Book of the Month: Christmas Books

Due to unexpected circumstances there was no Book of  the Month for November so here is a combined post for November and December. This also concludes my one year "Book of the Month" series. Instead of a specific book, it is a genre of books: Christmas books, specifically Nativity Books.

Dominic's favourite Christmas books are Nativity books, he loves reading about baby Jesus being born and I love that he is so excited about it. 

Reading books about the story of Jesus birth is such a great way to teach about the birth of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas. 

I would love to know: what are your favourite Christmas books? Do you have a favourite Nativity book? What do you do to bring the true meaning of Christmas into your home? 

Book of the Month: Goodnight Moon

"Good Night Moon" written by Margaret Wise Brown is a classic that has been loved by children since 1947. 

Who else has memorized this book? It comes in handy when your child covers up the words but still knows what words you are supposed to say. 

Good Night Moon is a comforting book that promotes recognition of objects in the room and a feeling of stability as the bunny says goodnight, knowing that they will see those same items the next day. 

Like most children's book, this one also follows a rhyming pattern, which supports word recognition and memory. The simple words and pictures are also great for reading comprehension. 

A fun activity to try after reading this book is to point out objects in your Childs room that they can say goodnight to. 

This picture also shows our Thursday night tradition. Earlier this year Kyle went back to school and on Thursday nights he has zoom meeting for the classes e is taking. Dominic was so sad that Daddy wasn't putting him to bed so I decided to make Thursday nights special for him. He gets to come into Mommy and Daddy's bed and read books, sing songs and watch "Gee-Gee" videos (Jesus Videos on the Gospel Library app). Most of the time he is asleep before Daddy is finished. I also love it when he falls asleep snuggled next to me. 

3rd Anniversary traditional Gift

Last week Kyle and I celebrated our 3rd wedding Anniversary! It was pretty low key but at least we were able to spend the whole day together as we had an appointment in Calgary at the US Consulate. 

After our appointment,  we went to a bakery downtown where we enjoyed a slice of salted caramel cheesecake. Side note: a friend of mine and I recently started an Instagram account where we feature Bakeries we visit. Check it out @edmontonbakeries

Then we went to Deerfoot City mall to get dinner at Chronic Tacos (so yeah, we had dessert first) which is Kyle's favourite restaurant. He is super excited that they have started opening up locations in Canada. 

Last year, I wrote a blog post about how I follow the tradition of getting "traditional Anniversary gifts". Read it here and see what I did for our first and second Anniversary. 

The third Anniversary gift is leather. I asked Kyle what he would like that was leather but he started off by giving non-serious answers that involved a hypothetical motorcycle before confirming that there wasn't anything he could think of that he needed or wanted. 

My friend ( the same one I visit Bakeries with) suggested fruit leather. Genius idea! 

I borrowed a dehydrator and looked around my kitchen to see what we had. I found a bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer and a jar of applesauce in the food storage. 

I read a few recipes and I feel like what I did was simpler than the directions I read. I hope this will be the simplest recipe you can find: 

- put 5 cups of fruit in the blender (I used 3 cups of frozen blueberries that had been mostly thawed and 2 cups of apple sauce). 

- puree the fruit*

-spread on to dehydrator trays or onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

- in a dehydrator cook at mid heat overnight or about 8 hours. If you don't have a dehydrator, spread on the cookie sheet and bake at low heat for about the same amount of time. 

- You can check periodically to see how it is setting. Once it is no longer sticky, the fruit leather is ready. 

- Peal off or cut into strips (if lined with parchment paper, you can cut backed with parchment paper. 

- I rolled up each strip and tied with twine. I bought a big roll of it years ago when making a Thanksgiving turkey that I am pretty sure I have a lifetime supply.

*most recipes include adding a sweetener like honey but I didn't and felt like it was sweet enough. 

They turned out great and made for a yummy road trip snack. 

Have you ever made fruit leather? What flavours did you come up with? 

Book of the Month: My Big Truck Book

 

Dominic loves picture books where you "point and name" items. Although, he will often insist that you repeat after him. 

