Book Review: Like Water For Chocolate

I picked this book off my shelf, and ended up reading it in a day. That being said, I came away from this novel with mixed feelings. I love Chicana literature, and the storytelling in this book was superb. Esquivel weaves the story around a twelve month cookbook, and you will be craving all kinds of flavors before the book is done. The connection between recipes and life is something I thought was fantastic--as different dishes really do conjure up specific memories for me. For example, homemade pickles reminds me of one summer my parents decided to try their hand at them in a house we lived on Logan St. in Portland when I was about twelve. Baked beans always remind me of my Grandmother Weatherspoon, as does Peppermint icecream . . . but back to the book. While the storytelling is beautiful, the language is rich, the characters believable . . . there is one reason that I have misgivings about the book. One of the main plot points has to do with infidelity. The main character is not allowed to marry her sweetheart, who then marries her sister just to be near her. Stupid plan if you ask me. They just should have eloped. But I didn't write the story. It isn't graphic, but the mere subject matter kind of made my stomache turn a bit.

One thing I did find very enjoyable and highly interesting was the matriarchy of the novel. Women dominate the book, and shape the comings and goings. It was interesting considering the machismo element of Mexican culture that the story comes completely from a woman-centered household. The main character first embraces, fights against, and ultimately reshapes this matriarchy, which is a very cool cycle. One reason this works is that the focul point of the text is the kitchen, which is one of the great symbols of domesticity.

Overall--I recommend the book. It isn't like Lolita where I felt that the author was a bit soulless . . . there is a moral center to the novel in spite of the infidelity. If you are a fan or a student of Chicana literature, you should definitely pick it up. I think there are some cultural mores that should be recognized going into the reading which make the book more enjoyable and worthwhile, especially as relating to machismo and Mexican Patriarchy. If you enjoy Sandra Cisneros, you would like this novel as well.

Nine Months and Scooting . . .

Yesterday our boy turned 9 months. Today he had his nine-month check up. Here are the stats:

Weight: 17.99 lbs ( 12.22 %tile)
Height: 28.5 in. (59.85 %tile)
Head: 18.3 cm. (82.24 %tile)

Our little guy has finally decided to start chunking out! He jumped ten percentile points in weight alone in the last three months, while continuing to grow in height and (of course) head.

New tricks: scooting everywhere! He army crawls, and is pretty darn quick when he wants to be. This has opened up whole new possibilities for mischief, as everything goes into the mouth. It is nice because he is happier being able to go places on his own. Another not so fun new trick he showed Mom the other day--pulling off his diaper and peeing all over his crib. Yuck.


He is getting more and more independent, although strangers are now not cool and he doesn't like for us to be out of sight. As long as we are there to watch him play, everything is fine. He really likes to have an audience apparently! He likes to read and look at pictures, and most of all--play games with Dad!

He is also a big fan of his older cousin Sam. He'll just watch Sam, fascinated at the cool things Sam can do. I swear he learned to crawl after watching Sam up and around. That was the turning point when he decided he didn't hate tummy time! Wes is so lucky to have such nice, cute cousins to look up to as he grows.

I still take play time very seriously.

My boy.

Collateral Damage

We now have a new roof on our apartment, which is great.

I now have only one tomato on my precious little plant, which is not great.

I was so proud of my little garden, which I have babied all summer. I feel very much like my adorable nephew William, with all his little kid excitement that things grow! And now I am in mourning for my little babies that are lost.

The Little Things

About a month ago, Randy gave a lesson in church about doing the little things each day to keep one's faith strong and vibrant. The few days before he gave the lesson, we talked a lot about this subject, in both a secular and a religious context, and that lesson has really stuck with me.

As a new mom, I struggle with the additional things in my life to balance. With a new baby comes an infinite amount of joy, but also increased laundry (especially if you cloth diaper), increased specialized food to prepare (or squish rather), less sleep, and definitely more messes. There is story time and bath time and tummy time (thank goodness there is also nap time!!!) and amidst it all I am still learning how to run a household that is still calm and clean and a happy place to be.

What I have been focusing on these last few weeks that has helped me let go of the guilt that I am not in complete control of the mountain of things that I want to do every day, is simply remembering that I don't need to do it all--just a little bit. As long as I am working towards my goals, I don't have to beat myself up that EVERYTHING in the long list is not currently checked off. I try and prioritize my lists into the things that are most important to me to work on, down to the small time-wasters that are pure relaxing fluff. My big ones: daily prayer, daily scripture study, meals for my family, exercise (even if it is only twenty minutes of yoga--it makes a big difference in how I feel about myself and the world), time with my husband. Then next in my list comes housework--I try and work on one room a day, and make sure I have the dinner dishes in the wash before I go to bed. That is the ideal. The reality? Very often I do leave dishes in the sink for the next day . . . but I'm working on it. So on those days I take a breath, and let it go. Can you tell I have a problem being hard on myself? Then the list goes on to include all the things I enjoy doing-like sewing, reading, creative writing, knitting. After that comes watching a good film (recently on a day I was rather under the weather I watched the BBC version of Elizabeth Gaskill's North and South--so good!!!!!) or playing a game on the DS (yeah, Randy got me hooked. Plus I have a sassy little red one).

