeze (especially because I don't know how to do it) with a 7 month old baby around.

One night I decided that tomato soup would be a good way to use up some tomaters. I found this fabulous recipe and I would say it was a hit ... even with dad, who was in the hospital and had no appetite.  I followed the recipe, just omitted the heavy cream.  It was plenty rich without it.  I plan to try it again here sometime when we finally get a break from the 90 degree temps and humidity. Too bad I'll have to buy the tomatoes from the market here.

Does it seem strange that my first post after a long, summer hiatus is about tomatoes.  Maybe.  I'm trying to start small.  Summer was truly wonderful.  We LOVED reuniting with our family and friends and introducing them to Ruby.  I'm considering working on a summer memory book of summer pictures. At this point, all the wonderfulness of family and friends and summer seems kinda overwhelming to blog about.  Perhaps I will revisit it later.  For now, I leave you with a great recipe.

2 more weeks ...

4 months ago today, we welcomed Ruby into our world!  It's kind of hard to remember what life was like without her, now.  But at the same time, Kev and I often find ourselves quite astonished that we have a little baby that we're responsible for.  It's still quite shocking, sometimes.

Very little time to blog these days -it's been total survival mode to keep our heads above water.  2 more weeks and we'll be done.  Friday night was the last school event for me (Erin) before the final exams, grades, and closing up of the classroom.  Kevin planned a wonderful "getaway" in Taipei for us this weekend as a mother's day present.  Everything about it was perfection.

The room was lovely, spacious, and even had a crib. Kev watched Ruby, and I got to work out in their gym (and even stretch afterwards!) Kev went out and bought breakfast and coffee and brought them to the room for a relaxed start to our day while we watched CNN Breaking News (we don't have our TV hooked up at home.)  We took Ruby to the pool for her first swim!  And I got a fabulous and relaxing bath where I soaked in peace.

On a side note, we were even staying in the same hotel as some dignitaries from various countries who were in Taipei for President Ma's inauguration, which is today.  We felt a little underdressed in our casual attire as the police-escorted limos pulled up to the hotel and the fancypants ambassadors from little tiny countries like the Marshall Islands and Belize got out. :)

Though the house is a wreck, there are papers to grade, study guides to make, and exams to write, I feel like I can make it through these next 2 weeks - with the Lord's help.  Here are some recent pics. 

  

Busy, Busy Spring

The spring semester is always N.U.T.S. for us.  School events, tournaments, the flea market, 8th Grade banquet, school-wide assessments, end of the year goals, and on and on ...  Even now, I should be grading writing assessments, but I'll get to them later.  We're trying to find the time to just be, breathe, and enjoy these precious days with Ruby.  She's three months old, and growing up so fast!

Over the past month, we've been going to physical therapy sessions at the hospital where Ruby was born.  She was diagnosed with torticollis (twisted neck) just after her 2 month well baby appointment.  She's always looking to the left because the muscles in her neck are stronger on on the left side, than on the right.  The doctor said it is probably because she didn't have a lot of room in the womb.  So, she gets ultrasound heat treatment, a neck massage, and then does stretching exercises with a physical therapist 2-3 times per week.  She's made lots of friends in the physical therapy department as other therapists and patients stop to see why a little baby is getting physical therapy.  She smiles and coos at everyone and they say, "Ah, waiguo xiao hai." "Oh, hao ke ai!"  "Ta de yen jing hen da!" "Hao piaoliang!"  (Ah, a foreigner baby.  Oh she's so cute! Her eyes are so big!  So pretty!)  It's a bit strange to have so many people looking in on your daughter's medical treatment, but I just have to remember that we're in Taiwan.  Things are different here.  People don't mean to be nosy or intrusive; they're just curious.  They don't consider it rude to peek their head behind a curtain to see a little baby getting treatment.  In fact, they consider it a friendly gesture!

On Monday we had an appointment with the rehabilitation doctor.  He said her torticollis is getting better, but she still needs to do physical therapy for a while longer.  Scheduling the appointments around feedings, naps, and school responsibilities has been a big pain, but we're making it work.  Guess we'll be seeing our friends in the physical therapy department some more!