Dominic also loves trucks (actually all vehicles). Because we went to BC for Dominic's Birthday we gave him his gift early, a set of trucks, so that he could bring a couple with him. We stopped in Jasper on the way and got this book, My Big Truck Book by Roger Priddy, for him from a little shop. He was so excited and walked down the street proudly carrying it. 

We had a little family party for him and he was excited to get more toy trucks and cars. 

It helped keep him entertained on the drive and since we have been back. He now knows all of the trucks and even I am learning what each truck is called! 

Other point-and-label books he likes are ones with animals, colours and letters. 

These types of books are great at helping children increase their vocabulary and develop word and picture association. 

Book of the Month: If You Give a Pig a Party

As Dominic's birthday came up, I wondered what we should do to celebrate with Covid restrictions and precautions in place. Although, I didn't stress over it too much because he didn't really know what a Birthday party was. The last time he went to a Birthday party was his first birthday a year ago, he was invited to a friend's party in February but we were at the hospital having Elisabeth. 

I was thinking about inviting people to meet at a playground but turns out we ended up going to BC so had a little party for him with three of his cousins. 

It was funny to see how surprised and excited he was to have balloons, a cake, presents and people sing to him. Two weeks later it was my Birthday and he actually understood what that meant and was excited for more cake. 

Ever since his Birthday, Nico has been wanting to read "If You Give a Pig a Party". It has become one of his most requested nap time book. He loves talking about balloons and parties now. He also loves the part where the pig is playing "hide-and-seek". One day when he woke up from his nap, he came up to me, laughing, and said, "a pig a hide a tree", referring to the book we had read before his nap. 

I love the "If you give a mouse a ..." and "If you give a pig a ..." books. I like how they start and end with the same idea and in between shows how the character becomes distracted by what the original activity was. As children become more familiar with the theme of the book they remember what to look for and recognize that the story line goes back to the first activity the character wanted. 

World Breastfeeding Awareness Month

Earlier this month, a friend of mine from High School invited me to join an Instagram collaboration with Mamas from around the world in support of Breastfeeding Awareness Month. 

We aren't influencers, just a group of Moms from around the world sharing our experiences and normalizing struggles for new moms. 

Long before I had children, I knew I wanted to breastfeed and I thought that meant it would instantly be a natural experience as soon as my baby was born. It wasn't. 

Dominic was 12 hours old the first time he latched on and for the first few weeks it was painful and uncomfortable. I had people tell me that it shouldn't hurt, others say it can be normal.  

At night, it seemed that he wanted to nurse all the time and I had people tell me that he probably wasn't getting enough milk from me and I should try giving him formula. I found these comments very discouraging as a new mom trying to adjust and thought that it would be easier to just give up breastfeeding but was determined to make it to my goal of breastfeeding for at least 12 months. 

I talked to my twin sister who at the time was pregnant with her 8th child and she assured me that breastfeeding often would help my supply. At his two week checkup I spoke to my Nurse Practitioner about my concerns and she assured me that he was gaining weight so he must be getting what he needs. I also soon realized that he was a cluster feeder which was great because he slept well at night but it meant I spent 2-3 hours constantly nursing. 

At around 6 weeks old, I felt like the latching-feeding connection clicked. Breastfeeding had become more comfortable and enjoyable. 

When Dominic was 10 months old, I became pregnant with Elisabeth and about 6 weeks into the pregnancy, breastfeeding once again, occasionally, became painful. 

By the time Nico was 12 months old, he was only breastfeeding in the morning and at night and soon after I started going back to work, it was just at night. One night, at 14 months old he fell asleep without feeding. I thought he would wake up wanting to feed but he slept all night and that was the end of our journey. 

Breastfeeding Elisabeth felt natural and comfortable from the beginning. Maybe because I already had experience and only had a 4 month break. I was also more relaxed this time. 

As a new mom, I also preferred to nurse my baby on my own but am now more comfortable nursing in public. I personally like to use a cover in public but don't have any issue with mom's who prefer not to cover up. 

