Number 1

Some people call it pee pee, wee wee, number 1.... Today he did it TWICE in the potty chair!!! After breakfast this morning, as I was about to change his diaper, I decided to try something different: "Harvey, do you want to go to the potty?" He squeeled and ran right into the bathroom and sat on the chair with his potty book. I left him there for about 3 minutes and I could hear him lifting up the toilet cover, trying to flush the pee pee that he made. I called to Joe and he came right away and we were so proud! It was as though he had passed the bar exam or something. Joe: "Is he going to be a lawyer? I thought he was going to go to medical school." About an hour later he came up to me and said, "Go pee pee!" I ignored him thinking he was just fascinated with sitting on the chair. A few minutes passed and he said "Go pee pee!" So I took him to the bathroom and helped him get his G-diaper off (I think we might have to switch to pull-ups which unfortunately are not nearly as eco-friendly) which was VERY poopy. I guess I should have listened to him the first time around. Anyway, he sat on his chair reading his potty book. I came back a few minutes later and sure enough there was pee pee in the potty! Joe and I were so excited that I immediately downloaded a potty chart which Harvey LOVES and proudly put his first two stickers on it. If you had asked me five years ago to imagine being excited about potty training I would have laughed out loud.

"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours" - Barack Obama

Le Granola

We're back! We're almost unpacked. We survived the 8 hour flight avec Monsieur Harv
We are all very confused about sleeping schedules. Welcome to our world of 6 am reveille, 6 hour afternoon naps, dinner at midnight. I am afraid to visit anyone for fear that we will be the WORST houseguests with this messed up schedule!
This morning I made granola. The recipe was given to me by Cindy (pictured here with Harvey a LONG time ago, circa 18 months old wearing the onesie: "if you think i'm cute, you should see my dad"
I am printing the recipe here for Katie and MJ!

Cindy’s Granola
12-9-07

This is the best stuff ever! It isn’t cheap to make, but it tastes better than anything you can find in the stores and it is a lot of fun to play with the various optional ingredients. It keeps for over a month in the fridge and goes a long way to satisfy the morning appetite. Granola is also great for taking on trips.

Nonstick pans are ideal. I only have one nonstick 9x13 pan, so I substitute an 8x8 pan for the second pan with no problem. I store the granola in recycled quart-size yogurt containers or recycled plastic soup containers from Chinese take out (which are great because the lid is locked on tight). The dried fruit is added towards the end of the cooking to prevent drying it out and causing it to become hard.

Equipment
1 large mixing bowl, (5 ½ quarts).
1 medium mixing bowl with pour spout (2 quarts).
2 9x13 baking pans.

Microplane long handle zester

Essential proportions
7 cups rolled oats, about 1 ½ pounds (not instant)
1/3 cup powedered milk
1 cup wheat germ (untoasted)
½ cup honey
½ cup canola oil

Optional ingredients (use more or less of any of the following or substitute others)
½ cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
½-1 cup almonds, coarse chopped
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
1-2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Cardamom
Nutmeg (1/2 clove) – I usually grate it using one of my most favorite kitchen gadgets: the Microplane (which is amazing for citrus zest, coconut and parmesan)
½ teaspoon allspice
1 cup dried fruit
1 teaspoon each of Vanilla, Almond and Orange extract (or any other essences)

Preheat oven to 250° F
Mix all dry ingredients except the dried fruit in
large bowl. Combine honey, oil and extracts in small bowl (put oil in the
measuring cup first. It allows the honey to slide out of the measuring cup
easily)
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Combine like a salad
using wooden spoon. Keep breaking up the balls on the side of the bowl
until the texture is pretty uniform (no big clumps should remain). This
will take several minutes. Hang in there! The mixture will be just
barely moist.
Pour granola into pans.
Bake for 1¼ hour, stirring
every 10-15 min.
Remove pans from oven and stir in dried fruit.
Return
pans to oven and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Serve with yogurt and fresh fruit such as pomegranate and pineapple.
It is not necessary to refrigerate, but it keeps longer in the fridge.
Enjoy!