Some days are harder than others, and my motivation is harder to come by. Things lower on the list look more tempting, or a nap pushes its way in and trumps them all. But as I focus on doing little bits at a time, and working towards a big picture, rather than a hard-fast list that measures my worth as a housewife and mother, I am a happier person. And on those days when Wesley has been teething and fussing and only wanting to be held, and no room got cleaned and no dishes got done, and I am still in workout clothes but no workout happened and dinner consists of Randy foraging for cereal while I nurse for the 5 millionth time--on those days, if I still read my scriptures and say my prayers before I go to bed, I still count it a good day.

New Developments . . .

My first baby tomato on its way! Can you spot it? My little garden/pots are doing well with the tomatoes, and I am very excited. But I have learned an important lesson: the varieties of lettuce and spinach I have been trying to grow are not suited to hot Utah summers. Back home in Oregon we would feast on fresh greens all summer long. Here . . . I am going to have to buy mine I'm afraid. No matter how carefully I have tended them, they withered and scorched underneath the hot sun. Very sad. Anyone have advice for me? I miss my lettuce!!!
So instead of a beautiful pot of salad greens, I allowed my spring volunteer spinach plant to go to seed. Who knew that spinach plants had such lovely purple-blue flowers? I didn't. Sometimes failure can be darn right pretty!

Where There's Smoke

Last night for Family Night we decided to take a little trip and instead of staying in, go out to dinner.

And so Wesley experienced his first campfire. A proud graduate of girls' camp, the fire took one match. No lighter fluid involved. Although the group next to us was having the darndest time with their fire . . . you should have seen the pyrotechnics involved in trying to get theirs going. But I digress . . .
My devious plot is really to get Wesley to love the outdoors, so that Randy will want to go camping more often . . . Randy has a thing about the bugs and dirt of camping. I'm really trying to win him over.
So far, I think I'm succeeding. Doesn't that look like the face of a baby that is having a good time?
He is a very serious baby when it comes to having fun. I love how hard he concentrates when something catches his interest.
He looks more and more like Daddy every day. And he gets in to things more and more every day. Daddy's influence? That's what I'll blame it on anyway! My funny, funny boys. I think I'm going to have my hands full with the two of them!

Now our dinner . . .
You can see the dutch oven in the first picture. I was too intent on eating by the time it was done that I didn't take a picture, but it was good, let me tell you. I made it up on the fly, with what I had in my kitchen, but here's the scoop:

Dutch Oven Veggie-ladas

Three medium potatoes, cubed (I left the skins on)
Three medium carrots, washed and chopped
One can cream of celery soup (next time I'd like to make my own if I have time, so that it is dairy free)
One small can green chilies, drained and diced
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

I lined the dutch oven with foil, and sprayed it with cooking spray. Then in a bowl I combined the potatoes and carrots with the soup, and put the mixture in the foil lined oven. I sprinkled the green chilies on top, sprinkled some salt and fresh ground black pepper, and then the cheese.

It turned out very zesty and delightful. Definitely a keeper. Onions and broccoli would probably work well also--I just didn't have any on hand at the moment.

Hot Summer Afternoons

We have one o'clock church, so by the time we get home it is HOT these days. I am not a big fan of summer--I would just as soon have late snows than early summers here. Back home in Oregon, summers just meant a brief break from the rainy season, and a few hot days here and there.

This is how Wesley took in our Sunday afternoon--in his cute little green diaper!
And this is how Che took in her Sunday afternoon . . . hiding in her little club house.


Can you see the Popsicle sticks in her cage? That is probably the only reason Che likes summer--the sugar coated sticks we let her chew to bits. A girl after my own heart--she isn't a big fan of the heat either. Although for a chinchilla she is way woosey about the cold. I guess I've turned her into a bit of a cuddle-bug.

Sundays are our one day where Randy doesn't have to work and doesn't have to go to school. It is so nice to have a quiet day to spend as a family--to play games and just chill. Plus little munchkin actually lets me sit through the majority of my Sunday classes now--so church is much more . . . relaxing than it had been.

Even with the heat . . . this is my kind of day.