Another big difference between both babies is that Dominic liked to nurse to sleep. For him, breastfeeding was a source of comfort and relaxation. I had people tell me that I shouldn't nurse him to sleep because he will become dependent on nursing in order to fall asleep. I did try for a couple of weeks to switch up our bedtime routine to feeding first but he was not okay with that. He wanted to suck milk to fall asleep and to be honest, I actually liked snuggling my baby in bed and nursing at night. Especially once I started back at work, it just worked better for us. Perhaps breastfeeding to sleep might create a dependency for some babies but Dominic literally stopped overnight. 

With Elisabeth I will nurse her at night snuggled up in bed but she is most often still awake when I lie her down. She sticks her thumb in her mouth and falls asleep. That may be a different issue but maybe she will stop sucking her thumb overnight? 

I think it is important to share our breastfeeding experiences to normalize struggles we can face and support moms in the choices they feel are best for themselves and their baby. 

If you are on Instagram, check out #mamastalkbreastfeeding to read about the other experiences that were shared as part of this collaboration.

Book of the Month: Things That Make Me Happy

This is a really cute book that has simple words and pictures. Dominic loves it because he can "read it" himself and Elisabeth loves it because she can turn the pages herself.

It helps promote an understanding of what 'Happy' means and things that can promote the feeling of happiness.

 I would recommend it for newborn to preschoolers. The simple words and pictures won't overstimulate but will promote word recognition. Dominic loves that he knows what the word says by looking at the picture but is also starting to recognize some letters too.

Book of the Month: It's OK to be Different

I think 2020 will be a year that causes people to pause and reflect. The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that the most important place we can be is at home with our families. Recent events has engaged the world in an important discussion on racism, challenging us to think deeper about the impact of racism and what we can do to change.

I am pretty active on Instagram, it is my preferred social media platform. Last week there was a powerful show of solidarity in standing up for the black community with people and businesses posting black squares for #blackouttuesday. I think the idea was to give the influence to black people for the day, to listen to and learn from them. Although, I posted a black square to my stories instead of my feed. 

I wanted to participate in learning from the black community and challenge myself to think deeper about racism and what I can do personally. 

I saw this image come up a few times on Instagram and loved the message: 

I started following this artist, @ohhappydani and love how she shares important messages of acceptance through her artwork.

Change starts in our hearts and needs to be taught in our homes. As a mother, it is my responsibility to teach my children. The most important thing I want to teach them are the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love their neighbours as themselves (that includes loving themselves). To understand that we are all children of God, created in his image. 

I pondered what I could do to more actively teach my children about accepting others. I know that my Nico learns and processes a lot of information from reading books so I looked through his book collection. We have books that focus on different cultural traditions such as "My Heart Fills with Happiness" (From the indigenous culture) and books that show people of different races such as "I am Canada" and Latter-day Baby books.  Most of the Latter-day books focus on doctrine from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but some would also appeal to all Christians like their books on the Creation and the Nativity. I do really like how they show diversity in the skin colour of the characters shown in the books. 

However, I wanted to have a book that specifically talked about differences in people and accepting others for who they are. I went on Amazon and choose this book, "It's OK to be Different". 

This book really does do a great job at discussing how people are different and also how we are different too. It is an ideal book for toddlers to start a discussion on accepting differences in people. 

I have heard the phrase, "Children don't see colour" and that is not true. Dominic can tell you whether something is red, blue, purple, pink or green. I am sure he can also tell that people have different coloured skin. In fact, research shows that babies as young as 6 months old recognize the skin tone of their parents in comparison to others. I believe that it is important to "see colour", to accept and embrace diversity and learn from each other. 

What are some books you have read that teach acceptance and/or show diversity? 

My experience with Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP)

Close to the end of my pregnancy with Elisabeth, I was diagnosed with Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP) or more commonly referred to as Cholestasis or Cholestasis of Pregnancy. June is recognized as Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy month (everything has a month or day, right?) and I would like to help spread awareness by sharing my experience. 

