A Boy Eating Fish Eggs

The boys are growing (ridiculously fast!), and every day, I am astonished at the things they are doing.

"Spinach salad!"

Recently, Izzy--who, up to this point, only ate produce if it was pureed and squeezed out of one of those baby food pouches, would warily eyeball anything that grew on a tree or from the ground, and ask of everything served to him, "Does this have fruits (meaning vegetables) in it?"--underwent a metamorphosis.  

Ladies and gentlemen, my son became a ferocious, stomping, romping, plant-eating triceratops. 

Physically, the boy still looks like my Izzy, but his entire attitude with regard to food has changed.  He regularly requests "salad" (spinach, lettuce or whatever greens are handy) with meals, because that what Triceratops eat.  He has even gone so far as to try a green bean, cauliflower, and edamame with little fuss.  

Musical wonder that he is (even as a triceratops), Izzy made up a song about "spinach salad," replete with dance moves and simple, yet catchy, lyrics, basically consisting of saying "spinach salad," over and over with varied vocal intonations.  See the photo (left) for Izzy's big finish to the Spinach Salad performance.

A boy eating fish eggs (tobiko)

Fortunately, his other "gourmet" tastes haven't changed: Izzy still loves meat, bok-bok (chicken), and his very favorite: sushi with miso soup. 

In other dining-related news from La Casa: Elli is almost five months old, and working very hard at sitting up by himself.  Though not quite able to sit unassisted yet, Abba (Daddy) suggested we try the high chair, so Elli might be able to join us at the table without one parent missing out on the meal while it was still hot.  We tried it first on Shabbos last week, and it seemed to be a hit with the little Bear.  Since, we have let Elli sit with us for every meal (if he is awake), and he is loving it: sitting up like his big brother, playing with toys on his tray, seeing all of us, and staring longingly at our food have become a real source of entertainment for the baby...and a opportunity for mommy and daddy to eat meals with the use of both hands!

Yogurt Rewards

For the last four years or so, I have been buying Stonyfield yogurt products--partly because I love yogurt, and appreciate their company's commitment to sustainable, organic yogurt production, but mostly because I LOVE their Stonyfield Rewards program.  If you aren't familiar with the program, it works like any other rewards program: you buy their products (the packages of which are marked with codes), enter the codes to ear points, and redeem the points for great free stuff.  Over the years, I have earned books and toys for my boys, lifestyle magazine subscriptions, as well as TONS of FREE yogurt and kosher toaster pastries.  Quite a deal for our family, since we go through about a dozen yogurts a week.

Sadly, I was just on the Stonyfield Web site, and discovered that the rewards program is ending at the end of April.  I know the old saying that all good things must come to an end, but I will admit that I had a moment of internal wailing (think Charlton Heston, Soylent Green-style acting: "No, not the rewards program! Why, Stonyfield? WHY?").

The point of this post? To tell you, dear reader, that if you have any Stonyfield Rewards points, you better redeem them before April 30, 2013.  I am guessing that the company will start to run low on the really good rewards before then, so eat your yogurt and redeem your points soon.

Refritos

Recently, I visited the local natural grocery store to meet up with a contact for Izzy's last preschool fundraiser.  Although I wasn't there to shop, I felt weird going into a grocery and NOT buying a thing (grocery shopping being the closest thing I currently have to a real hobby), so I went down a couple of aisles, just to see if anything caught my attention.

If you know me at all, you know that I love Mexican food.  You also know that I am a big fan of fiber (and its related effects).  What you may not know is that, unless you are going to invest an entire day in making your own, finding KOSHER refried beans that don't cost a fortune is nearly impossible.  So, when I saw Taste Adventure's Quick & 100% Natural Refried Beans (O-U pareve certified!), I was more than a little excited.  I bought a box to try (at about $2.50 for eight servings, as opposed to $4.00 for 2.5 servings of the standard organic, kosher canned variety).

Look! O-U Pareve certification...are we one step closer to
Baba's dream of opening a kosher Mexican joint
(Casa Hadassah) in Denver?

Although they are dehydrated beans (if you, or any of your friends ever worked at Taco Bell in your youth, you may have memories of such a phenomenon), these little fibrous deilghts are so yummy.  I have served them twice; once in veggie quesadillas, and once with my husband's Famous Mushroom and Green Chile Enchiladas, and in both meals they were delish!  Everyone Needless to say, I will be making consistent stops at the natural grocery store to stock up on this awesome find.

My Son, the Musical Genius

Izzy at his first rock-and-
roll concert: Bob Dylan
@ the 1stBank Center
Broomfield, October 30, 2012

Since he was very small--really, since he was born--Izzy has expressed an interest in music.  But there's no Raffi or Imagination Movers in this house.  He likes the Beatles, he can spot a Led Zeppelin tune in five notes or less, and his number one main man is Bob Dylan (he knows all the words to a sizeable catalogue of Bob Dylan songs).  Not only unusual, but unusually good taste.

With Amanda Malone
of Red Wagon Music

At around eight or nine months old, he also took a particular liking to the violin, as he had the opportunity to regularly see some kids who played violins in lessons. So, at the end of 2012, Izzy began taking private violin lessons himself.  He has had five lessons, and is already able to play the first line of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," as well as pick out the sound of violins in recorded music.  I realize that, yes, I am biased (did you ever hear that joke? How do we know that Jesus was Jewish? His mother thought he walked on water...), but I am truly surprised and amazed by the things that this kid knows about, enjoys or can do.  He is some kind of wonderful.

La Casa es su casa

La Casa Leffler is back.

La Casa Leffler at Zoo Lights for a big fourth birthday

You can expect more from La Casa in 2013: more tales of our family adventures; more photos and videos of the two most handsome boys around; and more posts on projects around La Casa Leffler. You can also look forward to Menu-Planning Mondays, and posts about how everyone in La Casa Leffler is getting organized, getting fit, and getting it together.

We are so excited about sharing 2013 (and beyond) with you!