The neck issue really doesn't bother Ruby at all!  She's really a happy little girl and loves to smile and "talk" to herself, or anyone who is around.  Yesterday she was playing on her little play mat gym and while she was on her back, she scooted all around the mat, and even scooted herself off the mat.  Today she rolled from her back to her front - and then didn't know what to do!  She scared herself!  She still isn't a big fan of being on her tummy, so when she rolled onto her tummy by herself, she was kind of upset about it.  We let her try to roll to her back again, but rescued her after she became pretty frustrated.  Then she was all smiles again.

This has become the Ruby blog.  Ah well ... gotta remember these days.  They won't last long. Here are some pics from this week.

She loves playing with her O ball! 

Sound asleep - growing! 

Happy after a bath!  

We can't get enough of this smile! 

Sunny Saturday Morning

We've had a lot of rain and gray skies lately.  Kevin and I took advantage of a sunny Saturday morning this past weekend to go out for coffee and breakfast and then walk to the flower market near our apartment.  We had so much fun introducing Ruby to one of our favorite places in Taipei!
   

Ruby's first time to the flower market!

                                         

Ruby draws quite the crowd.  Lots of people stopped to say, "Hao ke ai," which means so cute!  

It sure is nice to be able to hang bags from the stroller and wheel home the heavy potted flowers, rather than lug them home.  Ruby was pleased with our purchases! 

We strolled through Da'An Park on the way home with Ruby and our new flower plants.  You can't tell from this picture, but there were a lot of people at the park walking, jogging, practicing soccer, playing with their dogs, doing tai chi, and just enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. 

Here are our new plants on our balcony.  We got a purple plant that is called a paper flower.  It's supposed to bloom 4 times per year, so we're looking forward to that!  We also got a bright orange begonia.  I wish we would have gotten 2 or three more begonias in different colors.  They're so bright and cheery outside our window. 

What a great weekend!  Ah, now I need to get back to the housework and grading! 

Catching Up

Maternity leave is over.  Never has 8 weeks gone so quickly.  Ever.  I've been back to work for 9 days now.  There's about 47 school days left.  Yes, I just counted.  I may be a little off because there may be a day off that I missed, and I don't think I counted Olympic Day, which is counted as a school day, but it's a Saturday.  

I'm loving my students.  They are very sweet.  Many of them performed or helped put on an excellent production of Henry and Ramona this past weekend and it was so fun to watch them perform!  

4 new students started in my class while I was on leave.  Another one started today.  Not only do I feel like I'm a completely different person with a completely different life now that I'm a mom, my class has grown and changed so much in 8 weeks.  

Over the past few days, I've been struggling to find the energy to catch up.  Mostly with grading and other work-related stuff.  But also with cleaning, laundry, and errands in general that multiply and never end.  Oh yeah, and sleep.  I feel ever-so-behind in all of these areas, and find myself just trying to do what I can and let go of what I don't get done, and not let it stress me out.  It will all get done somehow. 

6 Weeks of Ruby!

Today Ruby is 6 weeks old.  We just cannot believe how quickly she stole our hearts and took over our lives!  She is truly a blessing and we're loving watching her grow up so fast!  I was going to upload a short video, but I can't get it to work.  So instead, here are a couple pictures from today. 

6 weeks old! 

Buckled in and ready to go! 

See ya later! 

She's ready to go!

Ruby's passport arrived in the middle of last week - way quicker than I expected!  She's ready to leave the island and be a world traveler at 4 weeks old.  At this point, it looks like the first time she'll leave Taiwan will be June 5th when we fly back home for the summer.  I hope we're all ready for 24 hours of traveling with a 4.5 month-old. :)  We'll be back in the States until July 31st when we'll head back here for another school year.

But this time, I (Erin) won't be teaching.  I've gotten a taste of of being a stay-at-home mom while on my maternity leave and I'm really looking forward to staying home with Ruby starting as soon as I finish grades and turn in my checkout form at the end of this school year!  

She's official!