I am choosing to share this experience because it was almost dismissed and as I have read about other people's experiences, I have learned that this condition is often overlooked and sometimes, tragically, too late. ICP is a condition that affects the liver during pregnancy where instead of bile being broken down in your liver it spills out into the blood stream, causing the most common symptom of itchiness. The most severe risks are those that can affect the baby such as the baby going into distress and breathing in meconium or being stillborn. Doctors told me that this was more likely to happen past the 37 week mark which is why they typically induce you at that time. 

My purpose for writing this is to spread awareness of this condition and encourage others to watch for signs of ICP in their pregnancy. Please share this blog post if you would like. If you experience any of these symptoms please talk to your Doctor,  OB or midwife about it and ask for a requisition to have your bile levels and liver function tests checked. I feel this is important because it is not part of the routine blood tests you get during your pregnancy. 

My story will share the symptoms I experienced but not everyone will have the same symptoms or experience. For more information on ICP, I would encourage you to visit the ICP Care website. 

 My pregnancy with Dominic was free of complications, I felt pretty good throughout the whole pregnancy, just uncomfortable at the end. My pregnancy with Elisabeth started out the same. No morning sickness and besides feeling more tired in the first trimester, I felt pretty good. In fact some people were convinced that I was having another boy because my pregnancy was so similar. 

At 30 weeks, I started feeling some pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen. I mentioned it to a few people, some of whom responded with, "oh, is baby in your ribs?" I thought it was probably due to the way she was positioned but I didn't feel her pushing against my ribs or anything so thought I should mention it at my next midwife appointment. 

At 32 weeks I mentioned the pain I felt to my midwife and said that, being short (in height), I thought maybe it was the way the baby was positioned. She said that upper quadrant pain on the right side could sometimes be an indicator of two more serious issues. One being preeclampsia but was quick to rule that out as my blood pressure had always been normal and I wasn't having headaches or blurred vision. The other being ICP.  She asked if I felt itchy and I said just on my belly which she said was normal, the itchiness to look out for was on the soles of your feet and palms of your hands. However, as she felt the baby's position, she said that maybe it was the way the baby was positioned. 

I hadn't heard of ICP so I decided to Google it, as I read about people loosing their babies to stillbirth I was relieved to think that I didn't have this condition. I didn't have the common risk factors associated with ICP: family history, prior liver condition and Chilean or Scandinavian ethnicity.  

A few days later I started feeling itchy on my hands and feet, arms and legs. The thought of ICP came to mind but then I wondered if I was feeling itchy because I was reading about it. I also thought that maybe the itchiness wasn't intense enough. Sometimes it was a mild itching but sometimes it was intense and I had difficulty sleeping. The pain also increased, with the worst pain being felt when driving. 

I went back and forth in my mind about whether to bring it up to my midwife again. I decided that I should ask for the requisition to get the blood work done, just to put my mind at ease. My next appointment was at 34 weeks, I left work, picked up Dominic from daycare and was on my way to my midwife appointment when I got a text message saying that my appointment was being canceled because one of my midwives was at a birth and the other on vacation. My house was on the way to the clinic so I stopped off at home and called the clinic to ask if there was another midwife I could see. At first I was told to expect that cancellations could happen and that I would be rescheduled for the following week. I persisted in asking if there was someone else available if I could just meet with them. I was told that she would find out and call me back. 

I got Dominic a snack and a few minutes later I got a call that another midwife could meet with me. I got to the appointment and the midwife spent the first 10 minutes lecturing me on needing to be more understanding about midwives taking vacation and going to births. I definitely know the importance of people needing to take vacation and that emergencies come up but I also feel that other patients needs should be accommodated and that the midwife on vacation should have someone cover for her. Anyways, I just responded that the reason I wanted to be seen was because I wanted a requisition to rule out ICP. 

When I told her that I was feeling itchy, she responded that it was winter. When I said that I had been experiencing the upper right quadrant pain for the past 4 weeks she asked if it ever went away and I mentioned that the pain often subsided when I was lying down. "So, it does go away" she responded. I asked again for the requisition, saying that I just needed to put my mind at ease. She left and came back with another midwife who went over my symptoms and agreed that a requisition would be a good idea. The second midwife also said that she was glad that I was able to get in. Two days later, I went to the lab to get the blood work done and urine sample. Maybe TMI but another symptom I had initially overlooked was that my urine had been very dark the past few weeks which I assumed was from the iron supplement I was taking. I drink a lot of water throughout the day so I knew that I wasn't dehydrated.

A few days later on February 5, at 35 +1 weeks pregnant I got a phone call from my midwife. I was at work, just about to eat lunch. When I saw that it was the midwife calling, I knew right away that she was calling to say that I had Cholestasis. The itching was getting more intense. I answered the phone and was told that my bile levels and liver function tests came back high and I was given the diagnosis of ICP. The midwife gave me the name of an OB that I would now be under the care of. She told me that I would likely be induced at 37 weeks and that the condition could cause stress on the baby. She then said that the Hospital had been notified and wanted me to go in right away. I felt like it was a lot of information to take in over the phone but at the same time was grateful that I could get this information right away. 

I called Kyle and told him what was happening, he came and met me at work and we went to the hospital. I was so worried about my little baby, still inside of me, not knowing what to expect. Kyle gave me a blessing of comfort in the parking garage of the hospital and then we went in. 

I was given a non-stress test, had my vitals checked, had blood taken and prescribed some medication to help bind the bile. I was told that I would probably be induced on February 17. In 13 days. Then I started making a mental list of all of the things I needed to do. Taxes, cleaning, packing the hospital bag for me and the baby, a bag for Dominic, finish work 2 weeks earlier than I had planned, etc. Dominic was born on his due date, I was expecting that Elisabeth would be as well.

About every 3 days for the next 13 days, I went to the hospital for a routine non-stress test, vital check and blood work. The baby's heart rate and my blood pressure was always good so that was reassuring. However, each time I went in I was told about the risks associated with cholestasis which included stillbirth. When you hear that as a risk, that is all you think about. When Elisabeth was 3 weeks old, my twin sister had a stillborn baby at 19 weeks and it is a devastating experience.   

Each time I went to the hospital there was a discussion about whether I might be induced earlier. We had also had a high risk ultrasound and OB appointment in that time. I felt very well taken care of and that everyone was being thorough in the work they did. At that point, I wasn't worried about the baby being born earlier, I just wanted her to be in my arms. I felt like she would be safer on the outside. I was constantly poking her to make sure that I could feel her move. 

I only went to the hospital twice during my pregnancy with Dominic, once to get a Rho-gram shot (I have a negative blood type and Kyle is positive) and then to deliver him. In my last two weeks of pregnancy with Elisabeth, I was becoming quite familiar and more comfortable with going to the hospital. Keep in mind, this was pre Covid-19 pandemic, it would probably have been more stressful during the pandemic. Elisabeth's due date was just two days before the pandemic was declared.

On Sunday, February 16, I was told that my induction was scheduled for 8:30 the next morning. I had been told that unless I was at least 3 cm, I would have to start with cervadil and come back 24 hours later. I was hoping to start labour on my own so I had a massage and on Sunday went for a long walk with Dominic. 

That night was the most intense itching I had experienced and I spent most of the night sitting at the kitchen table with my feet in a bucket of ice water. 

Monday, February 17 was Family Day in Alberta which sounded like a good day to have a baby. After dropping Dominic off at my friend/neighbours home (making sure to let her know that we would probably be back) we headed to the hospital. It was a typical freezing cold, snowy February in Edmonton. 

We checked in at the hospital and to my astonishment and relief, I was 3 cm dilated and was able to be admitted. I started on the Oxytocin at 10:30 am. It took awhile for labour to kick in. I applied for maternity leave and went for a couple of good naps while the nurses continued to increase the dose of Oxytocin. My biggest regret was only having a smoothie for breakfast as I wasn't allowed to eat anything after the induction started.

The baby's heartbeat was continuously monitored until she was born. It was good to always have the reassurance that she was doing well; although, it was hard to get up and move around. The Doctors and nurses were all very supportive in my desire to labour without any intervention. I didn't feel that support with Dominic which is why I was excited to be accepted by a midwife; however, I didn't really have a great experience with the midwife office I was with. 

Fast forward to 12:20 am on February 18, 2020, our Elisabeth Vita Carcerano was born. The first thing Kyle said was, "She's Italian!" - she had a pretty dark complexion and dark hair. Opposite to Dominic who was fair skinned and blond haired from birth. 

Elisabeth was perfectly healthy when she was born and we went home 14 hours later. For me, the itchiness lasted about two weeks after I gave birth. Not fun on top of postpartum recovery but we were both healthy and that was the most important thing to me. 

Elisabeth is 3 months old now and from the day she was born, she has always seemed like she is where she is supposed to be in terms of growth and development. She is typically a very content and interactive baby who sleeps well. Unfortunately due to the Covid-19 pandemic, no one on either side of our families have met her yet but we hope that they will be able to soon. 

I hope that by sharing my experience, others can have a positive outcome like we did. 

Book of the Month: Love you Forever

Dominic likes to pick out which book he wants to read and on Mother's Day he picked this book, "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. Perfect Mother's Day book about a mom watching her son grow and telling him that she will love him forever and that he will always be her baby. I often tell Dominic that he will always be my baby boy. He will say "no, Ella baby" (or El-la-la-la). My sweet little Elisabeth will always be my baby girl.

We took this photo a few days after Mother's Day. We set the timer on my phone camera and Nico loved running to the couch to get a photo of us looking at the book and then looking at the photo. Meanwhile Ellie fell asleep a few photos in ... haha.

If you read the page about the boy being a two year old, it describes my Nico pretty well (he will be two in August), except that he has never put anything in the toilet (hoping it stays that way). 

This book is also loved by adults as much, if not more, than children. I remember reading this book as a child and love that I can now read it to my own children. 

Lessons I learn from this book is that there are challenges in each stage of raising children but to enjoy the time you are in because it will go fast and before you know it, they will be grown and on their own. You have to hope that you raised them right - to come and visit you when you are old. 😊 It also does a good job illustrating the circle of life. I also love that it was written by a Canadian author. 

"Love You Forever" can be considered a philosophical book that can create discussion between parent and child and teach important life lessons. For my son, we talk about love and being happy. For older children, you can discuss the concepts of parent-child relationships and the happiness and personal fulfillment that can come from those relationships. You can also discuss what it means to grow up, take care of yourself and a future family. It can even create an opportunity to discuss death.  

Although the book takes the reader through the child growing up. The author wrote it while grieving the loss of the two stillborn children him and his wife were not able to raise. My sister recently had a stillborn baby and I think you will always wonder what it would have been like to watch that child grow up. 

What lessons have you learned or taught from this book? 

Book of the Month: I Wrote to The Zoo

In the past couple of months Dominic's language skills have grown exponentially! It is exciting to hear him say new words or put 2 or 3 words together. He is excited to see our reaction too. A new word he has started saying recently is 'chocolate'. I think he is starting to realize that he won't get chocolate every time he says it. Hahaha. Other new words are 'pray' and 'amen'. It is so sweet hearing him ask to pray and then say amen when the prayer ends. Makes those challenging days of "toddler testing" worthwhile.

I know that reading has helped him develop his language skills and I love that he loves to read. We read books at least 20 times a day and often the same book multiple times in a row. This is typical for toddlers and will support language development and story & word recognition.

This month's 'book of the month' is, "I Wrote to the Zoo". It was actually a gift for Elisabeth but Nico quickly claimed it as his. I tell him that Ellie is sharing with him.

This is really one of the cutest books with cute animal illustrations. This book, like other lift the flap books, promotes child participation. After a few times of reading it, I will have Nico say what animal it is and then repeat it after. Some animals he can say by name, like snake, frog and dog. Others he says part of the name, like 'raff' for giraffe. Others he will do sound effects or gestures, like the monkey - which is funny.

I also like how this book uses simple words to describe each animal too which helps with building comprehension skills.

Other lift the flap books that Dominic loves are, "Zoom Zoom Baby" which we got for free for signing up for his library card and "Where's Spot". These books also have different animals behind each flap.

It's funny seeing Dominic take things from one book and add it to the others. For example, at the end of "Zoom Zoom Baby", it says "bye bye". When finishing "Where's Spot" and "I Wrote to the Zoo", he will say "bye bye".

While reading, "Where's Spot" he started saying "no" when lifting each flap until he got to Spot at the end (except that sometimes he does call the turtle Spot .. Haha ... if you read the book, you will understand why), he will do that with the other two books as well. Although, he is starting to develop a sense of humour. Today, while reading "Where's Spot", he started saying "yes" to each flap he lifted and then would start laughing. He also likes to put things where they don't belong and then look at me and say "noooooo". For example, putting a toy in the fridge.

What has your child, or a child you have cared for, learned from a lift the flap book?

Chicken Dinner Waffles

Most of us throughout the world are in some type of quarantining and spending more time at home. I have seen a lot of Social Media posts from friends and family who are trying out new recipes which Kyle and I have been doing as well. Like many others we have limited going grocery shopping (so far, Kyle has gone once about every two weeks) and mainly just to buy fresh foods. Therefore, we have been looking at foods we have on hand or in our food storage when making meals.

We got a double waffle maker from my parents for Christmas and we have enjoyed trying different recipes for breakfast waffles. One day, last week, I started thinking that savoury waffles would be good so looked around at what we had and this recipe was created.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can adapt it to what you have on hand or you could even use your leftover chicken dinner from the night before. Perhaps even a leftover Turkey dinner from a Holiday meal.

Let me know in the comments how you adapted this recipe or even if you follow it exactly,  how you enjoyed them.

Also, if you don't have a waffle maker, you could probably make them into pancakes.

Find the recipe below and on Pinterest. There is also a printable version you can save to your device or print.  

                    Ingredients

• 5 yukon gold potatoes
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cup chopped cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 1/3 cup frozen vegetables
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 large egg

Instructions

• Boil the potatoes until tender about 30 minutes. Drain and place them in a large bowl.  Mash them and then add milk and butter.  Mix well.

We prefer Yukon gold potatoes in our cooking but use whatever you prefer or have on hand 

• Stir in the chicken, cheese, vegetables, salt, pepper, flour and egg

I used canned chicken but you could use any kind of cooked chicken (i.e. rotisserie, chicken breast or thighs), you can also use whatever cheese or vegetables you have on hand. Also, if you used salted butter, you could probably skip adding salt.

• Turn waffle iron on to medium/high heat.  Spray with non-stick cooking spray if needed.  Pour in enough batter to make one waffle which will vary depending on the size/make of your  waffle maker. I added an amazon link to the waffle maker we have below, which makes 6. I love that ours can make two at a time. Cook until slightly brown but your waffle maker should let you know when they are done.

Book of the Month: Dr. Suess books

This month's book of the month post will highlight a collection of books. March 2 is Dr. Seuss' Birthday and the date chosen by the National Education Association as the annual date for National Read Across America Day. Schools and library's throughout the USA and Canada and other countries plan celebrations around this day each year to encourage children to develop an interest in reading and literacy development. This year would have been Dr. Seuss' 116th Birthday.

 Theodor Seuss Geisel had a unique and imaginative style of writing and illustrating children's books; which have been enjoyed for generations. Dr. Seuss books encourage story and word recognition through rhyming, repetition and short phrases.

Geisel was also a strong advocate of early literacy. In his book, "Oh, The Places You Will Go", he wrote: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

I love that Dominic loves reading, even when he wants to listen to read the same book 20 times in a row. I can already see how it has supported him in his learning and language development.

Prior to my maternity leave, I wrote a blog article for Terra Centre on the importance of reading to your baby and young children. You can read it here.

How has reading benefited you or children that you care for?

Do you have a favourite Dr. Seuss book?